Former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon and three others have been arrested by federal agents investigating an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.
Lemon was in Los Angeles to cover the Grammy Awards when he was taken into custody Thursday.
Prosecutors had sought to bring federal charges tied to the Jan. 18 demonstration against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Lemon live-streamed while reporting on the event at Cities Church in St. Paul.
“I’m just here photographing, I’m not part of the group … I’m a journalist,” Lemon is heard saying in his video.
Until now, efforts to secure charges against Lemon had stalled in court. A federal magistrate judge previously refused to approve a criminal complaint against him, saying prosecutors hadn’t shown probable cause — a decision upheld by an appeals panel last week.
Earlier in the week, the DOJ had reportedly withdrawn its bid for an arrest warrant, though officials indicated they might pursue charges through other procedures.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed in a social media post Friday morning that Lemon and three others were arrested.
“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,” Bondi said on X.
Fort, an independent journalist, is vice president of the Minneapolis chapter for the National Association of Black Journalists. She posted a video on Facebook early Friday announcing “agents are at my door” and said her attorney advised her to go with them.
Crews is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and a former Democratic candidate for the Minnesota House. Lundy is a small business owner and a current Democratic candidate for the Minnesota Senate.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Lemon is being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering by force with someone’s First Amendment rights. He is due before a magistrate judge in California later today. “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” said his lawyer, Abbe Lowell. Lowell called Lemon’s arrest an “unprecedented attack” and accused the Department of Justice of using it as a distraction from the backlash the Trump administration is facing following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Lemon’s arrest marks a major development in a case that has stirred national debate over press freedom and federal power. The case has drawn sharp criticism from advocates and supporters of Lemon, who argue that his reporting was protected by the First Amendment. “Don Lemon has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.” The FBI declined MS NOW’s request for comment.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
