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Don Lemon was released from federal custody on Friday (January 30) after a judge declined to impose bond following his arrest, according to Bloomberg Law.
Federal prosecutors had asked the court to impose a $100,000 unsecured bond as a condition for Lemon’s release, but Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California allowed him to go free on his own recognizance without paying bond.
Lemon was arrested Thursday night (January 29) by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with his reporting on an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, a demonstration that disrupted a worship service on January 18. Lemon’s legal team has repeatedly maintained that he was acting strictly as a journalist documenting events, not participating in the protest itself.
The Department of Justice has charged Lemon with federal civil rights crimes, including conspiracy and interference with worshippers’ First Amendment rights, tied to the church protest — a move that has ignited widespread alarm among press freedom advocates and journalists.
The arrest sparked immediate backlash from media organizations and press freedom advocates. CNN, Lemon’s former employer, called the arrest “profoundly concerning,” emphasizing that federal judges had previously rejected attempts to secure arrest warrants related to the same reporting, citing a lack of evidence of criminal conduct.
Lemon is one of several individuals targeted in the federal response to the St. Paul protest. Independent journalist Georgia Fort, Minnesota activist Trahern Jean Crews, and community organizer Jamael Lundy were also arrested in connection with documenting or organizing around the same event.
Civil liberties groups and journalists have warned that the case represents a dangerous escalation, arguing that criminalizing newsgathering threatens First Amendment protections and could have a chilling effect on journalists covering protests and law enforcement actions.
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