Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents Thursday night in Los Angeles while he was in the city covering the Grammy Awards. The arrest is connected to his presence at a January protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
According to Lemon’s attorney, he was acting in his role as a journalist while documenting the protest. The incident involved demonstrators entering a church during a service after learning one of its pastors also worked as a federal immigration officer. Authorities allege the protest disrupted a place of worship and violated federal law.
Lemon’s legal team says his actions were consistent with decades of reporting and argues that his work is protected under the First Amendment. In a written statement, his attorney described the arrest as an attack on press freedom and said Lemon plans to fight the charges fully in court.
