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By Dan Gooding and Joshua Rhett Miller
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The Trump administration's arrest of journalist Don Lemon on Friday drew accusations that the White House is not protecting First Amendment rights.
Federal agents detained Lemon, a former CNN anchor, alongside three other people they alleged were connected with a protest that unfolded at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office director serves as a pastor.
"The arrest of journalist Don Lemon in connection with his reporting on a protest in Minnesota should alarm all Americans," Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told Newsweek.
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"Instead of investigating the role of federal immigration agents in the killings of two American citizens, the Trump administration is devoting its resources to arresting journalists. This behavior has no place in the United States," she continued.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Justice for further comment on the arrests. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Lemon's arrest on X, along with the arrest of journalist Georgia Fort, and said further details would be forthcoming.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson later told Newsweek: “Don Lemon is being charged with 18 USC 241, Conspiracy to Deprive Rights, and 18 USC 248, Violation of the FACE Act, interfering by force of someone’s First Amendment rights.”
Why It Matters
Journalists are protected by the First Amendment, meaning the government is not allowed to censor news, block publications or independent reporters from publishing content, or control what they report in any way, including critical analyses of policies or actions of the federal government.
President Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly criticized reporting by legacy media outlets, accusing them of pushing false narratives about White House policies and actions, including on immigration enforcement.
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What To Know
Lemon's arrest was announced Friday morning by his attorney, Abbe Lowell, but charges were not immediately clear. His detention came after a magistrate judge refused to sign an initial complaint against him, backing the argument that the former CNN anchor was at the church in Minnesota as a journalist, not a protester.
In footage recorded inside the church in St. Paul on January 18, Lemon said, "We're not part of the activists, but we're here just reporting on them." He conducted interviews with both churchgoers and protesters.
In a video segment shared last Thursday after news of the dismissal, Lemon said, "I stand proud and I stand tall," adding that the administration was going to "try again, and they're gonna try again.”
In the wake of Friday's arrest, fellow journalists and some lawmakers accused the DOJ of ignoring the Constitution.
Lemon's former colleague, Jake Tapper, shared a letter from Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota in which he wrote that Lemon and his producer "were not protestors at all; instead, they were a journalist and his producer. There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so."
Pod Save America host Jon Favreau said the government was "lying about what we can all see on video": that Lemon had been at the church as a reporter.
Democratic Representative Dan Goldman of New York said he was confident Lemon would prevail in court, but he added that the First Amendment was under "its greatest threat" since its founding. He was joined on X by Democratic Representative Shontel Brown of Ohio, who called the arrest chilling.
In a Friday morning X post, the White House shared a photo of Lemon, writing in the caption, "When life gives you lemons," followed by the chains emoji.
What People Are Saying
Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Newsweek: "The government's arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are naked attacks on freedom of the press. Two federal courts flatly rejected prosecuting Lemon because the evidence for these vindictive and unconstitutional charges was insufficient and Lemon has every right to document news and inform the public. Instead of accepting that humiliating defeat, the government has now doubled down.
"These arrests under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists. The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them. Fort's arrest is meant to instill the same fear in local independent journalists as big names like Lemon."
Representative Dan Goldman of New York wrote on X: "Journalists arrested on bogus charges; citizens executed in the streets by masked secret police; election offices raided at the direction of an intelligence agency; oil executives notified of a military invasion before Congress. Putin's America is here. I'm confident Don will prevail, but make no mistake: the First Amendment is under its greatest threat since our founding."
Representative Shontel Brown of Ohio wrote on X: "Don Lemon's work is protected by the First Amendment. This arrest is chilling, outrageous, and wrong. He should be released immediately. Trump DOJ is completely out of control."
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a video shared on X Friday: “Make no mistake: Under President Trump's leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven't been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
Tim Miller, the host of The Bulwark Podcast, wrote on X: "We haven't been told what government agents MURDERED ALEX PRETTI IN THE STREET. But the FBI has arrested the real danger, Don Lemon, for livestreaming against the regime."
What Happens Next
While Trump administration officials announced Lemon's arrest, charging documents were not immediately available.
Update 1/30/26, 11:59 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the Department of Homeland Security and additional information.
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