Don Lemon arrested after church protest in Minneapolis

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal authorities in Los Angeles on Thursday after being accused of breaking federal laws in connection with an anti-ICE protest in a Minneapolis-area church.

The Department of Justice earlier attempted to file charges against protesters for entering Cities Church, including Lemon, who interrupted a church service, but was rejected by a magistrate judge, citing a lack of evidence. Three protesters were eventually arrested by federal officials.

Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Lemon was in Los Angeles to cover the upcoming Grammy Awards when he was apprehended in a hotel lobby late Thursday night.

“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 in a statement to CNN. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”

“Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Lowell added. Charging documents were not publicly available at the time of writing.

During the protest, Lemon said that he was not associated with the demonstrators, but was present as a member of the press after he followed an interviewee into the church. He defended himself, calling what he did “an act of journalism.”

“Once the protest started in the church we did an act of journalism which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” Lemon said in a recent video posted on social media. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”