JD Vance Defends Trump DOJ Arresting ‘Dumbest Man on Television’ Don Lemon

Vice President JD Vance argued the Trump administration has a “rock solid” case against Don Lemon, saying the ex-CNN star violated federal law by not only recording but, as he claimed, actively joining in an anti-ICE protest that stormed a Minnesota church last month.

Vance shared his take on Lemon’s arrest during an interview with Megyn Kelly on Wednesday. The vice president mocked Lemon right after Kelly brought his name up, branding him “the dumbest man in television — formerly” before letting out a hearty chuckle.

“He’s trying to cloak himself in the First Amendment, saying this is an attack on freedom of the press. And you say what?” Kelly asked him.

“No one is objecting to you standing outside of a church and protesting, no one is saying you can’t protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies or frankly our policies on anything else,” Vance said. “What you cannot do is go into somebody’s house of worship and prevent them from exercising their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.”

Vance then referred to the FACT Act, which is a 1994 law that prohibits people from intimidating others at a house of worship or from interfering with a religious service; it also makes it a federal crime to use force or the threat of force to prevent women from getting abortions.

“We have a rock solid violation of the FACE  Act, which is you were sticking a microphone in the face of a minister during the church service while the people you were with preventing people from leaving,” Vance said. “That’s a violation of the law. That’s not about the First Amendment.”

His comments come after Lemon livestreamed the wild moment anti-ICE protesters ran into Cities Church in St. Paul and sabotaged a service on January 18. The protesters said they targeted the church because they believed one of the pastors was a federal immigration agent.

Lemon told one church attendee that he was “just [there] photographing, I’m a journalist,” but critics have questioned whether he did more to assist the protesters.

Before the incident, Lemon was seen giving a kiss to Nakeema Armstrong, one of the three protest organizers who was arrested, and he also passed out donuts and coffee to protesters. Lemon also stopped recording at one point so that he did not share details on the protest as the organizers spoke.

“This is what the First Amendment is about, the freedom to protest,” Lemon said inside the church. “I’m sure people here don’t like it, but protests are not comfortable.”

Lemon was arrested on January 30 in relation to the incident. He was hit with two federal charges, one for conspiring against the right of religious freedom at a house of worship, and another for interfering with the freedom of religion under the FACE Act.

The cable news veteran struck a defiant tone after he was released from custody last week.

“I’ve spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” Lemon said. “In fact, there is no more important time than right now this very moment for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.” Lemon’s arrest has sparked an outcry among free speech advocates who argue the Trump administration is trying to intimidate critics.

Watch above via The Megyn Kelly Show.

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