Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, according to an attorney’s statement posted on Lemon’s social media account Friday morning.
Three others, including a journalist, were also arrested on federal charges during a protest last week at a church in St. Paul, Minn., according to the Department of Justice.
Lemon was taken into custody early Friday while presenting Sunday’s upcoming Grammy Awards, according to government officials.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis is no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists in their role to shine a light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement.
The arrest stemmed from a protest on Jan. 18 at Cities Church in St. The week was intended for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer to serve as a pastor.
Protesters threw their fists in the air and shouted “ICE out!” as Lemon and other reporters document the protest and talk to congregations in the pews. Others called out the name of Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother and American citizen who was shot and killed by immigration officials in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Lemon, 59, faces charges of Organized Deprivation of Rights and Violations of the FACE Act and forcible interference with a person’s First Amendment rights, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Times. James Blair, deputy chief of staff at the White House, said in an X-mail on Friday that Lemon had been indicted by a grand jury.
“By my order, this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the planned attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” US Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi announced on social media. “More details soon.”
In a press release, Lemon’s attorney denied any wrongdoing.
“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is a real case of wrongdoing in this case,” the statement read. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and a blatant attempt to distract attention from the many problems facing these administrations will not stand. Don will fight these cases vigorously and diligently in court.”
After the protest, senior Trump administration officials tried to charge eight people, including Lemon, citing a law that protects people who want to participate in the service.
But a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota upheld the charges against only three people, saying there was enough evidence that Lemon and others conspired to deprive someone of their rights by interfering with the religious freedom of a person in a house of worship. Prominent local activists, including Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen, were arrested on January 22. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice urged an appeals court to compel a judge to issue warrants for the arrest of Lemon and four other people. The request was denied.
On Jan. 23, Bondi told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the Justice Department would continue to try to prosecute anyone who targeted the synagogue, including Lemon, who he called an “internet influencer.”
“If you protest and enter that church on Sunday and scare the believers, we will follow you,” said Bondi. “I don’t care who you are. If you’re a failed CNN reporter, you have no right to do that in this country. We don’t live in a third country.”
As agents were at his home Friday morning, freelance journalist Georgia Fort posted a video on Facebook calling the case against him a violation of his constitutional rights. He said the government officials came to his house at 6:30 in the morning and told him that they had received a big case from the judges. His lawyer advised him to turn himself in.
Fort said he documented the protest at Cities Church as a journalist.
“I don’t feel I have my 1st Amendment rights as a member of the media,” he said in the video. “It’s hard to understand how we have a Constitution, constitutional rights, when you can be arrested just for being a member of the media.”
Lemon said he entered the church as a reporter, not a protester, and is protected by the Constitution: “So, this is what the 1st Amendment is all about.”
In a statement Friday morning, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Lemon “a world-renowned journalist and friend.” Bass said Lemon is in custody in LA “for doing his job and following a church protest in Minneapolis while reporting on this story.”
“Let me be clear: President Trump is not slowing down after the shooting of American citizens by federal agents,” the mayor’s statement said. “In fact, the arrest of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort shows the opposite – he is growing.”
Times staff writers Joseph Serna, James Queally and Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
