Los Angeles, Jan 31 (AP) Journalist Don Lemon, who dared the Trump administration to come after him after he covered an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church, was indicted for civil rights crimes.

Lemon was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Los Angeles, while another independent journalist and two protest participants were arrested in Minnesota.

The arrests brought sharp criticism from news media advocates and civil rights activists including the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said the Trump administration is taking a “sledgehammer” to “the knees of the First Amendment.” The four were charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023, was due to appear Friday in federal court in Los Angeles. He has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and he was there as a solo journalist chronicling protesters.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.” Attorney General Pam Bondi promoted the arrests on social media.

“Make no mistake. Under President Trump's leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said in a video posted online. “And if I haven't been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.” Keep trying Since he left CNN, Lemon has joined the legion of journalists who have gone into business for himself, posting regularly on YouTube. He hasn't hidden his disdain for President Donald Trump. Yet during his online show from the church, he said repeatedly: “I'm not here as an activist. I'm here as a journalist.” He described the scene before him, and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators.

A magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors' initial bid to charge the veteran journalist. Shortly after, he predicted on his show that the administration would try again.

“And guess what,” he said. “Here I am. Keep trying. That's not going to stop me from being a journalist. That's not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want. Just do it. Because I'm not going anywhere.” Georgia Fort, an independent journalist, livestreamed the moments before her arrest on Facebook Live.

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

A judge released Fort, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy on bond, rejecting the Justice Department's attempt to keep them in custody. Not guilty pleas were entered. Fort's supporters in the courtroom clapped and whooped.

Discouraging scrutiny Jane Kirtley, a media law and ethics expert at the University of Minnesota, said the federal laws cited by the government were not intended to apply to reporters gathering news.

The charges against Lemon and Fort, she said, are “pure intimidation and government overreach.” In an Instagram post, the National Association of Black Journalists said it was “outraged and deeply alarmed” by Lemon's arrest. The group called it an effort to “criminalize and threaten press freedom under the guise of law enforcement.” Crews is a leader of Black Lives Matter Minnesota who has led many protests and actions for racial justice, particularly following George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis in 2020.

After Trump administration officials said earlier this month that arrests would be coming in the church protest, Crews told The Associated Press there's a “tradition” of Black activists and leaders being targeted or subjected to violence.

“Just as being a Black person, you always have to have that in mind,” Crews said.

Protesters charged previously A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting the Cities Church service.

The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.

Lundy is an intergovernmental affairs manager in the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and is married to St. Paul City Council Member Anika Bowie. Bowie and Moriarty could not be reached for comment.

Lemon briefly interviewed Lundy, who is also a candidate for state Senate, as they gathered with protesters preparing to drive to the church.

“I feel like it's important that if you're going to be representing people in office that you are out here with the people,” he told Lemon, adding he believed in “direct action, certainly within the lines of the law.” Church leaders praise arrests in protest Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who leads ICE's St. Paul field office.

“We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church's mission to worship Jesus and make him known,” lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said. (AP) NB NB