Federal charges against journalists who covered a protest

Nine defendants including two journalists were indicted on federal civil rights charges carrying the possibility of prison. Lemon's phone was seized at arrest; Homeland Security Investigations later sought search warrants for the YouTube business records of both journalists. Minnesota's attorney general called the arrests deeply troubling; the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker logged them. The case is pending.

On January 18, 2026, anti-ICE protesters entered Cities Church in St. Paul during a service, chanting 'ICE out' and 'Justice for Renee Good,' after learning that one of the church's pastors directs ICE's St. Paul field office. Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor now working independently, livestreamed and interviewed both churchgoers and demonstrators, saying on the recording, 'We're not part of the activists, but we're here just reporting on them.' Independent journalist Georgia Fort was also livestreaming. A magistrate judge rejected prosecutors' initial bid to charge Lemon, after which he predicted on his show that the administration would try again.

A grand jury indicted nine people, including Lemon and Fort, on two counts each: conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship, and injuring, intimidating, and interfering with that right. On January 29, more than two dozen agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations arrested Lemon after 11 p.m. in a Beverly Hills hotel lobby, where he was covering the Grammy Awards; his lawyer later revealed that his phone was seized. Fort was arrested at her home the same morning, telling reporters that nearly two dozen agents surrounded the house at 6 a.m. while her three daughters were inside. Attorney General Bondi announced on social media that the arrests were made 'at my direction,' and warned that if you violate the right to worship, 'we are coming after you.' The official White House account posted an image of Lemon's arrest with a chain emoji.

The two sides describe the same conduct differently. The indictment alleges that Lemon and co-defendants 'largely surrounded' the pastor 'in an attempt to oppress and intimidate him,' that he physically obstructed congregants trying to leave, and that he 'peppered him with questions to promote the operation's message'; Patel called it a coordinated targeting of the church, and the church's lead pastor thanked the Justice Department. Lemon's counsel Abbe Lowell said his client was doing constitutionally protected work, and that the department was devoting its resources to this arrest 'instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters' (documented at MIL-08 and SPJ-07). Both journalists pleaded not guilty; the prosecution is pending. In February, a Homeland Security Investigations agent applied for search warrants to Google for all business records tied to Lemon's and Fort's YouTube channels, which a federal judge ordered unsealed on May 22, 2026. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said no one should be arrested 'merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions, or telling the public what we have a right to know.'

Documented; a federal indictment, the arrests, and the Attorney General's public statements

Both journalists pleaded not guilty and the prosecution is pending. A magistrate judge initially rejected prosecutors' bid to charge Lemon; a grand jury then indicted him. Press freedom organizations call the theory unconstitutional; the government alleges the journalists participated in the protest

2026-01-18 (protest) to 2026-05-22 (search-warrant unsealing); prosecution ongoing