Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a serious warning following the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, declaring that the Trump administration would pursue all who interfere with the right to worship freely.
“Make no mistake. Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said in a video statement. “If I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 30, 2026
The comments came after federal agents arrested Lemon late Thursday in Los Angeles in connection with his presence during a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month. The demonstration opposed the Trump administration’s large-scale deportation efforts, which have involved deploying thousands of armed immigration agents into major cities, including those in Minnesota.
Lemon, who livestreamed from the scene at Cities Church on January 18, faces federal charges including conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and violating a statute that prohibits obstructing access to houses of worship. Three others, including independent local journalist Georgia Fort, were also arrested in the case, according to Bondi.
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 30, 2026
More details soon.
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, Hunter Bidens former attorney, described the action as an assault on press freedoms. “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” 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.”
The arrests follow clashes during the immigration enforcement surge, which has resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents—one before and one after the church protest. The operation has heightened tensions in Minnesota and sparked broader debate over the scope of the crackdown. A federal magistrate judge previously declined to issue an arrest warrant for Lemon and a video producer who accompanied him, finding no probable cause that they had violated the law. The judge described Lemon and the producer as not protesters and stated there was no evidence they engaged in or conspired to commit criminal behavior.
Prosecutors pursued emergency appeals to overrule the decision, but those efforts failed. The chief federal judge in Minnesota called the appeals unprecedented and directed prosecutors to seek an indictment from a grand jury if they disagreed with the magistrate’s ruling. The charges draw on an 1871 law originally aimed at combating the Ku Klux Klan and the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which addresses obstructions at abortion clinics and places of worship. Legal experts have questioned the application of these statutes to the case, with one professor describing it as an enormous stretch given the circumstances.
The incident fits into a pattern of Justice Department actions under the current administration targeting critics and perceived opponents. Previous efforts have included unsuccessful prosecutions against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as well as investigations into Democratic lawmakers, a former CIA director, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Press freedom advocates have condemned the arrest as part of wider encroachments on journalistic rights. “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 said in a statement.
