President Donald Trump criticized former CNN host Don Lemon on Tuesday for participating in a mob of anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters who stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday.
During a Tuesday press conference, Trump described ICE agents as “patriots” and slammed Lemon over Sunday’s storming of the church in St. Paul.
“They’re patriots, and they have to be abused by guys like Don Lemon,” Trump said. “He’s a loser, a lightweight. I saw him the way he walked in that church. It was terrible. I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm, he was so nice. He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible.”
In a video on X, formerly Twitter, Lemon can be seen giving the anti-ICE protesters who stormed the church donuts and coffee. One of the protesters was heard shouting, “Don Lemon is on the front lines right now.”
On Monday, Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon warned that she observed “various crimes” associated with Sunday’s incident at the church in St. Paul, including violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits individuals from intimidating or interfering with worshippers at a place of worship. Dhillon also suggested that Lemon could face potential charges for his participation in Sunday’s storming of the church.
“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” Dhillon stated. “He went into the facility, and then he began ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part of a criminal conspiracy, it isn’t.”
READ MORE: Pic: Minnesota Nat’l Guard troops to wear ‘reflective vests’ if activated amid anti-ICE protests
In a post on X, Dhillon issued a warning to the former CNN host, saying, “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service. You are on notice.”
Following his participation in Sunday’s incident in Minnesota, Lemon attempted to defend his actions in a viral video on social media.
“I have no affiliation to that organization. I didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them there. We were there chronicling protests,” Lemon said. “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was to report on it and talk to the people who were involved, which included a pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization. That’s it.”
“It’s called journalism,” Lemon added. “First Amendment, all that stuff, for all of you people who believe in the First Amendment, absolutists, there you go.”