Ex-CNN journalist arrested after anti-Ice protest inside church

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has been arrested for his involvement in a protest at a church.

Mr Lemon livestreamed a demonstration earlier this month that interrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, protesting President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the area.

Mr Lemon is charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and violating the Face Act by allegedly obstructing access to a house of worship, according to a Justice Department official.

FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested him in Los Angeles, a source said.

His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, called his arrest an "unprecedented attack on the First Amendment."

Mr Lemon said he was at the demonstration as a journalist.

He said he was tipped off ahead of time but did not know the activists would disrupt the service.

He can be seen arguing with a parishioner about immigration enforcement.

Trump administration officials quickly condemned the demonstration and accused protesters of intimidating Christian worshippers.

Federal agents arrested three other people and charged them with violating the Face Act, a 1994 law that prevents obstructing abortion clinics and places of worship.

A US judge earlier this month had initally declined to approve Mr Lemon's arrest, citing a lack of evidence.

Mr Lemon spent 17 years at CNN, becoming one of its most famous presenters.

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CNN fired him in 2023 after he made on-air comments about women and then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley that were widely perceived as sexist.

Mr Lemon later apologised.

US Attorney General Bondi said there would be more arrests over the Sunday protest, where demonstrators interrupted a service alleging that pastor David Easterwood was an ICE director, saying that role conflicted with Christian values.

In a speech in Ohio, Vice President JD Vance said Bondi had told him the "ringleader" of the church protest had been arrested.

In a statement, Pastor Jonathan Parnell said Cities Church was considering legal action against "agitators" who "accosted members of our congregation, frightened children, and created a scene marked by intimidation and threat."

Videos of the protest showed demonstrators chanting "ICE out" and Mr Parnell in response shouting, "Shame on you, this is the house of God and we are worshipping."

Mr Kelly can be seen in a heated conversation with a man who appears to be a congregant.

Mrs Bondi said the protest inside the Baptist church was part of "attacks on places of worship" that would not be tolerated under President Trump.