The president previously promised to “relax” immigration enforcement in the state, but on Thursday night he vowed he would not back down.
Who is Don Lemon, the veteran journalist arrested at a church protest?
Independent journalist Don Lemon was recently arrested by federal agents. Here’s what you need to know about the 30-year journalism veteran.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Friday that the Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Preti by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Blanche did not elaborate on the investigation, but the Justice Department’s civil rights division has previously led investigations into police misconduct and use of force.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security also announced it would no longer lead a federal investigation into Preti’s death at the hands of Border Patrol agents. Instead, the FBI will handle the investigation, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department declined to open a civil rights investigation into the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an immigration officer.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that federal authorities have arrested former CNN anchor Don Lemon and three others in connection with a protest at a church in Minnesota. And across the United States, protests against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement were underway in communities large and small.
In a series of posts, the X account of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office, known for being a harsh critic of President Donald Trump, joined the chorus of voices protesting the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort by federal agents.
“They raided a journalist’s home earlier this month. Today they arrested a journalist,” the office’s first post on Jan. 30 read, referring not only to the arrest but also to the FBI raid on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home on Jan. 14. “They’re after you. Speak up.”
In a second post nearly an hour later, Newsom’s office said “silencing reporters is not strength. It is fear.”
In another Jan. 30 post about X, Newsom referenced Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying “Putin would be proud.”
— Terry Collins
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke out against Lemon’s arrest on the Senate floor on January 30, saying the Trump administration was acting like an “authoritarian” regime “again.”
“They arrested journalists for doing their jobs,” Schumer said. “Let me be clear: this arrest sends a dark message to journalists around the world. If you have the courage to criticize this regime, be careful. It’s not a democracy. It’s a police state, and it’s pure authoritarian bile.”
Mr. Schumer called for the charges against Mr. Lemon to be dropped.
— Zack Anderson
Today, students skipped class or skipped school to attend the ICE Out protest in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. According to a Knox News reporter who was at the scene, the gathering was about 40% students and 60% adults. Drivers passing by the demonstration honked their horns and cheered.
Ani Larsen attended with her friends from school and her father.
“We care about our colleagues and believe that everyone deserves an education,” Larsen said. “And we don’t believe that ICE belongs in Knoxville or in our schools or anywhere else.”
High school sophomore Emma Noe told Knox News she felt patriotic. “Our country is built on immigrants,” Noe, 16, said. “Our ancestors will be disappointed.”
– Sarah Riley, Allie Feinberg, Keenan Thomas and Hayden Dunbar of the Knoxville News Sentinel
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a press conference Friday morning that Don Lemon’s arrest was “baseless” and accused the Trump administration of “systematically” targeting journalists and “attempting to intimidate” those who won’t bend the knee to the president.
“We do not intend to be intimidated in any way. A free and fair press is central to the foundation of American democracy,” Jeffries said.
He said Lemon was a competent journalist and was doing his job perfectly. “Don Lemon’s arrest has no legitimacy or basis. There is no basis for the arrests of other journalists either. And the American people are not going to support it.”–
– francesca chambers
The Freedom of the Press Foundation condemned the arrests of Lemon and Fort as “clear warning shots aimed at other journalists.”
“This sends an unmistakable message that journalists must tread carefully as governments explore every possible way to target journalists,” Seth Stern, the group’s advocacy director, said on January 30.
Stern called on individuals and news organizations to rally around Lemon and Ft. in defense of the First Amendment right to a free press.
“Journalists don’t talk about themselves, but Trump does,” Stern said.
– Breanna Frank
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed in a post on X that she has confirmed four additional arrests in connection with the Jan. 18 protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“At my direction, early this morning, federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Traherne Gene Cruz, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Rydell Lundy in connection with the coordinated attack on the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi said in X. “More details soon.”
Lemon and Fort were both independent journalists covering the protests.
Independent journalist Georgia Fort said federal agents arrived at her home Friday morning with an arrest warrant. Fort, like Don Lemon, was one of several journalists who filmed the protest at St. Paul’s church on January 18th.
“This all stems from the fact that I filmed the protests as a member of the media,” she said in a Facebook video. “I don’t believe in the First Amendment as a journalist because federal agents are arresting me for filming a church protest a few weeks ago.”
Fort is the vice president of broadcasting for the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, according to its website. She co-founded the Center for Broadcast Journalism, an organization dedicated to “providing new journalists with the critical reporting experience, education, and professional connections needed to secure a position in a local newsroom.”
President Donald Trump spoke out overnight about a video of a confrontation between Alex Preti and a federal officer during a separate altercation that occurred less than two weeks before he was shot and killed.
President Trump said in a Truth Social Post at 1:26 a.m. EDT that Preti’s “stocks have taken a big hit” with the release of a video of him yelling at a federal immigration officer and kicking a car’s taillight before being slammed to the ground.
“The stock price of agitator and likely insurrectionist Alex Preti has fallen significantly following the release of a video of him screaming, spitting, and frantically kicking a new, very expensive government vehicle in the face of a very calm and disciplined ICE officer, so intense and violent in fact that its taillight shatters,” Trump wrote.
“It was an obvious display of abuse and anger for everyone to see, and it was crazy and out of control. The ICE officers were calm and collected, which is not easy to do under those circumstances!”
The Jan. 13 video does not show the moments leading up to the crash, but Preti appears to spit on the vehicle and yell “trash” before kicking the taillight. The agent is seen getting out of the back seat of the vehicle and grabbing Preeti as other agents surround him. After being apprehended, he was released.
The Department of Homeland Security said it was reviewing the footage, which was released on January 29.
– francesca chambers
Protests against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown are scheduled to take place in cities across the United States
Organizers called for boycotts of schools, jobs and shopping, echoing protests in Minnesota that saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets in subzero temperatures. During that protest, dozens of pastors who staged a sit-in at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were arrested.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the rest of the country. To stop ICE’s reign of terror, they must stop,” organizers said in a statement.
Several large protests are expected in Minneapolis and New York City amid the frigid temperatures.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with a protest at St. Paul’s Church, his lawyer said in a statement obtained by The New York Times and others.
Lemon was one of several journalists who attended the Cities Church protest in St. Paul, Minn., speaking with members of the congregation, protesters and one of the church’s pastors, all of which was shared in a nearly seven-hour livestream available on Lemon’s YouTube channel.
According to multiple news outlets, a federal judge had previously rejected criminal charges against Lemon proposed by the Justice Department.
“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and blatant attempt to deflect attention from the many crises facing this administration cannot stand,” Lemon’s attorney Abby Rowell said in a statement. “We intend to vigorously and thoroughly fight these charges in court.”
Homan said Thursday morning that there will be “major changes” to federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, vowing to “reduce” the number of ICE and other federal agents in the state. It’s unclear how Mr. Homan’s aim to reduce staff numbers will align with Mr. Trump’s commitment not to retreat.
The border czar promised that officers who behaved unprofessionally would “take action,” and that enforcement operations would be similar to those before Trump took office last year, with officials vowing to conduct “targeted enforcement operations.”
Homan said less staff will be needed after the state’s county jails agreed to report inmates who are in the country illegally to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allow ICE to take them into custody upon release.
“More officers in prison means fewer officers on the streets,” he said. “This is common sense cooperation that can reduce the number of people here.”
-Joey Garrison
After the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, the Trump administration quickly portrayed Alex Preti as a serious threat to law enforcement.
Preti has been branded a domestic terrorist by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who also labeled him an “assassin” and released a Department of Homeland Security statement saying he appeared ready to “massacre law enforcement.”
But as the uproar surrounding the shooting grew, video of the incident went viral, and the administration’s version of events became clearer, the White House reversed course and adopted a more conciliatory approach. Below is a timeline of how the administration’s statements evolved in this case, which has become a major political liability for President Trump.
-Dina Boyles Pulver, Zach Anderson, Ramon Padilla, Sean J. Sullivan
