Former CNN host Don Lemon has been arrested after he entered a Minnesota church and filmed anti-immigration enforcement protesters as they disrupted a service. Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents on Thursday night while in Los Angeles covering the Grammy Awards, according to a statement from his lawyer Abbe Lowell. 'Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,' the attorney said.
Lemon went into the Cities Church in St Paul on 19 January with a group of protesters who said one of the pastors was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official. 'Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,' Lowell stated on Lemon's Instagram account. He added, 'This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.'
In his own defense, Lemon said in a recent video: 'Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it.' The government initially sought to charge eight individuals involved in the protest, citing a law that protects activities within places of worship. However, charges were approved for only three, excluding Lemon. The government challenged this decision but was turned away by an appeals court.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized the protests, labeling the scenes 'horrific.' Harmeet Dhillon from the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division vowed to pursue the case rigorously. The protests are part of a broader unrest in Minnesota, where federal immigration operations have led to confrontations resulting in deaths of US citizens. In response to Lemon's arrest, former colleague Jim Acosta stated, 'This is outrageous and cannot stand. The First Amendment is under attack in America!'
Lemon went into the Cities Church in St Paul on 19 January with a group of protesters who said one of the pastors was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official. 'Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,' Lowell stated on Lemon's Instagram account. He added, 'This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.'
In his own defense, Lemon said in a recent video: 'Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it.' The government initially sought to charge eight individuals involved in the protest, citing a law that protects activities within places of worship. However, charges were approved for only three, excluding Lemon. The government challenged this decision but was turned away by an appeals court.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized the protests, labeling the scenes 'horrific.' Harmeet Dhillon from the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division vowed to pursue the case rigorously. The protests are part of a broader unrest in Minnesota, where federal immigration operations have led to confrontations resulting in deaths of US citizens. In response to Lemon's arrest, former colleague Jim Acosta stated, 'This is outrageous and cannot stand. The First Amendment is under attack in America!'
