{"id":158073,"date":"2026-01-31T14:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/158073\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T14:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:52:14","slug":"don-lemon-released-from-federal-custody-after-anti-ice-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/158073\/","title":{"rendered":"Don Lemon Released From Federal Custody After Anti-ICE Arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tUPDATED with more details: Don Lemon<\/a> was released from federal custody Friday after a short hearing in downtown Los Angeles after being arrested for his presence covering an anti-ICE protest earlier this month in a Minneapolis-area church. Granted a no-cash bond and the ability to able to travel domestically and internationally despite a just unsealed two-count indictment<\/a>, the ex-CNN<\/a> anchor is a free man once again.<\/p>\n

\n\tOutside the courtroom soon after the hearing, Lemon thanked everyone for their support, and said: \u201cI have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now.\u201d To cheers, he continued: \u201cIn fact, there is no more important time than right now this very moment for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLast night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I have been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news,\u201d Lemon added, reading a statement before the cameras and microphones. \u201cThe First Amendment of the Constitution protects me and countless other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silent. I look forward to my day in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLemon did not enter a plea, but his defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski says the high-profile journalist is going to tell the court he is not guilty. \u201cHe\u2019s committed to fighting this case,\u201d Bednarski said today. The next court date for Lemon, who was charged in Minnesota, is February 9, the day after the Super Bowl. All future court appearances will take place in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Lemon represented by former public defender Bednarski, the out-of-district affidavit appearance before District Judge Patricia Donahue was set for 1:30 p.m. PT, according to the court docket. However, as is so often the case in such high-profile situations, the hearing didn\u2019t start until nearly 3 p.m. PT. Donahue rejected the government\u2019s request for a $100,000 bond in short order.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlong with four other defendants, the multi-Emmy-winning Lemon is charged with conspiracy against right of religious freedom at place of Worship and, in a second count, intending to injure, intimidate, and interfere with exercise of right of religious freedom at a place of worship.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: Springsteen Set To Perform In Minneapolis At Anti-ICE National Shutdown Protest<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe unsealed short-ish indictment alleges a \u201cconspiracy.\u201d It claims Lemon helped put together the so-called \u201cOperation Pullup\u201d with other \u201cagitators.\u201d Their purpose, according to the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota, was to attack the house of worship in a \u201ccoordinated takeover-style attack and engaged in acts of oppression, intimidation, threats, interference, and physical obstruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAs a result of the defendants\u2019 conduct, the pastor and congregation were forced to terminate the Church\u2019s worship service,\u201d the hyperbolic-leaning 14-page indictment reads. \u201cCongregants fled the Church building out of fear for their safety, other congregants took steps to implement an emergency plan, and young children were left to wonder, as one child put, if their parents were going to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe moving of the filing from Thursday into the public realm came just more an hour before Lemon was set to appear before a federal judge in the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\n\tRELATED: \u2018Grey\u2019s Anatomy\u2019 To Pause Production Friday Amid \u201cNational Shutdown\u201d Anti-ICE Protests<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tHaving issued a statement of strong support earlier Friday for Lemon and fellow arrested journalist Georgia Fort, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was at the packed hearing from the beginning. Lemon\u2019s husband Tim Malone was at the hearing too, as was the defendant\u2019s agent UTA<\/a>\u2018s Jay Sures, as thousands gathered in front of nearby City Hall and other areas downtown.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn fact, it was more than 12 hours after Lemon was arrested by federal agents in L.A. at a Grammys event that the government\u2019s case against the ex-CNN anchor was finally made public. Now an independent journalist since exiting CNN back in 2023, Lemon was in Minneapolis covering the anti-ICE protests there and the fatal January 7 shooting of Renee Good<\/a> by federal agents. On January 24, ICU nurse Alex Pretti<\/a> was killed by ICE gunfire after trying to come to the aid of a woman who had been pushed to the icy ground by masked federal officials.<\/p>\n

\n\tLemon livestreamed the protest at Cities Church in St. Paul almost two weeks ago, with demonstrators interrupting the service at the church whose pastor is alleged to be an ICE official. At the time Lemon insisted he \u201chad no affiliation\u201d with the protest organization. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know they were going to this church until we followed them. We were there chronicling protests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlong with Lemon and produce-journalist Fort, Nekima Levy-Armstrong, Chauntyll Allen, William Kelly, Jamael Lundy, Trahern Crews and two others whose names were redacted were charged with the two counts in the indictment. Released from custody earlier Friday after livestreaming her arrest the night before, Fort summarized for the whole matter for a crowd outside a Minnesota court. \u201cDo we have a Constitution? That is the pressing question,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n\tFriday saw the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), ex-VP Kamala Harris<\/a> and Amnesty International come to the defense of Lemon and the others indicted.<\/p>\n

ICE is occupying communities and shooting Americans.<\/p>\n

Now, former CNN anchor Don Lemon has been arrested for covering what ICE is doing.<\/p>\n

Arresting journalists is what happens in tin-pot dictatorships.<\/p>\n

We must fight back against authoritarianism.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The First Amendment is a foundational promise to every American: Each of us has the freedom to speak, to report, and to hold those in power accountable without fear of retribution or retaliation.<\/p>\n

Today, Donald Trump and his administration are once again trampling on our rights\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

US authorities must immediately release journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort. Journalism is not a crime. Reporting on protests is not a crime. Arresting journalists for their reporting is a clear example of an authoritarian practice.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPutin would be proud,\u201d tweeted Trump troller and likely 2028 POTUS candidate California Gov. Gavin Newsom before dawn Friday as news of Lemon\u2019s arrest spread. <\/p>\n

\n\tPerhaps more poignantly, various DOJ and FBI officials have refused to pursue the administration\u2019s agenda to go after journalists, with a number resigning their positions, Deadline can confirm. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe very cut-and-paste indictment filed just before today\u2019s national shutdown anti-ICE protests is the latest effort by the Department of Justice<\/a> to go after longtime Trump critic Lemon. At least two previous attempts to do so were rejected by judges,<\/a> frustrating administration officials. If there was any doubt this is personal in MAGAland, the admission earlier today of Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/a> that the arrest of Lemon and the others was \u201cat my direction .. .in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter all that, Lemon on Friday ended his remarks outside the DTLA courthouse with a hearty \u201cI thank you all.\u201d<\/p>\n