Minneapolis Pastor Tells Reporter Don Lemon Was ‘In On The Terror’ During Church Protest
A federal indictment has thrust former CNN host Don Lemon into the center of a volatile legal and cultural clash after authorities charged him in connection with the January 18 disruption of a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon has pleaded not guilty, maintaining he was present in a journalistic capacity to cover what he describes as a protest. But the church’s pastor paints a far darker picture — one he says crossed the line from demonstration into intimidation.
Jonathan Parnell, pastor of Cities Church, recounted the incident in an essay for WORLD magazine. According to Parnell, several individuals scattered throughout the sanctuary abruptly rose during the worship service and converged toward the front, chanting slogans and raising clenched fists. When shouts of “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” echoed through the church, congregants reportedly fled in fear, believing an active shooter situation might be unfolding.
The disruption, Parnell wrote, was not spontaneous dissent but a coordinated spectacle meant to provoke and intimidate. He described agitators confronting worshippers, shouting accusations, and allegedly harassing congregants over their ethnicity. According to the federal indictment, between 20 and 40 individuals refused to leave when asked and declared, “Who shut this down? We shut this down!”
🚨WHY LEMON WAS CHARGED
Can we please stop lying around here? Here’s the grand jury indictment laying out why Don Lemon was charged.
At the pre-op briefing Chauntyll Louisa Allen briefed Lemon and the other conspirators about where and what they were doing.
On camera, Nekima… pic.twitter.com/gHuN6Q4ZM9
— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) January 31, 2026
The indictment charges nine individuals, including Lemon, with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act — which also protects houses of worship — and the Ku Klux Klan Act, which prohibits conspiracies to deprive Americans of their constitutional rights, including the free exercise of religion.
Federal prosecutors allege Lemon coordinated with protest organizers prior to the incident, discussed plans to “disrupt business as usual,” and concealed the church’s identity during a livestream before the disruption began. Once inside, according to the indictment, Lemon questioned Pastor Parnell while others surrounded him, and later described congregants as “frightened” and “crying,” acknowledging the experience was “traumatic and uncomfortable” — which prosecutors claim was the intended effect.
Parnell, though not naming Lemon directly in his published account, wrote that the man who confronted him “did not leave” when asked and was “in on the terror.” He described the group’s actions as a defilement of a sanctuary — a place he characterized as a refuge for families and children.
Supporters of Lemon, including some elected Democrats, argue the charges are politically motivated and intended to intimidate journalists covering controversial immigration enforcement policies. They contend the administration is using federal law to chill media scrutiny.
Yet legal counsel for Cities Church disputes that characterization. Renee Carlson, general counsel for True North Counsel, stated that journalistic credentials do not provide immunity from trespass or coordinated disruption of religious services. “There is no ‘press pass’ to invade a sanctuary or to conspire to interrupt religious services,” she said.
The case now moves to federal court, where prosecutors will be required to prove intent and coordination beyond a reasonable doubt. The legal stakes are significant, particularly given the rare invocation of the Ku Klux Klan Act in modern prosecutions.