{"id":1401606,"date":"2026-01-30T09:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T14:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1401606&preview=true&preview_id=1401606"},"modified":"2026-01-30T09:49:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T14:49:58","slug":"journalist-don-lemon-arrested-after-protest-that-disrupted-minnesota-church-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/01\/30\/journalist-don-lemon-arrested-after-protest-that-disrupted-minnesota-church-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalist Don Lemon arrested after protest that disrupted Minnesota church service"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER The Associated Press<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Journalist Don Lemon was arrested in connection with an anti-immigration protest that disrupted a service<\/a> at a Minnesota church and increased tensions between residents and the Trump administration, his lawyer said Friday.<\/p>\n

Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.<\/p>\n

It is unclear what charge or charges Lemon is facing in the Jan. 18 protest. The arrest came after a magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors\u2019 initial bid<\/a> to charge the journalist.<\/p>\n

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,\u201d Lowell said in a statement. \u201cThe First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lowell added that \u201cDon will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting a service<\/a> at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor.<\/p>\n\n

The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting \u201cICE out\u201d and \u201cJustice for Renee Good,\u201d referring to the 37-year-old mother of three<\/a> who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,\u201d Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in social media post last week.<\/p>\n

Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who leads an ICE field office. Many Baptist churches have pastors who also work other jobs.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department\u2019s swift investigation into the church disruption stands in contrast to its decision not to open a civil rights investigation into Good\u2019s killing by an ICE officer. The department has not said whether it will open a civil rights probe into the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti<\/a> by federal officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead 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,\u201d Lowell said.<\/p>\n