Don Lemon arrested, charged over covering Minnesota church protest

Independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 29, 2026, after a grand jury indicted him on charges connected to his reporting on a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, almost two weeks prior.

Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the expansion of an immigration enforcement crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge, and federal officers’ fatal shooting of two Minneapolis residents — Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

The former CNN anchor and his film crew followed demonstrators as they entered Cities Church on Jan. 18 to voice their opposition to ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. Protest organizers said the church was targeted because one of the pastors is allegedly the director of ICE’s St. Paul Field Office.

Later that day, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon wrote on social media that Lemon was “on notice,” and the following day she announced that her office would seek charges against everyone present at the protest, NBC News reported.

“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” Dhillon said in a podcast interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson. “He went into the facility, and then he began — quote, unquote — ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part, of a criminal conspiracy. It isn’t.”

Lemon told NBC in an email that he stands by his reporting, adding that “it’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist — especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there.”

A federal magistrate judge refused to issue charges against Lemon, CBS News reported Jan. 22. The Justice Department appealed the magistrate’s decision, but in a Jan. 23 ruling, a federal appellate court declined to order the judge to sign arrest warrants for Lemon and his producer, according to MS NOW.

In an interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show” later that day, Dhillon said that her office would pursue the case against Lemon “to the ends of the earth.”

A grand jury impaneled Jan. 29 handed down indictments for Lemon as well as independent journalist Georgia Fort, The New York Times and CBS News reported. Lemon was arrested that evening in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the upcoming Grammy Awards, according to a statement from his attorney Abbe Lowell. Fort was arrested in the early hours of Jan. 30.

“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 wrote. “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.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media that the arrests of Lemon, Fort and two others were done at her direction. In a video posted a couple of hours later, Bondi said: “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.”

According to the Times, both journalists face the same charges as the church protesters — conspiring to deprive rights and interfering with someone’s religious freedom in a house of worship.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was not immediately able to confirm whether Lemon has been released from federal custody. According to the Times, he is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Jan. 30.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement that the arrests were “deeply troubling.”

“In Minnesota, we do not treat journalists like criminals for doing their jobs. No one should be arrested merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions, or telling the public what we have a right to know,” Ellison wrote. “When the federal government arrests reporters for documenting what is happening in our communities, it violates our rights, undermines our trust, and chills the transparency our democracy needs.”

Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the Tracker is a project, condemned the arrests as “naked attacks on freedom of the press.”

“The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them,” said Seth Stern, FPF’s chief of advocacy. “The answer to this outrageous attack is not fear or self-censorship. It’s an even stronger commitment to journalism, the truth, and the First Amendment.”