Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents on January 29 in Los Angeles, weeks after he reported on immigration enforcement protests at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to a statement released by his attorney.
The statement, shared on Lemon’s official Instagram account, said he was taken into custody while covering events related to the Grammy Awards. It emphasized that Lemon has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years and was exercising his constitutional right to report during the Minnesota protest.
Authorities have not yet publicly disclosed the specific charges against Lemon.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi later confirmed the arrest in a post on X (formerly Twitter). She stated that the charges are connected to Lemon’s involvement in covering a protest that took place inside Cities Church on January 18. Bondi added that journalist Georgia Fort and activists Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy were also arrested in relation to the same incident.
“At my direction, federal agents arrested Don Lemon and others in connection with the coordinated disruption at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi wrote.
Lemon was among several journalists present during the protest and streamed nearly seven hours of live footage on his YouTube channel, where he interviewed church members, demonstrators, and one of the church’s pastors.
The 59-year-old journalist served as a CNN anchor from 2014 until April 2023. After leaving the network, he launched his own media company and now hosts a podcast titled “The Don Lemon Show.”
Earlier this month, a federal magistrate judge reportedly rejected a proposed criminal complaint against Lemon related to the protest, according to CNN, Reuters, and CBS News sources cited on January 22.
Lemon’s attorney criticized the federal government’s response, pointing to recent fatal shootings of two protesters, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, by federal immigration agents in Minnesota. The statement accused the administration of prioritizing journalist arrests instead of investigating the shootings.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection later confirmed that the agents involved in the shootings have been placed on administrative leave pending further review.
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