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Don Lemon criticizes churchgoers for not seeing him as a journalist as he tagged along with agitators
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Former CNN host Don Lemon criticized parishioners who were upset by his presence in their church alongside agitators, saying they could not understand he was merely attending as a journalist.
In January, a group of agitators interrupted a worship service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, over suggestions that the church was affiliated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Cities Church Lead Pastor Jonathan Parnell described the incident as an “ambush” and said agitators were screaming in children’s faces. Parnell said cameras were shoved in his face and he lost sight of his wife, children, and congregation.
Former CNN host Don Lemon has pleaded “not guilty” to federal charges related to his presence at the church. Lemon has denied wrongdoing and argued he was there as a journalist protected by the First Amendment. He spoke about the controversy in a Wednesday interview with liberal journalist and podcaster Jim Acosta.
Acosta said he was surprised as to why parishioners were viewing Lemon as a disruption rather than a journalist.
Journalist Don Lemon interviews Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, at a rally at Columbus Circle near Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 2, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I don’t know. It’s weird because they kept saying it, even when I told them that I’m not. And I think they were looking at me and, because the bulk of the protesters were Black, maybe they thought because I’m Black, that and I kept saying, ‘I’m not a protester. I’m here covering the protest. I’m not with them.’”
He continued, noting, “They were, you know, they just for some reason could not understand. And I just I had to keep telling them that I’m not part of the group. I’m just here photographing, and I would say chronicling or whatever it is. And that’s it, Jim. So why they couldn’t figure that out, I don’t know.”
Acosta then added, “Even when you’re talking to the pastor, you know, that did not seem like a heated confrontation or anything. You just — you’re talking to him.”
During the confrontation, the pastor politely said that disrupting the church was unacceptable, to which Lemon argued they had a right to be there thanks to the First Amendment. Lemon questioned the pastor, asking, “Don’t you think Jesus would be understanding and love these folks?” When the pastor said he was focused on spreading the love of Jesus, Lemon pressed again, more intensely, “But did you try to talk to them? As a Christian?”
When he was asked to leave, Lemon began his next sentence with “You don’t want us to — “
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY STUDENT WHO ‘ASSISTED DON LEMON’ CHARGED IN FEDERAL CHURCH-STORMING CASE
Liberal podcaster Jim Acosta expressed sympathy for Don Lemon, questioning why parishioners viewed Lemon as part of a disruption rather than as a journalist. (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
Lemon agreed with Acosta’s claim that his encounter with the pastor was not a heated confrontation.
“It wasn’t heated. He stood there and talked to me for a long time,” Lemon said. “I will just say in this, the video speaks for itself.”
“They can as they can try to do, as they did with Renee Good, as they did with Alex Pretti. They can try to get people to believe something other than what they’re seeing with their eyes and hearing with their ears, and that’s what they will try to do,” he said. “But I think that I think the video is — tells you everything, that I was there doing what I’m — I was there doing journalism, which is what I was supposed to be doing, which is what I went there to do, and that’s it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Cities Church in St. Paul for comment about Lemon’s latest comments and Jonathan Parnell, lead pastor at Cities Church responded, “On Jan. 18, just as I was about to read from John 13 on Jesus’s command to love one another, a mob stormed into the house of God, a place of peace and refuge, and defiled it with rage. Many in our congregation fled, believing it to be an active shooter situation. The agitators accosted our people, terrified our children, and would not leave the sanctuary when asked. They gloated about shutting down our worship of Jesus. Everyone who invaded Cities Church that day was in on the terror.”
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Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
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TEMPE, AZ – JANUARY 02: Head coach Jim Tressel of the Ohio State Buckeyes holds the football from the trophy after the Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium on January 2, 2006 in Tempe, Arizona. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 34-20. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
It’s an annual tradition, a sensation of the summertime – the Oahe Days Music & Arts Festival, a weekend-long congregation of vendors, crafters, makers and entertainers, ushering in the season with food and fun.
“It’s a huge event, an entire weekend completely free, everything is completely free – granted, you know, we have the carnival, we have a full slate of activities, (but) there’s something for everyone,” John Sterling, Vice President of the Oahe Days Music & Arts Festival, told the Capital Journal. “We have a magician going right now, earlier she was doing balloon animals, there was a canine show, they were doing canine stunts.”
Iain Woessner
Oahe Days consists of shows, food, the carnival section and a diverse collection of vendor tents, selling everything from knives and kitchenware to fresh-baked bread, vintage antique pottery, jewelry, stones and crystals, artwork to spices.
The air rings with peals of laughter as children race from magic shows to ferris wheels and adults indulge in fried food, funnel cakes, gyros and barbecue. In a town where families remain the cornerstone of community culture, Oahe Days is evident in its focus on family-friendly-fun.
“I think this is a fantastic community event and it brings out children, families and everybody and I think this is critical to the future of Pierre and Central South Dakota,” Kevin Larsen of Pierre/Fort Pierre Kiwanis said. “This is really one of those community activities that has sustained for many years and I’d like to encourage more volunteers. That’s what makes this event a success, the volunteers.”
The event relies on volunteers to help in the unsung and unseen logistics of something on this scale, and the organizers of Oahe Days echoed the need for the community to continue to invest time and money to keep the beloved event alive.
Iain Woessner
“There is a call for volunteers,” Julie Diedrich, President of the Oahe Days Music & Arts Festival, said. “If you are a local business and you want to contribute to making this a free event, we’re always open to donations and (regarding volunteers), it can be a little or just volunteering throughout the weekend.”
It’s not just in the official elements that the community works to keep Oahe Days going – beloved events are organized and integrated into the Festival by members of the community themselves, demonstrating the collaborative spirit of the event. This is best exemplified by the Soggy Bottom Race, a cardboard boat race that had once been held every year before going on an extended hiatus, only to have been revived last year by locals who missed it.
“I think that Oahe Days is such a good event, it brings everybody down here, and I used to participate in the cardboard boat race myself, I always had a ton of fun building the boats and it’s super fun. We thought it was something that had been missing,” Blake Severyn with the Independent Insurance Agents of South Dakota, told the Capital Journal.
The Soggy Bottom Race serves nonprofits in the area as well, with entry fees going to a different organization each year, this year supporting Soterra. Boats are judged both on the skill of their crews in navigating the river as they race to the other shore and also on their craftsmanship, with each cardboard boat boasting a unique and fun design.
Of course, half the fun is wondering which of the colorful cardboard crafts will actually prove seaworthy.
“Some of them won’t make it more than six feet and some of them will make it all the way,” Severyn said.
The spirit fueling Oahe Days, from its concerts to its competitions, is one of local pride.
“This is our event, it is the event of the summer in Pierre, it kicks off summer officially and it’s what people look forward to year after year,” Sterling said.
Iain Woessner is the editor of the Capital Journal in Pierre, South Dakota. Iain can be reached by calling 605-307-5502, ext. 5012, or emailing Iain.woessner@capjournal.com.
A Wisconsin man has been arrested in Colorado in connection with a fatal north suburban hit-and-run earlier this year that left a 50-year-old woman killed.
According to the Winthrop Harbor Police Department, Travis Kern, 35, of Pleasant Prairie, turned himself into police in Lakewood Colorado on an arrest warrant. Kern was charged with two felonies, police said, and remains in custody in Colorado pending extradition proceedings.
About 11:10 p.m. on February 26, a pedestrian was struck in the 1400 block of Sheridan Road in Winthrop Harbor by a driver of a vehicle heading northbound. The vehicle then fled the scene, police said.
The pedestrian, later identified as Shanna White, 50, of Waukegan, was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.
According to court documents, Kern’s next scheduled court date is set for July 22.
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