Daily Signal President Clashes With Ex-CNN Analyst Over Don Lemon Arrest
Daily Signal Staff /
Daily Signal President Rob Bluey sparred with media analyst Oliver Darcy on NBC News over the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who is facing federal charges related to a church invasion in Minnesota.
Lemon was on the scene with approximately 40 anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters who disrupted Sunday’s service at Cities Church in St. Paul. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that Lemon and others were charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy.
Bluey argued that Lemon participated in a “premeditated” disruption of Christian worship rather than legitimate journalism.
The exchange with Darcy centered on whether Lemon, who was indicted by a grand jury for his role in the church invasion, deserves First Amendment protection as a journalist or should face accountability for disrupting religious worship.
“Let’s stop calling it a protest. It was an invasion of a church service,” Bluey told NBC News anchor Tom Llamas. “Those people have the right to worship Jesus Christ, which they were doing, and Don Lemon was part of the group, premeditated, outside of that protest.”
Bluey pointed to video evidence showing Lemon meeting with organizers and activists before the church disruption, noting that Lemon “had advance knowledge of this” and “was not wearing any sort of press badge.”
Darcy, however, characterized the case as “an escalation of Donald Trump’s attacks on the press,” arguing that the administration is “weaponizing the federal government to go after perceived critics, whether it’s journalists, whether it’s universities or whether it’s law firms.”
The Church Disruption
Approximately 40 people entered the church Sunday during the incident. Children reportedly felt terrorized, one woman broke her arm, and the pastor repeatedly asked Lemon and others to leave. According to the indictment, Lemon was allegedly blocking the door, preventing congregants from exiting.
Llamas, the NBC News anchor, acknowledged that people have a right to worship safely.
“There should be a safe place in this country where you can go and you can worship whoever your God is,” Llamas said, “and these people clearly were there for a church service and it was disrupted and that can’t be lost in this conversation either.”
Cities Church responded to the news of Lemon’s arrest in a statement first provided to The Daily Signal.
“We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church’s mission to worship Jesus and make him known,” said Jonathan Parnell, the church’s lead pastor.
Renee Carlson and Doug Wardlow, the attorneys for True North Legal who represent Cities Church, added:
“The freedom to worship God without fear of violence and intimidation is a fundamental right that defines who we are as Americans. True North Legal and Cities Church are grateful that the Department of Justice is committed to upholding that freedom and is holding the agitators who invaded the church accountable.”
Selective Targeting or Accountability?
Darcy suggested the Trump administration was selectively targeting Lemon over the incident, noting that Trump had pardoned people convicted of violating the FACE Act in other contexts.
“I don’t even think Rob would deny that Don Lemon has gotten under Trump’s skin,” Darcy said, calling the prosecution “obviously selective targeting.”
Bluey countered by highlighting that media targeting isn’t unique to Trump, pointing to his own news organization’s experience.
“It was during the Biden administration when The Daily Signal had its press credentials revoked by the White House,” Bluey noted. “This is something that I don’t think you can pinpoint just because it’s Donald Trump.”
When asked whether prosecuting Lemon was worth Department of Justice resources given other pressing national issues, Bluey said the administration wants to “hold people accountable.”
“I think that they feel too many times in the past individuals like Don Lemon haven’t had that level of accountability,” he said. “So I think they’re trying to set an example here.”
Who Qualifies as a Journalist?
The debate also touched on the increasingly blurred lines of who qualifies as a journalist in the digital age, when anyone with a smartphone can document events and publish content.
Darcy acknowledged the difficulty: “The term journalist is pretty broad. I think in Don Lemon’s sense, though, given that he has had a 30-plus-year career, he was a top anchor at CNN, I think it would be very difficult to say that he is not a journalist.”
Bluey, however, pointed out that “Don Lemon was hardly the only person in that church who had a camera out and was documenting the event.”
“What makes Don Lemon any different from anybody else who could call themselves part of the media?” Bluey asked.
The case is expected to proceed to a preliminary hearing, where probable cause will need to be established before a judge. Lemon is represented by high-profile attorney Abbe Lowell.