Fired CNN Star Don Lemon Taken Into Custody After Anti-ICE Church Protest

The former CNN star anchor Don Lemon has been arrested in connection with crashing Sunday services at a Minneapolis church, where a pastor is an ICE official.The FBI took Mr. Lemon into custody late Thursday night at Los Angeles but it was unclear what charges he faces. A grand jury was empaneled Thursday in the case, CBS News reported.Mr. Lemon was among a group of protesters who entered St. Paul’s Cities Church earlier this month and interrupted services. Mr. Lemon claimed he was there in his capacity as a journalist.The target of the protest, David Easterwood, is listed as a pastor on the church’s website, though it offers no biographic details. 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.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 Taken Into Custody After Anti-ICE Church Protest

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