Don Lemon Walks Free With No Bond, No Travel Limits
Former CNN host Don Lemon will be free Friday after a judge ordered him released without bail following his arrest.
Federal agents arrested Lemon Thursday evening in Los Angeles. Authorities said Lemon stormed an evangelical church in St. Paul, Minnesota. U.S. District Judge Patricia Donahue placed no restrictions on domestic travel, allowing Lemon to move freely within the United States, according to Daily Caller News Foundation West Coast reporter Hailey Gomez, who was in the courtroom when the decision was announced.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 30: Reporter Don Lemon salutes in federal court on January 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Lemon was arrested in Beverly Hills in connection with a protest he covered at a Minnesota church. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Federal prosecutors sought to impose domestic and international travel restrictions on Lemon, including banning him from traveling to New York and requiring him to surrender his passport, according to Gomez. The Justice Department argued that the restrictions were necessary, but Lemon’s lawyer pushed back, citing already planned international travel as grounds for objecting to the surrender of Lemon’s passport.
Gomez also noted that Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attended the hearing in person. Bass was reported earlier this week coming from Washington, D.C., where she attended a conference, according to Politico. When Lemon entered the courtroom, he briefly blew a kiss toward the side of the room where Bass was sitting. Lemon’s family members were seated in the same section.
The judge approved international travel, allowing Lemon to proceed on his annual trip to France, court officials said during the hearing. Lemon’s defense attorney, Marilyn Bednarsk, said Lemon plans to plead not guilty and will fight the case, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (RELATED: Don Lemon calls parishioners at church stormed by anti-ICE rioters ‘titled white supremacists’)
As part of his conditions of release, Lemon cannot contact any alleged victims, witnesses or co-defendants. Prosecutors unsuccessfully sought $100,000 bail, limits limiting him to New York, Minnesota and Washington, D.C., and the return of his passport. U.S. Attorney Alexander Robbins argued in court that Lemon committed a “very serious crime” by joining what he described as a mob that terrorized people inside a house of worship.
BREAKING: Don Lemon speaks to the press after leaving Federal Court. He says he won’t be ‘silenced’ and looks forward to trial @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/XjIBDzZecD
– Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) January 30, 2026
“I’ve spent my entire career covering the news — I’m not stopping now,” Lemon said outside the federal courthouse. “In fact, there is no time more important than today, this moment, for a free and independent media to shine a light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. »
Lemon faces two federal charges, including conspiracy to violate constitutional rights and violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, according to an unsealed grand jury indictment, CNN reported. The FACE Act prohibits the use of force, threats, or physical obstruction to intentionally interfere with a person’s First Amendment right to practice religion.
Lemon claimed he was acting as a journalist when he covered the Jan. 18 incident in which anti-ICE rioters stormed Cities Church in St. Paul. He then released footage of the disturbance on his YouTube channel. Lemon joined the stage about 40 minutes into a Sunday live broadcast. Although he denied knowing the church was a target, his initial on-air remarks suggested he knew where the group was headed.
Lemon will return to court Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.
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