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Television anchor Don Lemon, formerly of CNN, arrives at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala at the Hilton Midtown in New York City on December 6, 2022.
Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
'Totalitarian Nonsense': Don Lemon Arrested by Federal Agents Over Coverage of Church Protest
"I don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent," said one fellow journalist, "this absolutely cannot stand."
Jan 30, 2026
Journalist Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal law enforcement agents on Friday morning in Los Angeles, the latest escalation against the free press by the Justice Department under the control of President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom have repeatedly targeted journalists for doing their jobs.
The former CNN anchor had been accused of misconduct by Trump following his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that took place inside a Minneapolis church on Jan. 18. While organizers and participants of that protest—aimed at the pastor of the congregation who is also a federal immigration enforcement official—chanted and disrupted the service, Lemon later interviewed the pastor and covered the events as they took place.
According to the Associated Press:
Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where had been covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.
It is unclear what charge or charges Lemon is facing in the Jan. 18 protest. The arrest came after a magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.
Fellow journalists and free-press advocates swiftly came to Lemon's defense and condemned the Trump DOJ over the arrest.
"Reporters in America are free to view, document, and share information with the public. This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach, and utterly appalling.” —Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen
"They arrested Don Lemon. This is horrifying," said Jemele Hill, a staff writer with The Atlantic. "I don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent, this absolutely cannot stand."
Jim Acosta, Lemon's colleague when they both worked at CNN, also condemned the arrest and declared: "The First Amendment is under attack in America!"
“Don Lemon’s arrest is an egregious violation of the 1st amendment," said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, in a statement. "Reporters in America are free to view, document, and share information with the public. This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach, and utterly appalling.”
Prior to Lemon's arrest, a magistrate judge who reviewed the case against the journalist ruled it as insufficient to justify an arrest warrant. But that didn't stop the Justice Department from pursuing the case further.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Lemon is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday morning. Now that he has been arrested, he is likely to challenge the prosecution’s case by arguing that he was not protesting, but rather covering the event as a journalist.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” Mr. Lemon said in a recent video. “That’s it. That’s called 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, Lemon's attorney, said in his statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
His attorney said Lemon "will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Victor Ray, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Iowa, said, "I'm not a huge Don Lemon fan, but this is totalitarian nonsense meant to threaten anyone who reports on the regime's horrors."
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Journalist Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal law enforcement agents on Friday morning in Los Angeles, the latest escalation against the free press by the Justice Department under the control of President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom have repeatedly targeted journalists for doing their jobs.
The former CNN anchor had been accused of misconduct by Trump following his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that took place inside a Minneapolis church on Jan. 18. While organizers and participants of that protest—aimed at the pastor of the congregation who is also a federal immigration enforcement official—chanted and disrupted the service, Lemon later interviewed the pastor and covered the events as they took place.
According to the Associated Press:
Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where had been covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.
It is unclear what charge or charges Lemon is facing in the Jan. 18 protest. The arrest came after a magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.
Fellow journalists and free-press advocates swiftly came to Lemon's defense and condemned the Trump DOJ over the arrest.
"Reporters in America are free to view, document, and share information with the public. This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach, and utterly appalling.” —Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen
"They arrested Don Lemon. This is horrifying," said Jemele Hill, a staff writer with The Atlantic. "I don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent, this absolutely cannot stand."
Jim Acosta, Lemon's colleague when they both worked at CNN, also condemned the arrest and declared: "The First Amendment is under attack in America!"
“Don Lemon’s arrest is an egregious violation of the 1st amendment," said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, in a statement. "Reporters in America are free to view, document, and share information with the public. This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach, and utterly appalling.”
Prior to Lemon's arrest, a magistrate judge who reviewed the case against the journalist ruled it as insufficient to justify an arrest warrant. But that didn't stop the Justice Department from pursuing the case further.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Lemon is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday morning. Now that he has been arrested, he is likely to challenge the prosecution’s case by arguing that he was not protesting, but rather covering the event as a journalist.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” Mr. Lemon said in a recent video. “That’s it. That’s called 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, Lemon's attorney, said in his statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
His attorney said Lemon "will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Victor Ray, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Iowa, said, "I'm not a huge Don Lemon fan, but this is totalitarian nonsense meant to threaten anyone who reports on the regime's horrors."
Journalist Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal law enforcement agents on Friday morning in Los Angeles, the latest escalation against the free press by the Justice Department under the control of President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom have repeatedly targeted journalists for doing their jobs.
The former CNN anchor had been accused of misconduct by Trump following his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that took place inside a Minneapolis church on Jan. 18. While organizers and participants of that protest—aimed at the pastor of the congregation who is also a federal immigration enforcement official—chanted and disrupted the service, Lemon later interviewed the pastor and covered the events as they took place.
According to the Associated Press:
Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles, where had been covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.
It is unclear what charge or charges Lemon is facing in the Jan. 18 protest. The arrest came after a magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.
Fellow journalists and free-press advocates swiftly came to Lemon's defense and condemned the Trump DOJ over the arrest.
"Reporters in America are free to view, document, and share information with the public. This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach, and utterly appalling.” —Lisa Gilbert, Public Citizen
"They arrested Don Lemon. This is horrifying," said Jemele Hill, a staff writer with The Atlantic. "I don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent, this absolutely cannot stand."
Jim Acosta, Lemon's colleague when they both worked at CNN, also condemned the arrest and declared: "The First Amendment is under attack in America!"
“Don Lemon’s arrest is an egregious violation of the 1st amendment," said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, in a statement. "Reporters in America are free to view, document, and share information with the public. This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach, and utterly appalling.”
Prior to Lemon's arrest, a magistrate judge who reviewed the case against the journalist ruled it as insufficient to justify an arrest warrant. But that didn't stop the Justice Department from pursuing the case further.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Lemon is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday morning. Now that he has been arrested, he is likely to challenge the prosecution’s case by arguing that he was not protesting, but rather covering the event as a journalist.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” Mr. Lemon said in a recent video. “That’s it. That’s called 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, Lemon's attorney, said in his statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
His attorney said Lemon "will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Victor Ray, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Iowa, said, "I'm not a huge Don Lemon fan, but this is totalitarian nonsense meant to threaten anyone who reports on the regime's horrors."
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