(The Hill) — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was indicted Friday on federal civil rights charges related to his coverage of a protest inside a church in Minnesota earlier this month, amid President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Protesters interrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., on Jan. 18, to demonstrate against one of the pastors who reportedly served as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
Lemon has maintained that while he was present at the protest, he was acting as a journalist. He was arrested late Thursday by federal authorities in Los Angeles.
Several others, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, were also indicted in connection to the church protest.
The news comes as the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) operations in the North Star State are under scrutiny after immigration enforcement officials shot and killed two Minneapolis residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in separate incidents.
Here is what to know about the charges Lemon is facing.
What is the FACE Act?
A grand jury indicted Lemon and eight other defendants on two charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which includes places of worship.
The 1994 law bars “force or force of threat” that impedes a person’s ability to exercise their right to religious freedom inside a place of worship and prohibits damage to the spaces.
The Justice Department (DOJ) in its indictment said one church member suffered “bodily injury” during the protest.
The FACE Act was originally proposed in Congress to protect people seeking reproductive health services, and it has typically been used in prosecuting protesters who block entrances to medical clinics providing abortions. During the bill’s consideration, an amendment was added to protect religious freedoms as well.
Under the law’s penalties, first-time violators could face fines or up to a year in jail. People found to have violated the Act more than once could face more severe penalties.
What are the charges?
Lemon and the other defendants were indicted on one charge of “conspiracy against right of religious freedom at place” and one charge of acting to “injure, intimidate, and interfere with exercise of right of religious freedom” in a place of worship.
The complaint also states that Lemon was involved in planning the protest and that he withheld details of these plans in his reporting leading up to the demonstration.
The DOJ included quotations from the former CNN host’s livestream of the event, including him labeling congregants’ experience of the protest as “traumatic and uncomfortable.”
Lemon and several others are also accused of standing so close to the church’s pastor “in an attempt to oppress and intimidate him, and physically obstructed his freedom of movement,” according to the documents.
After leaving the church, prosecutors said Lemon “confronted some congregants and physically obstructed them” from departing.
What comes next?
Lemon was released from custody on Friday after being detained while covering the Grammy Awards late Thursday evening.
Following a court appearance in California, the journalist told reporters he “will not be silenced.”
“I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” he said. “In fact there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.”
The White House has stood behind the charges, posting a picture of Lemon at the protest with the caption “When life gives you lemons…” and a chain emoji in a post on the social platform X.
Following his detainment, his lawyer Abbe Lowell said Lemon will challenge the charges “vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
“The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” the attorney said.
Reaction
Lemon has received support from prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Trump, blasted the Trump administration in the wake of the arrest.
“Today, Donald Trump and his administration are once again trampling on our rights and our freedoms,” Harris wrote in a statement on X. “Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were fulfilling their duty to the American people to report and inform, and they have been arrested for it.”
She added, “Donald Trump continues to consolidate power and show a flagrant disregard for the rule of law. This arrest is another affront to our rights and freedoms and should alarm and enrage us.”
Jeffries echoed her concerns, adding that Lemon’s “urgent work is protected by the First Amendment” and there was “zero basis” to arrest him.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) condemned the arrest, tying it to Good and Pretti’s deaths.
She wrote online, “Exercising your first amendment constitutionally ‘protected’ right gets you locked up, exercising your 2nd gets you killed, and actual murder… well in uniform, gets you nothing!”
“This IS NOT NORMAL nor OK!” the lawmaker added.
CNN also issued a statement saying the arrest raises “profoundly concerning questions about press freedom,” pointing to previous failed attempts by the DOJ to prosecute Lemon.
