On Sunday morning, disgraced former CNN host Don Lemon joined a mob of anti-ICE protesters invading the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they interrupted the service to protest, believing that one of the pastors works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
There are quite a few videos of the scene that have been circulating on social media, but one of the most infuriating videos I’ve seen is Lemon’s confrontation with one of the church’s pastors, during which Lemon asserted that the protesters had every right to be there.
The confrontation began when Lemon asked, “What do you think of this?”
The pastor responded bluntly. “I mean, this is unacceptable. It’s shameful. It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship,” he said.
As Lemon tried to interject, the pastor cut back in, emphasizing his responsibility to those under his care. “I have to take care of my flock and my family and my neighbors,” he said.
That’s when Lemon invoked the Constitution.
“Okay, but listen,” he said. “There’s a constitution and a First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest.”
The pastor returned to his central point, repeating that the church’s purpose was worship. “We’re here to worship. We’re here to worship Jesus because that’s the hope of these cities, that’s the hope of the world is Jesus Christ,” he said. “We’re, we’re here, we’re here to worship Jesus. That’s why we’re here. Okay? That’s why we’re here. That’s what we’re about.”
But Lemon continued to insist that the church should have been more understanding toward the protesters.
Lemon then tried a different approach, appealing to Christian compassion. “Don’t you think Jesus would be understanding and… and love these folks?”
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Think about this for a moment. According to Mr. Lemon, the protesters had every right to barge into the church because they had the right to protest. On top of that, they should have been happy about it.
Think for a moment about what Lemon is implying here. According to his logic, you can enter any building and cause havoc under the guise of free speech.
Let’s get this out of the way: Protesters do not have the right to barge into a church and disrupt services. While the First Amendment protects free speech and the right to protest, those rights are not unlimited. Private property—such as a church—is protected by the law, and the congregation has a right to worship without interference.
Entering a church uninvited and engaging in demonstrations could, at the very least, be considered trespassing, disorderly conduct, or even disturbing the peace. To argue otherwise would be to suggest that the First Amendment means that any privately owned building is available to protesters to enter and demonstrate in.
Is that really what Don Lemon believes? If so, I’m curious where he lives. By his logic, any angry group with a cause could march into his house, set up a protest in his living room, and he’d have to stand there and take it. After all, stopping them would violate their free speech. A church may be a public building, but it is private property, just like Lemon’s house is.
Let’s be honest: Nobody actually believes that. And deep down, Don Lemon doesn’t believe it either. And it looks like he’s about to learn the hard way that his theory about the First Amendment is pure garbage.
