By Redacción
Redaccion@latinocc.com
Journalist Don Lemon was arrested Friday in connection with an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota, escalating concerns among press freedom advocates and civil rights groups about the treatment of journalists covering immigration-related protests in the United States.
Federal authorities confirmed that Lemon and three other individuals were taken into custody in relation to a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where a senior official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles, where he had been reporting on the Grammy Awards, according to his attorney, Abbe Lowell.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed the specific charges Lemon may face. His legal team insists he was present solely in his role as a journalist and had no affiliation with the group that entered the church.
Arrest Raises First Amendment Concerns
Lowell said Lemon, who has worked as a journalist for more than three decades, was engaged in constitutionally protected newsgathering activity at the time of the protest.
“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 in a statement, adding that Lemon was documenting events and interviewing protesters and churchgoers, not participating in the demonstration.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the arrests in a social media post, stating that Lemon and the others were detained “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church.”
Since leaving CNN in 2023, Lemon has operated independently, publishing content primarily on YouTube. He has been openly critical of President Donald Trump but repeatedly stated during the livestreamed protest that he was acting as a journalist, not an activist.
A magistrate judge previously declined prosecutors’ initial request to charge Lemon. Shortly after that decision, Lemon predicted publicly that federal authorities would attempt to pursue the case again.
Protest, Policing and Growing Tensions
The protest occurred amid heightened national tensions over immigration enforcement and followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. Demonstrators interrupted the church service chanting “ICE out” and calling for justice for Good.
Civil rights leaders, including Rev. Al Sharpton, condemned Lemon’s arrest, warning that aggressive prosecutions could chill press freedom.
“This is an alarming use of force against the First Amendment,” Sharpton said, accusing the administration of attempting to intimidate journalists who document opposition to federal policies.
Another journalist arrested Friday, Georgia Fort, livestreamed federal agents arriving at her home with an arrest warrant. She said she felt her rights as a member of the press were being violated for filming the protest.
Media ethicist Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute said the arrests send a troubling message to independent journalists, particularly those without institutional legal support.
“This appears to be about intimidation,” McBride said. “It discourages journalists from documenting public dissent.”
Federal prosecutors have previously charged other protest participants with civil rights violations, arguing that the disruption of the church service constituted unlawful conduct. Defense attorneys counter that nonviolent protest does not rise to the level of a federal felony.
Cities Church leaders welcomed the Justice Department’s actions, stating that freedom of worship without intimidation must be protected. Protest organizers, however, argue that the arrests represent a dangerous escalation in the federal response to immigration-related dissent.
