Don Lemon Arrested Over Coverage of ICE Protest at Minnesota Church

Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with his reporting on an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota.

According to The New York Times, Lemon was charged with violating a federal law that protects people’s right to worship. The charge stems from a January 18 protest at Cities Church in Minneapolis.

In a statement released Friday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy in connection with what she described as a “coordinated attack” on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, criticized the arrest, calling it a political distraction by the Trump administration. Lowell said the administration was trying to divert attention from the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis.

Lowell said Lemon was acting as a journalist and was exercising his First Amendment rights by documenting the protest and reporting on matters of public interest.

Lemon was in Los Angeles to cover the Grammy Awards and attended the Recording Academy Honors event Thursday night. He was arrested later that evening.

Federal prosecutors had previously sought to charge eight people connected to the Cities Church protest, including Lemon. However, a magistrate judge approved charges against only three individuals and did not authorize a warrant for Lemon. A federal appeals court later denied the Justice Department’s request for additional warrants.

Despite those rulings, prosecutors reportedly took the case to a grand jury, which returned an indictment against Lemon. The same approach was used to arrest Georgia Fort, a Minnesota-based independent journalist who was also charged for her coverage of the protest.

Fort recorded video as federal agents arrived at her home early Friday morning to arrest her. The footage, showing agents at her front door, was later shared publicly.

The protest involved about 30 to 40 people and was aimed at confronting Cities Church pastor David Easterwood, who also works as an ICE official. Easterwood was not at the church when the protest took place.