Video footage has emerged showing journalist Don Lemon closely aligned with anti-ICE activists in Minnesota before a controversial protest unfolded at a St. Paul church.
The New York Post reported that Don Lemon, a well-known media figure, was recorded in a snowy parking lot in the Twin Cities discussing plans with activists, later identified as "resistance protesters," before dozens of them entered Cities Church during Sunday services, chanting "ICE out," while Lemon followed and reported on the event.
Before the church incident, Lemon openly admitted to conducting "reconnaissance" with the activist group in Minneapolis, hinting at a planned "operation" he intended to cover.
His own words paint a curious picture: "These are resistance protesters, they’re planning an operation we’re going to follow them on. I can’t tell you exactly what they’re doing, but it’s called Operation Pull-Up," Lemon stated on camera.
That statement raises eyebrows when paired with his later claim of having no prior knowledge of the church protest.
After the activists stormed the morning prayer service, Lemon followed, camera in tow, only to face sharp criticism from Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, who warned he was "on notice."
Caught in the backlash, Lemon quickly pivoted, insisting he had no ties to the group and was merely chronicling their actions as a journalist.
He claimed, "I had no affiliations with that organization. I didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them."
Lemon’s attempt to distance himself feels like a hasty retreat from a snowball fight he started.
His earlier excitement about a surprise "Operation Pull-Up" and name-dropping activist Nekima Armstrong as a key figure suggests more familiarity than a mere bystander would have.
The line between reporting and enabling is razor-thin here, and Lemon’s footage treads it with questionable footing.
While documenting protests is a legitimate journalistic endeavor, embedding with a group planning to "catch people off-guard" and "hold them to account" risks looking like tacit approval of disruption, especially in a sacred space like a church.
Churchgoers, including the pastor and members, deserved their peaceful Sunday service, not a staged confrontation—something Lemon could have anticipated given his own descriptions.
Even Lemon’s bewilderment at the protesters carrying an American flag, which he dubbed "MAGA-coded," hints at a bias that undercuts his claim of neutral observation. If a flag can be dismissed as a political prop, what else might be spun to fit a narrative? It’s a small but telling slip in an already murky situation.
