‘I’m Not Naive’: Don Lemon Predicts DOJ Will Try to Charge Him Again, Calls Nicki Minaj ‘Racist’

The fired CNN personality, Don Lemon, says he does not believe the Trump Administration is going to give up on trying to prosecute him for his behavior at a Saint Paul church during an anti-ICE protest. He also shot back at rapper Nicki Minaj, who is a green card-holding Trinidadian, after she called for his arrest, saying that she is a “homophobe” and is “racist against black Americans.” He also questioned whether she is in the country illegally and said that black or LGBT Americans should not support her.Mr. Lemon’s defiant remarks came as an appeals court panel knocked down the Trump Justice Department’s appeal of a magistrate judge’s refusal to sign an arrest warrant.Earlier this month, Mr. Lemon became the object of national opprobrium when he and a crowd of anti-ICE activists entered Sunday services at a Saint Paul church and confronted one of the pastors. Protesters alleged that another one of the pastors worked with ICE. However, the government’s attempt to charge Mr. Lemon with a misdemeanor was rejected by a federal magistrate judge, Douglas Micko. Don Lemon is under investigation for crashing Sunday services at a Minneapolis church. Via XAfter Judge Micko’s decision, prosecutors asked Minnesota’s chief district judge, Patrick Schiltz, to revive the charges, which he declined to do. Prosecutors then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. On Friday, a three-judge panel on the appellate court rejected the Justice Department’s attempt revive charges against Mr. Lemon and four other protesters. One of the judges, Steven Grasz, a Trump appointee, said in a concurring opinion that he believed there was “clearly” evidence to support charges against the five individuals, but said he did not see evidence that the government had “no other adequate means of obtaining” the arrest warrants.”The decision by Judge Micko to refuse to sign the complaint, and the appeals court’s decision not to revive charges, is unlikely to spell the end of the government’s attempt to prosecute Mr. Lemon. The Justice Department could try to secure an indictment from a grand jury, or correct the procedural issues that led the court to reject the appeal. During an interview with Scripps News after the government’s attempts to obtain arrest warrants were rejected, Mr. Lemon predicted that the Justice Department would not give up on trying to charge him. “I’m not naive. I think they’re probably going to try again and again as they did with Tish James and Comey and everyone. If one doesn’t work, then they try something else, and that fails, and they try something else, and then they just don’t give up, because they, you know, they want to save face, but I don’t know what’s next,” he said. “I think it’s not over, because it doesn’t matter if there’s no law to fit, they will try to fit or retrofit something, or go around a judge and just do it themselves.”Don Lemon speaks to far left podcaster Jennifer Welch following the church incident. YouTube Mr. Lemon reiterated his defense of his actions, saying that he was “not a protester,” and that “all of the evidence” shows he was acting as a journalist. “I know I was the biggest name. And so if they get a Don Lemon, woohoo, that’s a victory, and also I’m the one who put the information out,” he added. While prosecutors consider whether to try again, Mr. Lemon has dared the Justice Department to charge him. In a video posted on YouTube, Mr. Lemon said, “They’re going to try again… And guess what? Here I am. Keep trying. That’s not going to stop me from being a journalist. You’re not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead.”“Make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel if you want,” he added. “Just do it. Because I’m not going anywhere… None of this is about justice. This is about power. And it’s about people who are incompetent. It’s not about justice.”Don Lemon speaks to the Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, during his reporting trip to the Twin Cities. The Don Lemon ShowSince his termination from CNN in 2023 after he made offensive comments about women, Mr. Lemon has been working as an independent broadcaster. He charges $6 a month for his Substack.The head of the Trump Justice Department’s civil rights division, Harmeet Dhillon, appeared to accept Mr. Lemon’s challenge to try to charge him again, as she shared the video on X, and wrote, “Okay.”Mr. Lemon’s comment about Jimmy Kimmel likely refers to ABC’s decision to temporarily suspend the late-night host over what it called “insensitive” comments about the shooting of Charlie Kirk. When Mr. Kimmel returned to the air, his program drew 6.26 million viewers, his largest audience in more than a decade. However, for the fourth quarter of 2025, he averaged 2.38 million viewers. President Trump has criticized Mr. Lemon for his “terrible” behavior at Cities Church, calling him a “loser” and a “lightweight.”

‘I’m Not Naive’: Don Lemon Predicts DOJ Will Try to Charge Him Again, Calls Nicki Minaj ‘Racist’

‘I’m Not Naive’: Don Lemon Predicts DOJ Will Try to Charge Him Again, Calls Nicki Minaj ‘Racist’

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