The Department of Justice has facilitated the arrest of former CNN staff, Don Lemon, for allegedly joining other protesters to disrupt a church service in St Paul, Minnesota, where an official of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement served as a pastor.

Federal agents picked up Mr Lemon on Thursday night, claiming he violated a law that shields religious worshippers. But the journalist who now reports independently rebuffed the allegation, arguing he was only there to observe and cover the protest.

On January 18, hordes of demonstrators interrupted the Cities Church service, chanting “ICE OUT”, given that an ICE official was among the pastorate.

Mr Lemon has rejected all accusations, insisting he was only at the church to carry out his reporting duties.

“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church and members of the organisation,” Mr Lemon said in a video giving the account of his involvement. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”

Mr Lemon will appear in a federal court in Los Angeles on Friday to defend himself against the charges of violating the rights of other citizens.

His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, insists his client is innocent and was only doing his job.

“Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards,” Mr Lowell said on Friday.  “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”

“This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” Mr Lowell added.

After 17 years of working at CNN, Mr Lemon was forced out of the cable network in 2023 over his remarks deemed insensitive to ageing women.