Fired CNN Star Don Lemon Vows To Fight On After Arrest Over Anti-ICE Church Protest

The former CNN star anchor Don Lemon says he is looking forward to his February 9 arraignment in Minneapolis after being released without bond from federal custody in Los Angeles.“I have spent my entire career covering the news,” Mr. Lemon said in a brief statement to reporters outside the federal building where he appeared before a judge late Friday afternoon. “I will not stop now.”Mr. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles overnight Thursday in connection with crashing Sunday services at a Minneapolis church, where a pastor is an ICE official. He had been in the California city covering the Grammy Awards when he was arrested.“At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a Friday X post.A grand jury indictment leading to the arrest charges Mr. Lemon with conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship and actions that injure, intimidate and interfere with the exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of worship.At Mr. Lemon’s bond hearing in Los Angeles, government lawyers asked the magistrate judge to set bond at $100,000 and restrict his travel to Minneapolis, where he will face charges, and his home city of New York. Both requests were turned down and an arraignment was set for February 9 in Minneapolis.In his statement to reporters, Mr. Lemon said, “There is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable. … I look forward to my day in court.”An attorney for Ms. Fort, an independent journalist who was also arrested Friday, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that Ms. Fort’s arrest warrant cites the same two charges as those faced by Mr. Lemon.The charges stem from an incident this month in which protesters entered St. Paul’s Cities Church and interrupted services. Mr. Lemon claimed he was there in his capacity as a journalist.The target of the protest was David Easterwood, an acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , who also serves as a pastor at the church.Mr. Easterwood was recently named in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, alleging that he and other Department of Homeland Security officials racially profiled and violated the rights of Minnesota citizens during their deportation raids. He currently leads the ICE field office of St. Paul, Minnesota.The Trump administration sought to charge eight people, including Mr. Lemon, but a magistrate judge approved charges against only three people. Mr. Lemon was not among them.A federal appeals court refused to order the judge to issue additional warrants.A federal grand jury was empaneled on Thursday and issued the indictments.Mr. Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, issued a statement saying his client will fight the charges.“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Mr. Lowell said. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”“This is outrageous and cannot stand,” Mr. Lemon’s former CNN colleague, Jim Acosta said in an X post. “The First Amendment is under attack in America!”“This is horrifying,” former ESPN host Jemele Hill, and frequent critic of President Trump, said in an X post. “I don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent, this absolutely cannot stand.”Mr. Lemon had been at Los Angeles to cover the Grammys. After being fired by CNN in 2023 following offensive comments about women, Mr. Lemon became a popular, independent journalist and liberal political commentator with more than a million subscribers on YouTube.

Fired CNN Star Don Lemon Vows To Fight On After Arrest Over Anti-ICE Church Protest

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