Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested Thursday evening on federal charges related to his presence at an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church.

On January 18, Lemon entered a local church to report on a demonstration where protesters disrupted a church service to display opposition to one of the pastors who was working with a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office.

The Trump administration sought to bring charges against Lemon and seven other people over the protest, claiming their actions violated a law that protects people participating in a service in a house of worship. Lemon, 59, maintained that he was observing the protest as a journalist conducting reporting.

A federal magistrate judge and federal appeals court initially rejected the Justice Department’s attempts to charge Lemon. However, that appears to have changed with his Thursday arrest in Los Angeles.

An attorney for Lemon, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that his client was taken into custody while covering the Grammy Awards.

“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,” Lowell said.

It was not immediately clear what the charges were against Lemon, but Lowell said he planned to fight the accusations.

“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Lowell said.

Lemon worked at CNN for 17 years before being pushed out in 2023. He has since become an independent journalist and posts his reports online.

Lowell is a high-profile attorney who has also represented several of President Donald Trump’s opponents, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The former CNN anchor live-streamed the church protest as part of his coverage of Minneapolis demonstrations. In the video, posted to YouTube, Lemon insisted he was “not part of the group.”

But Justice Department officials vowed to prosecute those who participated in the church protest for potentially infringing on churchgoers' right to practice religious freedom.

In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Lemon in addition to three other people were arrested, “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”

Another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, was also arrested Thursday evening, she said in a Facebook live video.

“I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press,” Fort said in her video. “Because now federal agents are at my door arresting me for filming the church protest a few weeks ago.”

It is unclear what the charges are against Fort as well.

Two other people, Trahern Jeen Crews, a former Democratic political candidate, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, a criminal justice reform advocate, were also arrested.