Journalists Georgia Fort, Don Lemon among 4 arrested over protest during St. Paul church service

Independent journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon were arrested by federal agents in connection with their role documenting an anti-ICE demonstration in a St. Paul church during a service on Jan. 18.

Fort’s attorney told the Minnesota Star Tribune that she was arrested about 6 a.m. Jan. 30 at her Twin Cities home and taken to the Whipple Federal Building, site of much of the judicial activity in connection with the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Lemon, a former CNN news anchor, also was in Cities Church during the protest and covering it as a journalist. He was arrested late on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles.

Later Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster ordered Fort’s release as her case proceeds, rejecting the U.S. government’s claims that the allegations constitute a crime of violence to keep her detained. Foster also denied the federal government’s attempts to add conditions for Fort’s release.

Lemon was also released from custody Friday, the Associated Press reported.

The arrests came days after a different federal magistrate judge had refused to issue warrants for five of eight people whom the federal government had wanted to arrest for taking part in the demonstration inside the church.

Fort’s arrest warrant cited two charges: conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship, and injuring, intimidating or interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of worship.

Bondi said all the arrests were for “the coordinated attack” on the church. Protesters disrupted the service after activists determined that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, is the acting director of ICE’s field office in St. Paul.

“Make no mistake,” Bondi said in a video released on X after the arrests, “under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven’t been clear already: If you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”

Judge Foster also approved the release of Crews and Lundy as their cases proceed, handing down another rejection of the U.S. government’s request for detainment.

Kevin Riach, Fort’s lawyer, called the federal government’s requests “outrageous.”

“This is a sad day for federal criminal justice,” Riach said. “It’s a sinister turn of events in our country.”

“Amplifying the truth, documenting what is happening in our community is not a crime,” she said. “The questions that were asked a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning by concerned community members, those questions still need to be answered.”

Representatives for Cities Church, where the demonstration occurred, praised the arrests.

“The freedom to worship God without fear of violence and intimidation is a fundamental right that defines who we are as Americans. True North Legal and Cities Church are grateful that the Department of Justice is committed to upholding that freedom and is holding the agitators who invaded the church accountable,” said Renee Carlson and Doug Wardlow, attorneys for True North Legal representing Cities Church.

In response to the arrests, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Reformer, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and Center for Broadcast Journalism released a statement: “We strongly condemn the arrest of journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, as well as any attempt to intimidate members of the press. The First Amendment recognizes the press as holding a distinct and protected role in our democracy. In America, we do not arrest journalists for doing their jobs. The Minnesota journalism community stands united in defense of press freedom and the essential role reporting plays in holding power to account.”

Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Lemon, said in a statement that his client’s arrest was “a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job. Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping said that Lundy, who is a lobbyist, does not have a role in any state investigations.

“Based on the information available to our office,” Borgertpoepping said, “our understanding is that during the arrest Mr. Lundy was respectful to the arresting agents, informing them of both his familiarity with the process, due to his work at the HCAO, and stating his intention to not resist the arrest.”

A.L. Brown, Lundy’s attorney, said his client tried to turn himself in two days ago but was instead awakened to federal agents there to arrest him. Lundy’s description mirrors Levy Armstrong’s account; she also said she tried to negotiate to surrender but was denied.

“When they tell you that they want to get criminals off the street and it’s too difficult to do because people won’t cooperate, it’s not true. They want a show,” Brown said.

On Jan. 20, the Trump administration applied for eight arrest warrants related to the church protest. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko found there was probable cause to issue warrants for three of the suspects: Levy Armstrong, Allen and Kelly. All were arrested.

Schiltz referred to the request for review as “unheard of in our district” in a Jan. 23 letter addressed to Steven Colloton, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The letter also said the federal government had issued a writ of mandamus, ordering the court to act, without alerting anyone. Schiltz said he did not have access to any of the government documents, because the case had been sealed at the request of the government, and he now had “2½ hours to respond” to a petition he could not read.

The letter said the reason this request was unheard of is because “if the government does not like the magistrate judge’s decision,” it can either improve the warrant or present its case to a federal grand jury for indictment.

In his letter to Colloton, Schiltz said he planned to discuss the five additional warrants at a meeting of federal judges last week, but the meeting had to be postponed due to security concerns in Minneapolis because Bondi and Vice President JD Vance had arrived in the city and the other protesters at the church who had been arrested were set for an initial court appearance.

Schiltz said this was “not satisfactory” to the Department of Justice, which told the judge that the additional five arrest warrants were part of a “national-security emergency” of potential copycats invading churches.

Schiltz — a former law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was appointed to the district bench in 2006 by George W. Bush — said the petition by the federal government to have him immediately review the five warrants was frivolous and declined to do so. One week later, the federal government made its arrests. Both Lemon and Fort were charged through grand jury indictment.