Don Lemon arrested hours after Busta Rhymes praised him at pre‑Grammys party

Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles on Jan. 29 after attending a pre-Grammys party, taken into custody by more than two dozen federal agents over his alleged role in a Jan. 18 church protest in St. Paul, Minn., the FBI confirmed to PEOPLE. The former CNN anchor had been photographed and filmed at the 2026 Recording Academy Honors at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Beverly Hills, where he was seen laughing and talking with rapper Busta Rhymes.

In video captured by The Shade Room, Busta praised Lemon and said, "We need to protect Don at all costs, for doing his job, in the divine alignment way. We salute him for that." Authorities say Lemon recorded himself and other protestors interrupting a religious service during the Jan.

18 demonstration, chanting "ICE out." He was charged under the FACE Act, the federal law that protects the right of people to participate in services at houses of worship. Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, reiterated that Lemon entered the church solely in his role as a journalist, posting a statement that read in part, "Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done...

The First Amendment exists to protect journalists." Federal prosecutors initially sought charges against eight people, according to The New York Times, but a magistrate judge approved charges against only three, finding evidence against Lemon and four others insufficient.

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