By Brian Stelter, Kara Scannell, Hannah Rabinowitz and Nick Watt, CNN
Don Lemon.
Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/File via CNN Newsource
Independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have been criminally charged in connection with a protest at a church in St Paul, Minnesota.
First Amendment advocates and civil-rights organisations condemned the arrests, arguing that President Donald Trump was trying to chill press freedom in the US.
Lemon and Fort were live-streaming, as dozens of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters rushed into Cities Church on 18 January, interrupting a church service and leading to tense confrontations.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said four people were arrested early Friday “in connection with the co-ordinated attack” at the church. The other two individuals Bondi named were Trahern Jeen Crew and Jamael Lydell Lundy.
Lemon – a former CNN anchor, who now hosts his own show on YouTube and other platforms – was released from custody, after appearing in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.
Lemon appeared in court wearing a tan double-breasted suit and matching T-shirt. His husband was present in the gallery.
“This is a very serious felony,” a federal prosecutor said in court, adding Lemon “knowingly joined a mob to storm into a church”.
The prosecutor said Lemon told his audience the protest’s purpose was to make the experience traumatic and uncomfortable for the congregants.
Prosecutors requested a US$100,000 bond and argued Lemon needed conditions to ensure he wouldn’t feel emboldened to do something similar while awaiting trial.
In arguing for Lemon’s release, his defence attorney said the journalist needed to travel for work and pointed to Lemon’s 59 years of non-violent conduct. The defence attorney said Lemon intended to fight the case.
Lemon was released on his own recognisance. His defence attorneys agreed he would have no contact with known witnesses, victims or co-defendants.
Under the conditions set by the court, Lemon must gain approval for any foreign travel. The judge approved a trip to Europe he had planned in June.
According to the unsealed grand jury indictment, Lemon is being charged with two federal crimes – conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and violating the FACE Act, which prohibits the use of force or threats to intentionally interfere with someone expressing their First Amendment right to practice religion.
“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand,” Lowell said. “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
The indictment alleges that Lemon and Fort took part in a “takeover-style attack” of the St Paul church, along with 20-40 other people, who allegedly intimidated and threatened the congregation.
Prosecutors claim that Lemon met with other co-defendants prior to the event for a “pre-operation briefing”, and that he tried to keep parts of the operation secret, including by reminding others not to reveal certain information before the protest.
The indictment further alleges that Lemon and others attempted to intimidate the church’s pastor and obstruct his movements. The filing also alleges that Lemon confronted congregants at the church’s main door, obstructing their attempts to leave the building.
Legal experts interviewed on CNN pointed out likely weaknesses in the government’s case and predicted that Lemon would prevail.
Fort’s family members demanded her immediate release at a press conference in Minneapolis.
“This is wrong,” Fort’s teenage daughter said tearfully about her mother’s arrest. “She is not a protester.
“She is not an activist. She is a mom working to provide for her children through the only way she knows how – documenting and sharing stories of the community, and truth of what’s happening here every day in our state.”
Fort made the same points in a Facebook Live stream, when federal agents arrived at her home early Friday morning.
“This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media,” Fort said, before she surrendered to agents.
Fort was also released Friday on her own recognisance, according to court records. Speaking to the media in Minneapolis after her release, Fort said she and other journalists should be protected by the First Amendment.
“Amplifying the truth, documenting what is happening in our community, is not a crime,” she said.
Lemon has not yet been able to publicly comment on the matter. He was in LA to cover the Grammy Awards and was arrested after 11pm local time in a hotel lobby in Beverly Hills.
More than two dozen agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI arrested him, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the operation. His case is being led by HSI.
Lowell said Lemon was simply doing “constitutionally protected work” by documenting the protest at the church.
Lowell added: “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”.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the arrests were “deeply troubling”, adding: “In Minnesota, we do not treat journalists like criminals for doing their jobs.
“No-one should be arrested merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions or telling the public what we have a right to know.”
Previous attempts to charge Lemon
Lemon repeatedly said, even during his live YouTube stream of the church disruption, that he was present at the demonstration as a journalist, not as an activist. In a video of the episode, Lemon was heard saying, “I’m just here photographing, I’m not part of the group… I’m a journalist”.
His videos spurred widespread outrage, particularly from conservative Christians and other allies of the Trump administration, some of whom publicly pressured Bondi and other officials to take action and arrest Lemon.
The DOJ first attempted to charge eight people, including Lemon, last week. A magistrate judge rejected those charges against five of the people, including Lemon, saying that there was insufficient evidence to charge.
The judge, however, encouraged prosecutors to take the case to a grand jury and seek an indictment, and Lemon said on his YouTube show that the government would try again to charge him.
“Keep trying,” Lemon said. “That’s not going to stop me from being a journalist, you’re not going to diminish my voice.”
Senior DOJ officials publicly threatened Lemon with charges, asserting he did not have a right to be on the church’s private property, adding that interrupting a church service may have impeded churchgoers’ constitutional rights to express their religion.
On Friday morning, FBI director Kash Patel called what happened a “co-ordinated targeting” of the church.
Press freedom advocates condemn arrests
Press freedom groups blasted the arrests of the two reporters on Friday.
“These arrests under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists,” said Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation. “The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously, because the government is looking for any way to target them.”
Stern told CNN: “The answer to this outrageous attack is not fear or self-censorship.
“It’s an even stronger commitment to journalism, the truth and the First Amendment. If the Trump administration thinks it can bully journalists into submission, it is wrong”.
Katherine Jacobsen, the US, Canada and Caribbean Program Co-ordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Lemon’s arrest “should alarm all Americans”.
“As an international organisation, we know that the treatment of journalists is an indicator of the condition of a country’s democracy,” she said. “The United States is doing poorly.”
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen, called the action against Lemon an “authoritarian breach” and an “egregious violation of the First Amendment”.
“Reporters in America are free to view, document and share information with the public,” Gilbert said. “This arrest is a constitutional violation, an outrage, an authoritarian breach and utterly appalling.”
CNN also issued a statement in defence of Lemon, who was terminated by the network in 2023.
“The FBl’s arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment,” the network said.
“The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge of the Minnesota Federal District Court found there was ‘no evidence’ that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work.
“The First Amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the DOJ’s attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable. We will be following this case closely.”
– CNN