Don Lemon Arrested Over Minnesota Church Protest

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night on charges that he violated federal law during a protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota, church, his attorney said.

Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards, attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement. He was indicted on two counts for allegedly conspiring against and interfering with others’ right to exercise their religious freedom in a place of worship, according to a court filing.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell wrote. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”

Lemon is one of multiple people arrested over a protest at Cities Church, where an ICE official is believed to be one of the pastors. The protesters interrupted a service earlier this month to call for an end to the immigration surge in the state.

Federal agents also arrested independent journalist Georgia Fort, Trahern Jeen Crews, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday.

“At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” she wrote on X.

The White House posted a photo of Lemon with the words “When life gives you lemons…” and two chain emojis.

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Three people were arrested last week over the protest: former president of the Minneapolis NAACP Nekima Levy Armstrong, William Kelly and Chauntyll Louisa Allen. They were charged under a law that makes it illegal to conspire to violate others’ rights.

Lemon videoed the protesters and has said he was there as a journalist and had no affiliation with the group that organized the action. He was in Minnesota for an episode of his YouTube show on the city’s protests against the immigration enforcement operation.

The Justice Department said that Lemon did not have a right to be on the church’s property and that interrupting a church service may hinder the congregants’ constitutional rights to religious expression.

A top Department of Justice official put Lemon “on notice” last week for his presence at the protest.

“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service,” wrote Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general for civil rights, on X.

The Trump administration sought to charge eight people involved in the incident, including Lemon, but was initially only successful in having charges approved for three by a judge. A federal magistrate judge previously declined to approve charges against Lemon and four others, saying the evidence was insufficient.

Lemon is expected to appear in a federal court in Los Angeles on Friday.

This article has been updated with a comment from the attorney general and details of the indictment.