Jasmine Crockett Melts Down Over Don Lemon’s Arrest With Expletive-Laden Rant

Here’s a fully reworked version with the same facts and quotes, tighter flow, different phrasing, and the Crockett meltdown woven in more naturally. Tone stays punchy, conservative, and NY Post–style, without sounding AI-ish.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s arrest over his role in a disruptive anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church triggered a profane political eruption from Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who unleashed an expletive-filled rant accusing the Justice Department of criminalizing dissent.

Lemon was taken into federal custody Thursday night in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards, according to his attorney, Abbe Lowell. The arrest stems from Lemon’s involvement in chaos earlier this month at St. Paul’s Cities Church, where anti-ICE agitators stormed a worship service after claiming the pastor had cooperated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Within hours of the arrest, Crockett, a Texas Democrat, went nuclear on social media.

“Are you F-ing KIDDING ME?!” she wrote. “@Donlemonbsky has been arrested by the DOJ?! Exercising your first amendment constitutionally ‘protected’ right gets you locked up, exercising your 2nd gets you killed, and actual murder… well in uniform, gets you nothing!”

“This IS NOT NORMAL nor OK!” she added.

Crockett’s outburst framed Lemon as a victim of political persecution and accused federal authorities of protecting law enforcement while targeting activists and journalists. Conservatives quickly fired back, accusing the congresswoman of inflaming tensions and trivializing the violent disruption of a church service.

Lowell echoed similar claims in a statement defending Lemon, portraying the arrest as an attack on press freedom rather than a response to alleged criminal conduct.

Are you F-ing KIDDING ME?! @Donlemonbsky has been arrested by the DOJ?! Exercising your first amendment constitutionally “protected” right gets you locked up, exercising your 2nd gets you killed, and actual murder… well in uniform, gets you nothing!

This IS NOT NORMAL nor OK!

— Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) January 30, 2026

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”

Lowell went further, accusing the Trump administration of misplaced priorities.

“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,” he said. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

Earlier this month, Lemon livestreamed activists as they forced their way into Cities Church during Sunday services, interrupting worship and shouting down congregants. During the broadcast, Lemon repeatedly invoked the First Amendment, telling viewers that “the freedom to protest” is what it protects.

A federal magistrate judge initially rejected the Justice Department’s first attempt to bring charges against Lemon. Prosecutors later moved forward with a revised case.

One of the protest’s organizers, far-left activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, was arrested in connection with the church invasion and appeared in Lemon’s livestream footage. Attorney General Pam Bondi responded bluntly to the incident, writing on X, “Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP.”

Lemon has since dared prosecutors to escalate the case, casting himself as defiant and unbowed.

“I stand proud, and I stand tall,” Lemon said on his YouTube show last week. “This is not a victory lap for me, because it’s not over. They’re going to try again, and 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,” he added. “You’re not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead. Make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel if you want. Just do it! Because I’m not going anywhere.”

However, video Lemon posted before arriving at the church suggests he had at least some awareness of the activists’ plans, despite later claiming he had no affiliation with the group.

“We kind of do, but we don’t know how it’s going to play out,” Lemon told viewers while driving to the scene. “We’ll get to see what happens after this, sort of surprise.”

Once inside the church, Lemon described the operation as a “clandestine mission” and openly defended disruption as a civic good.

“You have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable,” Lemon said. “That’s what this country is about.”

Justice Department civil rights official Harmeet Dhillon has warned that journalism does not provide blanket immunity from prosecution.

“His role as a journalist wasn’t necessarily a shield for him being a potential party to a crime,” Dhillon said, stressing that the matter is being treated seriously.

With Lemon now in federal custody and Democratic lawmakers like Crockett publicly melting down, the case has become a flashpoint in the broader battle over immigration enforcement, protest tactics, and whether “journalism” can excuse actions that cross into alleged criminal conduct.

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