Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in connection with his presence at a protest in a Minnesota church against the Trump administration’s immigration efforts.
Lemon, 59, “was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards,” his attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement Friday morning.
“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.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi later Friday morning confirmed the arrests of Lemon and three others, including Georgia Fort, another independent journalist.
She also confirmed the arrests stemmed from what she described as “the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” on Jan. 18. Charging documents were not immediately available.
Department of Justice officials had publicly vowed to bring charges against Lemon, who has vocally criticized the Trump administration, over his presence at a protest at the church.
Lemon, an independent reporter who hosts “The Don Lemon Show” on YouTube, has said he was reporting on the protest against immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities. A federal magistrate judge last week reportedly rejected a criminal complaint that was brought against Lemon.
In Friday’s statement, Lowell called Lemon’s arrest an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and a “transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration.”
“Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Lowell said.
CNN, from which Lemon was fired in 2023, said in a statement that Lemon’s arrest “raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment.”
The White House’s official X account mocked Lemon on Friday, sharing an image announcing his arrest below the caption, “When life gives you lemons…” and an emoji of chains.
Bondi, in a video posted to her social media, later added, “Make no mistake: Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”