Don Lemon to Address Charges in Minnesota Church Protest Case

WASHINGTON — Former CNN journalist Don Lemon is scheduled for arraignment in federal court on Friday, following charges linked to his reporting on a Minnesota church protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The protest was in response to the President’s directive to deploy numerous federal immigration agents across Minnesota’s major urban areas.

Lemon, who now works as an independent reporter, covered the event live as demonstrators gathered at a church to voice their disapproval of Trump’s actions. Alongside him, civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong is also slated for arraignment. Armstrong was depicted in a White House social media post that doctored a photo to misleadingly show her in tears during her arrest. This image is part of a wave of AI-manipulated visuals that have emerged following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s immigration initiative.

Federal court arraignments usually involve entering pleas and setting dates for future proceedings. It remains uncertain whether Lemon will attend in person or have his legal representatives manage the appearance. His lawyer, Joe Thompson, has not responded to requests for comment this week.

Arraignments in federal court typically include the entering of pleas and scheduling of future proceedings. It wasn’t clear ahead of the hearing if Lemon planned to personally appear or let his legal team handle the hearing. His attorney, Joe Thompson, did not return calls seeking comment this week.

Two more defendants, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, are to be arraigned next week. Nine defendants in all are charged in the case.

Protesters interrupted the service at Cities Church on Jan. 18 by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an officer in Minneapolis last month. Lemon has said that he was not affiliated with the group and that he was there as a journalist to cover the event for his livestream show.

The church protest drew sharp complaints from conservative religious and political leaders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned in a social media post at the time that “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.” Even among clergy who oppose the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, there was discomfort with such protests.

The Jan. 18 church service at Cities Church in St. Paul was selected by protesters because they believed a senior pastor at the church was an ICE agent. 

Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards more than a week after the protest, his attorney Abbe Lowell said. 

The veteran journalist was charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights, and for breaking a law meant to crack down on demonstrations at abortion clinics. The law has a provision that forbids obstructing access to houses of worship. 

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.

“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 said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media shortly after Lemon’s arrest saying he was taken into custody along with others who were in the church during the protest. 

“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,” Bondi said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.