Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles Thursday night while covering the Grammy Awards, his attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
It's unclear what charges Lemon is facing, but they appear to be connected to a protest at a Minnesota church.
In an exclusive Scripps News interview last week, Lemon said he was covering the protest as an independent journalist when a group of demonstrators confronted a pastor whom they accused of being an immigration enforcement agent. The coverage received backlash from conservatives, who accused Lemon of being involved in the protest.
Prosecutor previously tried to bring charges against Lemon, but they were rejected by a magistrate judge. However, Lemon speculated that the ruling wasn't the end of it.
"I think it's not over because it doesn't matter if there's no law to fit," Lemon told Scripps News' Alisyn Camerota. "They will try to fit or retrofit something or go around a judge and just do it themselves."
Lemon contends his reporting of the protest was no different than what he has done throughout his decades-long career with major networks.
"I was not a protester. It's very clear about that," Lemon said. "If you look at all the evidence, I'm not a protester."
Lemon's attorney slammed the Justice Department's decision to bring charges against his attorney.
"Instead of investigating 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.
Lowell was referring to Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, who was killed in Minnesota by immigration enforcement officers on Jan. 24 and Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7.
