Federal agents arrested four more people on Friday morning in connection with a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, bringing the total number of arrests to eight.
Podcaster Don Lemon was among the new group of arrestees.
The arrests stem from a January 18 incident at Cities Church, in which 30 to 40 protesters crashed the Sunday service. They marched into the building chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.”
Lemon was present at the scene, covering the protest.
The demonstration was planned after protesters found out that one of the church’s pastors is the Acting Director of the St. Paul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office. Churchgoers, including women and children, fled through a side door. The protest forced the church’s leadership to end the service early.
Each defendant faces charges of conspiracy to deprive rights under a federal law originally passed in 1871 to combat the Ku Klux Klan’s efforts to intimidate black Americans.
Among those arrested are Georgia Fort, activist Trahern Jeen Crews, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, who is running for state senate, Fox News reported.
At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 30, 2026
More details soon.
Early this morning, @FBI and @HSI_HQ partners arrested four individuals in connection to the January 18 coordinated targeting of Cities Church in Minnesota: Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) January 30, 2026
More to come. @TheJusticeDept @AGPamBondi
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media that she personally ordered the arrests. “Make no mistake,” Bondi said in a video posted on X. “Under President Trump's leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And if I haven't been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 30, 2026
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media that she personally ordered the arrests, PBS reported. Both Lemon and Fort claim they were covering the protest as journalists, not participating in it. The first three arrests occurred on January 22, when authorities detained civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and activist William Kelly.
The church protest was a response to the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by an ICE agent. The demonstrations in Minneapolis intensified after Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti during an altercation.