BREAKING: Don Lemon arrested over St Paul church storming

Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with counts related to the incident on Thursday evening, per the New York Times. Lemon has claimed that he was simply there to document the events taking place, however, he appeared to have knowledge of what was going to take place before the group stormed the church and he gave out coffee and donuts to the agitators that participated in the action.

Others were also taken into custody, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post to X. "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. More details soon," Bondi announced.

https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017238803639845115?s=20

In a video, Lemon said, “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organization. That’s it. That’s called journalism.”

Prior to the storming of the church, Lemon was seen giving a kiss on the cheek to one of the main activist organizers, Nekima Armstrong. On video, he also said that the agitators were "gearing up for resistance and protest" at the church.

https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/2013292109604728952

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The Department of Justice had brought potential counts against Lemon to a magistrate after the incident, in addition to several others. Although the judge signed off on the charges against the others who participated in the storming of the church, the judge did not sign off on the charges against the left-wing pundit.

The magistrate judge who refused to sign off on the charges against Lemon, Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko, is also married to Assistant Attorney General Caitlin Micko, who works with Democrat Minnesota AG Keith Ellison.

Now that Lemon has been arrested in the case, he will likely argue that he was merely there to document the events instead of coordinating with the group that organized the action against the church.

Lemon's attorney, Abbe Lowell said in a statement, "Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards. Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work."

https://twitter.com/acosta/status/2017222913842106377

“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 indictment of wrongdoing in this case. This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court," Lowell added.

https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/2017257849592721642?s=20

Lemon's former employer, CNN, said in a statement, "The FBl's arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment.

The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge of the Minnesota Federal District Court found there was 'no evidence' that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work. The First Amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the DOJ's attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable. We will be following this case closely."