Don Lemon Sued for ‘Severe Emotional Distress’ Over Minneapolis Church Protest

Don Lemon was sued this week with a group of protestors for “severe emotional distress” following the January “ICE Out” protest inside a Minneapolis church.

Churchgoer Ann Doucette claimed in a lawsuit filed Monday that the protest unlawfully interfered with her ability to freely exercise her religion and resulted in “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety and trauma.”

Lemon documented an anti-ICE protest that took place at a Jan. 18 church service led by the church’s pastor David Easterwood, an alleged ICE field officer, following the fatal shooting of Renee Good.

Douchette was in attendance during the protest and claimed in her lawsuit that the independent journalist did not simply livestream the event but that he “appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.” She added that one protester said on social media that they assisted Lemon with “logistics and local contacts in support of the operation.”

The former CNN anchor was arrested Jan. 30 and charged with one count of conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship and one count of interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. He pled not guilty to the charges and insisted that he exercised his right to the First Amendment as a member of the free press.

The churchgoer also listed activists Nekima Armstrong, Chauntyll Allen, William Kelly, Jamael Lundy, Trahern Crews, Georgia Fort and Jerome Richardson as defendants in the suit. She is seeking an unspecified amount for the claimed damages.

Following his arrest and release last month, Lemon shared that he does not see it as a set back.

“I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” he said at the time. “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 did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on Doucette’s lawsuit. TMZ first reported the news.

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