Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor turned independent YouTuber, was taken into custody late Thursday night, January 29, 2026, in the lobby of a Beverly Hills hotel while covering the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. More than two dozen agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI executed the arrest.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the charges on Friday morning, January 30, naming Lemon, independent journalist Georgia Fort, Trahern Jeen Crews, and Jamael Lydell Lundy in connection with the January 18 incident at Cities Church in St. Paul.
The charges include conspiracy to violate constitutional rights and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force, threats, or physical obstruction to interfere with the free exercise of religion. Lemon is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.
This comes after prosecutors first tried and failed to charge eight people, Lemon among them, when a magistrate judge claimed there wasn't enough evidence for most and punted the case to a grand jury.
On January 18, 2026, during a Sunday morning service at Cities Church, dozens of anti-ICE protesters, organized by groups including the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, burst into the building.
They chanted demands related to a recent deportation case involving a woman named Renee Good, unfurled banners accusing Pastor Jason Meyer of aiding ICE operations, and blocked aisles while shouting over the sermon. Meyer, who also serves as acting field director for the local ICE office, was a specific target of their ire.
Families with young children sat through the chaos as the protesters turned a place of worship into a stage for political agitation.
Lemon entered the church with the group and live-streamed the disruption on his platforms. In the video he later posted to YouTube, he repeatedly claimed journalistic status, stating, "I'm just here photographing, I'm not part of the group. I'm a journalist."
Federal officials contend his actions crossed into active participation and conspiracy to obstruct the congregation's right to religious practice.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, released a statement calling the arrest an “attack on press freedom,” insisting Lemon's presence was protected reporting (even though he disrupted a service, trampled the rights of others, and got in the preacher’s face aggressively), and started trying to shift the blame toward unrelated incidents involving federal agents in Minnesota.
Georgia Fort was arrested early Friday at her home. Before agents took her into custody, she streamed on Facebook Live, asserting the charges stemmed solely from filming the protest as media, and complaining that her right to document events had been violated. Again, ignoring the rights of everyone else there.
Fort has a history of covering left-wing protests and “social justice” causes in the Twin Cities area.
Crews and Lundy, named as the ringleaders of the gang, led the charge into the church and orchestrated the disruption. Now, all four of them face federal prosecution.
Left-leaning voices have rallied to Lemon's defense. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the arrests deeply troubling and argued journalists should never be criminalized for holding cameras.
Press freedom organizations, including the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Public Citizen, condemned the action as an assault on the First Amendment. CNN, despite having fired Lemon in 2023, issued a statement questioning the charges and defending his right to report.
FBI Director Kash Patel countered by describing the church incident as a coordinated targeting of religious freedom, and he is exactly right.
Senior Justice Department officials stressed that no one, regardless of media credentials, holds a right to trespass on private property or disrupt worship services. The FACE Act, enacted in 1994 primarily for clinic access but later applied to churches, provides a clear legal framework for holding such disruptions accountable.
Don Lemon made his name at CNN by parroting leftist talking points and attacking anything resembling traditional values, law enforcement, or secure borders. His latest stunt is just more of the same radical activism dressed up as journalism. Charging him sends a message that churches are not fair game for political theater, and fame does not put anyone above the law.
In the Highlander films and show (reboot with Henry Cavill coming soon), the immortals had one unbreakable rule: no fighting on holy ground, a tradition respected even by the most ruthless among them because sacred places demand protection from violence and desecration.
It is satisfying to witness accountability in action. For too long, certain figures have operated with a sense of untouchability, amplifying division while claiming “victimhood” when held to account. They are like the kids who try to steal your lunch money, then cry to the teacher when you punch them in the nose.
These arrests affirm that the law applies equally, that Christian worship remains a protected right, and that justice, when pursued with resolve, prevails. As the case moves forward, Americans should watch closely to ensure religious liberty stands firm against those who would profane it in the name of politics.