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Allies of President Donald Trump are lauding the arrest of Don Lemon — days after the former CNN journalist dared Attorney General Pam Bondi to “keep trying.”
Lemon and three other people — Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort and Jamael Lydell Lundy — were arrested at her direction in connection with a “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi announced in a post on X on Friday. Details of the charges against them were not immediately available.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement posted on social media that Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards, calling it an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and a “transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration.” Lowell added that Lemon will fight the charges “vigorously and thoroughly” in court.
The arrest of Lemon comes as he has faced calls for his arrest from conservatives after he live-streamed anti-ICE demonstrators who disrupted a church service in Minnesota on Jan. 18. The protest, in which Lemon has said he covered as a journalist, followed another fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal officers in Minneapolis this month, which has spurred protests across the Twin Cities.
Activists said that one of the pastors at Cities Church, where the incident took place, is directing an ICE field office.
A number of MAGA allies and supporters responded with support to the announcement.
“When life gives you lemons…,” the official White House account said on X, adding a chains emoji. Conservative journalist Megyn Kelly wrote that “journalists don’t get a pass when breaking the law just [because] they have a mic.”
“If I accompanied [people] storming an abortion clinic harassing/scaring/’traumatizing’ the crying women while saying ‘But I’m a reporter!’ I would absolutely have been charged under any Dem admin,” Kelly continued.
Former Trump 2024 campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz added that Lemon “must be held accountable.” “You cannot lead mobs into churches & attempt to intimidate Christians while they are worshipping!” he posted.
Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted a message from an interview with rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who has made headlines in recent days for praising Trump: “C—sucker stop.”
Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, also weighed in, writing, “More to come! Watch this space!”
A federal magistrate judge had previously rebuffed an initial attempt from the Justice Department to charge Lemon. The veteran journalist maintained that the DOJ is “going to try again, and they’re going to try again.”
“And guess what? Here I am,” Lemon said in a video posted on Jan. 23. “Keep trying.”
“That’s not gonna stop me from being a journalist,” he continued. “You’re not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel if you want.”
Dhillon quickly took note of Lemon’s challenge.
“Okay,” Dhillon briefly responded on X.
The non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation said that the arrests of Lemon and Fort, another journalist, are “naked attacks on freedom of the press.” CNN’s communications team argued that Lemon’s arrest “raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment.”
Bondi had also previously named three other people who she said were in custody over the demonstration at the church: Nekima Levy Armstrong, William Kelly and Chauntyll Allen.
Rachel Cohen; nj.com; (TNS) | ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
