Don Lemon Arrested By Feds For Role In Minnesota Church Protest

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday for allegedly violating the law for his role in an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month, his attorneys say.

A statement from Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said he was arrested by federal authorities on Thursday night while covering the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell’s statement read. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”

Lemon joined a group of leftist rioters for a January 18 protest organized and promoted by the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota. The mob targeted Cities Church in St. Paul because one of its pastors allegedly worked with ICE. Rioters have descended on the Twin Cities since the January killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent.

The group’s leader, Nekima Levy-Armstrong, told Lemon that the protest was a “clandestine operation” to “disrupt business as usual.”

“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, best known for defending Hunter Biden, wrote in his statement. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.”

President Donald Trump said that the “troublemakers” behind the protest “should be thrown in jail,” and his administration roundly rejected Lemon’s claim that his activities were protected under the First Amendment. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said that Lemon was “not out of legal jeopardy” and vowed that the Justice Department would “pursue” Lemon to the ends of the Earth.”

A federal appeals court earlier this month found probable cause to charge Lemon. The Justice Department will likely seek to charge Lemon under the FACE Act, a law that prohibits the disruption of worship services, which the Biden administration infamously used to prosecute peaceful anti-abortion protesters.

Lemon claims the Trump administration is going to prosecute him as punishment, suggesting that the Justice Department would even violate the law to see him locked up.

“If there’s no law to fit, they will try to fit or retrofit something or go around a judge and just do it themselves,” Lemon told fellow former CNN personality Alisyn Camerota earlier this month. “If one doesn’t work, then they try something else and that fails, and they try something else and then they just don’t give up.”

Three of the anti-ICE agitators who organized the church storming, including Armstrong, have been arrested by the FBI. William Kelly, a prominent professional protester who has demonstrated outside the church of War Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, D.C., was among those who entered the sanctuary during the Sunday morning service.

The Justice Department is expected to hold a press conference on Lemon’s arrest later Friday.

This is a developing story. Please refresh this page for updates.