Nationwide — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested Friday in what critics are calling a direct assault on press freedom, as the Trump administration moved to arrest four Black journalists for simply covering a protest at a Minnesota church. Lemon and three other journalists were charged under federal civil rights statutes after reporting on demonstrations tied to immigration enforcement, sparking outrage from media watchdogs and civil rights groups who say the arrests were politically motivated and meant to intimidate the press.
According to NBC News, Lemon, 59, was taken into custody along with fellow journalists Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, all of whom were present in a reporting capacity. Federal prosecutors accused them of conspiring to interfere with religious freedom at a place of worship, despite their insistence that they were there solely to document events. Lemon was released later that day on his own recognizance and spoke outside a federal courthouse, vowing not to be silenced. “I have spent my entire career covering the news,” he said. “I will not stop now.”
The arrests stem from coverage of a January protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where demonstrators objected to the church pastor’s alleged role with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Prosecutors claimed Lemon attended a pre-protest briefing and delayed revealing the church’s location during live coverage, framing this as evidence of wrongdoing rather than journalism. Legal experts note that such actions fall squarely within standard newsgathering practices.
A federal magistrate judge previously found the Trump administration lacked probable cause to arrest Lemon under the statute used, which had never before been applied to journalists covering a church protest. Nonetheless, the Justice Department pressed forward, even as it has previously dropped or pardoned cases involving political allies prosecuted under the same law. Lemon’s attorney called the move an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and accused the administration of diverting attention from the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota.
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and one of those arrested, said armed federal agents surrounded her home at dawn as her children watched. She livestreamed the moments before her arrest, later stating that her teenage daughter understood exactly what was happening: “I am a journalist who was arrested for doing my job.” Press freedom organizations echoed that concern, warning that targeting Black journalists sends a chilling message to reporters nationwide.
Civil rights groups, journalists’ unions, and elected officials have condemned the arrests as an escalation by President Trump against the media, particularly Black reporters covering immigration and protest movements. Critics argue that arresting four Black journalists for news coverage crosses a dangerous line, transforming journalism into a criminal act. Lemon has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court next month, as supporters warn that the case should alarm anyone who believes in a free and independent press.