The Don Lemon Show highlights his outspoken coverage of current events.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Federal agents arrest former CNN anchor Don Lemon on Thursday night in Los Angeles while he covers the Grammy Awards; his attorney blasts the Trump Justice Department for targeting the journalist instead of probing protester deaths.
Lemon, now running “The Don Lemon Show” independently, was nabbed over his Jan. 18 livestream of an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, led by an ICE official as pastor. He claims pure reporting; a federal magistrate judge earlier rejected charges against him for lack of probable cause.
Abbe Lowell, the veteran defense attorney who has represented high-profile clients like Hunter Biden, Bob Menendez, John Edwards, and Jared Kushner, posted on Lemon’s Facebook: “Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards.”
Bondi Confirms Arrests
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on X: “At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
No formal charges have been filed publicly as of Friday morning.
Protest Backdrop
The incident occurred amid Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration crackdown sparking unrest, including the fatal shootings of protesters Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by agents now on administrative leave. Potential charges against Lemon include conspiring to deprive rights and obstructing religious exercise, such as under the FACE Act, following grand jury review despite a magistrate judge’s prior rejection for lack of probable cause.
Lemon, a 30-year news veteran, plans a fierce court defense amid First Amendment outcry.
