Former CNN anchor and prominent American TV journalist Don Lemon has been arrested, a US Justice Department official familiar with the situation said.
Lemon livestreamed a demonstration that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month, which protested President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the area.
On Friday, Lemon's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, called his arrest an "unprecedented attack on the First Amendment."
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” Lowell added.
Lemon said he was at the demonstration as a journalist. He said he was tipped off in advance but did not know the activists would disrupt the service.
Trump administration officials quickly condemned the demonstration and accused protesters of intimidating worshippers.
Lemon is due to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday. Following his arrest, he is expected to argue that he was reporting on the event as a journalist, not taking part in a protest.
“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 organisation,” Lemon said in a recent video. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday that additional arrests had been made alongside Lemon, naming Trahern Jeen Crew and Jamael Lydell Lundy, whom she said were “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Independent journalist Georgia Fort, who was filming the protest, was also arrested.
Lingering political tensions
The Justice Department last week sought to charge eight people, including Lemon. A magistrate judge dismissed the cases against five of them, including Lemon, citing insufficient evidence.
Press freedom groups condemned the arrest on Friday.
“These arrests under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists,” said Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Lemon rose to prominence at CNN, where he served as a host from 2014 to 2023. Before joining the network, he worked as a news correspondent for NBC, appearing on programmes including Today and NBC Nightly News.
A three-time Emmy Award winner, Lemon became a familiar figure to viewers as the anchor of Don Lemon Tonight, which he presented from 2014 to 2022. His most recent role at CNN was as a co-host of CNN This Morning, alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.
In Minnesota's Twin Cities area, tensions remain high amid Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration's large-scale immigration enforcement push that deployed thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents.
The operation has sparked widespread protests, clashes, and outrage following the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal agents: Renee Good (a 37-year-old mother) on January 7, and Alex Pretti (a 37-year-old VA ICU nurse) on January 24 during a protest.
These incidents, captured on videos that often contradict official accounts, have fueled widespread accusations of excessive force, cover-ups, and unconstitutional tactics.
