Gay journalist Don Lemon was arrested late Thursday night after attending and reporting on an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota. Lemon, 59, says he was working as a journalist when he entered Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18 to observe a protest against an immigration crackdown that left Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, dead at the hands of federal immigration agents. The church is led by a pastor who also serves as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.
During the service, protesters chanted “ICE out,” prompting the Trump administration to charge eight people, including Lemon, under a federal law protecting worship services. A magistrate judge later rejected the evidence against Lemon as insufficient. A Justice Department effort to revive the case was also denied. Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, called the charges “an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment…Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Lemon, a former CNN anchor and now an independent journalist with a YouTube show, is set to appear in federal court in Los Angeles. The arrest comes amid his public feud with rapper Nicki Minaj, following the reporting on the protest.
