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Don Lemon was arrested by federal authorities in Los Angeles while on assignment for the Grammy Awards, stated his lawyer, Abbe Lowell.
Independent journalist Don Lemon was taken into custody on Friday regarding an anti-immigration demonstration that interrupted a Minnesota church gathering and intensified friction between the public and the Trump administration, as reported by Associated Press.
Lemon was arrested by federal authorities in Los Angeles while on assignment for the Grammy Awards, stated his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, according to the AP report.
What are the charges imposed on Don Lemon?
At this time, the exact charges Lemon faces regarding the 18 January incident remain unspecified. His detention follows a magistrate judge’s decision last week to deny the prosecution’s initial attempt to bring charges against the reporter.
Lemon, who left CNN in 2023, has maintained that he has no ties to the activist group that entered the building, asserting he was present solely in a journalistic capacity to report on the activists.
“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.”
Lowell added that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court”.
Last week, a well-known civil rights lawyer and two other participants in the demonstration were also arrested. Federal prosecutors have alleged they committed civil rights infractions by impeding a religious service at Cities Church in St Paul, where a regional leader for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a presiding pastor.
Civil rights probe
The Department of Justice initiated a civil rights probe after the protesters disrupted the assembly with chants of “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” This was in reference to the 37-year-old mother who was recently shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Cities Church is an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention and identifies David Easterwood, an ICE officer, as one of its clergy. It is common for Baptist ministers to maintain dual careers in other sectors.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a social media post last week.
The Department of Justice’s rapid pursuit of the church disruption case is being scrutinized in light of its refusal to launch a civil rights inquiry into the fatal shooting of Good by federal personnel.
Furthermore, the agency has not indicated if it will investigate the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was also killed by federal agents.
“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,” Lowell said.
English (US) ·