A churchgoer has slapped lefty activist news commentator Don Lemon with a civil suit for his alleged involvement in an anti-ICE mob that stormed a Minnesota church last month.
Lemon, 59, was arrested in Los Angeles for his role in the Jan. 18 takeover of Cities Church in St. Paul, which he joined with a few dozen local Black Lives Matter activists under the guise of acting in his capacity as a journalist.
In the suit, Ann Doucette claims the protesters’ storming of the parish — which happened during a Sunday service packed with families — left her with “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma,” and that the rowdy agitators deprived her of her right to freely practice her faith.
The suit, obtained by TMZ, also names Lemon’s fellow protesters, accused of interrupting the service.
The ousted CNN reporter allegedly linked up with a demonstrator who provided “logistics and local contacts in support of the operation,” the suit said.
In the chaos, Lemon “appeared to take satisfaction” as he livestreamed the event on his multi-platform show, according to the suit.
Lemon, who was arrested while covering the Grammy Awards on Jan. 30, insisted he was acting within his First Amendment rights while “chronicling” the protest.
Even so, he was charged with one count of conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship and one count of injuring, intimidating, and interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of worship.
He pleaded not guilty — and grandstanded about the “baseless charges” outside of the Minneapolis courthouse.
“The process is the punishment with [the Trump administration],” he said.
“Like all of you here in Minnesota, the great people of Minnesota, I will not back down, I will not be intimidated, I will fight these baseless charges, I will not be silenced,” Lemon continued.
The mob descended on the church because a pastor there, David Eastwood, moonlights as an acting field office director in St. Paul for Enforcement and Removal Operations at ICE.
In the weeks since Lemon and nine others were arrested in connection with the protest, he’s pivoted to demean the worshippers caught in the crossfire who “could not understand” his involvement.
“And I think they were looking at me, and because the bulk of the protesters were black, maybe they thought because I’m black that – and I kept saying, ‘I’m not a protester. I’m here covering the protest. I’m not with them,’” Lemon recounted on “The Jim Acosta Show.”
“And they were, you know, they just for some reason could not understand. So why they couldn’t figure that out, I don’t know.”
If convicted, Lemon could face up to a decade behind bars.
It’s unclear how much Doucette may be seeking in damages through the lawsuit.
