Ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon released without bail after being charged over Minnesota church protest

Don Lemon was released without bail after appearing in a Los Angeles court on Friday on federal charges related to his coverage of anti-ICE protests at a Minneapolis church earlier this month.

The 59-year-old journalist, wearing a white suit and cream sweater, is accused of conspiracy and interfering with worshipers’ First Amendment rights.

Lemon did not enter a formal plea during his 20-minute hearing, but his attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, told the court he was pleading not guilty.

“He’s determined to fight this case, he’s not going anywhere,” Bednarski told the court when prosecutors asked Judge Patricia Donahue to seek $100,000 bail for Lemon, who was held in custody overnight after his arrest Thursday in Beverly Hills.

Prosecutors also asked the judge to order Lemon, who is in Los Angeles for Sunday’s Grammy Awards, to surrender his passport and restrict his travel to New York and Minnesota, where he lives.

“This is a very serious crime,” lead government attorney Alexander Robbins said at the crowded hearing, which was also attended by LA Mayor Karen Bass and Lemon’s husband, Tim Malone, to whom the journalist blew a kiss.

Bednarski opposed this, saying it would be ‘inappropriate’ to restrict his travel as an international correspondent.

‘He’s not a flight risk. He poses no danger whatsoever. He has no criminal convictions. He has been working as a journalist since graduating from journalism school in 1996. That’s what he does.’

Judge Donahue denied federal prosecutors’ request for $100,000 bail and released Lemon on his own recognizance.

He also said Lemon could take a planned sailing trip to France in June as long as it doesn’t interfere with any court proceedings in Minnesota, where he next faces a hearing on Feb. 9.

The judge also ordered Lemon to have “no contact with victims or witnesses” in the case.

Lemon left the court with her husband Tim Malone (right), to whom she blew a kiss during the hearing.

Lemon (left) appears at a hearing in Los Angeles after his arrest for attending a protest at a church in Minnesota

In the footage of the incident, Lemon is seen arguing with the church priest over the raid on the Sunday service and telling the priest: ‘There is a Constitution and the First Amendment, there is freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and protest.’

Lemon said he had no connection with the organization that entered the church and was there as an independent journalist recording the protesters.

Lemon, who wore glasses and appeared serious and focused during Friday’s hearing, answered “yes” when Judge Donahue asked if he understood the charges brought against him by the Minnesota grand jury.

Prosecutor Robbins previously said that during the Minnesota church demonstration, Lemon “positioned himself near the door of the church and physically blocked people trying to leave the church.”

However, Benarski denied the charge and told the court Lemon was ‘not guilty of obstruction or violence’. He is not a danger to society.

‘There is no evidence that my client used violence or committed any violence.’

Lemon, who started his own YouTube channel after leaving CNN, was taken into federal custody in Los Angeles for joining pro-immigration protesters who attacked a church in Minnesota.

He is accused of conspiracy and interfering with worshipers’ First Amendment rights.

The White House said in a post under the black and white photo of Lemon inside the church, “When life gives you lemons…”

The incident was filmed for his show at Cities Church in St Paul on January 18. Protesters objected to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting the church because one of its pastors, David Easterwood, also runs the local ICE field office.

Protesters screaming and harassing worshipers sparked outrage across the country.

Footage of the attack on the church showed Lemon arguing with a church priest who described his antics as ‘shameless’.

Lemon insisted that his behavior was covered by the First Amendment as he glared at the priest: ‘There is a Constitution and the First Amendment, there is freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and protest.’

He also later boasted on Jennifer Welch’s ‘I Did It’ podcast on Monday afternoon that he was the ‘biggest name’ in the anti-ICE church protest.

“You know, I said, ‘I don’t understand how I went from being a journalist to being the face of this business’ — I understand that, I was the biggest name out there,” Lemon told Jennifer Welch on the ‘I Did It’ podcast on Monday afternoon.

The White House mocked Lemon for writing after his arrest: ‘When life gives you lemons…’

Lemon joined protesters at the church earlier this month, where he interviewed organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong (pictured), who was later arrested for her role in the incident.

Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly, aka the ‘Woke Farmer’, were also arrested during this church protest

The independent journalist shared the message his producers gave him after realizing how much buzz he had made.

‘I was with my producers this morning… My producers were saying, ‘How did I become the face of this?’ I said, and my producers said, Don, you’re a gay, black man in America.

‘And you have a platform and you’re the biggest name. Of course, you’re going to be their pick and they’re going to make headlines because it plays to their base, and by the way, their base is full of racist, bigoted homophobes like Nicki Minaj,” Lemon added.

A few days later, Lemon was indicted by a grand jury in Minnesota and charged with conspiracy to commit disenfranchisement and violating the FACE law, which prohibits interfering with someone’s right to worship.

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, said he had no connection with the organization that entered the church and was there as an independent journalist recording the protesters.

With Lemon’s arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on January 22 that Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen were also detained.

FBI Director Kash Patel later said a third protester, William Kelly, was also detained.

Lemon was seen handcuffed on either side of him by FBI and Homeland Security agents and “didn’t look too happy,” a source told the Daily Mail.

A person familiar with the investigation said prosecutors thought Lemon’s arrest would likely enjoy the publicity, making it “definitely a disadvantage” in pursuing charges against him.

Lemon seen with husband Tim Malone

David Easterwood, pastor (center left) at Cities Church in St. Paul and director of the ICE field office, is seen with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a news conference in October. Earlier this month, his church was the target of anti-ICE protests that Lemon attended

The source said, ‘He will write a book and act like a martyr.’ ‘But I also think that if you do nothing you’re sending a message that people can disrupt church services, and I think they need to cut that nonsense and enforce the law.’

Before her arrest, Lemon attended the Grammy Recording Academy Honors ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday night, where she was photographed with rapper Busta Rhymes.

In a statement made after Lemon’s arrest, Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, argued that the raid on the church in Minnesota was ‘constitutionally protected’.

“Don was a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than the one he always did,” the statement said.

‘The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose job it is to shine a light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There’s no more important time for people like Don to do this work.’

And in a statement Friday, Lemon’s lawyer harshly criticized the federal investigators who charged him “instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters.”

“The Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real charge in this case,” the statement said.

‘This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract from the many crises facing this administration will not survive.’

Lowell concluded his statement by stating that Lemon “will vigorously and thoroughly fight these charges in court.”

Lemon began his journalism career as a weekend news anchor at a local station in Birmingham, Alabama, before working at outlets in Pennsylvania and Missouri.

He joined NBC News from 2003 to 2006, then joined CNN in 2006. After eight years at the network, he would host CNN Tonight from 2014 until 2023, when he was fired.

In 2024, she launched The Don Lemon Show as a podcast and YouTube series and married her longtime partner, real estate agent Tim Malone.