Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defended the arrest of former CNN host Don Lemon Friday in connection to his coverage of an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I don\u2019t think that\u2019s journalism. That\u2019s not [the] First Amendment,” Greene said of Lemon\u2019s involvement Friday on “Real Time with Bill Maher<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Friday, federal agents arrested Lemon<\/a> and charged him with civil rights crimes, including conspiracy to deprive civil rights and interfering with religious freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lemon livestreamed left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul’s Cities Church on Jan. 18 under the suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with ICE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greene appeared to be the sole defender of Lemon\u2019s arrest on HBO\u2019s late-night panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It\u2019s not good to arrest [Lemon],” Maher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former congresswoman pushed back on Maher\u2019s argument, citing the federal law that protects religious exercise at places of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Well, I\u2019m going to say he violated the FACE Act,” Greene countered. “He went into a church, disrupted their worship and then later in an interview compared them to White supremacists.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That\u2019s not journalism,” Greene asserted. “That\u2019s activism<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But does it warrant getting arrested?” Maher asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greene went on to argue Lemon joined “activists” in “harassing people” in the middle of church, provoking children to cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anti-ICE agitators targeted the Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday, shouting down churchgoers in the middle of services. Cities Church pastor Jonathan Parnell condemned the agitators in a statement on Tuesday. (Facebook\/DawokeFarmer2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Greene\u2019s fellow panelist and MS NOW co-host Joe Scarborough<\/a> took no fault with Lemon being “aggressive” in his reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I think there has to be sort of a differentiation between if somebody\u2019s going in there and saying, \u2018I\u2019m not with them, can I ask you some questions?\u2019”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because you\u2019re going to have embeds in war, you\u2019re going to have embeds in protests,” Scarborough continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He went on to claim Lemon\u2019s arrest was intended by the Trump administration to “scare” other journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Lemon remained defiant after a federal magistrate judge on Thursday rejected the Justice Department\u2019s attempt to bring charges against him. (The Don Lemon Show\/screengrab)<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Jan. 19, Lemon offered his team\u2019s explanation for how he became “the face” of anti-ICE protests in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “My producers said, \u2018Don, you’re a gay, Black man in America. And you have a platform, and you\u2019re the biggest name,\u2019” Lemon said on Jennifer Welch\u2019s “I\u2019ve Had It” podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He went on to blast “racist, bigoted homophobes” for singling him out after covering the protest in Cities Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Of course you’re going to be the person that they single out, and they’re gonna make the headline because it plays to their base, and their base is full of racist, bigoted homophobes like Nicki Minaj<\/a>, by the way,” Lemon added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The former CNN host was released without bond and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Minneapolis on Feb. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n