Federal agents arrested Don Lemon overnight in Los Angeles, his lawyer and Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed. The journalist is one of four people detained in connection with an anti-immigration protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church. Lemon was in California covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.
RELATED: Judge Rejects Attempt To Charge Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Interview As Three Protesters Are Arrested
Don Lemon’s Lawyer Speaks Out After Arrest
To start, it’s unclear which charge or charges Lemon is facing in connection with the Jan. 18 protest. Last week, a magistrate judge rejected federal prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist. Additionally, Lemon has said he has no affiliation with the organization that entered the church. He said he was there as a journalist chronicling the protesters.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Attorney Lowell said in a statement. “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 that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
“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,” Don Lemon’s lawyer said.
What Don Lemon Has Said About The Church Protest
Since he left CNN, Don Lemon has joined other journalists who have gone into business for himself, posting regularly on YouTube. He hasn’t hidden his dislike for Donald Trump. Yet during his online show from the church, he said repeatedly, “I’m not here as an activist. I’m here as a journalist.”
He described the scene in front of him, and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators. After the first attempt to charge him fell through, he predicted on his show that the administration would try again.
“And guess what,” Don Lemon said, “here I am. Keep trying. That’s not going to stop me from being a journalist. That’s not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want. Just do it. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Ahead of his arrest in Los Angeles, Don stepped into The Shade Room with Busta Rhymes at The Black Music Collective Grammys event. The rapper advocated that the journalist must be protected at all costs.
Video Shows Arrest Of Georgia Fort After Attorney General Announces Multiple Arrests
As mentioned, AG Pam Bondi announced on Friday morning that Don wasn’t the only person cuffed under her office’s direction. Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort and Jamael Lydell Lundy have also been arrested, but details on charges are coming “soon,” Bondi tweeted.
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
More details soon.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 30, 2026
Georgia Fort, a journalist like Don Lemon, went live on social media to document the moment federal agents arrived at her home.
“This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media. We are supposed to have our constitutional right, the freedom to film, to be a member of the press. I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press,” Fort said in the video.
DOJ Targets Protestors While Swerving ICE Agents’ Kills
A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul. David Easterwood, who leads the local ICE field office, serves as a pastor at said church. The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” The second chant was about the 37-year-old mother of three who an ICE officer fatally shot in Minneapolis.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in social media post last week.
And while the Justice Department’s swiftly launched THIS investigation, it declined to open a civil rights investigation into Renee Good’s killing by an ICE officer. The department has not said whether it will open a civil rights probe into the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal officers.
Earlier this week, AG Pam Bondi bragged about arrests in Minnesota, promising more arrests. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department from enforcing the law.”
MINNESOTA ARRESTS — I am on the ground in Minneapolis today. Federal agents have arrested 16 Minnesota rioters for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents.
We expect more arrests to come.
I’ve…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 28, 2026
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Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer, Eric Tucker and Dave Bauder contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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