Don Lemon has been released without bail after appearing in a Los Angeles court Friday on federal charges relating to his coverage of anti-ICE protests at a church in Minneapolis earlier this month.
The 59 year-old newsman – sporting a white suit and cream sweater – is accused of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers.
During his 20 minute appearance Lemon didn’t enter a formal plea but his lawyer Marilyn Bednarski told the court that he was pleading not guilty.
‘He’s committed to fighting this case – he’s not going anywhere,’ Bednarski told the court when prosecutors asked for Judge Patricia Donahue to impose bail of $100,000 on Lemon, who had been in custody overnight after his arrest Thursday in Beverly Hills.
Prosecutors also asked the judge to order Lemon – who is in LA to cover this Sunday’s Grammy Awards – to surrender his passport and restrict his travel to New York where he lives and Minnesota.
‘This is a very serious felony,’ argued lead government attorney Alexander Robbins at the packed hearing which was attended by LA mayor Karen Bass and Lemon’s husband Tim Malone, whom the journalist blew a kiss to.
Bednarski countered that as an international reporter, restricting his travel would be ‘inappropriate.’
‘He is not a flight risk. He is not a danger whatsoever. He has no criminal convictions. He has been a journalist since he graduated journalism school in 1996. That’s what he does.’
Judge Donahue rejected federal prosecutors’ request for $100,000 bail and released Lemon on his own recognizance.
She also said he could go on a planned sailing trip to France in June, ‘so long as it does not interfere with any upcoming court proceedings in Minnesota,’ where Lemon will face his next hearing on February 9.
The judge also ordered Lemon to ‘have no contact with victims or witnesses’ in his case.
Lemon (pictured outside court on Friday) was arrested in Los Angeles after joining pro-immigration protesters who stormed a Minnesota church earlier this month
Lemon left the court with husband Tim Malone (right), who he blew a kiss to during the hearing
Lemon (left) appears at a hearing in Los Angeles following his arrest for involvement in a protest at a church in Minnesota
Lemon was seen in footage from the incident arguing with the church pastor over the storming of the Sunday service, telling the pastor: ‘There’s a Constitution and a First Amendment, and freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest’
Lemon said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as an independent journalist chronicling protesters
Lemon – who wore glasses and looked serious and focused during Friday’s proceedings – answered ‘yes’ when Judge Donahue asked him if he understood the charges against him which were brought after a grand jury in Minnesota indicted him.
Earlier, prosecutor Robbins said that during the Minnesota church demo, Lemon ‘Placed himself near the door of the church and and physically obstructed people as they tried to exit the church.’
But Benarski denied the accusation, telling the court that Lemon ‘was not guilty of obstruction or violence. He is not a danger to the community.
‘There is no evidence that my client used violence or acted with any kind of violence.’
Lemon, who hosts his own YouTube channel after leaving CNN, was taken into federal custody in Los Angeles for joining pro-immigration protesters who stormed a Minnesota church.
He is being charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers.
‘When life gives you lemons…’ The White House said in a post, captioning a black and white image of Lemon inside the church.
The incident was filmed for his show at the Cities Church in St Paul on January 18 where he captured protesters opposed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting the church because one of its pastors, David Easterwood, also leads the local ICE field office.
Protesters screamed and harassed worshippers during the incident, which sparked nationwide fury.
In his footage from the storming of the church, Lemon was seen arguing with a church pastor who called his antics ‘shameless.’
Lemon insisted that his behavior was covered by the First Amendment, as he fumed to the pastor: ‘There’s a Constitution and a First Amendment, and freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest.’
He also later bragged on Jennifer Welch’s ‘I’ve Had It’ podcast on Monday afternoon that he was the ‘biggest name’ at the anti-ICE church protest.
‘You know, I said, ‘I don’t understand how I’ve become the face of it when I was a journalist’ – I do understand that, I was the biggest name there,’ Lemon told Jennifer Welch on her ‘I’ve Had It’ podcast on Monday afternoon.
The White House mocked Lemon after he was arrested writing: ‘When life gives you lemons…’
Lemon joined protesters at the church earlier this month, where he interviewed organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong (pictured) – who was also later arrested for her role in the incident
Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly aka ‘Woke Farmer’ were also arrested during this church protest
The independent journalist then shared the message his producers gave him after realizing how much of a stir he made.
‘I was on with my producers this morning… My producers were saying, I said, ‘How did I become the face of this?’, 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 the person that they single out, and they’re gonna make the headline because it plays to their base, and their base is full of racist, bigoted homophobes like Nicki Minaj, by the way,’ Lemon added.
A few days later, Lemon was indicted by a grand jury in Minnesota, and has been charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and a violation of the FACE act, which prohibits interfering with someone’s right to worship.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as an independent journalist chronicling protesters.
Along with Lemon’s arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Jaunary 22 that Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen had been taken into custody.
FBI Director Kash Patel later said that a third protester, William Kelly, had also been detained.
A source told the Daily Mail that Lemon was seen being handcuffed while flanked by FBI and Homeland Security agents, and he ‘didn’t look overly happy.’
An insider familiar with the investigation added that prosecutors considered that Lemon would likely enjoy the publicity of his arrest, and said it was ‘definitely a downside’ to bringing charges against him.
Lemon seen with his husband Tim Malone
David Easterwood, a pastor at Cities Church in St Paul (center left) and ICE field office director, seen alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a press conference in October. Earlier this month, his church was targeted by anti-ICE protests joined by Lemon
‘He’ll write a book and act like he’s a martyr,’ the source said. ‘But I also think if you don’t do anything you send a message that people can disrupt church services, and I think they have to cut that s*** off and enforce the law.’
Before Lemon was arrested, he attended the Grammy’s Recording Academy Honors awards show in Los Angeles on Thursday night, where he was pictured alongside rapper Busta Rhymes.
In a statement from Lemon’s attorney Abbe Lowell following his arrest, the journalist defended the storming of the church in Minnesota as ‘constitutionally protected.’
‘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 statement read.
‘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.’
And in Lemon’s attorney’s statement on Friday, he hit out at federal investigators for charging 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 indictment of wrongdoing in this case,’ the statement read.
‘This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.’
Lowell concluded the statement by declaring that Lemon ‘will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly 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 went on to join NBC News from 2003 to 2006, before joining CNN in 2006. After eight years at the network he’d get his big gig anchoring CNN Tonight from 2014 until his firing in 2023.
In 2024, he launched The Don Lemon Show as a podcast and YouTube series and married his longtime partner, real estate agent Tim Malone.
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