Through early Wednesday, ABC, CBS, and NBC have only spent two minutes and 43 seconds on their lead morning and evening newscasts spotlighting Sunday’s stunt by a deranged anti-Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) mob — which included former CNN host Don Lemon — to disrupt a St. Paul church’s Sunday service. And, despite what the elite, liberal press would have you think, CBS News is anything but MAGA media as evidenced by their paltry 13 seconds on the harassing of congregants that’s drawn the attention of the Justice Department.
Out of a possible six newscasts (three evening, three morning), CBS Mornings has ignored the stunt meant to protest Renee Good’s killing and now drawn the interest of the Justice Department.
This left the 14 seconds to the CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil, which only mentioned it once in a single sentence on Monday’s show by correspondent Ian Lee:
The Justice Department late today said it will consider federal charges against anti-ICE protesters who interrupted a church service in St. Paul on Sunday, where they accuse one of the pastors of working with ICE.
ABC and NBC had nothing to tout either. ABC’s Good Morning America (22 seconds) and World News Tonight (29 seconds) each covered it once on Tuesday and Monday, respectively.
Amid two soundbites from the mayhem, here was what correspondent Matt Rivers said on Monday’s World News Tonight: “After anti-ICE protesters disrupted this Sunday service, the Justice Department says it's now investigating...Protesters targeting the church because one of the pastors is also the director of an ICE field office.”
Rivers was back for Tuesday’s Good Morning America, noting that “tensions [are] ris[ing] in Minneapolis as anti-ICE protesters disrupted this Sunday service demonstrating against a pastor who is also the director of an ICE field office, though it’s unclear if he was even there.”
Following a soundbite from the stream of co-ringleader William Kelly screaming at congregants, Rivers simply added “[t]he Justice Department is now investigating.”
NBC accounted for more than half the overall tally as, between NBC Nightly News and Today, the peacock network accounted for one minute and 39 seconds. Monday’s Today (18 seconds) was the lone lead morning show to cover it to cover it that day:
On NBC's ‘Today,’ @Maggie_Vespa was the only broadcast network correspondent to mention on the lead morning shows the anti-ICE mob storming a Minneapolis church service, tacking it onto the end of her piece (skip to the last 30 seconds):
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 19, 2026
“On the ground, tensions rising.… pic.twitter.com/rZ37q4RPqw
After there was no Monday Nightly News due to an NBA tripleheader, both NBC newscasts highlighted the incident.
Correspondent Maggie Vespa sucked up to one of the ringleaders — “civil rights attorney” Nekima Levy Armstrong — on Today (69 seconds) (click “expand”):
SHEINELLE JONES: The White House is now vowing consequences for Sunday’s high profile protests inside a Minnesota church.
(....)
VESPA: A civil rights attorney who was part of the church protest telling me she has no regrets. That’s despite the Department of Justice now vowing a federal investigation into that demonstration as tensions soar here in Minneapolis and nationwide.
(....)
ANTI-ICE MOB: Justice for Renee Good!
VESPA: Meanwhile, Sunday’s protests at a St. Paul church under an intensifying spotlight, demonstrators claiming a pastor at City’s Church [sic] runs local ICE operations.
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE [on FNC’s The Will Cain Show, 01/19/26]: What you saw there was anti-Christian, anti-law enforcement rioters storming a church.
VESPA: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arguing protectors broke federal law.
BLANCHE [on FNC’s The Will Cain Show, 01/19/26]: You are not allowed to stop people from worshipping. And you’re not allowed to intimidate or impede them.
ARMSTRONG: The church invited us in.
VESPA: Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was one of the protesters. She says federal authorities have not contacted her about an investigation.
ARMSTRONG: They need to be investigating Jonathan Ross for the killing of Renee Good, not trying to weaponize their power against nonviolent, peaceful demonstrators.
Come Tuesday’s Nightly News, Vespa had a 12-second aside about President Trump’s remarks hours earlier in the White House Briefing Room lambasting the mob:
VESPA: ....while President Trump slamming anti-ICE protesters who confronted parishioners inside a church where they believe a pastor works for ICE.
TRUMP: What they did in that church was horrible.
These numbers are in contrast to three minutes and six seconds through Wednesday morning across the same newscasts about video of an American citizen from Laos whom ICE dragged out of his home because, according to ICE, he was living with two illegal alien sex offenders.
In the case of ABC (76 seconds) and CBS (49 seconds), both have spent far more time on the supposedly viral images while NBC surprisingly has spent less time on this Laotian with 61 seconds on the board.
