Brian Stelter Says Don Lemon Clearly Knew Something Was Going To Go Down At Cities Church Disruption

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter pointed out on Friday that former CNN host Don Lemon knew the protesters at the church in St. Paul, Minnesota, had something planned before they disrupted a religious service.

Federal agents arrested Lemon on Thursday night in Los Angeles, California, in connection with the disruption of Cities Church on Jan. 18, which had been organized by anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters to demonstrate against the pastor for being an ICE official. While Stelter defended Lemon’s coverage of the incident, he stated that Lemon clearly knew that the protesters had planned to disrupt the service ahead of time.

“Don Lemon has said all along that he was there not as an activist but as a journalist,” Stelter said. “Infact, he was saying those words and repeating that out loud when he wasinside the church. But he clearly knew something was taking place that daywith the protesters. He told his viewers on YouTube to stay tuned because there was something about to happen. He was careful not to have his camera crew walkinto the church until there was a disruption. And I would urge people to goonline, actually watch the YouTube videos, see how it all went down.”

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Lemon has maintained that he committed an act of journalism by entering the church with the protesters. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said