TV host Don Lemon arrested by Trump US Justice Department

LOS ANGELES — Former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, lawyers and officials said Friday.

Lemon, 59, was taken into custody while covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. The specific charges against Lemon have not been publicly disclosed.

The arrest stems from a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul that targeted U.S. immigration policies and interrupted a worship service, according to authorities and court filings. Protesters chanted against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and called for “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to a Minnesota woman fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier this month.

Federal officials have charged at least three other individuals in connection with the protest under laws that protect access to places of worship. Lemon’s lawyer said prosecutors had previously sought to bring charges against him but a magistrate judge declined to approve an arrest warrant, prompting prosecutors to seek a grand jury indictment.

Lowell called Lemon’s arrest “an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment,” saying Lemon was reporting on the event and will “fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023 after controversial on-air remarks. He now produces independent reporting and has said he was present at the protest solely as a journalist.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.