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Why Don Lemon and Georgia Fort Were Arrested After Covering an Anti-ICE Protest

Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested after a grand jury indicted them over an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church. The indictment is an accusation, and both journalists say they were reporting.
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Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested on January 30, 2026, after a grand jury indicted them and seven others over an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. The indictment accused them of federal civil-rights offenses; it did not establish guilt. Lemon and Fort say they were reporting on the demonstration, and their motions challenge the prosecution and evidence-gathering.

What happened at Cities Church

On January 18, 2026, protesters disrupted a worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul during an anti-ICE demonstration. Lemon and Fort were there recording the event. The central dispute in the criminal case is whether their conduct amounted to participation in the alleged offenses or journalism covering the protest. The indictment sets out the government’s allegations; the journalists’ descriptions of their roles come from defense filings. Neither account, by itself, is a finding by the court.

What the indictment charged

A grand jury indictment filed in federal court in Minnesota on January 29 named Lemon, Fort and seven other defendants. It charged conspiracy against rights under 18 U.S.C. § 241 and interference with religious exercise at a place of worship under 18 U.S.C. § 248(a)(2); it also cited § 248(b) and the aiding-and-abetting provision, 18 U.S.C. § 2(a). These are accusations, not proof that either journalist committed a crime.

Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles and Fort in Minnesota on January 30. Both were released after their initial court appearances. The arrests followed the indictment, but an earlier stage of the case is also relevant: according to a later defense filing, a magistrate judge had found no probable cause for initial warrant requests concerning Lemon, Fort and others. That pre-indictment warrant decision did not dismiss or decide the later grand-jury indictment.

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What Lemon and Fort say about their reporting

In a February 13 filing, their attorneys said the journalists attended in their professional capacities. The filing described Lemon as saying they were “chronicling and reporting” and pointed to Fort’s interviews and filming. Those are defense representations, not judicial findings. Fort pleaded not guilty on February 17.

In a July 2 motion, Lemon sought to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his phone. His filing argued that the warrant was issued while the phone was in California and swept in information about other organized protest activity. It also disputed the government’s claim that video showed him chanting. These are arguments made by the defense; the motion does not establish what the court found about the search or the video.

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A separate warrant dispute involved requests for information about YouTube channels. A federal judge ordered warrants seeking channel information unsealed on May 22. The press-freedom tracker covering the case reports that initial requests were denied for lack of probable cause, revised applications were denied on Privacy Protection Act grounds, and the applications were later withdrawn. Those warrant proceedings are distinct from deciding whether the indictment’s charges can be proved.

Why press-freedom groups object

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison criticized the arrests on January 30, saying: “No one should be arrested merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions, or telling the public what we have a right to know.” That is Ellison’s legal and political position, not a ruling in the case.

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On August 12, Lemon and Fort filed motions to dismiss. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says the motions argue that the prosecution violates the First Amendment and is vindictive. The Committee also filed an amicus brief joined by 45 news media organizations. The amici argue that journalists covering a story lack the specific intent required for the charged statutes and warn that applying those laws in this way could chill reporting. These are advocacy arguments, not a decision by the court. The competing question is whether the government can prove the charged conduct and intent, rather than whether journalists as a class are exempt from generally applicable criminal laws.

Case timeline

Date Development
January 18, 2026 Anti-ICE protest disrupts a service at Cities Church; Lemon and Fort record the event.
January 20 According to the defense filing, a magistrate finds no probable cause for initial warrant requests concerning Lemon, Fort and others. This is a pre-indictment warrant decision.
January 29 A grand jury indictment charges nine people, including Lemon and Fort.
January 30 Lemon and Fort are arrested and later released after initial court appearances. Ellison criticizes the arrests.
February 13 Lemon and Fort file a motion seeking grand-jury material and describe their roles as journalistic.
February 17 Fort pleads not guilty.
May 22 A federal judge orders unsealing of warrants seeking YouTube channel information.
July 2 Lemon files a motion to suppress evidence from his phone search.
August 12 Lemon and Fort move to dismiss; the Reporters Committee files an amicus brief joined by 45 news media organizations.
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What is—and is not—established about the outcome

The available case developments establish that the indictment was filed and that the defendants later challenged the prosecution and evidence. They do not establish a later ruling on the dismissal motions or a trial date. Because the case is active, its current status should be checked against the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota docket rather than inferred from the August filings.

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For now, the key distinction is between being present to report on a protest and being found to have committed the charged offenses. Lemon and Fort say they were journalists covering the event; prosecutors charged them under federal statutes. Whether those charges survive the motions and what a court ultimately finds are separate questions that the cited developments do not resolve.

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