On January 18, 2026, a group of protesters entered\u00a0Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during a Sunday worship service, chanting slogans against immigration enforcement and disrupting the congregation\u2019s time of prayer and praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, now an independent journalist, was present, livestreaming the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twelve days later, on January 30, federal authorities arrested Lemon in Los Angeles on charges including conspiracy to deprive individuals of their civil rights and interfering with freedom of religion under federal law known as the FACE Act (18 U.S.C. \u00a7 248), specifically for allegedly interfering by force or obstruction with someone\u2019s First Amendment rights to exercise religious freedom at a place of worship. Three others have also been arrested for their role in disturbing a church service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The basis for Lemon\u2019s arrest is that a person cannot commit a crime and then claim to be \u201creporting\u201d on it as a defense. Entering a private place of worship uninvited and contributing to the interruption of a service crosses into trespassing and disruption\u2014actions that are criminal regardless of intent or profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a Christian viewpoint, this incident strikes at the heart of what the church represents. The Bible describes the gathering of believers as a sacred, orderly act of worship. Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 14:40 that \u201ceverything should be done in a fitting and orderly way,\u201d and in verse 33, \u201cGod is not a God of disorder but of peace.\u201d To barge in, raise voices in protest, and halt a congregation mid-service disrespects not only the worshipers but the very purpose of the space: to encounter God in unity and reverence. Freedom of the press is vital, but it does not override the freedom of religion\u2014the right of believers to worship without interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What stands out positively here is the speed of the response. Federal charges were brought and arrests made within two weeks, a prompt application of justice. The Scriptures speak directly to this principle. The closest parallel is Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NIV): \u201cWhen the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people\u2019s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.\u201d When wrongdoing is addressed decisively, it sends a clear message: such actions will not be tolerated. Delayed or absent consequences embolden others to follow suit; swift accountability deters future offenses and protects the vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This case is a reminder for Christians: we are called to uphold both justice and mercy. The church should be a sanctuary of peace, not a stage for disruption. Authorities who act quickly to safeguard peace deserve recognition, as it reflects the biblical value of timely justice that preserves order and righteousness in society.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On January 18, 2026, a group of protesters entered\u00a0Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during a Sunday worship service, chanting slogans against immigration enforcement and disrupting the congregation\u2019s time of prayer and praise. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, now an independent journalist, was present, livestreaming the event. Twelve days later, on January 30, federal authorities arrested<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40,204],"tags":[308],"coauthors":[364],"class_list":{"0":"post-9601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faith","8":"category-persecution","9":"tag-police"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Don-Lemon.avif","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9601"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9658,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9601\/revisions\/9658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9601"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=9601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}