Don Lemon reacts to MAGA backlash over anti-ICE protest coverage: ‘We did an act of…’

Don Lemon faced criticism from MAGA figures for reporting on anti-ICE protesters at a church. He defended his actions as journalism.

Don Lemon has criticized MAGA figures for “losing their minds” in response to his reporting on anti-ICE protesters who invaded a church during a Sunday service.

Don Lemon faced backlash from MAGA supporters after covering anti-ICE protests in a church. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

The former CNN anchor broadcasted himself joining a group of demonstrators who interrupted a service at Cities Church in Minneapolis to protest against a pastor they claimed collaborates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This city has been the focal point of ongoing protests following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent during extensive immigration raids.

Lemon encountered demands from conservative figures for his imprisonment due to his coverage of the protest, an action he emphasized is safeguarded by the First Amendment. Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department and a prominent ally of Donald Trump, even cautioned Lemon: “You are on notice!”

In a video shared online on Sunday night, Lemon responded to the criticism and defended his reporting on the protest

“The MAGA administration and the fake news MAGAs are losing their mind over something that’s not even true,” Lemon said.

“I had no affiliations with that organization. I didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them. We were there chronicling protests. Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people who were involved, which included the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization. That’s it,” he added.

“It’s called journalism, First Amendment, all that stuff. All of you people who believe in the First Amendment absolutist, there you go. So why don’t you talk to the actual person who is in charge of the organization and whose idea was to have the protest at the church before you start blaming me for stuff for which you have no idea.”

“Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he remarked, imitating Trump’s preferred closing phrase.