Former CNN journalist turned YouTuber Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles late on Jan. 29 in connection with a livestreamed protest inside a Minnesota church earlier this month, according to his attorney.

Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told CBS News that Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents on the night of Jan. 29.

Authorities have not publicly detailed the charges Lemon faces, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not issued a formal statement.

Lowell described the arrest as an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and said that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Lowell and the DOJ seeking confirmation of the charges and additional comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Church Protest Under Federal Investigation

The arrest stems from a Jan. 18 protest that disrupted a Sunday worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Video footage circulating online appeared to show demonstrators entering the church during the service while chanting slogans including “Justice for Renee Good.”

The protest followed claims that one of the church’s pastors was serving as the acting field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota.

Federal officials have said they are investigating possible violations related to the incident.

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a Jan. 18 post on X that a house of worship is not a public forum for protest.

“It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws!” Dhillon wrote, adding that protesters were “on notice.” In subsequent posts, Dhillon said the FBI had been activated and that federal authorities were examining other potential crimes.

In later interviews, Dhillon said prosecutors were considering whether to use provisions of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which prohibits conspiracies to deprive individuals of constitutional rights, as well as the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994, which also applies to interference with religious worship.

“Everyone in the protest community needs to know that the fullest force of the federal government is going to come down and prevent this from happening,” Dhillon said in a Jan. 19 interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson.

Dhillon also referenced Lemon directly, disputing claims that his actions were shielded by journalism.

“As if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part, of a criminal conspiracy. It isn’t,” she said.

Lemon Disputes Characterization

In a statement provided to media outlets at the time, Lemon said he was being singled out despite other journalists being present.

“It’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist, especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there,” Lemon said earlier this month. “That framing is telling.”

In a Jan. 19 podcast interview with IHIP News, Lemon said he did not know that protesters intended to enter a church.

“They ended up at a church,” Lemon said. “I didn’t even know they were going to a church. ... Other journalists started going in, and I went in.”

During his livestream, Lemon spoke with the church’s lead pastor, Jonathan Parnell, as protesters gathered inside. Parnell said he repeatedly asked demonstrators to leave and that they refused.

Lemon cited First Amendment protections for speech and assembly, while Parnell responded that his priority was protecting the congregation and his family.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she ordered a federal investigation into the incident after speaking with the church’s pastor.

“Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Bondi said in a Jan. 19 post on X.

On Jan. 22, federal agents arrested several suspects who allegedly organized the church protest.

Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.