Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was released from custody without paying bail after his initial court appearance in Los Angeles on Friday, according to Mayor Karen Bass.
“I am very glad that our renowned, esteemed reporter Don Lemon will be released on his own recognizance because he should not have been in court anyway,” Bass told reporters.
Lemon made his first public comments after federal authorities arrested him on Thursday for partaking in an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month. The independent journalist claimed his arrest was an attack on free speech by the Trump administration.
“Last night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I had been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news,” Lemon said outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles. “The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless other journalists who do what I do.”
“There is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable,” he added. “Again, I will not stop now. I will not stop ever.”
Lemon faces two federal charges: one count for conspiring with protesters to disrupt a church service and the other count for injuring, intimidating, and interfering with the practice of religious freedom.
The latter charge falls under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits the use of “force, threat of force, or physical obstruction” against anyone who is “exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
The federal indictment issued by a grand jury was unsealed on Friday.
DON LEMON ARRESTED BY FEDERAL OFFICIALS OVER MINNESOTA CHURCH ‘ICE OUT’ PROTEST
The court filing details how Lemon closely coordinated with multiple protesters before the demonstration and obstructed the church’s exit as congregants tried to leave. At least eight other people were included in the indictment, but only Lemon and three others were arrested late Thursday.
A judge ordered Lemon to appear in a Minneapolis court on Feb. 9 and permitted him to travel, provided it doesn’t conflict with his scheduled court appearances. Lemon is planning to visit Europe in June.
