Former CNN host Don Lemon says he’s standing by his reporting after drawing intense criticism from rapper Nicki Minaj and a warning from the Justice Department following an anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, over the weekend.
Lemon told Fox News Digital that he has been unfairly “cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist,” and said he has faced “a barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs” online. The dispute flared after protesters entered Cities Church on Sunday. The church is led by Pastor David Easterwood, who is alleged to be serving as the acting ICE field office director in Minnesota.
Why It Matters
Immigration and border enforcement have been central to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda, following campaign promises in 2024 to pursue the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history targeting illegal migrants and criminals.
Minnesota has become a focal point in recent weeks amid increased federal enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Operation Metro Surge has led to hundreds of arrests, triggering widespread backlash.
Tensions have also escalated after two separate shootings involving ICE agents—one that killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, and another that left Venezuelan migrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis injured during an attempted detention.
What To Know
Anti-ICE protesters, organized by Black Lives Matter Minnesota, disrupted services at Cities Church on Sunday, chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” Protesters accused Easterwood of overseeing ICE operations they described as violent and unlawful. Easterwood’s personal information matches that of an Easterwood listed in court filings as the acting director of the ICE St. Paul field office. He also appeared alongside DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a Minneapolis press conference last October.
Lemon documented the protest for his independent YouTube channel, which he launched after being fired from CNN in 2023. He says he was reporting on the event as a journalist and did not know the group planned to target the church.
“I have no affiliation to that organization. I didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them there,” Lemon said in a video posted to Instagram.
Minaj responded online by calling Lemon a “thug” and demanding his arrest. She wrote on X: “DON ‘C*** S***** LEMON IS DISGUSTING. HOW DARE YOU? I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!”
Lemon then posted a lengthy video response, saying in part: “Nicki Minaj, stop talking about s*** for which you know nothing about. This is out of your depth. You are a homophobic bigot. You don’t care about African Americans and you’re not an African American. From what I know, you are reportedly an undocumented citizen so you should be deported under Donald Trump’s rules.”
Minaj, who was born in Trinidad, has in the past criticized Trump’s immigration policies. But during Trump’s second term, she has appeared to take a different public posture.
She addressed the United Nations in November as a guest of the Trump administration to discuss violence against Christians in Nigeria. She also appeared at a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event alongside Erika Kirk, the wife of late right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, where she spoke favorably of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon warned Lemon on X that he is “on notice” for potential Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act violations. Dhillon argued Lemon’s role as a journalist does not necessarily shield him from criminal exposure if authorities conclude he participated in “a criminal conspiracy.” She made similar comments in an interview with conservative YouTube host Benny Johnson.
What People Are Saying
Don Lemon told Fox News Digital: “It’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist—especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there. That framing is telling…If this much time and energy is going to be spent manufacturing outrage, it would be far better used investigating the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good—the very issue that brought people into the streets in the first place. I stand by my reporting.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, wrote on X: “A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! 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.”
Nekima Levy Armstrong, who leads the local grassroots civil rights organization Racial Justice Network and participated in this week’s protest, told the Associated Press: “When you think about the federal government unleashing barbaric ICE agents upon our community and all the harm that they have caused, to have someone serving as a pastor who oversees these ICE agents, is almost unfathomable to me. If people are more concerned about someone coming to a church on a Sunday and disrupting business as usual than they are about the atrocities that we are experiencing in our community, then they need to check their theology and the need to check their hearts.”
Monique Cullars-Doty, Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder, told AP: “If you got a head — a leader in a church — that is leading and orchestrating ICE raids, my God, what has the world come to? We can’t sit back idly and watch people go and be led astray.”
Minaj later responded to backlash over her criticism of Lemon, writing on X: “And I purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the c*** s***** to post about it. They would’ve all collectively ignored the despicable behavior displayed by Lemon head. I’m glad they’re angry. They’re about to get angrier.”
What Happens Next
The Justice Department is investigating possible FACE Act violations. Dhillon said “the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening and put people away for a long, long time.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said any violations of federal law will be prosecuted.
