don lemon why was he arrested

Don Lemon was arrested in late January 2026 on federal civil rights charges tied to an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

• Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor now working as an independent journalist, went to Cities Church in St. Paul on 18 January 2026, where activists protested a pastor with ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

• Protesters disrupted the service with chants such as “ICE out,” turning the event into a flashpoint over immigration enforcement and civil liberties.

• Lemon filmed and reported on the protest inside the church, and prosecutors later highlighted his own comments suggesting the “whole point” was to disrupt operations.

Why Was He Arrested?

Federal authorities say Lemon wasn’t just covering the protest, but participated in conduct that violated a law protecting people’s right to attend religious services.

The indictment and public statements describe:

• Charges
  • Conspiracy against rights related to religious freedom at a place of worship.

* Interfering with or attempting to injure people in the exercise of religious freedom by allegedly helping obstruct a church service.

• Government’s framing
  • The Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi argue that what happened at the church crossed the line from protected protest into an “attack on a place of worship.”

* Officials say they are using a federal statute that protects people’s ability to attend and enjoy religious services without intimidation or obstruction.

How And Where He Was Arrested

• Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents in Los Angeles while he was there to cover events around the Grammy Awards.

• He was arrested at a hotel in Beverly Hills and then brought into federal court to face the charges.

• He was later released without bond, according to major outlets.

What Lemon And His Lawyer Say

Lemon and his legal team strongly deny that he committed a crime, insisting he was doing his job as a journalist.

Key points from their side:

• Lemon says he went to the church as a reporter, that he had advance notice of the protest but did not know activists planned to disrupt the service.

• His attorney, Abbe Lowell, calls the case an “unprecedented assault” on the First Amendment and press freedom.

• Lowell argues the Justice Department is misusing resources and trying to intimidate journalists who are critical of President Trump and his immigration policies.

• Lemon himself has publicly vowed to fight the charges and said he “will not be silenced.”

Legal And Political Backdrop

• The statute used here is normally aimed at protecting worshippers from threats, violence, or obstruction at religious sites; using it in a case involving a journalist filming a protest is what critics say makes this so explosive.

• A magistrate judge had previously declined to approve charges against Lemon in an earlier iteration of the case, finding the evidence insufficient, but the Justice Department pushed to revive and expand the charges.

• The arrest comes amid broader turmoil in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office and controversy over federal agents’ shootings of protesters in the region, which some prosecutors reportedly wanted to investigate more aggressively.

• Online, especially in political forums, Lemon’s arrest is being treated as a “five-alarm fire” moment for press freedom and protest rights, with intense debate over whether this is legitimate law enforcement or political retaliation.

TL;DR

Don Lemon was arrested because federal prosecutors say he took part in a protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service, violating civil rights and religious freedom laws—not simply because he reported on it. His lawyers and many commentators counter that he was doing routine journalistic work and that the case is a dangerous escalation against the press and dissent.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.