Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023 for alleged sexist comments and is now an independent journalist, was detained in Los Angeles, where he was about to cover the Grammy Awards, according to a statement from his lawyer, Abbe Lowell.
“Don will fight these charges with vigor and rigor in court,” said the lawyer, denouncing an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment.” of the US Constitution (which guarantees freedom of speech and the press).
The 59-year-old journalist, who worked for 17 years at CNN and is a critic of President Donald Trump, is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles federal court this Friday (January 30).
Lemon broadcast live on his YouTube channel the protest against President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration measures, which interrupted a religious service at St. Paul’s Church in Minnesota. The church’s pastor is a member of ICE.
“As soon as the protest began at the church, we performed an act of journalism, which was to report what happened and speak to the people involved, including the pastor, church members and members of the organization,” Lemon said in a recent video. “That’s it. This is called journalism.”
The former CNN host is accused of conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and obstructing access to a place of worship, according to a Justice Department official.
Shortly after the church protest in Minnesota, federal agents detained three people involved and charged them with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a 1994 law that prevents the obstruction of abortion clinics and places of worship.
However, a judge declined to issue arrest warrants for Lemon and the video producer who accompanied him to the church, telling prosecutors they had not demonstrated “probable cause” that they had violated the law.
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