According to reports, former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents on Jan. 30 in Los Angeles in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota earlier this month.
Lemon was one of two independent journalists taken into custody in the sweep; Minnesota-based independent reporter Georgia Fort was also arrested by federal authorities, according to NPR. Both were present at the Jan. 18 protest, where demonstrators interrupted a church service to protest involvement of a pastor affiliated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, released a statement defending his presence at the protest as journalistic work.
“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. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
It was unclear Friday what specific charges Lemon, Fort, Crews or Lundy would face; prosecutors have not publicly filed detailed allegations linked to the protest. Federal officials have not provided additional comments, according to NPR.
In addition to Lemon and Fort, Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents arrested two activists, Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with what she described on social media as “the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”