Journalist Don Lemon was released from prison on Friday after federal agents arrested him in Los Angeles Thursday evening following backlash over his coverage of an anti-ICE protest in a Minnesota church.
Why it matters: A magistrate judge had rejected the Justice Department's initial attempt to bring a case against him last week, citing insufficient evidence that he violated any law.
Zoom in: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Friday evening said Lemon had been "released on his own recognizance."
- He said in his first remarks since being arrested Thursday evening: "I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now."
- "I look forward to my day in court," he added.
Lemon is facing charges under the FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits interfering with people exercising their religious rights, per a source familiar with the case.
- The former CNN anchor became a target of conservative politicians and influencers after he interviewed protesters, congregants and a pastor during the church protest earlier this month.
State of play: Lemon, who is now an independent journalist, was arrested at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi "in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota," she said on X.
- The White House referred Axios to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning.
Driving the news: "Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case," Lemon's attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
- "This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand."
- Lemon was taken into custody in LA, where he was covering the Grammy awards happening Sunday, Lowell said.
Zoom out: Georgia Fort, an independent journalist, was also arrested for her coverage at the church protest, she announced via a livestream.
- "It's hard to understand how we have a Constitution, Constitutional rights, when you can be arrested for being a member of the press," Fort said.
- Community organizer Trahern Jeen Crews and Minnesota Senate candidate Jamael Lundy were also arrested, Bondi said.
The big picture: The Trump administration has clashed with journalists and news organizations in many instances over the last year, even setting new legal and regulatory standards that threaten media's long-term independence, Axios' Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn have reported.
- U.S. press freedom hit a record low last year, according to the latest World Press Freedom Index.
What they're saying: Media and journalist advocacy groups backed Lemon on Friday and decried his arrest as "dangerous" for press freedom and public awareness.
- Derrick Johnson, NAACP national president, said the journalists' arrests are "a blatant assault on the First Amendment."
- "The arrest of journalist Don Lemon in connection with his reporting on a protest in Minnesota should alarm all Americans," Katherine Jacobsen, a spokesperson for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said.
- "Jailing a journalist for doing their job is dangerous — not only for press freedom, but for the public's right to know," National Press Club President Mark Schoeff, Jr. said..
- "The selective targeting of journalists— especially, Black and LGBTQIA journalists— raises urgent concerns about unequal enforcement and retaliatory policing of the press," a statement from the National Association of Black Journalists said.
Catch up quick: Protesters disrupted service at a St. Paul church after learning one of its pastors is the acting director of an ICE field office, Axios Twin Cities previously reported.
- "We're not part of the activists, but we're here just reporting on them," Lemon said in a video from the protest.
- In the aftermath, federal agents arrested former NAACP Minneapolis chapter leader Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Allen for taking part in the protest.
- "Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP," Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on Jan. 22.
Go deeper: Scoop: House Democrats told by leadership not to go to Minnesota
Marc Caputo and Julianna Bragg contributed reporting.
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details throughout.
