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Reactions poured in on Friday (January 30) after former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, prompting alarm across journalism, politics, and media over what many are calling a dangerous escalation against the press.
The arrest is tied to Lemon’s documentation of a protest earlier this month at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, that disrupted a religious service.
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, confirmed that federal agents, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, took Lemon into custody while he was in Los Angeles covering the Grammy Awards weekend.
“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand,” Lowell said in a statement, adding that Lemon plans to fight the charges “vigorously and thoroughly.”
Prominent journalists were among the first to respond. Former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta called the arrest “outrageous,” writing that Lemon’s attorney had confirmed he was taken into custody by federal agents. “This cannot stand,” Acosta said. “The First Amendment is under attack in America.”
Veteran journalist and author Nikole Hannah-Jones warned that the arrest represents a dangerous shift. “We’ve reached a dangerous new precedent in an increasingly autocratic regime,” she wrote. “The arrest of a journalist for covering a protest is an incursion on the First Amendment and attacks on a free press are attacks on democracy.”
Members of Congress also weighed in swiftly. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Lemon “an accomplished journalist whose urgent work is protected by the First Amendment,” adding, “There is zero basis to arrest him and he should be freed immediately.”
Sports journalist Jemele Hill echoed that sentiment, writing on social media, “They arrested Don Lemon. This is horrifying. I don’t care what your political beliefs or leanings are, what journalism outlet you represent — this absolutely cannot stand.”
The arrest has intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s response to recent protests tied to immigration enforcement and federal shootings in Minnesota. Critics have noted that while no federal agents involved in those deaths have been charged, a journalist documenting the fallout has now been taken into custody.
As of Friday morning, federal officials had not publicly outlined the charges against Lemon or explained the legal basis for his arrest.
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