Former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles late Thursday night in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier this month, according to multiple official reports. Federal authorities moved after weeks of scrutiny and legal maneuvering following the January 18 demonstration at Cities Church, where anti‑Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters entered during worship.

Lemon, 59, was taken into custody by federal law enforcement while in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell confirmed. The Department of Justice announced the arrest, saying Lemon and three others were detained in connection with the incident at the Minnesota church. Federal prosecutors have not publicly released the full charging documents, but multiple news outlets report the Justice Department is pursuing charges that allege involvement in actions that interfered with religious services and civil rights protections. 

Lemon’s lawyer vehemently denied that he engaged in wrongdoing, framing the arrest as a direct attack on press freedom and the First Amendment. Lowell emphasized that Lemon has long identified himself as a journalist and was covering the protest in that capacity, not participating as an activist. CNN also condemned the arrest, calling it a “profoundly concerning” threat to constitutional protections for journalists covering newsworthy events. 

The protest itself drew attention nationally: demonstrators targeted Cities Church reportedly because of a pastor’s affiliation with ICE, chanting inside the church and interrupting the service. Federal prosecutors previously sought to charge multiple individuals involved in the action, but a federal magistrate judge initially declined to approve arrest warrants for several people, including Lemon, citing insufficient probable cause. Prosecutors then secured a grand jury indictment that enabled the arrests this week. 

Critics of the arrest argue it sets a dangerous precedent for journalists, particularly when covering contentious protests involving federal enforcement actions. Supporters of the Trump administration’s law‑and‑order approach contend that interfering with religious services and civil rights protections is unlawful and that no individual — including media figures — is above the law. As Lemon awaits his first federal court appearance in Los Angeles, the case has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over press freedom, protest rights, and the enforcement of federal civil rights statutes.