Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles on Friday morning after joining pro-immigration protesters who stormed a Minnesota church, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The former CNN anchor, 59, has been taken into federal custody over the incident that was filmed for his show at the Cities Church in St Paul on January 18.
He was indicted by a grand jury in Minnesota, and has been charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and a violation of the FACE act, which prohibits interfering with someone’s right to worship.
A source told the Daily Mail that Lemon was seen being handcuffed while flanked by FBI and Homeland Security agents, and he ‘didn’t look overly happy.’
An insider familiar with the investigation added that prosecutors considered that Lemon would likely enjoy the publicity of his arrest, and said it was ‘definitely a downside’ to bringing charges against him.
‘He’ll write a book and act like he’s a martyr,’ the source said. ‘But I also think if you don’t do anything you send a message that people can disrupt church services, and I think they have to cut that s*** off and enforce the law.’
Before Lemon was arrested, he attended the Grammy’s Recording Academy Honors awards show in Los Angeles on Thursday night, where he was pictured alongside rapper Busta Rhymes.
The incident that led to Lemon’s arrest unfolded earlier this month, when he filmed protesters opposed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting the church because one of its pastors, David Eastwood, also leads the local ICE field office.
Protesters screamed and harassed worshippers during the incident, which sparked nationwide fury.
In a statement from Lemon’s attorney Abbe Lowell following his arrest, the journalist defended the storming of the church in Minnesota as ‘constitutionally protected.’
‘Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,’ the statement read.
‘The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.’
In his footage from the storming of the church, Lemon was seen arguing with a church pastor who called his antics ‘shameless.’
Lemon insisted that his behavior was covered by the First Amendment, as he fumed to the pastor: ‘There’s a Constitution and a First Amendment, and freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest.’
In Lemon’s attorney’s statement on Friday, he hit out at federal investigators for charging him ‘instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters.’
‘The Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,’ the statement read.
‘This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.’
Lowell concluded the statement by declaring that Lemon ‘will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.’
Last week, Lemon was among eight people the Trump administration sought to charge over the storming of the church, however a magistrate judge rejected the charges against Lemon and approved evidence against only three of the people.
On Friday morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that Lemon was charged in connection with the ‘attack’ on the church, along with protesters Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy.
Federal officials had previously expressed desire to charge Lemon under the FACE Act, which bans people or groups interfering in religious services.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, also floated charging Lemon under the Ku Klux Klan Act, which makes it illegal to threaten, hurt, or intimidate people to prevent them from exercising their civil rights.
Following Lemon’s arrest, Dhillon took to X to warn the former CNN anchor there was ‘more to come… watch this space!’
The broadcaster lives in New York with his realtor husband Tim Malone, 41, who he married in 2024.
Lemon was fired from CNN in April 2023 after a 17 year stint at the network.
He sparked fury two months before his dismissal by claiming women in their 40s were ‘past their prime’ while discussing the prospects of Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley.
Since then, Lemon has set up a YouTube channel and brands himself as an ‘independent journalist’.
It comes as it was revealed that the anti-ICE mob that Lemon joined chose to target the church because one of its pastors, David Easterwood, also serves as the acting director of the St Paul ICE field office.
Easterwood, a pastor at the Cities Church in St. Paul, appeared alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in October, where he spoke of being ‘proud’ of leading the immigration crackdown in the town.
At the protest while speaking with Lemon, protester Nekima Levy Armstrong – who was also later arrested for her role in the incident – singled Easterwood out as the reason they chose to overwhelm the Sunday service.
‘This will not stand, they cannot pretend to be a house of God, while harboring someone who is commanding ICE agents to terrorize our communities,’ Armstrong told Lemon.
