Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest [View all]

Source: NYT

The former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested late Thursday night on charges that he violated federal law during a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minn., multiple people familiar with the matter said, in a case rejected last week by a magistrate judge.

Mr. Lemon has said he was simply reporting as a journalist when he entered the Cities Church on Jan. 18 to observe a demonstration against the immigration crackdown in the area.

The protesters interrupted a service at the church, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as a pastor, and chanted “ICE out.” Afterward, the Trump administration sought to charge eight people over the episode, including Mr. Lemon, citing a law that protects people seeking to participate in a service in a house of worship.

But the magistrate judge who reviewed the evidence approved charges against only three of the people, rejecting the evidence against Mr. Lemon and the others as insufficient. The Justice Department then petitioned a federal appeals court to force the judge to issue the additional warrants, only to be denied.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/don-lemon-arrest-minnesota-church-protest.html

Statement from Don Lemon’s attorney:

— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-01-30T13:20:48.919Z