JD Vance Justifies Don Lemon’s Arrest: ‘The Dumbest Man on Television’ | Video

JD Vance continued to justify Don Lemon’s arrest on Wednesday with a First Amendment argument of his own.

While on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the vice president supported the journalist’s arrest following his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that entered a church last month. While Lemon is arguing the arrest violates his First Amendment rights, Vance insulted the journalist and said he infringed on the churchgoers’ rights.

“The dumbest man on television,” Vance said. “I say first, Don, no one’s objecting to you standing outside of a church and protesting. No one’s saying you can’t protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies, frankly, or policies on anything else. What you cannot do is go into somebody’s house of worship and prevent them from exercising their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. That’s what happened.”

The vice president added: “We have a rock solid violation of the FACE Act, which is you were sticking a microphone in the face of a minister during the church service while the people you were with were preventing people from leaving. That’s a violation of the law. That’s not about the First Amendment. You care about criticizing our immigration policies, then stand outside the church and protest. You don’t get to violate other people’s rights. And if you do, the Trump administration, we’re trying to do everything that we can to make sure you suffer legal consequences.”

Watch the interview below:

Lemon was charged under two federal statutes, conspiracy to deprive rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which in part prevents one from interfering with someone’s First Amendment right of religious freedom. Both he and his lawyers slammed the arrest as an attack on his own First Amendment rights.

“There is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable,” Lemon said when he was released without bail on Friday.

He added: “Last night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night, for something that I’ve been doing for the last 30 years — and that is covering the news. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless other journalists … I will not be silenced.”