LOS ANGELES, Kalifornia (PNN) - January 30, 2026 - Former CNN host Don Lemon was taken into federal custody late Thursday night in Los Angeles, according to a statement released by his lawyer.
Lemon was in Los Angeles covering the Grammy Awards when federal agents arrested him, his attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement shared on X.
The arrest stems from Lemon’s role in the disruption of a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18 amid ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Twin Cities area.
He is charged with violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as the KKK Act, which prohibits attacking people in church or synagogues or mosques who are practicing their respective religions.
The former primetime news host went viral for sticking a microphone in people’s faces at the church, in violation of the Act.
Despite the fact that Lemon clearly broke the law, Lowell defended him as a journalist with three decades of experience and said his actions in Minnesota were in line with his job.
The 59-year-old runs a Marxist far-Left YouTube channel.
The attorney claimed Lemon’s presence inside the church when congregants were forced to flee was protected by the First Amendment and argued the arrest was political, which is patently untrue.
The Department of Justice has not yet commented on the circumstances surrounding the arrest, which was expected but delayed after a judge refused to sign off on it.
Lemon had not yet released his own statement as of the time of publication.