Two independent journalists, former CNN anchor Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, were arrested by federal authorities in connection with an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that four people. Lemon, Fort, Trahern Jeen Crews, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, were taken into custody for what she described as a "coordinated attack" on the church during the demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lemon was arrested late Thursday in a Beverly Hills hotel lobby by more than two dozen agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI while in Los Angeles covering the Grammy Awards. He faces federal charges including conspiring to violate constitutional rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits using force or threats to interfere with religious practice or other First Amendment rights, according to his attorney Abbe Lowell.
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Lowell defended Lemon in a statement, saying: "Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable."
Lowell added that the arrest represents an attack on press freedoms, stating: "Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case."
He vowed that Lemon would fight the charges vigorously in court.
The January 18 incident involved dozens of anti-ICE protesters entering the church, interrupting the service, and causing tense confrontations while claiming a pastor held a role with ICE. Lemon and Fort were live-streaming and covering the event as journalists.