Federal agents arrested Don Lemon overnight in Los Angeles, his lawyer and Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed. The journalist is one among 4 people detained in reference to 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 out, it’s unclear which charge or charges Lemon is facing in reference to the Jan. 18 protest. Last week, a magistrate judge rejected federal prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist. Moreover, 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 all the time done,” Attorney Lowell said in a press release. “The First Amendment exists to guard journalists whose role it’s to shine light on the reality and hold those in power accountable.”
Lowell added that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
“As an alternative 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’s the real indictment of wrongdoing on 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’ve gone into business for himself, posting recurrently 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 primary try to charge him fell through, he predicted on his show that the administration would try again.
“And guess what,” Don Lemon said, “here I’m. 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 brand new Jimmy Kimmel, when you want. Just do it. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Video Shows Arrest Of Georgia Fort After Attorney General Broadcasts Multiple Arrests
As mentioned, AG Pam Bondi announced on Friday morning that Don wasn’t the one 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 reference to 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 continue to exist social media to document the moment federal agents arrived at her home.
“That is all stemming from the proven fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media. We’re presupposed to have our constitutional right, the liberty to film, to be a member of the press. I don’t feel like I even have my First Amendment right as a member of the press,” Fort said within the video.
DOJ Targets Protestors While Swerving ICE Agents’ Kills
A outstanding civil rights attorney and two other people involved within the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting a service on 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 concerning 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 should 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’m on the bottom in Minneapolis today. Federal agents have arrested 16 Minnesota rioters for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — individuals who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents.
We expect more arrests to come back.
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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