As of Friday, former CNN host Don Lemon has been able to avoid being arrested for his role in a Sunday takeover of a St. Paul church service thanks to some judicial activism. Reacting to everything on his Thursday podcast, Lemon patted himself on the back for his role in the incident while accusing his critics of “homophobia and racism.”
While Lemon has thus far avoided legal problems, the leaders of Sunday’s incident have not been so lucky. Responding to certain criticisms that everyone involved violated the same law that the left uses to prosecute people who block the entrances to abortion clinics, Lemon insisted that not only is he immune, but his friends should be as well:
I wasn't a protester. And everybody knew that if my name was in it, that it would be big news. 'Oh my God, we got this one.' And not the people who are on the ground who are doing great work, meaning the journalists who are there, not the protesters. That's a whole different thing. People can protest, they have their First Amendment rights. And they are allowed to protest, but I was not a protester, nor am I a protester.
You do not have a right to invade private property and make a nuisance of yourself. Later, Lemon welcomed Monique Pressley to the show, who, despite being a former law professor, falsely stated the church was a “public space.”
Don Lemon insists that he shouldn't be charged for the church storming in St. Paul "I wasn't a protester" and that his critics are, yup, you guessed it "rooted in homophobia and racism." pic.twitter.com/2RzfLqf5eg
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) January 23, 2026
As for Lemon, he insisted that he’s a simple journalist while giving an ode to himself:
What I do is bring people the story. And that's it. And so, over the last couple of years since I've left CNN, I did—I could have just sat on my laurels. And I said, “You know what, I need to have a voice during this election.” And so I started The Don Lemon Show on the Don Lemon Channel on YouTube.
And it has been a learning experience. Everybody's like, ‘Oh, you suck, you're not gonna do this.’ We have grown so quickly that YouTube is shocked. That all of our platforms are shocked. That the media industry is shocked. Over a million subscribers, and that's just on one platform.
So, I'm very proud of what I've done and I will always be a journalist and I will always tell you the truth. I don't care. I don't care what it is. I will always tell you the truth. When I was at CNN, people used to get mad at me, my—black people, gay people, everybody. ‘Who are you? You're not standing up for us.’
I'm like, ‘I'm just, I'm just giving you the truth. I'm sorry if that doesn't line up. I'm sorry.’
Lemon’s descent into becoming a professional crazy person culminated when he claimed to understand what really motivates his critics, “I get the history of this country. I get that we come from a history of slavery. I get that we come from a history and a present of slavery and homophobia. I get that. All of—most of the things, if you read the criticism about me, most of it is just look at it, it's rooted in homophobia and racism.”
Unfortunately for Lemon, he’s on video contradicting himself on just how much he knew before the crowd stormed the church. Lemon may try to portray himself as a journalist, but he’s just an activist with a camera.
Here is a transcript for the January 22 show:
The Don Lemon Show
1/22/2026
DON LEMON: I wasn't a protester. And everybody knew that if my name was in it, that it would be big news. “Oh my God, we got this one.” And not the people who are on the ground who are doing great work, meaning the journalists who are there, not the protesters. That's a whole different thing. People can protest, they have their First Amendment rights. And they are allowed to protest, but I was not a protester, nor am I a protester.
What I do is bring people the story. And that's it. And so, over the last couple of years since I've left CNN, I did—I could have just sat on my laurels. And I said, “You know what, I need to have a voice during this election.” And so I started The Don Lemon Show on the Don Lemon Channel on YouTube.
And it has been a learning experience. Everybody's like, “Oh, you suck, you're not gonna do this.” We have grown so quickly that YouTube is shocked. That all of our platforms are shocked. That the media industry is shocked. Over a million subscribers, and that's just on one platform.
So, I'm very proud of what I've done and I will always be a journalist and I will always tell you the truth. I don't care. I don't care what it is. I will always tell you the truth. When I was at CNN, people used to get mad at me, my—black people, gay people, everybody. “Who are you? You're not standing up for us.”
I'm like, “I'm just, I'm just giving you the truth. I'm sorry if that doesn't line up. I'm sorry.” I understand. I get nuance. I get the history of this country. I get that we come from a history of slavery. I get that we come from a history and a present of slavery and homophobia. I get that. All of—most of the things, if you read the criticism about me, most of it is just look at it, it's rooted in homophobia and racism.
