Lemon’s lawyer Abbe Lowell described the arrest as an ‘unprecedented attack on the First Amendment.’
Former CNN journalist turned YouTuber Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles late on Jan. 29 in connection with a livestreamed protest inside a Minnesota church earlier this month, according to his attorney.Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told CBS News that Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents on the night of Jan. 29.
Authorities have not publicly detailed the charges Lemon faces, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not issued a formal statement.
Lowell described the arrest as an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and said that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Lowell and the DOJ seeking confirmation of the charges and additional comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
Church Protest Under Federal Investigation
The arrest stems from a Jan. 18 protest that disrupted a Sunday worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Video footage circulating online appeared to show demonstrators entering the church during the service while chanting slogans including “Justice for Renee Good.”
The protest followed claims that one of the church’s pastors was serving as the acting field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota.
Federal officials have said they are investigating possible violations related to the incident.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a Jan. 18 post on X that a house of worship is not a public forum for protest.
“It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!” Dhillon wrote, adding that protesters were “on notice.” In subsequent posts, Dhillon said the FBI had been activated and that federal authorities were examining other potential crimes.
Considering and investigating other related crimes as well. @FBI activated too! @TheJusticeDept
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) January 18, 2026
In later interviews, Dhillon said prosecutors were considering whether to use provisions of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which prohibits conspiracies to deprive individuals of constitutional rights, as well as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994, which also applies to interference with religious worship.
BREAKING: DOJ Announces Intention to Charge Don Lemon under the Ku Klux Klan Act.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 19, 2026
The KKK Act makes it illegal to threaten, hurt, or intimidate people to prevent them from exercising their God-given rights.
HARMEET DHILLON: "The Klan Act is one of the most important federal… pic.twitter.com/GWnXAMtWc9
“Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening,” Dhillon said in a Jan. 19 interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson.
Dhillon also referenced Lemon directly, disputing claims that his actions were shielded by journalism.
“As if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part, of a criminal conspiracy. It isn’t,” she said.
By Tom Ozimek
