Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post Friday on X that Lemon was arrested, as were three others, “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal authorities and charged with federal civil rights crimes in connection with a protest at a Minnesota church service earlier this month.
The ex-CNN anchor’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards.
“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,’ Lowell said. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.
“Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Lowell added.
The arrest of one the country’s most recognizable journalists is the latest development in the federal government’s unprecedented immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, in which two U.S. citizens have been shot and killed.
The Justice Department promised to pursue charges against Lemon after the independent journalist covered the protest at the church in St. Paul on Jan. 18.
A federal magistrate judge had rejected criminal complaints against Lemon. A source familiar with the matter, described Bondi as “enraged” by the decision.
Demonstrators gathered at the service because its pastor, David Eastwood, allegedly works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The protesters say Easterwood is the acting director of an ICE field office in St. Paul.
As DHS did for Lemon on Friday, the federal government cited the FACE Act to justify the arrest of the three protesters. The federal statute prohibits the use of force or intimidation to anyone trying to access reproductive services, but also contains provisions that cover houses of worship.
But the protesters were released after federal judges rejected the Trump administration’s attempts to keep them locked up until trial, with one judge saying the Trump administration offered “no factual or legal support” for their claim that this was a crime of violence.
Lemon was arrested by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations in Beverly Hills at approximately midnight, according to a federal warrant issued in another district.
“If this much time and energy is going to be spent manufacturing outrage, it would be far better used investigating the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good — the very issue that brought people into the streets in the first place,” he said in a statement last week.
The federal government has sent 3,000 federal immigration agents to the Twin Cities over the last two months and arrested more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit that promotes press freedoms worldwide, condemned Lemon’s arrest.
“The arrest of journalist Don Lemon in connection with his reporting on a protest in Minnesota should alarm all Americans,” Katherine Jacobsen, who works on the organization’s U.S. efforts, said in a statement. “Instead of prioritizing accountability in the killings of two American citizens, the Trump administration is devoting its resources to arresting journalists.”
CNN said in a post on X that Lemon’s arrest “raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also condemned Lemon’s arrest and said in a statement that she has “reached out to the U.S. Attorney to check on Don Lemon’s status.”
“Let me be very clear — President Trump is not deescalating anything after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal agents,” she said. “In fact, the arrest of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort demonstrates quite the opposite — he is escalating.”
In its own post on X, the White House appeared to mock Lemon.
“When life gives you lemons…” the White House account wrote, coupled with a chain emoji and image of Lemon from inside the church.
