- Journalist Don Lemon was arrested Friday in connection to an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church.
- Arrest warrants for Lemon and three others were originally denied by a magistrate judge.
- Charges against Lemon include interfering with religious freedom and conspiring to deprive rights.
Don Lemon, a former CNN journalist, was arrested on federal charges early Friday morning in connection with an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month.
The incident occurred on Jan. 18 when protesters came into Cities Church in St. Paul. The protesters chose that church because one of the pastors is the acting field director for the St. Paul ICE field office, according to ABC News.
An recently released affidavit from the FBI suggests parishioners felt concerned about their children who were in child care during the protest, and includes allegations the protesters blocked parishioners were blocked from reaching their kids.
There were also reports of protesters confronting children and saying “do you know your parents are Nazis, they’re going to burn in hell,” according to the affidavit.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that Lemon was arrested early Friday “at my direction.” He and three others were arrested “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church,” she wrote.
Lemon was arrested along with Georgia Fort, another journalist; Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy, an activist known for being a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, per NBC News.
At least three other people were previously arrested in connection with the protest.
Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s attorney, said last week that charges against Lemon were rejected by a magistrate judge. Lowell shared that Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards, per ABC News.
The attorney also said the journalist’s arrest was an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and that Lemon will fight the charges in court.
Why were Lemon and others arrested?
During the demonstration, the protesters interrupted a service at the church while chanting “ICE out,” according to news reports. Following the incident, the Justice Department drew up a criminal complaint to charge eight people, including Lemon. The complaint cited a law that protects people who are participating in a service in a house of worship.
The evidence was reviewed by a federal magistrate judge, who approved charges against three people, Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Allen and William Kelly. The judge would not sign arrest warrants for Lemon and the others arrested on Friday, saying there was insufficient evidence.
The Justice Department went to a federal appeals court to ask the chief judge in Federal District Court in Minneapolis issue the additional arrest warrants; the request was denied.
The protesters and Lemon face two criminal charges: interfering with someone’s religious freedom in a house of worship and conspiring to deprive rights. Lemon is scheduled to appear in federal court later Friday in Los Angeles.
The New York Times reported that the prosecution will likely receive pushback from the defense on grounds of the First Amendment.
Lemon and Fort, the other journalist, said they entered the church to cover the protest against the federal government’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
James Blair, a deputy White House chief of staff, posted on social media on Friday, saying that a federal grand jury had indicted Lemon. Fort shared a video online where she said that she had also been indicted.
Lemon and his attorney speak out against the arrest
“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 said in a statement, per ABC News. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
Lowell called the arrest an “attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration.”
Lemon will likely challenge the case with the argument that he was covering the event as a journalist and was not protesting.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” Lemon said in a recent video, per The New York Times. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
FBI affidavit shows how parishioners felt during the protest
The affidavit from the FBI in support of arrest warrants for those involved in the protest includes testimony that protesters blocked people from leaving the building and going to retrieve their children from child care.
One of the victims told FBI agents that the church’s aisles are already narrow, but the demonstrators who occupied the center of the church made it practically impossible for churchgoers to leave.
Another person shared fear that the protesters could have had guns underneath their jackets. There were also reports of protesters being aggressive and threatening toward the parishioners.
Agents were told that parishioners tried to go downstairs to get their children from the child care area, but the demonstrators were blocking the stairs, preventing them from reaching their kids.
Who is Don Lemon?
Lemon currently works as an independent journalist and has his own show on YouTube, per The New York Times. He worked for CNN for 17 years and left the network in 2023 amid criticism that he made sexist comments.
He was known for being a host on CNN starting in 2014.
The 59-year-old has been a critic of President Donald Trump since his first term and often calls the president a liar.