Federal agents arrested journalist Don Lemon at a hotel in Beverly Hills on Jan. 29 in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul, his attorney announced, drawing immediate outrage over what many have described as an assault on the freedom of the press.
“Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards,” his attorney, Abbe Lowell, told Gay City News in an emailed written statement on the morning 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. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
Lemon’s arrest, which was confirmed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, appears to stem from a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church, where individuals held a demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and interrupted the church’s pastor, who is an ICE official, according to the New York Times.
Lemon, who came out as gay in 2011 and served as a CNN host until he was fired in 2023, live-streamed his coverage of the church on his YouTube show, “The Don Lemon Show.” He said during the livestream that he was “not part of the activists, but we’re here just reporting on them.”
Lemon is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Jan. 30. The Justice Department initially sought to charge Lemon and seven others in response to the incident, pointing to a law protecting individuals in a house of worship, but a federal magistrate judge only allowed for three individuals — Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Allen and William Kelly — to be charged. The Justice Department then called on a federal appeals court to step in and force the additional warrants, but that effort was unsuccessful.
Lemon and the protesters at the church were ultimately charged with conspiring to deprive rights and interfering with someone’s religious freedom in a house of worship, the New York Times reported. Georgia Fort, a freelance journalist who was also on hand at the church protest, said on Facebook that federal agents went to her home to arrest her in what she said was a violation of her constitutional rights.
James Blair, a White House deputy chief of staff, said on X that Lemon was indicted by a grand jury, prompting a flood of replies mocking prosecutors — one reply said, “A grand jury will indict a ham sandwich,” while another one reminded Blair that “a federal grand jury indicted Donald Trump.”
Lemon’s arrest drew criticism from politicians, fellow journalists, and many others who blasted the Trump administration for what they described as a violation of press freedom. Lemon is just the latest individual to be targeted in the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign to pursue criminal charges against the president’s political enemies, such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
“Don Lemon is an accomplished journalist whose urgent work is protected by the First Amendment,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who represents Brooklyn and Queens in the House of Representatives, said in a post on X. “There is zero basis to arrest him and he should be freed immediately. The Trump Justice Department is illegitimate and these extremists will all be held accountable for their crimes against the Constitution.”
US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate minority leader, echoed Jeffries, saying, “The arrest is a dark message to journalists everywhere: If you dare criticize this administration, watch your back. That is not democracy. That is a police state, and that is pure authoritarian bile.”
“There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work. 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. 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.”
Two hours after she confirmed Lemon’s arrest, Bondi posted a threatening and cryptic video to her X account, saying, “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.”
The arrests of Fort and Lemon also drew criticism from GLAAD, which is an LGBTQ media monitoring organization headquartered in New York City.
“Journalists are under siege in America by our own government,” GLAAD’s CEO, Kate Ellis, said in a written statement. “The arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have alarmed citizens nationwide, who do not want American freedoms and the rule of law to be replaced by harassment and state-sponsored disinformation. The freedom of the press is a cornerstone of American democracy, but that pillar is being shockingly eroded by government intimidation.”
The Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ), which is also based in New York City, also condemned the arrests.
“CPJ strongly condemns the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their reporting on a protest in Minnesota, arrests which mark a serious escalation of attacks on the press in the United States,” the group wrote in a written statement on Facebook. “Lemon, who formerly reported for CNN and now publishes on Substack, was arrested Thursday night; Fort, an Emmy-winning filmmaker, was arrested Friday morning. Both arrests were in relation to their coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church led by local activists against immigration enforcement operations in the state.”
