Don Lemon arrested in Los Angeles after livestreamed protest disrupted St. Paul church service, lawyer says
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has been arrested in the United States over his involvement in a protest that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month, according to his lawyer and a Department of Justice official.
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The Justice Department official said Lemon was taken into custody in Los Angeles by agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. The official confirmed the arrest but did not provide further details.
The demonstration focused on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities area. Lemon livestreamed from inside the St. Paul church as the protest unfolded and could be seen arguing with a parishioner about immigration enforcement.
Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s attorney, called the arrest an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment,” framing the case as a press freedom issue. In statements to colleagues and on social media, Lemon has said he was present as a journalist after receiving a tip about the demonstration and did not know activists planned to disrupt the service.
Trump administration officials swiftly condemned the episode, accusing the protesters of intimidating Christian worshippers and interfering with a religious service. The administration’s criticism underscored the fast-rising tensions around immigration enforcement and civil liberties as local churches and advocacy groups become flash points in the broader national debate.
Lemon, 59, spent 17 years at CNN and rose to become one of its most recognizable anchors before he was fired in 2023 after on-air comments about women and then–Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley were widely criticized as sexist. He later apologized. Trump publicly welcomed CNN’s decision at the time, continuing a long-running feud with the network and several of its prominent personalities.
Video of the church incident circulated widely online in recent days, with supporters of the protest arguing that the service was a legitimate venue to spotlight immigration policy and critics insisting that worshippers should not have been confronted during services. Lemon’s presence and livestream added a high-profile media dimension to an already volatile scene.
Lowell’s characterization of the arrest immediately placed the case within the broader context of press and protest rights, which have repeatedly collided with law enforcement responses in recent years. While Lemon maintains he was acting in a newsgathering capacity, federal agents carried out the arrest in connection with the disruption that took place inside the church.
Further details about the case, including any potential charges and next steps in the legal process, were not immediately available. Representatives for the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations did not immediately elaborate beyond confirming the arrest through the Justice Department official.
Lemon’s arrest is likely to intensify debates about where the lines are drawn around newsgathering, protest activity and the sanctity of religious services—and how those lines are enforced. It also thrusts the former prime-time anchor back into the political spotlight at a moment when the administration’s immigration policies and their local impacts are again at the center of national attention.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
