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Ex-CNN Anchor Don Lemon Detained Over Church Protest
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Don Lemon, a former anchor of the Cable News Network (CNN), has been detained for his involvement in a protest at a church in the U.S. state of Minnesota, the Justice Department confirmed.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in federal agents “arrested” Lemon and three others “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul”
Minnesota’s capital.
He was taken into custody by federal agents roughly 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) away in Los Angeles, California, while covering the Grammy Awards, officials confirmed.
The police action came nearly two weeks after Lemon livestreamed a January 18 demonstration online that interrupted a worship service of Cities Church in St. Paul to protest President Donald J. Trump’s immigration crackdown in the area.
Trump supporters including activists of the president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement accused Lemon of following, protesters to interview one of the church’s pastors David Easterwood, who is acting director of the St. Paul field office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The church protest broke out following the January 7 killing by an ICE agent of Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, while she was in her car during a federal immigration enforcement operation in the city of Minneapolis in Minnesota.
‘YOU ARE ON NOTICE’
Federal officials claimed she attempted to use her vehicle against the agent, but the protesters and local authorities dispute that account.
Before his arrest on Friday, U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called Lemon out specifically on social media, writing: “You are on notice!”
Lemon’s arrest has sparked sharp reactions from civil liberties advocates and press freedom defenders, who argue the case raises “serious questions” about whether journalists can face prosecution for documenting controversial demonstrations.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” said Lemon’s lawyer Abbe Lowell after police detained his client.
“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,” he 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,” the lawyer stressed.
MORE PEOPLE BEING DETAINED
Among others taken into custody were independent journalist Georgia Fort, who live streamed her arrest at home on as well as Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy, both identified by federal officials as part of what of a “coordinated attack” on the church service, Worthy News learned.
Other arrests included protest organizers such as civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, detained on January 22 on charges of “conspiring to interfere with the free exercise of religion,” along with Chauntyll Allen, a St. Paul school board member, and William Kelly, a military veteran, who were arrested shortly after the demonstration.
The broader unrest in Minnesota stems from growing anger over ICE enforcement tactics, particularly after two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens this month that triggered demonstrations, student walkouts, and calls for national strikes in multiple cities.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, the professional basketball team, were among prominent institutions urging calm and unity as tensions mounted following the killings and protests.
Yet President Trump has defended ICE’s operations, insisting the agency is targeting serious criminals and protecting American communities, even as critics accuse federal authorities of excessive force and lack of transparency.
After the second fatal shooting — the killing of Alex Pretti — Trump suggested agents were facing dangerous conditions in part because he was carrying a gun to a protest.
CARRYING FIREARMS AT PROTEST
Federal officials said Pretti was armed during the confrontation, and Trump’s supporters have cited that fact as evidence officers were operating in high-risk situations.
However, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other local officials stressed that under Minnesota law, individuals with proper permits may legally carry firearms, and that simply being armed does not in itself constitute a crime.
Critics note that Good, whose death initially sparked the protests, was unarmed in her vehicle, and they have demanded independent investigations and tighter oversight of federal immigration enforcement operations.
As legal proceedings continue against Lemon and others, the Minnesota incidents have become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration policy, civil liberties, the limits of federal enforcement power, and the role of journalists in covering mounting political unrest in the United States.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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