Don Lemon Nabbed for Covering Anti-ICE Protest at Minnesota Church

Former CNN host Don Lemon has been arrested after entering a Minnesota church and filming anti-immigration enforcement protesters as they disrupted a service, Brandon Drenon reported for BBC News.

Lemon entered Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 19 with a group of protesters who claimed one of the pastors was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official. (Photo: Don Lemon Facebook)

Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents 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,” Lowell said. “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different from what he has always done.”

Lowell added: “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.”

Jim Acosta, Lemon’s former CNN colleague, reacted on social media, writing: “This is outrageous and cannot stand. The First Amendment is under attack in America!”

Lemon entered Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 19 with a group of protesters who claimed one of the pastors was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official.

In a recent video, Lemon said: “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was to report on it.”

The Trump administration initially sought to charge eight people involved in the protest, citing a law protecting places of worship.

A magistrate judge approved charges against only three individuals, excluding Lemon. The government challenged that decision but was turned away by an appeals court.