Journalist Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards, stemming from his presence during a protest targeting a church with ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18. Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, confirmed the arrest on Friday, stating the journalist faced charges of conspiracy and interference with worshippers’ First Amendment rights.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the action, labeling the demonstration a “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota,” and confirming Lemon was detained alongside three other individuals. The arrests included independent journalist Georgia Fort and activists Jamael Lydell Lundy and Trahern Jeen Crews, following earlier federal detentions related to the same ecclesiastical disturbance.
Lemon's counsel strongly defended the journalist’s actions, asserting that his work was constitutionally protected journalism, identical to his three decades in the field. Lowell emphasized that the First Amendment guarantees journalists the ability to report and hold power accountable, promising vigorous legal opposition to the charges.
The protest specifically targeted the church because its pastor, David Easterwood, concurrently serves as a field office head for ICE, a point Lemon highlighted while identifying himself as a reporter during his online broadcast. Lemon repeatedly asserted to those present that his presence was strictly journalistic, not activist, during the event that disrupted services.
Press freedom advocacy groups registered immediate and sharp condemnation of the federal action. Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation characterized the arrests as sending an unmistakable message that the government seeks avenues to target journalists covering sensitive issues.
This development draws scrutiny toward the Justice Department’s priorities, as critics noted the swiftness of the probe into the church protest compared to a prior refusal to investigate the police-involved killing of Renee Nicole Good on January 7. However, the department did announce a civil rights investigation into a separate incident involving the January 24 killing of a U.S. citizen by border patrol agents in Minneapolis.
The legal pursuit continues despite a federal judge in Minnesota having refused to sign an arrest warrant for Lemon the previous week, indicating sustained effort by Justice Department officials to press the charges related to the Minnesota demonstration.
