Don Lemon attributed the criticism of his break-in at a Minnesota church with anti-ICE activists to "white supremacy"

CNN journalist and broadcaster Don Lemon suggested Monday that much of the outrage that arose after he accompanied a group of anti-ICE agitators who violently stormed a St. Paul church came from various "religious groups" who feel "entitled" to be white supremacists. Lemon, who for the past few days has been documenting the delicate situation currently unfolding in Minnesota following the death of Renee Good at the hands of an ICE officer, entered the Cities Church in the middle of Mass with the protesters on Sunday and began filming. In his videos of the moment, the now freelance journalist can be heard saying he counted on the "freedom to protest."

During an interview with Jennifer Welch, Lemon pointed out that, although he has already been notified by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for his actions, he defended his actions and assumed a victimizing position by assuring that all the reaction that has arisen against him is due to the fact that he is an "independent, gay, black, happy and successful man". Likewise, the CNN journalist assured that part of the ICE operations against illegal immigrants has to do with racism, commenting that "The whole point of it is they're detaining people on the streets because of accents and the color of their skin. And they're also targeting people of color and Black people, as well as Brown people, so there is a certain degree of racism there."

Elsewhere in the interview, Lemon said he was surprised to become the visible face of the anti-ICE protest, explaining that he was unaware of the protesters' plans to enter the church. Similarly, he commented that he perceived a "sense of superiority" on the part of some religious groups. "I think people who are, you know, in the religious groups like that, it's not the type of Christianity that I practice, but I think that they're entitled, and that entitlement comes from a supremacy, a White supremacy," Lemon said.