Donald Trump Joins The Calls For Don Lemon's Imprisonment Over Minnesota Church Protest

Donald Trump seems inclined to throw the book at Don Lemon following his decision to livestream an anti-ICE protest.

The drama began on Sunday, January 18, when the former CNN anchor shared video footage of a protest at a Minnesota church. The demonstration disrupted the morning service, sparking anger across the country.

Many have called for Don Lemon's punishment, including Nicki Minaj, because they believed his actions were not only insensitive but illegal. It seems Donald Trump shares the same thoughts, given his heated reaction on his social media platform.

A day after Lemon's actions went viral, Trump addressed the situation on his Truth Social platform. He reshared a post from an account called "MoniFunGirl," which argued that the reporter's actions had violated the FACE Act.

The post claimed that a group of elderly women once protested at an abortion clinic and were given 40 years in prison for violating the FACE Act. "I would like to see the same kind of sentence for Don Lemon and the people that broke into that church and did that during services," the individual wrote.

Although Trump did not drop an additional comment, his decision to reshare these words might imply he would take legal action against Lemon. He echoed similar sentiments about imprisonment in a separate post, where he condemned the anti-ICE protests with biting remarks.

Trump did not hold back his displeasure hours after resharing the post about Lemon. Although he did not mention the reporter's name, it was clear the president wished to punish everyone involved in the Minnesota church protest.

He slammed the demonstrators as "agitators and insurrectionists," arguing that they were professionals based on their actions in the video he watched. "They are highly trained to scream, rant, and rave, like lunatics, in a certain manner," Trump wrote.

"They are troublemakers who should be thrown in jail, or thrown out of the Country," the White House head added. He also used the opportunity to slam some of his famous critics, claiming Minnesota reps Tim Walz and Ilhan Omar needed to be investigated for corruption.

Following Lemon's coverage of the anti-ICE protest at the Church, the Department of Justice responded with threats of punishment. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon shared her thoughts on X, stressing that a house of worship should never be used for demonstrations.

"It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!" Dhillon explained. She also came for Lemon, revealing he had been placed "on notice" by the DOJ because he could not hide behind his First Amendment rights.

Dhillon argued that the First Amendment did not protect Lemon's "pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service." She doubled down on her stance while speaking to conservative YouTube host Benny Johnson, revealing the different ways Lemon could be prosecuted.

Johnson shared a snippet of his interview with Dhillon on X, where the Assistant Attorney General shared the DOJ's intentions to punish everyone involved in the Church protest. She revealed Lemon and the protesters could be prosecuted under the FACE Act or the KKK Act.

The FACE Act stops people from "lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship." On the other hand, the KKK Act protects people from being denied "any of the rights, privileges, or immunities, or protection, named in the Constitution."

Dhillon argued that the KKK Act applied in the Minnesota church protest because the demonstration violated the civil rights of churchgoers. "Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down," she told Johnson.

Following the DOJ's threats, Lemon told Fox News Digital that he was being painted as the face of the protest when he had only been working as a journalist. He claimed he was on the receiving end of "violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs" from MAGA supporters.

Lemon's words seemed to reference Nicki Minaj's reaction to his protest coverage. The Blast covered the story, reporting that she had penned a heated message to the reporter on X. Her words included what some saw as a homophobic slur.

Minaj had described Lemon as a "c-ck sucker," an insult which could be tied to his status as a gay man. The "Super Bass" rapper slammed him as "disgusting" and called for his imprisonment, arguing that he would have respected other religions.

Will Don Lemon be prosecuted for the Minnesota church protest?