A St. Paul church member has filed a civil suit that names former CNN anchor Don Lemon and several others over the January 18, 2026 disruption of a Cities Church worship service in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The protest took place during a Sunday service at Cities Church, a Southern Baptist congregation, when demonstrators entered the sanctuary and chanted slogans including “ICE out!” and “Justice for Renee Good.”
The phrase “Justice for Renee Good” referenced a local anti-ICE agitator who was shot while attempting to run over a federal agent last month.
Protesters said they targeted the church over rumors that one of its pastors had served as acting director of the ICE field office in St. Paul.
Several agitators allegedly made open threats while others blocked children from exiting the building.
Multimedia and exhibits referenced in reporting are included here:
NEW: Completely unhinged liberal lunatic starts screaming at Christians trying to worship at a church in Minnesota.
“As you can see, all these pretend Christians, all these comfortable white people who are living lavish, comfortable lives…”
“Touch me again and see what… pic.twitter.com/jUCi2HYTVH
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 18, 2026
Lawsuit details
Ann Doucette, who attended the service, filed the civil complaint in Minnesota District Court on February 23 and listed as defendants Nekima Levy Armstrong, Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, Will Kelly, Chauntyll Allen, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews, Jamael Lundy, and other individuals associated with the protest.
Doucette alleges the defendants “unlawfully interfered” with her ability to “freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship.”
The filing states demonstrators “spread through the pews, raised their voices and confronted clergy while congregants watched.”
The churchgoer says she suffered “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” as a result of the disruption.
The complaint also asserts that Lemon “appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption” while livestreaming portions of the event and notes one protester publicly said they had assisted Lemon with “logistics and local contacts in support of the operation.”
Doucette filed the suit without counsel and is seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages along with a court order barring the defendants from entering Cities Church or disrupting future services there.
Related documents and exhibits are provided here:
BREAKING🚨: A church attendee at The Cities Church in St. Paul has filed a lawsuit against Don Lemon and other protesters, claiming their disruption during a service caused her severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma. pic.twitter.com/mJmDTPnf2u
— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) February 25, 2026
Federal charges and statute
Lemon and several others named in the civil suit are already facing federal charges tied to the same January 18 incident, according to a January 29 indictment.
The indictment alleges that “after the service commenced, a group of approximately 20-40 agitators, including all of the defendants named in this Indictment, entered the Church in a coordinated takeover-style attack and engaged in acts of oppression, intimidation, threats, interference, and physical obstruction alleged herein.”
All nine defendants named in the indictment face 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 in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
The FACE Act bans the use of force, threats of force, or physical obstruction to intentionally interfere with a person’s exercise of religious freedom at a place of worship, and it was previously used by the Biden-controlled Justice Department to bring federal charges against pro-life activists.
