Federal agents arrested former CNN anchor Don Lemon late Thursday night, January 29, 2026, in Los Angeles while he was covering the Grammy Awards, marking a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s confrontation with journalists covering immigration enforcement protests.
Lemon, 59, was taken into custody in connection with his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 19. The arrest came after Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior Justice Department officials publicly promised to pursue charges against the former cable news personality, who has worked as a journalist for three decades.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, condemned the arrest as an assault on press freedom: “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 charges remain unclear, though Justice Department officials have indicated they stem from alleged violations of the Enforcement Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that the law applies “whenever anyone conspires to violate the protected civil rights of American citizens.”
Roughly 30 to 40 protesters rushed into Cities Church during Sunday worship on January 19 after discovering that one of the church’s pastors allegedly works as the acting field director of the St. Paul ICE field office. The demonstration occurred amid heightened tensions in the Twin Cities, where the federal government has deployed thousands of immigration agents since December.
Lemon livestreamed the incident for nearly seven hours on his YouTube channel, documenting the protest and speaking with congregation members, demonstrators, and church clergy. In video he posted, Lemon repeatedly identified himself as a journalist and said he was merely photographing the events.
However, government officials point to other footage that appears to undermine his claim of journalistic neutrality. Before the group entered the church, Lemon filmed a segment admitting he had conducted “reconnaissance” with the activists, including members of Minnesota Black Lives Matter, in a nearby parking lot.
“They’re planning an operation we’re going to follow them on. I can’t tell you exactly what they’re doing, but it’s called Operation Pull-Up,” Lemon said in the video. “So that’s what we’re doing here, and after we do this operation, you’ll see it live, these operations are surprise operations.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi visited Minneapolis and denounced the protest as “horrific” during a Fox News interview, though she did not specifically reference Lemon. Dhillon explained that the government views the church disruption as interference with constitutionally protected religious practice, telling podcaster Megyn Kelly the Justice Department would pursue charges “to the ends of the Earth.”
Last week, a federal appellate court declined to order a lower court judge to sign arrest warrants for five people, including Lemon, in connection with the protest. One of three judges indicated he believed probable cause existed to justify arrests, according to court filings. Multiple other protesters have already been charged.
Lowell sharply criticized the Justice Department’s priorities, pointing to the deaths of two protesters, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents in Minnesota earlier this month.
“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,” Lowell said. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.”
A grand jury was empaneled on the case Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter. Both the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations participated in the arrest.
The arrest marks an unprecedented confrontation between President Trump’s Justice Department and a prominent journalist. Lemon, who departed CNN in April 2023 after 17 years with the network, launched his own independent media platform and has focused extensively on covering immigration enforcement and civil rights issues.
The case also involves Lowell, a high-profile defense attorney who previously represented Hunter Biden in his federal criminal cases. Lowell vowed that Lemon would mount a vigorous defense against the charges.
As of Friday morning, the Justice Department had not publicly commented on the arrest or specified what charges Lemon would face.
