All The Times Don Lemon Made The Case Against Himself In His Livestream

As ex-CNN host Don Lemon livestreamed the storming of a Minnesota church last month, he documented several instances where he appeared to be covering the anti-ICE protesters’ tracks as he accompanied them from start to finish.

Lemon’s livestream opened with him standing near the group of activists, who he said were “gearing up for resistance and protest.”

INTENT: The opening to Don Lemon’s insane livestream is an admission of foreknowledge that the group he was in contact with was going to storm a church, based on his prior communications with its leader. pic.twitter.com/g0GVHB4871

— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 19, 2026

The group gathered in a parking lot to practice anti-ICE chants.

At that point in his video, Lemon asserted that the operation was “secret,” adding, “[I] can’t tell you what is going to happen, but you’re going to watch it live unfold here on the Don Lemon Show.”

He continued to conceal the group’s plans, saying that he “turned our camera off of them because they’re giving some critical information here.”

Lemon could also be seen thanking the members of the group, including its ringleader, Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was also later arrested for her alleged role in carrying out the disruption.

🚨Pam Bondi just announced the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong, the alleged organizer of last weekend’s Anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul Church.

Here’s Don Lemon giving her an awkward kiss before it went down.

Could Don be next? pic.twitter.com/8qiNyrN3Q1

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 22, 2026

“How are you? Good to see you,” Lemon said to Armstrong as he leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“We’re on, we’re not saying what it is, what’s going on, but thank you,” he said.

Lemon was seen entering the church and could be heard sitting in on the service.

The agitators then began their interruption.

He also acknowledged seeing the terror inflicted upon worshippers inside the church.

“I’m looking at a young man who’s in the corner. He’s frightened. He’s scared, he’s crying. People are leaving church,” he said.

Outside, Lemon showed a father hugging his distraught child.

“You have to make people uncomfortable in these times. If you see how uncomfortable … and how harsh people are being treated on the streets, you have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That is what this country is about,” he later said.

He then asked Armstrong for help tracking down the pastor.

“Who is the person that we should talk to? Is there a pastor or something?” Lemon asked as Armstrong pointed toward the pastor, whom she said “might have run away.”

Lemon was also seen confronting the pastor, asserting, “Listen, we live in a — there’s a Constitution and the First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest.”

“Don’t you think that Jesus would be understanding and love these folks?” Lemon asked the pastor.

The pastor eventually asks him to “leave.”

Lemon was also seen lecturing a worshipper, who accused the group of “trespassing.”

He then attempted to challenge another with “facts,” asking questions like, “Did you know that undocumented people and immigrants commit far less crime than American citizens?”

When the parishioner said “we’re done here,” Lemon continued to push him: “You won’t listen, I’m giving you the facts.”

Lemon was seen standing outside the church, where he continued to push anti-ICE beliefs on the parishioners as they fled.

“I imagine it’s uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here … but that’s what protesting is about,” Lemon said.

The man hit back at Lemon, who said the ex-CNN anchor was posing “as a journalist.”

After departing the church, Lemon acknowledged allegedly taking part in keeping the group’s plans under wraps.

“What I said was going to happen happened. We could not tell you, you know, what it was,” he said.

Federal authorities arrested Lemon Thursday evening in Los Angeles. He faces charges of conspiracy to violate the right of religious freedom at a house of worship and violations of the FACE Act, a law that, in part, prohibits the disruption of worship services, which the Biden administration infamously weaponized against peaceful anti-abortion protesters.

He has since been released from custody, but continues to fight the charges.

Lemon claimed he was covering the protest as an independent journalist, asserting that his actions are protected by the First Amendment.

During his livestream, he also told multiple parishioners that “I’m not part of the group.”

“I’m just here photographing, I’m a journalist,” he said.

“We’re here just chronicling and reporting. We’re not part of the activist, but we’re here just reporting on them,” he said at another point.