Transcript
All the Evidence Don Lemon Was a PARTICIPANT in the Church Disruption and Not a Journalist
From Megyn Kelly · Episode page · Watch on YouTube
· 14 min · 2,212 words · 32 timestamped sections
This is the full, timestamped transcript of "All the Evidence Don Lemon Was a PARTICIPANT in the Church Disruption and Not a Journalist", an episode of Megyn Kelly published January 30, 2026 (14 min, about 2,212 words). It mentions 4 people, works and ideas, including Don Lemon, Naima Levy Armstrong, NAACP Image Award.
What this episode is about
The content discusses the allegations that Don Lemon actively participated in a planned disruption at a church rather than simply reporting as a journalist. Key points include his prior knowledge of the event, interactions with organizers, and his commentary suggesting insights into the operation's goals and participants, indicating a level of involvement beyond traditional journalism.
Key takeaways
- Don Lemon's quest for clicks overshadowed ethical journalism, blending news with personal gain in a questionable act.
- Witnessing a planned protest inside a church raises questions: Is disruption for views ever justified journalism?
- Diving headfirst into controversial events only for views is the new 'clandestine operation' in media.
- The overlap of media and activism blurs lines—can a reporter truly stay neutral amidst chaos?
- Intentional disruption for higher subscriptions reflects a troubling trend in journalism: sensationalism over integrity.
Who speaks in this episode?
- Megyn Kelly (Guest) · 9 min speaking
- Don Lemon (Guest) · 4 min speaking
- Nika Levy Armstrong (Guest) · 1 min speaking
What is discussed, and when
- – 3:00: Don Lemon, Naima Levy Armstrong
- – 6:00: Don Lemon, Naima Levy Armstrong, NAACP Image Award
- – 9:00: Don Lemon
- – 12:00: Don Lemon
- – 13:35: Birch Gold Group
Notable quotes from "All the Evidence Don Lemon Was a PARTICIPANT in the Church Disruption and Not a Journalist"
So, this is Nika Levy Armstrong.
about Naima Levy Armstrong · atAt the top of the page, there are links on all four of the categories that we are nominated for the NAACP Image Award. Click on those categories and vote for you can only vote for one.
about NAACP Image Award · atLost, praying for their kids, praying to God to keep them safe. And in walks Don Lemon with his microphone, shoving it in your pastor's face as that pastor says, Get out.
about Don Lemon · atPurchases. To claim eligibility and start the process, just text MK to the number 989898. Birch Gold can help you roll an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in gold, and you are…
about Birch Gold Group · at
Who and what is mentioned in this episode?
People
- Don Lemon — Person · Referenced subject (journalist/host) being accused/criticized · 8 mentions · first at
Central figure in the segment: the speaker alleges Lemon knowingly participated in and amplified a planned church disruption while livestreaming and soliciting subscriptions. - Naima Levy Armstrong — Person · Referenced activist/organizer (Operation Pullup spokesperson in clip) · 2 mentions · first at
Identified in the clip as the person describing 'Operation pullup' as a 'clandestine operation' and positioned as an organizer/leader whose planning Don Lemon is alleged to have known in advance.
Places & events
- NAACP Image Award — Event · Referenced event · 1 mention · first at
Mentioned in passing as Don Lemon encourages viewers to vote for him in the awards.
Sponsors
- Birch Gold Group — Company · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at
Promoted as a financial service offering gold investment options, with a special rebate offer mentioned.
Full transcript with timestamps
putting that to the side. Um the guy was an active participant and he knew full well. He didn't just like say, "Oh, I I guess you know I've I've been given a tip to show up to some unknown location." He knew all about what the organizers were planning to do inside this church. He willfully entered the church knowing full well that the disruption was planned. The first example is Lemon at the meeting site with the protesters where he's kissing the organizer. They clearly know each other. They've been in cahoots. And you will hear him allude to knowing the details. He talks about how it's key that some of the agitators are what he calls MAGACoded. Watch.
They're getting the operation together. Again, this is um an operation that is secret that they invited uh folks out. Can't tell you what is going to happen, but you're going to watch it live unfold here on the Don Lemon Show. Um there are this for this reason looks the for this reason. Um it may look like MAGA coded. Um but there's a reason they have so many white people here. I'm just going to be honest. It's because of the the what they're the operation that they're doing today. It's important to have allies, as they said, white allies here.
Um so That is uh what I could say. I turned our camera off of them because they're giving some critical information here. How are you? Good to see you. We're we're on. We're not saying what what it is, what's going on, but thank you. Tell us why you're doing this.
So, this is Nika Levy Armstrong. This is operation pullup. More of a clandestine operation.
Okay. So, we're going to go to the operation again. We're not going to give any any of the information away. Uh as Nikima said, this is clandestine. the clandestine operation and then we can tell you what's going to happen afterward.
Now, let me say for the record, if if Don Lemon had stopped there and not gone in that church, he would have been fine. He would have been fine. It's fine. It's fine for someone to tell you that they're going to do something illegal and you as the reporter go there to film it from a place you're allowed to be and you don't take part in it. That we do that all the time. But he didn't. That wasn't good enough for Don because you see he needed YouTube subscribers. Do we have that clip, Deb? Where he's begging them, don't forget to subscribe.
Subscribe. Don't forget to follow. Subscribe. That's why he did it. It wasn't enough for Don to document from the place he was allowed to be uh what they were doing inside. And and hey, it would have been great tape watching the people run out, the woman with the broken arm, the crying children. I think Don really would have enjoyed that. But it wasn't good enough for him. He wanted to go in the church. He reminded people throughout his disruption. Subscribe. Watch. Look. We We actually cut the clip the other day. We never got to play it, but here it is.
So, if you're in the chat, if you're with us, support us. Support us. Support us in the church.
Like and subscribe. Become a member. Support independent journalism because we are uh we do it without fear of favor. I'm not afraid to do this. I like I told you it was going to be raw. Um, unscripted. We got stuck in the snow trying to get here. I had to produce it in real time. Go here. As soon as we walked in, almost perfect timing. The protesters stood up. Appreciate all of you, all of the new members. Uh, make sure you're subscribed. If you're watching us, make sure if you go to the YouTube channel, you can hit subscribe.
Just go to donlemon.com. donlemon.com. At the top of the page, there are links on all four of the categories that we are nominated for for the NAACP Image Award. Click on those categories and vote for you can only vote for one person. Vote for me.
So, he decided that he wanted to interfere with people's right to worship because it could really get him some good clicks. Like, there would be a personal benefit to Don Lemon, right? Some people went in there intentionally interfering because they wanted to intimidate ICE and ICE supporters. Some people went in there because they wanted to interfere because they thought they'd get clicks and subscriptions. They're both illegal. Did you intend to interfere? Yeah, you did. You knew what would happen. You fully intended to walk in there to walk down the aisle to interrupt the church service in progress. You fully knew. You 100% knew the payoff to you was different from the payoff to Nakima doesn't make your behavior any more lawful. In this next clip again, he's on the way to the location before it happens. And he accidentally reveals that he knows exactly where they're going and that it's a place of worship.
As Nikima said, this is clandestine, the clandestine operation. and then we can tell you what's going to happen afterward.
We don't know what's happening. We kind of do, but we don't know how it's going to play out. Okay. So, we are here now. Do you think if you just have it I think maybe if you just have it on the church, but they if they see me
Oh, whoops. They're going to know. No, I don't. It just depends. If they see me, they're going to know.
What? Don't name the location. I'm not blaming name and location, but I mean I mean
I'm just wondering if you see me I mean the folks inside see me. Are the congregants really on live instead of in service right now?
No, but they'll be like why is Don Lemon here? Oh yeah. Sunday morning. Sunday morning church.
Yeah. We need to surprise them like he's Well, what else? It's Sunday and we already said the church.
No, we didn't. Yes, you said it. Yeah. He He wanted it to be a big surprise. He wanted them to get settled in, to say their prayers, to connect with God. And look, I I go to church every Sunday. Think about think about your experience in that pew. You know, I I will share something with you. When I go, and probably just like a lot of you, when I go, the first thing I do when I get there is I say my prayers for my family and for people I miss, I think about my sister all the time who died a couple of years ago at age 58. I say prayers for her. I think about her. I I pray for my mom who's 84. And this journalist wanted to make sure people like me were doing that so he could burst in and surprise them. And his giggling producer is under arrest, too. So, he can right off with Don Lemon.
They didn't have a care for interrupting that holy moment that the individuals inside that church were probably having with God, with Jesus, with loved ones, praying for the people who are suffering, praying for the people who are hurt, praying for the people they've lost, praying for their kids, praying to God to keep them safe. And in walks Don Lemon with his microphone, shoving it in your pastor's face as that pastor says, "Get out. Get out." And his response is, "Trauma's part of the process. Trauma is part of it. Being disturbed is our first amendment right to disturb you." No, it isn't. That's where you're really wrong, Don.
About 30 seconds after the protest begins in the middle of the service, he details, of course, as we know now, knowing the protesters were there, uh, about this pastor, not the one who was actually delivering the service, but a different one apparently being a member of ICE. He knew that, okay? He knew that that was the reason for the protest. He knew because he was in on it. He was kissing the pro the organizer of the protest before it happened. He knew they were going to He knew everything. There wasn't a piece of this whole thing that Don Lemon wasn't in on in advance. And obviously he had no problem with any of it. Watch.
We do have some seats available in the sides here. The transcept open seats up here as well.
Video from outside. Hear the pastor. And there it is. Hey meta. Yeah. And there's Don. some activists are now the church.
This is happening surrounded the church on the inside. They have found out that one of the pastors like
in goes his producer here in the city in the area. This is a clandestine mission. I think they found out one of according to them, this is according to um Operation Pullup that one of the pastors here is uh a member of
Oh, how'd you know that, Don? Wow. Seems like you might have had advanced notice of everything. Where the church was, which church it was, when the service was happening, who the priest was or the the minister, and what his connections were outside of the It seems like you you kind of knew a lot. feels a little bit more like more than just, "Oh, gee, I had no idea I showed up where Nikima told me and then I just followed her inside." You knew everything. All right, you knew everything. We know that. Um, he here he is outside the church watching, in his word, traumatized parishioners leave. Is he upset that he participated in causing the trauma? Doesn't seem so. Doesn't really seem so. Watch.
Watch this guy here. Look, he's hugging his kid. Um, and you know, I I imagine it's uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here, but again, careful. It's very slippery right here.
It's uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here, but that's what really Careful, please. Really slippery. Not kidding. Um, that's what protesting is about. And so
that's what protesting is about, causing trauma to children. Isn't it ironic how he's sitting there? He's so worried about slipping on the ice. He's very worried about his own safety and that of his photog. And indeed, one broke her arm according to the federal affidavit in support of the arrests we saw earlier this week. Does he care about her? Did he care about the No. Trauma is part of it. Trauma is part of it. Well, guess what, Don Lemon? Now you're going to have trauma. It's your turn. He was arrested last night at the Grammys, some sort of Grammy related event. James Rosen is reporting that law enforcement sources tell Newsmax he briefly resisted arrest by Homeland Security FBI agents in LA last night after he'd been handcuffed in a Los Angeles hotel lobby lobby and was taken to an elevator.
Now, it's time for you to feel some trauma. and we don't feel sorry for you because unlike those poor parishioners, you actually did bring this upon yourself. You didn't know the law or you did and you flouted it. Either way, you're in a lot of trouble and it's thanks to your own terrible decision-making. Even knowing even knowing they were tra traumatized and they were crying and they were scared, you stayed. You giggled. You worried about whether you might slip and fall, but not about a single soul other than yourself and your photog.
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Questions about this episode
Who speaks in "All the Evidence Don Lemon Was a PARTICIPANT in the Church Disruption and Not a Journalist"?
Megyn Kelly (Guest), Don Lemon (Guest), Nika Levy Armstrong (Guest).
What is "All the Evidence Don Lemon Was a PARTICIPANT in the Church Disruption and Not a Journalist" about?
The content discusses the allegations that Don Lemon actively participated in a planned disruption at a church rather than simply reporting as a journalist. Key points include his prior knowledge of the event, interactions with organizers, and his commentary suggesting insights into the operation's goals and participants, indicating a level of involvement beyond traditional journalism.
What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?
4 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Don Lemon, Naima Levy Armstrong, NAACP Image Award. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.
How long is "All the Evidence Don Lemon Was a PARTICIPANT in the Church Disruption and Not a Journalist"?
The episode runs 14 min; the transcript is about 2,212 words in 32 timestamped sections.
More from Megyn Kelly
About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 31, 2026.