The Trump administration on Friday publicly celebrated the arrest of journalist Don Lemon, with Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing the action and the White House amplifying it less than an hour later. The situation sparked fierce backlash from lawmakers, civil rights leaders, and press freedom organizations, who warned that the administration was openly attacking the First Amendment.
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At 9:09 a.m., after news organizations, including The Advocate, reported on the arrests, Bondi wrote on X that the arrests were ordered directly by her.
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“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,” Bondi wrote. “More details soon.”
Forty-one minutes later, at 9:50 a.m., the White House followed with a post from the official White House account declaring “Don Lemon Arrested,” accompanied by a black-and-white image of Lemon and text asserting he was arrested for “involvement in the St. Paul church riots.” The post cited no charges, evidence, or court filings. "When life gives you lemons,” the White House wrote, along with chain emojis.
Why was Don Lemon arrested?
Lemon, the former CNN anchor turned independent and veteran journalist with a 30-year career, was taken into custody Thursday evening in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards, according to his attorney, Abbe Lowell. In a statement to The Advocate, Lowell characterized the arrest as retaliation for Lemon’s reporting on protests in Minneapolis and St. Paul following deadly encounters between federal agents and civilians.
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, was also arrested Friday morning in connection with her reporting in Minnesota, she confirmed in a Facebook live video as agents demanded her surrender.
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Fort and Lemon reported on a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18. During a live stream by Lemon, the journalist interviewed the pastor and several congregants inside and outside the church.
Federal courts had previously declined to find probable cause to charge Lemon in Minnesota.
As of Friday afternoon, charges against Lemon, Fort, or the other arrestees had not been unsealed. The Advocate has contacted the Justice Department and the White House for comment. Neither responded.
Justice Department declines to explain arrests
Despite the administration’s public messaging, senior Justice Department officials declined to explain the legal basis for the arrests.
At a Friday press conference announcing the release of more than three million pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche dismissed a reporter’s question about Lemon’s arrest.
“Do I have a reaction to it? I don’t know what that means,” Blanche said. “What are you looking for me to do? Jump up and down. No, I don’t have a reaction to it. I don’t know that the charges are unsealed yet, so no, I can’t. I’m not going to comment on that.”
Lawmakers warn of First Amendment violations
Democratic lawmakers said the arrests represented a direct assault on constitutional protections.
“The arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort is another example of the President and Attorney General Bondi weaponizing the Justice Department against those who dare to hold the administration accountable, including the press,” Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware said in a statement to The Advocate. “This action is a direct attack on the principle of a free press and the First Amendment. There is no legal or moral justification for their arrests and they should be released immediately.”
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic whip and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the DOJ was acting for political reasons rather than legal ones.
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“The Justice Department continues to pursue prosecutions in the name of Donald Trump — not in the name of justice,” Durbin said. “It’s gravely concerning that this weaponized DOJ arrested a journalist for reporting on First Amendment-protected activities and the atrocities happening in Minnesota at the hands of immigration agents.”
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, called Lemon’s arrest “a blatant assault on our First Amendment rights.”
“This is an attack on free press, and EVERY American must push back on this dangerous, horrific, and authoritarian act,” Garcia wrote on X. “Don must be freed immediately.”
Civil rights and press freedom groups sound alarm
Civil rights organizations and press freedom advocates warned that the arrests mark a dangerous escalation.
“Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of a free society,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement to The Advocate. “But Donald Trump and Pam Bondi are at war with that freedom — and are threatening the fundamentals of our democracy.”
Robinson emphasized that Lemon and Fort were “doing their jobs as reporters,” adding that arresting them “is not law enforcement — it is an attack on the Constitution.”
She also highlighted the identities of the journalists targeted. “We reject attempts to dismiss the significance of who these journalists are: Black journalists, one of whom is queer,” Robinson said. “When journalists can be detained for covering protests, none of us are safe. None of us are free.”
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“Journalists are under siege in America by our own government,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD. “The arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort have alarmed citizens nationwide, who do not want American freedoms and the rule of law to be replaced by harassment and state-sponsored disinformation. The freedom of the press is a cornerstone of American democracy, but that pillar is being shockingly eroded by government intimidation.”
Legal experts emphasized the rarity of the government’s approach.
Vice President of Policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Gabe Rottman, called the arrests “concerning.”
“To our knowledge, it’s unprecedented for the Justice Department to deploy the federal laws it has previously cited in this case against journalistic activity,” he told The Advocate in a statement. "Historically, the limited number of cases that have been brought against a journalist documenting a protest on private property have been handled as trespass cases at the state level. Those charges are almost always dropped, or if the cases go to trial, the journalists typically prevail.”
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told The Advocate that the arrests amounted to “naked attacks on freedom of the press” and warned they were “clear warning shots aimed at other journalists.”
“Two federal courts flatly rejected prosecuting Lemon because the evidence for these vindictive and unconstitutional charges was insufficient, and Lemon has every right to document news and inform the public. Instead of accepting that humiliating defeat, the government has now doubled down,” Stern added. He warned that the “message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them.”
He urged reporters not to be intimidated into silence.
“The answer to this outrageous attack is not fear or self-censorship. It’s an even stronger commitment to journalism, the truth, and the First Amendment. If the Trump administration thinks it can bully journalists into submission, it is wrong,” he said.
This story is developing.
The racist, homophobic, and frightening arrest of Don Lemon
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