Don Lemon expected to enter plea in Minnesota church protest case

WASHINGTON — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is set to be arraigned in federal court Friday in a criminal case stemming from his coverage of a protest at a church in Minnesota against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the city. 

Lemon, now an independent journalist, was reporting live from a protest at a church against Trump’s deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents onto the streets of Minnesota’s largest cities. 

Also scheduled for arraignment Friday is civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, the subject of a photo posted on an official White House social media account that was altered to falsely show her crying when she was arrested. The picture is part of a deluge of AI-altered imagery circulating since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Arraignments in federal court typically include the entering of pleas and scheduling of future proceedings. It wasn’t clear ahead of the hearing if Lemon planned to personally appear or let his legal team handle the hearing. His attorney, Joe Thompson, did not return calls seeking comment this week.

Two more defendants, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, are to be arraigned next week. Nine defendants in all are charged in the case.

Protesters interrupted the service at Cities Church on Jan. 18 by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an officer in Minneapolis last month. Lemon has said that he was not affiliated with the group and that he was there as a journalist to cover the event for his livestream show.

The church protest drew sharp complaints from conservative religious and political leaders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned in a social media post at the time that “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.” Even among clergy who oppose the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, there was discomfort with such protests.

The Jan. 18 church service at Cities Church in St. Paul was selected by protesters because they believed a senior pastor at the church was an ICE agent. 

Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards more than a week after the protest, his attorney Abbe Lowell said. 

The veteran journalist was charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights, and for breaking a law meant to crack down on demonstrations at abortion clinics. The law has a provision that forbids obstructing access to houses of worship. 

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media shortly after Lemon’s arrest saying he was taken into custody along with others who were in the church during the protest. 

“At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.