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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I was outraged when anti ICE protested disrupted a church service last week in St. Paul, Minnesota. They screamed at the pulpit and yelled at church-goers, even following some of them out to their cars. Protest leaders have been charged under the FACE Act, which makes it illegal to disrupt a worship service.
Among them is former-CNN host and now independent journalist Don Lemon.
He claims that he’s immune from prosecution because he was acting as a reporter, and was “embedded” with the protesters. His claim deserves at least some discussion.
Being a journalist is a constitutionally protected activity; Congress shall make law interfering with the freedom of the press. And the Constitution doesn’t define what journalism is, or who is or isn’t a journalist. Courts have held that someone writing a blog in their underwear gets the same freedom of the press that the New York Times does. Journalists don’t need a license; if you begin livestreaming from the scene of a car crash… you’re a journalist.
To my eyes, Don Lemon is a participant in the illegal church protest, not a reporter covering it. And journalists who embed themselves to get a story are not immune from illegal acts. If Don Lemon’s style of journalism disrupts a church service, he’s still committing a crime.
Whether he has any protections of freedom of the press will ultimately be decided in court. To me, Don Lemon has been such a bad actor over the years, that he’s hopelessly partisan. He lacks any objectivity that’s part of the reporting function. I’m perfectly comfortable with letting a jury decide.
Chris Conley
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