Don Lemon Arturo Holmes/WireImage Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment A defiant Don Lemon is daring the Department of Justice to make the former CNN anchor turned independent journalist "into the next Jimmy Kimmel" after he dodged potential charges stemming from his coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church over the weekend. Lemon, who was live-streaming on Sunday as a reporter alongside the St. Paul protest that has become a flashpoint for conflicts around ICE's presence in Minnesota, will not face charges after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko rejected the DOJ's attempt to arrest and charge him for his presence as protesters entered a church intentionally during services. The judge agreed with his defense attorney that Lemon, who was with a camera crew, was there to cover the demonstration in his capacity as a journalist and is protected by his First Amendment rights. Lemon interviewed the church's pastor and the demonstrators as part of his coverage. Related Stories News Don Lemon Claps Back at Nicki Minaj for Calling Him Homophobic Slur Over ICE Protest Report News Billie Eilish Speaks Out: "We're Seeing Our Neighbors Being Kidnapped, Peaceful Protestors Being Assaulted and Murdered" Three community organizers in Minnesota - Chauntyll Louisa Allen, Nekima Levy Armstrong and William Kelly - were taken into custody after Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered their arrests for entering the church during services. "I stand proud, and I stand tall. This is not a victory lap for me, because it's not over. They're going to try again... And guess what? Here I am. Keep trying. That's not going to stop me from being a journalist. You're not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead. Make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel if you want," Lemon said on his YouTube show Thursday night. "Just do it. Because I'm not going anywhere... None of this is about justice. This is about power. And it's about people who are incompetent. It's not about justice." On Thursday night, the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon replied on X to Lemon's statement to "just do it" and arrest him, writing, "Okay." Okay https://t.co/Exo4dFnww8- AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) January 23, 2026 As tension mounted around the church protest and calls to arrest Lemon for his presence inside the church were heard, he took to his Instagram page to show footage of his reporting to his followers, saying that what he did was merely an "act of journalism." In that clip, activist Nekima Levy Armstrong tells Lemon that the protest is meant to be a "clandestine operation" to "disrupt business as usual." "We were there chronicling protests," Lemon told his followers. "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. It's called journalism. First Amendment. All that stuff." Lemon's presence in the controversial church protest was noted by President Trump, who at a White House briefing on Tuesday called him a "loser" and "lightweight" while adding, "What they did in that church was horrible." On Thursday, fellow former TV news anchor-turned-podcaster Megyn Kelly expressed shock that Lemon wasn't charged on her show. "He got in the face of that pastor who made clear no one wants to talk to you," Kelly told her audience. "He kept pushing it. He's on camera saying trauma is part of the process. Being forced to feel uncomfortable is part of the process." The DOJ is reportedly weighing other avenues to charge the former CNN host following the magistrate judge's decision. The First Church was targeted as part of the protest after the leadership of the anti-ICE movement in Minnesota asserted that David Easterwood, one of First City Church's pastors, is working as the acting field director of the St. Paul Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Community activists have demanded that he resign from his role with the church, saying that a "dual role as a pastor and as a director of the ICE office is most definitely a conflict of interest, and it cannot stand." The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to verify any role Easterwood may have with ICE but did not immediately hear back from officials there. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek that "ICE will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers. Doxing our officers puts their lives and their families in serious danger." Tensions remain inflamed across Minnesota as the state remains at the center of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts, which ramped up fol