Flashback: Don Lemon previously told Black, Brown citizens to carry guns in case ICE shows up
Don Lemon told Fox News Digital that he has received "a barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs," following his reporting of the protest. Getty Images © Getty Images
Posted For: MugsMalone
Following the Justice Department’s announcement that it is considering charges against CNN anchor Don Lemon for his alleged role in disrupting a church service in Minnesota, renewed attention has turned to past remarks in which Lemon encouraged Black and Brown Americans to legally arm themselves in case of encounters with ICE agents.
Lemon made the comments last October on The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, emphasizing that he was not “condoning or promoting violence” but expressing frustration over what he described as the federal agency “rounding [people] up off the street without due process.”
“If you believe in the Second Amendment, if you believe in the Constitution, Black people, Brown people of all stripes—whether you’re Indian American, Mexican American, or whoever you are—go out in your place where you live and get a gun legally. Get a license to carry legally,” Lemon said. “Because when you have people knocking on your door and taking you away without due process as a citizen, isn’t that what the Second Amendment was written for?” He added that his comments were meant to “knock some sense” into members of the Trump administration.
Lemon also criticized immigration policies under President Trump, saying, “Nobody is illegal. It is a misdemeanor to cross the border. Now, if you do it a number of times, then it becomes something else. But… there’s nowhere near the level of criminality, we have degrees of criminality in this country, and what Donald Trump did is at the highest level of criminality, except for taking someone’s life, and someone who is crossing the border is nowhere near that.”
Wajahat Ali defended Lemon’s remarks in October, suggesting that the discussion of Americans’ right to legally bear arms should not be controversial. “Don Lemon has a right to express his views in the United States of America thanks to the First Amendment, which is allegedly championed by the Trump administration,” Ali said.
The controversy escalated when Lemon joined anti-ICE protesters at St. Paul’s Cities Church, where demonstrators believed the pastor was cooperating with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Following the protest, the DOJ said it is considering charges against Lemon and other participants under statutes including the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act. Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ assistant attorney general for civil rights, stated on Monday that Lemon’s actions at the church were illegal. “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest,” Dhillon wrote on X. “It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws. Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service. You are on notice!”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also confirmed to Fox News that the DOJ was “absolutely investigating” Lemon’s conduct and dismissed claims that his actions were protected by press freedoms.
Lemon has defended his reporting, noting the public framing of him as the “face of a protest” despite the presence of other journalists. He also cited online threats and harassment from Trump supporters, saying energy spent manufacturing outrage could be better directed at investigating issues such as the death of Renee Nicole Good—the event that initially sparked the protests.
As of Tuesday morning, no charges have been officially filed against Lemon.
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