Don Lemon Arrested by US Agents Over ICE Protest Coverage (1)

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with his coverage of a protest against federal immigration enforcement activities in Minnesota, escalating the Trump administration’s clash with the press.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X on Friday that she had ordered the arrest of Lemon and three others over what she described as “the coordinated attack” on a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The post did not provide details on which laws Lemon is accused of violating.

Lemon, now an independent journalist, covered a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church, which was targeted because one of its pastors is purportedly an official at the local US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

The arrest is the latest development in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration in Minnesota, which has triggered massive protests across the state and nation. The operation has also led to the deaths of two US citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — who were shot by federal agents in separate confrontations earlier this month.

Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s lawyer, said the journalist was taken into custody by federal agents Thursday night in Los Angeles, where he was preparing to cover the Grammy awards. Lowell blasted the Justice Department for devoting its resources to targeting journalists instead of investigating agents “who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters.”

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”

Lemon will “fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly” in court, the lawyer said.

The arrests follow days of failed efforts by the Justice Department to sway two Minnesota judges and a federal appeals court to sign off on earlier arrest warrants, with one of those judges saying there was “no evidence” that Lemon and another journalist targeted by the Justice Department had “engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass weighed in on the arrest in a statement that identified Lemon as a personal friend and highlighted the journalist’s long history of being a Trump critic.

“The arrest of journalists for going into a church in the course of reporting is shocking enough, but what’s even more alarming is that it’s no secret that Don Lemon is a Trump critic,” Bass said.

(Updates with comment from the mayor of Los Angeles.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Steve Stroth, Elizabeth Wasserman

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