Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested over Minnesota church protest | Trump administration

Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, was arrested late on Thursday on charges that he violated federal law during a protest at a church in Minnesota earlier this month.

The justice department charged Lemon and three others with civil rights crimes, saying they interfered with the exercise of religious freedom at a place of worship and conspired to do so.

Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Lemon, said Lemon was “taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards”.

“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. “The first amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.

“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,” Lowell added. “This unprecedented attack on the first amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

One of the charges against Lemon also alleges that he violated the the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (Face) Act, which penalizes people who go beyond peaceful protest to threaten, obstruct or injure someone who is trying to access a reproductive health clinic or “place of religious worship”.

The Face Act is traditionally used to protect abortion providers and clinics from violence. However, when Trump retook power last year, administration officials said they would largely stop enforcing the law against anti-abortion activists, and pardoned several people who’d been convicted under it. In September, the administration filed Face Act charges against pro-Palestinian activists who had protested at a synagogue. The lawsuit marked the first time that the US government had ever used the Face Act to protect houses of worship.

Asked about Lemon’s arrest, Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, declined to comment.

“What are you looking for me to do? Jump up and down. No, I don’t have a reaction to it,” he said during a press conference. Blanche added he would not comment because the charges were still sealed.

The White House celebrated Lemon’s arrest with a post on X. “When life gives you Lemons,” the White House account’s official post said, accompanied by a chain emoji.

Georgia Fort, an independent journalist, was also arrested, according to Pam Bondi, the US attorney general. Fort posted a video on Facebook claiming federal agents were at her door. “As a member of the press, I filmed the church protest a few weeks ago, and now I’m being arrested for that,” she said. “It’s hard to understand how we have constitutional rights when you can just be arrested for being a member of the press.”

It is understood that Lemon remains in custody as of Friday. The Guardian has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.

Lemon was expected to make a court appearance on Friday, CNN reported.

His arrest sparked outrage from former colleagues, first amendment advocates and members of Congress.

“This is outrageous and cannot stand. The First Amendment is under attack in America!” Lemon’s former CNN colleague Jim Acosta wrote in a post on X.

CNN also condemned the arrest. A network spokesperson said: “The FBI’s arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the first amendment. The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge of the Minnesota federal district court found there was ‘no evidence’ that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work.”

The spokesperson added: “The first amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the DoJ’s attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable. We will be following this case closely.”

Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, called Lemon’s arrest “a naked attack on freedom of the press”.

“Lemon’s arrest under a bogus legal theory is a clear warning shot aimed at other journalists,” he said in a statement to the Guardian. “The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them.”

The top Democrats in Congress, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, also condemned Lemon’s arrest.

“Let’s be very clear – this arrest is not just about one journalist in one incident. The arrest is a dark message to journalists everywhere: if you dare criticize this administration, watch your back,” Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, said on the Senate floor.

“That is not democracy. That is a police state and that is pure authoritarian bile. Democracy will suffer if the government chokes our civil liberties. Under this administration, the Department of Justice has all too often become the Department of Vengeance. Don Lemon should be released at once and the frivolous charges against him dropped.”

The arrest comes as last week a federal magistrate judge took the unusual step of declining to sign off on an arrest warrant for Lemon, a decision that reportedly enraged Bondi.

“We’re going to pursue this to the ends of the Earth,” Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the department’s civil rights division, said during an interview with Megyn Kelly on Friday.

In a video posted on his online show’s YouTube channel, Lemon attended a protest in which demonstrators disrupted a church service. In an interview with Lemon, a demonstrator described the action as a clandestine operation in which they disrupt “business as usual” at a surprise location. Three demonstrators have already been arrested in connection with the protest on charges of conspiring to interfere with the civil rights of others.

“Our church had gathered for worship, which we do every Sunday. We asked them to leave and they have not,” Jonathan Parnell, the church’s pastor, said in an interview with Lemon. Lemon also said during the interaction protesters had chosen the church because there was someone there “who was a member of ICE”.

Donald Trump has criticized Lemon, calling him a “loser, lightweight”.

“I saw him the way he walked in that church, it was terrible,” Trump said during a White House press briefing. “I have such respect for that pastor. He was so calm, he was so nice. He was just accosted. What they did in that church was horrible.”

After the magistrate judge rejected charges against Lemon, Lowell said the department should drop its effort against his client.

“Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” he said.

Lemon left CNN in 2023 after a 17-year career at the network. As the host of the network’s 10pm hour for several years, his star rose as a frequent critic of Trump during his first administration, memorably branding him a racist. His exit from the network was abrupt, and came only a few months after he switched to become co-host of the network’s morning show.

After originally planning to launch a show on X, owned by Elon Musk, Lemon ended up becoming fully independent and now hosts an eponymous streaming program, The Don Lemon Show.

“Don Lemon is a journalist, and journalists have the right to gather news,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director at Pen America. “We call on the government to drop all charges. Journalism is not a crime.”

Carter Sherman contributed reporting