Independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles for his participation in an anti-ICE protest that disrupted services at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18.

JNS previously reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had opened an investigation into Lemon and a group of activists for harassing Christians at a Baptist church. The affidavit alleged probable cause for a violation of the FACE Act and a conspiracy charge.

The protesters “disrupted the religious service and intimidated, harassed, oppressed and terrorized the parishioners, including young children, and caused the service to be cut short and forced parishioners to flee the church out of a side door, which resulted in one female victim falling and suffering an injury,” the complaint stated.

It noted that “prior to their assault on the church, the agitators met together in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center and made plans for their actions inside the church.”

Pam Bondi stated that Lemon, who live-streamed footage of himself accompanying the protesters before and during the incident, was arrested at her direction.

“When life gives you lemons,” the White House posted to X, along with a photo of Lemon from inside Cities Church, with the caption: “Don Lemon arrested for involvement in the St. Paul Church Riots.”

Abbe Lowell, attorney for Lemon, released a statement. “Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards,” Lowell wrote.

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

Lowell said that instead of “devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest,” the Justice Department should be “investigating the federal agents who killed two Minnesota protesters.”

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the arrest “a disgraceful affront to the First Amendment and a corrupt weaponization of the criminal justice system.”

“He should be freed immediately,” Jeffries said. “The illegal extremists in the Trump administration will all be held accountable for their crimes against the Constitution.”

Patty Murray, the Democratic senator from Washington state, shared footage of Lemon’s coverage of the protest in an effort to show that the journalist was “simply highlighting what’s happening in this country.”

She said that “he must be released immediately.”

Seth Moulton, the Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, compared the arrest to Nazi Germany. “Hitler exploited the Reichstag Fire to invent a Communist uprising, manufacture an existential threat and strip civil liberties,” he said.

“That factual comparison is not extreme,” he added. “We are already far down the path to authoritarianism, and it worsens every day.”

Benny Johnson, a political commentator, said that this is not an attack on the First Amendment. “Don Lemon broke the law,” he said. “Being a journalist doesn’t get you a free pass for committing crimes. Plain and simple.”

“Nobody is above the law,” Johnson said. “Don Lemon belongs in jail.”

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