Don Lemon’s arrest this week over his role in disrupting a church service in St. Paul has laid bare what many conservatives have long suspected: elite journalists sometimes think they operate above the law. Federal authorities charged Lemon under statutes that include the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and civil-rights provisions after video and livestreams showed activists forcing their way into worship services — charges he insists are politically motivated and that he was simply reporting.
On her show, Megyn Kelly posed a pointed, necessary question: would the same “free speech warriors” who rushed to Lemon’s defense stand up if a conservative commentator did the same thing inside an abortion clinic? Kelly’s challenge cuts to the core of a double standard — if role reversal reveals hypocrisy, it is the job of honest Americans to call it out.
Conservative readers should welcome consistent enforcement of the law, not whine that it’s “selective prosecution” only when it hits their preferred targets. The FACE Act has long been used to protect access to medical facilities, and if the conduct at that Minnesota church meets the statute’s elements, the DOJ is right to act regardless of the political stripes of the defendant. Enforcement of laws shouldn’t be a partisan arm-wrestle; it should protect citizens and institutions equally.
That said, the broader reaction from the media and left-wing activists has been revealing and sometimes nauseating — reporters and pundits who extol the First Amendment suddenly become selective First Amendment advocates when one of their own is accused. Lemon streamed the protest live and his defenders argue journalism is a shield, but legal experts point out there are limits when reporting crosses into active participation in disrupting others’ rights. The law and common sense both demand accountability when actions interfere with worship or access to services.
Megyn Kelly’s rhetorical provocation is useful because it forces a thought experiment Americans should keep running until the double standard ends: imagine a conservative commentator storming into a clinic and livestreaming while protesters blocked access, then ask who would call that journalism and who would call it criminal. The predictable answer is that the left’s outrage machine would be instantaneous, and those same “free speech warriors” would be nowhere to be found. That cognitive dissonance is why conservatives must stay vigilant and uncompromising about equal application of the law.
Don Lemon’s legal team insists he was merely documenting events, and press-freedom advocates have mobilized to decry what they call a politically motivated prosecution. Reasonable people can and should debate where reporting ends and participation begins, but nobody on the right should automatically rush to spare a liberal media star from consequences if the evidence shows criminal conduct. The goal here isn’t vengeance; it’s the restoration of consistency and the preservation of both public safety and constitutional liberties.
This episode is a reminder for patriots who cherish free speech: defend the principle, not the person. Demand the same standard be applied whether the accused wears a red MAGA hat or a blue CNN badge. If America means anything, it means one law for all — and until the press and the public recognize that, voices like Megyn Kelly’s asking uncomfortable questions will be essential to keeping our republic honest.
