Former CNN anchor and veteran American television journalist Don Lemon has been arrested by US federal authorities following his livestream coverage of a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A US Justice Department official familiar with the matter confirmed the arrest, which has triggered strong backlash from media freedom organisations and renewed scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
Lemon was filming a demonstration earlier this month inside Cities Church in St. Paul, where activists protested the administration’s intensified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the area.
The arrest comes at a moment of heightened political tension in Minnesota, where the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown has sparked protests, legal challenges and growing concern over civil liberties. Critics argue that detaining a journalist for documenting events represents a dangerous escalation in the government’s response to dissent.
Journalist or protester?
Lemon has insisted he was present solely in his professional capacity.
‘I was there as a journalist,’ he said, explaining that while he had been tipped off that a demonstration might occur, he did not know activists intended to interrupt a church service.
‘Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism — reporting on it and speaking to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organisation,’ Lemon said in a video statement. ‘That’s called journalism.’
His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, described the arrest as an extraordinary infringement on press freedom.
‘Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different from what he has always done,’ Lowell said. ‘The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.’
Federal response and further arrests
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday that Lemon was among several individuals arrested in what she described as a ‘coordinated attack’ on Cities Church.
She named Trahern Jeen Crew and Jamael Lydell Lundy as additional suspects detained in connection with the incident. Independent journalist Georgia Fort, who was also filming the protest, was arrested separately.
The Justice Department had last week sought to charge eight individuals, including Lemon. However, a federal magistrate judge dismissed the cases against five defendants — Lemon among them — citing insufficient evidence.
Despite that ruling, federal authorities proceeded with arrests, a move that has drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates and legal scholars.
Lemon is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles, where he is expected to argue that he was engaged exclusively in journalistic reporting, not protest activity.
Press freedom groups condemn arrest
Media rights organisations reacted swiftly.
Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the arrests risk intimidating reporters nationwide.
‘These arrests under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists,’ Stern said.
Several journalism associations have warned that criminalising on-the-ground reporting could severely limit public oversight during periods of political unrest.
Immigration crackdown fuels unrest
The incident unfolds amid Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration enforcement campaign that has deployed thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents across Minnesota’s Twin Cities region.
The operation has triggered sustained demonstrations and clashes with federal agents, particularly after two fatal shootings involving US citizens.
Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was killed on January 7 during an enforcement operation. On January 24, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital, was shot dead during a protest.
Videos circulating on social media — some contradicting official federal accounts — have intensified allegations of excessive force, cover-ups and unconstitutional policing tactics.
From CNN prominence to legal battle
Lemon rose to national prominence at CNN, where he served as a host from 2014 until 2023. Before joining the network, he worked as a correspondent for NBC News, appearing on Today and NBC Nightly News.
A three-time Emmy Award winner, he became one of CNN’s most recognisable figures as anchor of Don Lemon Tonight between 2014 and 2022, later co-hosting CNN This Morning alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.
As legal proceedings unfold, Lemon’s arrest is fast becoming a defining test of press freedom in an era marked by political polarisation, immigration enforcement battles and deepening distrust between federal authorities and the media.
