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In a recent public address, President Donald Trump took aim at former CNN anchor Don Lemon, criticizing him for joining left-wing protesters in a disruptive demonstration at a Minnesota church. The protest targeted a pastor affiliated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The incident unfolded on a Sunday at Cities Church in Minneapolis and was captured live on YouTube by Lemon himself. Speaking from the White House press briefing room on Tuesday, Trump expressed his disapproval of the events.
In the footage, a group of protesters interrupted the church service, chanting slogans such as “Hands up, Don’t shoot,” and “ICE out.” Lemon, while distancing himself from the protestors by saying he was “not part of the group,” nonetheless supported their actions, framing them as an exercise of First Amendment rights. “This is what the First Amendment is about, the freedom to protest,” Lemon asserted. “I’m sure people here don’t like it, but protests are not comfortable.”
Further explaining the motive behind the protest, Lemon mentioned that the demonstrators had targeted the church upon learning that one of its pastors holds a position with ICE.
He explained that the protesters had discovered that “one of the pastors” is a “member of ICE.”
The pastor in question is allegedly David Easterwood, who is reportedly the acting director of ICE’s field office in St. Paul.
“They’re patriots, and they have to be abused by guys like Don Lemon — who’s a, you know, loser, lightweight,” Trump said from the podium. “I saw him, the way he walked in that church, it was terrible.”
“I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm, he was so nice. He was just accosted,” the president continued, adding, “What they did in that church was horrible yesterday.”
The incident prompted the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate potential violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the “KKK Act.”
Rap star Nicki Minaj also called out Lemon in a fiery post to X:
“DON ‘COCK SUCKIN’ LEMON IS DISGUSTING. HOW DARE YOU?,” the recording artist wrote. “I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!”
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
