Incident details
- Date of incident
- January 20, 2026
- Targets
- Don Lemon (Independent)
- Legal orders
-
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Jan. 20, 2026: Pending
- Aug. 31, 2026: Unknown
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Legal order target
- Third-party: Verizon Wireless (telecom company)
- Legal order venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
A courtroom sketch shows Don Lemon, at center, during an arraignment in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Feb. 13, 2026. The Department of Homeland Security had subpoenaed Verizon on Jan. 20 for information about Lemon’s account.
Independent journalist Don Lemon’s telecommunications were the target of an administrative subpoena issued to Verizon Wireless by the Department of Homeland Security on Jan. 20, 2026.
The subpoena, issued by the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations arm without judicial oversight, was revealed in an Aug. 31 motion by Lemon that sought to suppress evidence obtained by the summons.
Lemon is facing prosecution on charges connected to coverage of a Jan. 18 anti-deportation protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Journalists Georgia Fort and Junn Bollman were also indicted on the same charges.
According to Lemon’s motion, the subpoena asked Verizon to provide information on the journalist’s account with the company and his usage information for two telephone numbers, including incoming and outgoing calls and their duration, as well as records of text messages.
Lawyers for Lemon said in the motion that the requested evidence has yet to appear in the government’s discovery, and that it was unclear whether the telecommunications company had complied with the summons.
His attorneys additionally requested that the judge order the government to turn over any other summonses issued for Lemon’s telecommunications, any correspondence it may have had with Verizon and how the information was used in its investigation.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
