Journalist Don Lemon arrested over Minneapolis protests: lawyer

Journalist Don Lemon arrested during a Minnesota protest that disrupted a church service amid rising tensions over immigration policies.

Journalist Don Lemon was arrested in connection with an anti-immigration protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church and increased tensions between residents and the Trump administration, his lawyer said on Friday (January 30, 2026).

Mr. Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.

It is unclear what charge or charges Mr. Lemon is facing in the January 18 protest. The arrest came after a magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors’ initial bid to charge the journalist.

Mr. Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation with the organisation that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Mr. 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.”

Mr. Lowell added that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”