Left Melts Down Over Don Lemon's 'Outrageous' Arrest

The far left and much of the mainstream media lost it Friday after federal agents arrested former CNN anchor Don Lemon over his role in the takeover of a St. Paul church.

Lemon was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles and charged with federal civil rights violations stemming from an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a worship service at Cities Church on Jan. 18 in Minnesota, according to authorities.

Attorney General Pam Bondi flatly defended the arrest, stressing that Americans have the "right to worship freely and safely."

But Lemon's attorney, CNN, and other vocal liberals quickly cried foul, claiming the arrest amounted to an attack on the First Amendment.

"The FBI's arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment," the network said in a statement.

Lemon's attorney, Abbe Lowell, described Lemon's takeover of the church as "constitutionally protected."

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta echoed that claim, calling the arrest "outrageous" and declaring, "the First Amendment is under attack in America."

Jemele Hill of The Atlantic also had a meltdown.

"This is horrifying. I don't care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent, this absolutely cannot stand," she argued while ignoring religious beliefs of those affected by the takeover.

Those calls ignore worshippers' First Amendment right to gather for worship without disruption — protections reinforced by the FACE Act — a point conservatives highlighted in praising Lemon's arrest.

"For those saying this is criminalizing journalism, journalists don't get a pass when breaking the law just bc they have a mic," Megyn Kelly said in a post to X. "If I accompanied ppl storming an abortion clinic harassing/scaring/'traumatizing' the crying women while saying 'But I'm a reporter!' I would absolutely have been charged under any Dem admin."

Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross said the same.

"Don Lemon's media friends think his First Amendment rights supercede [sic] the First Amendment rights of the people at the church he and his fellow activists barged into," he said in a post.

"Don Lemon 100% deserved to be arrested," wrote Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet. "It was an attack on Christians, it was illegal, and he deserves to face the consequences like everyone else so that churches remain sacred and set apart."

But Obama-era alum Jon Favreau argued it was the manner in which Lemon entered the church that mattered.

"Lemon calmly walking into the church and interviewing not only protesters but the pastor and others, who had no problem with him whatsoever," Favreau said, forgetting that the pastor of the church leading the service, Jonathan Parnell, told Lemon his presence was "unacceptable and shameful."

It's "shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship," Parnell told Lemon, who attempted to justify the takeover by responding, "I'm a Christian."

Likewise, Amanda Carpenter ignored that Cities Church Pastor Parnell did not want Lemon and the protesters there.

"I don't agree with going into the church like this but Lemon had a camera and interviewed the pastor. This arrest is a disgrace," she said in a post.

Conservative podcaster Mark Levin said Lemon was part of an "organized mob" that "stormed a church."

"He can claim he was merely reporting but he was not. Even if he was, he still intentionally joined in the disruption of the church service. And he obviously knew beforehand what was going to take place. Lemon was not targeted. He was doing the targeting," Levin said in a post.

Said Christian conservative voice Erick Erickson: "The media meltdown over Don Lemon's arrest confirms what we've always known: They think they are above the law."