(Updated on 01/30/2026 at 11:00 a.m.)
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Late Thursday night, journalist Don Lemon and three other Black leaders were arrested in connection to an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Lemon had been covering Minneapolis protests following the deaths of two Americans. Now, the four arrests are sparking concerns about the First Amendment and President Donald Trump’s alleged revenge plot.
Attorney General Pam Bondi made the announcement on X. “At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy,” she wrote.
News of the arrests of Lundy– an attorney with Hennepin County and candidate for Minnesota Senate– and Crews– a former candidate for St. Paul mayor and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota– were shocking enough. But Lemon’s arrest as a journalist certainly has raised more concerns.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, shared a similar sentiment. “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”
Fort, another independent Black journalist, posted a Facebook live video revealing federal agents came to her door at 6:30 a.m. to arrest her. “As a member of the press, I filmed the church protest a few weeks ago and now I’m being arrested for that,” she said. “It’s hard to understand how we have a Constitution, Constitutional rights, when we can just be arrested for being a member of the press.”
On Jan. 18, Fort and Lemon reported live from inside the Cities Church, where peaceful activists disrupted a church service — where an ICE agent is a pastor. The controversial demonstration came days after Renee Good was killed by agents and only days before another American citizen, Alex Pretti, was gunned down by ICE.
We previously told you the Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to arrest activists– including civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong– responsible for the church protest and even threatened to slap Lemon with conspiracy charges. A Minnesota judge rejected the DOJ’s push to bring forth charges against the former CNN journalist earlier this week. But clearly, that didn’t stop his arrest.
His attorney added, “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Lemon defended his reporting in a recent video posted to his account. “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization,” he said. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
In a video during the protest, Lemon can be heard saying, “I’m just here photographing, I’m not part of the group… I’m a journalist.”
Still, Lemon has become somewhat of a MAGA enemy over the past year. From his legal battle with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to online beef with Nicki Minaj and his outspoken criticism of President Donald Trump’s administration, the journalist has long faced threats of formal investigations and even criminal charges for his reporting.
As of right now, the current charges facing Lemon remain unclear. In the past, he’s been accused of violating the Enforcement Act of 1871 — also know as the Ku Klux Klan Act — which makes intruding on certain certain civil rights, like the right to practice one’s religion, illegal.
He spent the night in a jail cell, according to reports. He’s expected to make his first appearance in court sometime Friday. Meanwhile, tensions in Minneapolis continue to rise. Activists have called for a nation-wide general strike on Friday (Jan. 30) to protest ICE activity in the state.
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