As a member of the press, I’ve been asked by a number of organizations to sign statements condemning the arrest of Don Lemon, who, depending who you ask, was either reporting on or participating in a protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota.
As yet I haven’t signed any statements because it’s not clear to me that Lemon was acting solely as a journalist. His reporting of the event is not objective, casts personal aspersions on the congregation and lauds the protesters.
I am a supporter of freedom of the press — obviously. But I’m also support freedom of worship (and of speech and all freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment). Competing rights are always tricky. Should the right to protest cede to the right of worship? Or vice versa?
To an extent, this was settled by law through the passage of the 1994 FACE Act, which prohibits “the use of force, threat of force, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, or interfere with individuals obtaining or providing reproductive health services. It also protects those exercising their rights at places of religious worship.”
Violations of the FACE Act have become all too real for the Jewish community — look at the synagogues in Queens and Manhattan where hateful protest lined the entrances to sacred buildings. As a free speech advocate, I don’t necessarily want to bar the protesters, but I’m also not going to pretend that they are not infringing on the rights of my co-religionists.
Just as democracy cannot survive without a free press, it cannot survive without freedom of worship. If Don Lemon is in on the planning of the protest, and lauds the disruptors in his reporting, excusing their infringement of the congregation’s First Amendment right, he’s not acting as a news journalist.
I admit, I’m not certain of Lemon’s role; I’ve read conflicting reporting, and a lot of it comes down to interpretation.
Living in foreign countries taught me an invaluable lesson:Never sign anything unless you fully understand and agree with what is written.
While I’m not signing any statements, I have no trouble saying that Iam deeply concerned about myriad First Amendment violations we are witnessing — from protesters being targeted by law enforcement, journalists being arrested and religious services being disrupted.
None of these bode well for democracy.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
© IJN 2026
