Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was taken into federal custody on Thursday night in Los Angeles. He was there to cover the Grammy Awards.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, confirmed Lemon was arrested by the feds for storming a church with other anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis activists Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly were previously arrested for organizing the protest.
Lowell said Lemon’s arrest violated his first amendment rights as a reporter.
Lemon previously said he didn’t have advanced knowledge of the protesters’ plans when they stormed the Cities Church, harassed worshipers, and made children cry.
“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 wrote in a press release.
In his statement, Lowell said the first amendment protects journalists “whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
Lemon and Minneapolis activists protested ICE agents who killed activist Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three.
A Minnesota judge blocked the Department of Justice from arresting Lemon in that state. But a judge in California signed the arrest warrant when Lemon flew there to cover the Grammys.
In a TikTok video last week, the highly emotional podcaster called rapper Nicki Minaj “homophobic” after she criticized him for storming the church.
She called him “a thug” and a “c*** sucker,” which sent him into a rage.
“I usually don’t respond to this stuff, but let me just say this. Nicki Minaj, stop talking about s–t which you know nothing about. This is out of your depth, by the way. And you are a homophobic bigot,” he said.
“You don’t care about African Americans, you’re not an African American. From what I know, you are reportedly an undocumented citizen, so you should be deported under Donald Trump’s rule.”
He continued: “Nicki Minaj, get a life, stop being a pick-me. You are a pick-me. And I choose not to pick you, and so should Black people, and so should gay people, shouldn’t buy your music. Clock that.”
@donlemon My response to Nicki Minaj’s homophobic tweet about me
