Don Lemon sued by parishioner over Minnesota church takeover during anti-ICE protest
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 9 months ago • 11 commentsBy: Story by Caitlin McCormack
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A churchgoer has slapped lefty activist news commentator Don Lemon with a civil suit for his alleged involvement in an anti-ICE mob that stormed a Minnesota church last month.
Lemon, 59, was arrested in Los Angeles for his role in the Jan. 18 takeover of Cities Church in St. Paul, which he joined with a few dozen local Black Lives Matter activists under the guise of acting in his capacity as a journalist.
In the suit, Ann Doucette claims the protesters’ storming of the parish — which happened during a Sunday service packed with families — left her with “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma,” and that the rowdy agitators deprived her of her right to freely practice her faith.
The suit, obtained by TMZ , also names Lemon’s fellow protesters, accused of interrupting the service.
The ousted CNN reporter allegedly linked up with a demonstrator who provided “logistics and local contacts in support of the operation,” the suit said.
In the chaos, Lemon “appeared to take satisfaction” as he livestreamed the event on his multi-platform show, according to the suit.
Lemon, who was arrested while covering the Grammy Awards on Jan. 30, insisted he was acting within his First Amendment rights while “chronicling” the protest .
Even so, he was charged with one count of conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship and one count of injuring, intimidating, and interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of worship.
He pleaded not guilty — and grandstanded about the “baseless charges” outside of the Minneapolis courthouse.
“The process is the punishment with [the Trump administration],” he said.
“Like all of you here in Minnesota, the great people of Minnesota, I will not back down, I will not be intimidated, I will fight these baseless charges, I will not be silenced,” Lemon continued.
The mob descended on the church because a pastor there, David Eastwood, moonlights as an acting field office director in St. Paul for Enforcement and Removal Operations at ICE.
In the weeks since Lemon and nine others were arrested in connection with the protest, he’s pivoted to demean the worshippers caught in the crossfire who “could not understand” his involvement.
“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,’” Lemon recounted on “The Jim Acosta Show.”
“And they were, you know, they just for some reason could not understand. So why they couldn’t figure that out, I don’t know.”
If convicted, Lemon could face up to a decade behind bars.
It’s unclear how much Doucette may be seeking in damages through the lawsuit.
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Let's see if Lemon can get another Minnesota Jury to nullify the first amendment again.
Call your lawyer Don.
Talkng about practising one's faith, I'm convinced that America has to be Heaven for lawyers.
I agree: We allow them too much influence over too many things, and we allow them to charge way too much.
Canadian lawyers are not permited to charge "percentage of award" fees - can only charge their hourly rate for time spent. I would have immediately retired on the 40% (although he shared it with court counsel) that the lawyer earned in the legal claim related in the Erin Brockovich movie.
I don't think it's clear that he wasn't with them. Just saying "I'm not with them" is not some sort of magic spell. In any case, whether or not he was, it still isn't legal to interrupt a church service like that. Even if the protesters were interrupting and interfering as protesters, he was interrupting and interfering as a "reporter." And what the hell does being black have to do with anything?
It really is hilarious to listen to those on the right declare how Lemon must be punished for daring to simply be among a crowd that did nothing but vocally interrupt a church proceeding right after these same rightwing conservatives cheered for the pardons of those who attacked capital police officers and broke into our capital to stop the certification of a national election. But please do go on about a non-violent interruption of a church proceeding that must require full prosecution of everyone even remotely involved! Welcome to our new fucking insane Christo-fascist nation.
What's hilarious is Lemon may have a problem.
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18 U.S. Code § 248 - Freedom of access to clinic entrances | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
Um, so you're saying that it's perfectly okay for protesters to go into a church service and protest? That no one should be complaining about it and, if they do, they must be Christo-fascists?
Did you watch any of the recordings/
But seeing is believing?
Journalists covering a war aren't worried about the legality of it, are they?
I especially liked the long interview with the tall, older, white man, while he got his coat scarf and hat together was very chatty, until he wasn't and accused lemon of obstruction as Lemon held the church door open for him so he could leave carefully in the snow.
Let me interpret that for you. Since the majority of the protester were not white, Lemon assumed, probably correctly, that most of the white parishioners would assume he was also a protester, because that is exactly how tribalism and racism works.
Pretty much all of it. From beginning until he finally left the property. I really found the part where Lemon himself said they should not go in. That they can't go in. But he went anyway.
Do you believe because you may be a "reporter" that you have the right to go wherever you please? How about protesters?
Yes, I remember that. It was several minutes after the pastor asked Lemon to leave the premises.
That's laughable, man. Seriously. Since that is merely projection on your and Lemon's part, the actual racism is being committed by you. They were mostly, if not all white in that church. Ergo, they must be racists, right? Doesn't matter that there's not one racist act or utterance the whole time they were there, or we'd have seen the video by now. It's just part of being white, right?
In actuality, the parishioners were probably just confused about what the hell was going on and would have had exactly the same reaction if every protester had been white. Lemon is just making stuff up because a. he's stupid and b. he knows what he did was wrong so he's going to say whatever he needs to in order to defend what isn't defensible.
You could have saved yourself a lot of typing and said "this is my opinion".