Don Lemon says a dozen agents came to arrest him even though he offered to turn himself in

Federal Agents Arrest Journalist Don Lemon in Hotel Despite Surrender Offer

Independent journalist Don Lemon revealed that approximately a dozen federal agents confronted and arrested him at his Los Angeles hotel last week, despite his attorney’s prior assurance to authorities that he would voluntarily surrender to face federal civil rights charges. The charges stem from his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.

During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday, Lemon described the unexpected encounter: “I was walking up to the room and I pressed the elevator button, and then all of a sudden, I feel myself being jostled and people trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs.” When Lemon requested identification from the agents and asked to see a warrant, they initially could not produce one, eventually summoning an FBI agent to show him the document on a cellphone.

Lemon criticized the operation as wasteful of law enforcement resources, noting that agents wouldn’t have needed to track him if authorities had accepted his offer to surrender voluntarily. The Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment, while the FBI’s Minneapolis office declined to comment, citing that the case has entered “the adjudication phase.”

A Minnesota grand jury indicted Lemon, fellow independent journalist Georgia Fort, and others on charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during a January 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul. The church’s pastor is reportedly a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.

Lemon, who plans to plead not guilty according to his attorney, has maintained his journalistic independence during the incident. “I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening. I was following that one group around, and so that’s what I did. I reported on them,” Lemon told Kimmel, emphasizing he was not affiliated with the protest group and was not himself a protester.

Georgia Fort, speaking to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, described her own arrest as “extremely traumatic” for her family, particularly her children. “I did find out at some point my eight-year-old woke up but she was so terrified, she just laid in her bed and cried,” Fort said. “Now what we’re seeing from them, they’re afraid to be alone. They’re having issues going through their normal routines.”

Fort framed the arrests as part of a broader pattern targeting journalists. “I really want American people to understand, attacking the press is not simply attacking journalists,” she said. “It’s attacking the public’s right to know.”

Lemon detailed his post-arrest experience, saying agents denied his request to make a phone call and told him he could speak with his attorney the following day. His attempt to contact his husband and attorney via his Apple Watch was unsuccessful. In a fortunate turn, when agents noticed his diamond bracelet was causing discomfort with the handcuffs, they agreed to deliver it to Lemon’s husband in their hotel room. “And that’s how my husband found out. Otherwise, no one would have known where I was,” Lemon said.

He was detained in a federal courthouse holding room from midnight until 1 p.m. the following day before being released on a judge’s orders, at which point he told reporters, “I will not be silenced.”

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions around press freedoms. Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023 following a controversial stint as a morning host. Jimmy Kimmel himself became embroiled in a censorship controversy last year when ABC temporarily suspended his show following remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, amid pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. The network reinstated Kimmel after public backlash, and his ratings subsequently improved. Democratic senators later raised concerns that Carr’s actions violated First Amendment protections.

The case against Lemon and Fort has raised alarm among press freedom advocates who worry about the precedent set by arresting journalists covering protest activities.