Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents on Thursday night in Los Angeles in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota earlier this month, his lawyer and multiple sources say.
Lemon, 59, was arrested while in California covering the 2026 Grammy Awards, according to his attorney, Abbe Lowell. The lawyer described the arrest as an attack on press freedom and said Lemon will fight the government’s actions vigorously in court.
The move comes from a Justice Department investigation into an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest on January 18 at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. During that demonstration, protesters entered the church service to oppose immigration enforcement policies, leading to a disruption that federal authorities are now treating as a possible violation of federal law.
Lemon’s legal team says he was present as a journalist reporting on the protest, not as a participant. Lowell said Lemon’s work is protected under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press.
“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 said.
Details of the exact charges against Lemon have not yet been formally published, and federal authorities have not released an official comment. It is unclear whether the arrest was connected to previously sought but unapproved charges related to the protest.
The protest itself was part of a broader national debate over immigration enforcement and civil rights, and the case has drawn strong reactions from supporters of press freedom and critics of the government’s handling of the matter.
More to follow…
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