(LifeSiteNews) — Nearly two weeks after Don Lemon joined a mob in storming a St. Paul, Minnesota, Baptist church worship service, the former CNN anchor was arrested at his hotel in Los Angeles just after midnight today.
His arrest had been delayed because a series of judges had declined to sign off on an arrest warrant. In a Fox and Friends report Friday morning, journalist Bill Melugin speculated that Lemon may have been indicted by a federal grand jury.
“Don Lemon CRIMINALLY charged – we can report it is at least one FELONY charge per a source familiar with the matter,” reported journalist Megyn Kelly on X.
“Five others (new defendants) also charged,” she added.
It remains unclear if Lemon is being charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which bars obstruction to abortion clinics and houses of worship. It has been used endlessly to bring serious charges against pro-lifers attempting to rescue preborn children, while rarely being used against individuals who desecrate or vandalize churches or who attack Christians.
🚨 Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has been arrested by federal agents in connection with the Minneapolis church storming. | @BillMelugin_ pic.twitter.com/N0EQtR8E6U
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) January 30, 2026
Earlier this week, FBI and Homeland Security agents arrested activists Nekima Levy Armstrong, a former president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter (BLM) leader Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and anti-ICE activist William Kelly.
A Minnesota U.S. magistrate judge rejected a DOJ criminal complaint against Lemon, who participated in the church invasion but later claimed he acted solely as a journalist covering a story.
Attorney General Pam Bondi “is enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision,” a source told Reuters after the magistrate declined to issue a warrant for Lemon’s arrest.
READ: Cardinals Tobin, Cupich, other bishops sound off about Minnesota while ignoring doctrinal abuses
“We were chronicling the protests,” the former CNN personality said in an Instagram post 24 hours after the church invasion, attempting to shield himself from blame for his participation. “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it, talk to the people who are involved, which included the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization. That’s it. It’s called journalism.”
The “DOJ has been an absolute dog on a bone in response to the egregious attack on Cities Church in Minneapolis by anti-ICE agitators,” noted Eric Teetsel, CEO of the Center for Renewing America.
“This administration will not stand for attacks on American churches,” added Teetsel.
Lemon is expected to appear in a Los Angeles federal court today, according to The New York Times.
“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand,” wrote Lemon’s attorney Abbe Lowell. “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
While Lemon’s lawyer frames his arrest as an “attack on the First Amendment,” Christian and conservative voices, along with those in the Trump DOJ, have risen in near unison to declare the storming of the church as an act of terror against churchgoers and children.
Milo Yiannopoulos went so far as to urge the DOJ to “[a]rrest Lemon’s lawyer Abbe Lowell for giving material aid to a domestic terrorist,” after he penned a public statement in defense of Lemon.
“This letter has nothing to do with his crimes,” asserted the popular, often provocative conservative Catholic commentator. “It’s political activism.”
“For those saying this is criminalizing journalism, journalists don’t get a pass when breaking the law just because they have a mic,” declared Megyn Kelly. “If I accompanied people storming an abortion clinic harassing/scaring/’traumatizing’ the crying women while saying ‘But I’m a reporter! I would absolutely have been charged under any Dem admin.”
Megyn Kelly comments on Don Lemon getting arrested. https://t.co/KA8LQyQFYS
— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten) January 30, 2026
