Journalist Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles two weeks after he reported on the front lines of an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minneapolis.
The former CNN anchor was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles on Jan. 29 while in the city to cover the Grammy Awards, CBS News reports. A source says the arrest followed a coordinated effort that included a newly empaneled grand jury, with investigations by both the FBI and Homeland Security.
The arrest came two weeks after Lemon livestreamed an anti-immigration protest for his YouTube channel that disrupted a church service in Minnesota, reporting his attorney Abbe Lowell says was fully protected journalism.
“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 said in a statement.
“The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”
Lowell also criticized the Justice Department for prioritizing Lemon’s arrest over investigating the federal agents involved in the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, calling that decision “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,” he said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media to claim credit for the arrest of Don Lemon and three others “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul,
Minnesota,” she wrote. Prosecutors have accused Lemon of conspiracy to deprive others of their civil rights and violating the federal FACE Act, which protects access to places of worship, by allegedly interfering with the exercise of others’ First Amendment rights inside the church service.Lemon said he attended the protest to cover it as a journalist, admitting that although he had been tipped off beforehand, he did not know activists planned to disrupt the service. Video from the scene shows Lemon engaging a parishioner over immigration enforcement as protesters targeted Cities Church in St. Paul, objecting to David Easterwood, a church pastor who also serves as ICE’s acting field office director in Minnesota.
Trump administration officials swiftly condemned the protest, accusing demonstrators of intimidating Christian worshippers, with the president himself echoing rapper Nicki Minaj in calling for Lemon’s arrest.
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