Federal agents arrested former CNN anchor Don Lemon and three others on Thursday night in connection with a January 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The demonstration targeted the church due to its ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel and disrupted a worship service without causing physical harm. Critics decry the arrests as an assault on press freedoms, while officials describe the event as a coordinated attack on religious liberty.
On January 18, 2026, protesters entered Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, during a worship service, chanting "ICE out" to highlight the church's connections to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One lay pastor, David Easterwood, serves as an ICE field officer in the area. Videos from the incident show demonstrators interrupting the service loudly but not touching individuals or damaging property. Independent journalist Don Lemon, formerly of CNN, followed the group inside, livestreaming interviews with protesters, parishioners, and the pastor while identifying himself as a reporter.
Lemon spent about 45 minutes in the church, engaging in calm exchanges in most instances and exiting after being asked to leave, according to a Washington Post review of the footage. However, an unsealed indictment alleges Lemon attended a pre-operation briefing where organizers revealed the target and instructed on tactics, then helped maintain secrecy during his livestream by avoiding specifics and reminding co-conspirators not to disclose plans. It claims he entered with the first wave of protesters, occupied aisles, approached the pastor closely—causing incidental contact—and obstructed congregants attempting to exit, confronting them about immigration policy. Lemon acknowledged on stream that the disruption aimed to create a "traumatic and uncomfortable" experience, stating "the whole point of [the operation] is to disrupt."
Late on January 30, federal agents arrested Lemon in Los Angeles, along with journalists Georgia Fort and activists Trahern Jeen Crews and Jamael Lydell Lundy, on charges including violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and conspiracy to infringe on religious freedoms. The case revives charges initially rejected by a federal magistrate judge for lack of probable cause against Lemon, though an appeals court later found sufficient grounds. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the arrests, posting on X: "You have the right to worship freely and safely... if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you."
Lemon's attorney, Abbe Lowell, called it an "unprecedented attack on the First Amendment," while press advocates like Jameel Jaffer of the Knight First Amendment Institute argued, "Reporting on protests isn't a crime—it's protected by the First Amendment." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denounced it as "pure authoritarian bile." The church, founded in 2015 with ties to conservative networks like Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, portrays itself as apolitical, though its leaders have engaged in partisan commentary. Three others had been charged earlier under laws protecting places of worship. The arrests occur amid heightened tensions over ICE operations in Minnesota, following incidents like the killings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
