Ex-CNN broadcaster Don Lemon taken into custody following demonstration within a Minneapolis place of worship.

 Journalist Don Lemon along with three others was taken into custody on Friday due to a demonstration against immigration enforcement that interrupted a service at a church in Minnesota, escalating friction between community members and federal authorities.

According to his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, Lemon was apprehended by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he was reporting on the Grammy Awards.

The capture of Lemon followed a decision by a magistrate judge the previous week to dismiss prosecutors' first attempt to bring charges against the journalist.

On Friday morning, Lemon was one of four individuals detained, as announced by FBI Director Kash Patel on social media.

It remains uncertain what specific allegation or allegations Lemon is confronting regarding the protest that took place on January 18, which transpired between two deadly shootings carried out by federal agents in Minneapolis as part of the operations initiated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to detain people who lack permission to reside in the nation.

The two individuals who lost their lives were citizens of the United States and bystanders, while a third individual sustained a gunshot wound to the leg in a different event.

Having been dismissed from CNN in 2023 after 17 years with the network, Lemon has stated that he does not have any ties to the group that entered the church and that he was present as a journalist documenting the actions of the protesters.

"Don has worked as a journalist for three decades, and his constitutionally protected activities in Minneapolis are consistent with his long-standing practice," Lowell remarked in a statement. "The First Amendment is in place to defend journalists whose responsibility is to uncover the truth and keep those in authority accountable."

Lowell also stated that "Don will vigorously and comprehensively contest these allegations in court."

Civil rights lawyer previously apprehended

A well-known civil rights lawyer along with two others participating in the protest were taken into custody prior to Lemon last week after they disrupted a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local immigration official serves as a pastor.

The United States Department of Justice initiated a civil rights inquiry after the group interrupted the service by shouting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good," referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot on January 7 by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.

"Pay attention and understand this: WE DO NOT ACCEPT ASSAULTS ON RELIGIOUS SPACES," Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in a social media update last week.

Civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong, along with Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly, was each accused of conspiracy against rights for supposedly intimidating and harassing church members, based on a criminal complaint.

The White House faced backlash for modifying an image of civil rights attorney Armstrong in a social media post that highlighted her arrest. On Friday, the White House's account seemed to take joy in the arrest of Lemon.