Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, claims he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.
A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor.
The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year old protester who was shot and killed after ramming her vehicle into an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in social media post last week.
Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who leads an ICE field office. Many Baptist churches have pastors who also work other jobs.
“We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church’s mission to worship Jesus and make him known,” lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said Friday in a statement.
“Make no mistake. Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said in a video posted to social media on Friday. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
