*Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night in Los Angeles in connection with his coverage of a protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota, church where demonstrators disrupted a Jan. 18 service. Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said he was taken into custody by federal agents while he was in the middle of covering a pre-Grammy Awards event.
Lowell said that this is an “unprecedented” attack on Lemon’s First Amendment rights, as his news coverage was not criminal. Lemon has said he was acting as a journalist when he entered Cities Church to report on the protest.
Demonstrators alleged that one of the church’s pastors was employed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lemon has also publicly stated that the church has White supremacy undercurrents. It has been reported that Cities Church Pastor Jonathan Parnell works for ICE, which has also been a point of criticism.
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“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 attorney said, adding that Lemon “will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed the arrest in a post on X, saying federal agents detained Lemon along with Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Reportedly, politics may be at play in this situation. Various outlets have reported that AG Bondi was furious when a judge decided not to arrest the reporter, along with others who disrupted the church service.
Bondi has posted on X: “Our nation was settled and founded by people fleeing religious persecution.” The White House account shared this post. It continued, “Religious freedom is the bedrock of this country. We will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith.”
After he evaded the initial arrest, Don Lemon said he expected to continue being targeted.
Don Lemon has emerged as a strong voice decrying discrimination by the Trump Administration.
He called out Pres. Donald Trump for stating that Civil Rights set back White people, and he further stated that the Trump Administration is racist. He mentioned that VP JD Vance had urged White men to file complaints at the EEOC.
Lemon posited that the idea of reverse discrimination is why President Trump is against DEI policies.
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