Former CNN Anchor Don Lemon Arrested Over Minnesota Church Protest

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal authorities Thursday night in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier this month.

Lemon, 59, was taken into custody in Los Angeles by agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations while he was covering the Grammy Awards, according to a federal warrant issued in another district. His arrest was announced publicly Friday by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Bondi said Lemon and three other journalists, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, were arrested “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”

Details of the charges were not immediately released.

Lemon’s Attorney Condemns Arrest

Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, sharply criticized the arrest, calling it an unprecedented attack on press freedom.

“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 in a statement.

“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand,” he added. “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

A federal magistrate judge had previously rejected a criminal complaint against Lemon, according to a source familiar with the case. The source described Bondi as “enraged” by that decision.

Arrest Tied to Protest at Church Service

The arrests stem from a protest held during a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18. Demonstrators gathered at the service because the church’s pastor, David Easterwood, allegedly works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Protesters say Easterwood is the acting director of an ICE field office in St. Paul.

Three protesters, Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly, were arrested earlier for disrupting the same service. Federal authorities cited the FACE Act to justify those arrests. While the law primarily covers access to reproductive health services, it also includes provisions related to houses of worship.

However, a federal judge later released two of those protesters, finding that the Trump administration offered “no factual or legal support” for their detention.

Lemon Says He Stands by His Reporting

Before his arrest, Lemon defended his coverage of the protest and the broader immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

“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,” Lemon said in a statement last week.

Good, 37, and Alex Pretti, 37, were both shot and killed by federal immigration authorities in separate confrontations in recent weeks. Both were U.S. citizens.

The killings have fueled protests across Minneapolis and St. Paul, where residents have organized daily demonstrations, patrolled neighborhoods for immigration agents, and delivered groceries to undocumented families afraid to leave their homes.

Federal Immigration Crackdown Under Scrutiny

Lemon’s arrest comes amid what critics describe as an unprecedented federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. The Department of Homeland Security says it has deployed roughly 3,000 federal immigration agents to the region over the past two months and arrested more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants.

After initially referring to both Good and Pretti as “domestic terrorists,” Trump administration officials later said they planned to scale back the operation.

On Thursday, the administration replaced Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with Tom Homan, a former Obama administration official turned Trump border czar, to oversee the operation, known as Operation Metro Surge.

At a press conference Thursday, Homan said “no organization is perfect” and acknowledged that administration officials, including the president, recognized that “certain improvements could and should be made.”

Press Freedom Groups and Officials Respond

Press freedom organizations and public officials swiftly condemned Lemon’s arrest.

“The arrest of journalist Don Lemon in connection with his reporting on a protest in Minnesota should alarm all Americans,” said Katherine Jacobsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Instead of prioritizing accountability in the killings of two American citizens, the Trump administration is devoting its resources to arresting journalists.”

CNN also weighed in, saying 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 said she contacted the U.S. Attorney to check on 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,” Bass said. “In fact, the arrest of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort demonstrates quite the opposite. He is escalating.”

The White House appeared to mock Lemon in a social media post, writing “When life gives you lemons...” alongside an image of Lemon inside the church.

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