When it comes to journalism issues, here is what news consumers want to know about that invasion of a worship service at the Cities Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in St. Paul, Minn.
Yes, we are dealing with questions raised during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast. Ready to stroll into this minefield?
During his gonzo reporting livestream of the protest that drove worshippers out of the church, was the former CNN anchor Don Lemon acting as:
* A journalist?
* An anti-ICE activist working in cooperation with the protestors? In other words, he was a co-conspirator in a protest that violated a federal law that, among other things, forbids actions that injure, intimidate or interfere those gathered for worship in a religious sanctuary.
* An “activist” journalist who, in terms of “letting his freak flag fly” stance, was giving his small choir of liberal online viewers precisely the content that they wanted to see and hear?
* An activist journalist who, even though he streamed live video content appearing to show his cooperation (even strategic input) with the anti-ICE protestors, is now claiming that he was “just doing his job” an old-school, fair-minded journalist? Thus, terrible people who want him punished can all %^& %$#! Is that clear?
As you would expect, mainstream news outlets have radically different takes on what went down in this case. At the New York Times, the headline said: “Protest at Minnesota Church Service Adds to Tensions Over ICE Tactics.” Here is some of the key information:
Protesters interrupted a Sunday church service in St. Paul, Minn., over a pastor’s apparent work as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official, escalating tensions between Minnesota residents and the Trump administration after an immigration agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis.
Videos posted on social media show protesters chanting at the Cities Church — including calls for “ICE out” — and bringing the service to a halt. Congregants are seen moving to leave the church as the chants continue and worship music begins to play. …
The church protest over the weekend was organized by Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer. She said she wanted to draw attention to a church leader, David Easterwood, who also appears to be the acting director of ICE’s field office for enforcement and removal operations in St. Paul, and who is named in a lawsuit challenging aggressive enforcement tactics.
So, under Associated Press Style, are we talking about David Easterwood or the Rev. David Easterwood?
Some media reports seemed to think that Easterwood was the minister leading the worship service — which was not the case. The service was led by the Rev. Jonathan Parnell, who is a missionary with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. In this case, it wasn’t even clear, as the Times noted, that Easterwood was even present during this service.
To further complicate matters, the Cities Church website indicates that it has eight “pastors” and “elders.” What does that mean at a modern Southern Baptist church in the far noroth that doesn’t even have “Baptist” in its name? Is Easterwood an ordained minister or not? That’s an important question, methinks.
Needless to say, the emphasis was rather different at The New York Post, where Lemon — a Black gay journalist fired from CNN — was at the center of the drama. The headline stressed information contained in his own lifestream of the protest that crashed the church service: “Video proves Don Lemon was embedded with anti-ICE agitators before they stormed church — despite claiming ‘no affiliations’.”
Don Lemon admitted he was embedded with anti-ICE agitators in Minneapolis and knew of their plans before they burst into a St. Paul church during Sunday services — despite claiming he was there as a journalist and had no advance knowledge of what was going down.
Speaking on camera from a snowy parking lot in the Twin Cities, Lemon said he had done some “reconnaissance” with activist groups ahead of the storming of Cities Church.
By the end of that article, public statements from Lemon had changed:
“I had no affiliations with that organization. I didn’t even know they were going to this church until we followed them. We were there chronicling protests,” he said in direct contradiction of his previous assertions.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people who were involved, which included the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization. That’s it.”
The key to what happens next? That depends on what courts do with the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which was created to protect abortion facilities — but also explicitly prohibits the use of force, threats or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or interfere with anyone attempting to exercise the First Amendment right to worship or practice religious beliefs.
In his public statements, Lemon also tied his actions to his own religious beliefs. Again, The New York Post focused on the content of his public remarks.
Don Lemon is doubling down after being caught red-handed conspiring with anti-ICE radicals who raided a Sunday church service in St. Paul, casting blame on the parishioners whom he labeled “entitled” and accusing them of “white supremacy.”
“I think people who are in religious groups like that — it’s not the type of Christianity that I practice — but I think they’re entitled, and that entitlement comes from white supremacy,” Lemon said of Minnesota’s Cities Church in a jaw-dropping interview with lefty “I’ve Had It” podcaster Jennifer Welch.
“They think this country was built for them, that it’s a Christian country.”
In terms of the church’s response to this event, journalists and news consumers may want to follow the coverage at Baptist Press, the official Southern Baptist information office. Here is one update:
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says she has spoken to a Minnesota pastor following a disruption by protestors during Cities Church’s morning worship service Jan. 18.
“Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Bondi wrote on X late Sunday night.
“If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails,” she said.
In a statement released Monday morning (Jan. 19), North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell said, “North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionary Jonathan Parnell was leading worship services this Sunday at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., when a group of protesters forcibly disrupted worship, barging into the church building and violating the sanctuary by shouting, blowing whistles, and intentionally interrupting ongoing services.”
During this tense moment in journalism, will Southern Baptist leaders return telephone calls from elite newsrooms or will they choose to speak to “conservative” and “religious” publications, alone?
So many journalism questions need to be answered, starting with this one: “What is journalism, anyway?”
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Transgressions from the Left always ratchet up and not down. So we can expect more of these incidents of people interrupting church services and we can expect them to become more aggressive. The federal government will do nothing about it. So churches need to be prepared.