Don Lemon arrested by federal agents for coverage of anti-ICE protest

Freelance journalist Don Lemon was detained by federal authorities early Friday on federal civil rights charges related to his coverage of a protest in Minnesota.

The charges include conspiracy and interference with the First Amendment rights of those worshiping at Cities Church on Jan. 18 in St. Paul, where the protest disrupted a service. Lemon was released on his own recognizance during an appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. His next court date is Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on

In an indictment, Lemon and several other defendants are accused of carrying out “a takeover-style attack” on the church, even though there was no physical violence during the demonstration.

“As a result of the defendants’ conduct, the pastor and congregation were forced to end the Church’s worship service, parishioners fled the Church building out of fear for their safety, other parishioners took steps to implement an emergency plan, and young children were left wondering, as one child put it, if their parents were going to die,” the indictment says.

Lemon himself was accused of being “in close proximity to the pastor in an attempt to oppress and intimidate him, and of physically obstructing his freedom of movement while LEMON peppered him with questions to promote the message of the operation.”

The prosecution also accuses Lemon of lightly admonishing the pastor.

“While speaking with the pastor, defendant LEMON stood so close to the pastor that LEMON caused the pastor’s right hand to brush against LEMON, who then admonished the pastor, ‘Please don’t pressure me.’”

Lemon, a former CNN anchor and critic of President Donald Trump, was arrested in Los Angeles while covering the Grammys. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, issued a statement calling the arrest an attack on the First Amendment.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role is to shine a light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to do this work,” the statement said.

Lowell also sought to contrast the administration’s response to the killing of two Americans (Renee Good and Alex Pretti) at the hands of federal immigration agents with its apparent attack on Lemon, a prominent critic of President Donald Trump.

“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Department of Justice is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real allegation of wrongdoing in this case,” the statement added.

“Don will vigorously and thoroughly fight these charges in court,” he continued.

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CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that a person close to Lemon told him the journalist spent the night in jail. Lemon is expected to make his first court appearance later Friday.

Lemon’s former network later released its own statement defending him.

“The FBI’s arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises deeply troubling questions about press freedom and the First Amendment,” CNN said in a statement. “The Justice Department twice failed to arrest Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota found there was ‘no evidence’ that any criminal behavior was involved in their work.”

The network added that “the Department of Justice’s attempts to violate those rights are unacceptable.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to comment on Lemon’s arrest during a news conference Friday.

“Do I have any reaction? I don’t know what that means,” Blanche said of Lemon’s arrest. “What do you expect me to do, jump up and down? No, I have no reaction to that. I don’t know if his charges are revealed yet, so no, I’m not going to comment on that.”

Fort, the second journalist arrested, posted live on Facebook when federal agents showed up at her door to arrest her.

“I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press, because now federal agents are at my door arresting me for filming the church protest a few weeks ago,” he said.

Last week, Minnesota’s chief federal judge, Patrick Schiltz, declined to overturn a lower court’s ruling rejecting the Justice Department’s attempt to issue arrest warrants for Lemon and four others in connection with the anti-ICE protest in St. Paul. The Justice Department chose to escalate the matter further, urging the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to force Schiltz to act. The court refused.

Lemon’s arrest fits the Trump administration’s pattern of attacking journalists and testing the limits of the First Amendment. It follows the raid of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home earlier this month, during which authorities seized her phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive and her smartwatch. A judge recently blocked the government from accessing the devices it seized.

The president has also filed numerous lawsuits against news organizations, most recently against the BBC, for the editing of excerpts of this January 6, 2021 speech included in a Panorama documentary.

“Trump’s Justice Department is illegitimate and all of these extremists will be held accountable for their crimes against the Constitution,” he said.

Katherine Jacobsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists said Lemon’s arrest “should alarm all Americans.”

“Instead of prioritizing accountability for the murders of two American citizens, the Trump administration is devoting its resources to arresting journalists. This behavior has no place in the United States,” Jacobsen said in a statement.

Press Freedom Foundation advocacy chief Seth Stern issued a statement saying the “unequivocal message” the arrests send “is that journalists should proceed with caution because the government is looking for any way to target them.”

“Fort’s arrest is intended to instill the same fear in local independent journalists as big names like Lemon,” the statement said.

“When life gives you lemons…” the post said along with a chain emoji and an image of Lemon.