Former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s lawyer and a Justice Department official familiar with the situation said on Friday (January 30) that Lemon was arrested for participating in church protest activities in Minnesota.
On January 18, a protest disrupted a worship service at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, protesting against the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration enforcement actions in the area. The Trump administration accused protesters of harassing and intimidating Christian believers.
Lemon broadcasted the church disturbance live.
According to Justice Department officials, Lemon is charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and obstructing others from entering religious premises, in violation of the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act).
The official stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrested Lemon in Los Angeles.
Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, called Lemon’s arrest an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment.” Lowell mentioned that Lemon was present at the protest as a journalist, with prior knowledge of the event, but unaware that the demonstrators would disrupt the religious ceremony. Video footage from the scene shows Lemon engaging in a debate on immigration enforcement with a churchgoer.
Federal agents also arrested three additional individuals, charging them with violating the FACE Act, a law passed in 1994 aimed at protecting abortion clinics and religious institutions from disruptions. This arrest is detailed in the article “DHS arrests three suspects accused of planning church disturbance in Minnesota.”
Earlier this month, a U.S. judge refused to issue an arrest warrant for Lemon citing lack of evidence.
Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023 for remarks made during a broadcast about women and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, which were widely considered to be discriminatory. Prior to that, he had worked at CNN for 17 years.
(Reference: Reporting by Reuters)