Don Lemon Praised by Busta Rhymes at Pre-Grammys Party Hours Before His Arrest: ‘We Need to Protect Don at All Costs’

Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 29, just hours after attending a high-profile party for the upcoming Grammy Awards.

The independent journalist was taken into custody by more than two dozen federal agents for his alleged role in a Jan. 18 church protest in St. Paul, Minn. During the demonstration, Lemon recorded himself and other protestors interrupting a religious service to protest immigration enforcement, chanting, “ICE out.”

The FBI confirmed the arrest to PEOPLE, saying, “[Homeland Security Investigations] & FBI arrested Mr. Lemon last night in Beverly Hills at approximately midnight based on a federal warrant issued in another district.”

Earlier that evening, Lemon, 59, was rubbing elbows with major music stars at a pre-Grammys party. He was photographed laughing and chatting with rapper Busta Rhymes at the 2026 Recording Academy Honors, presented by The Black Music Collective, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Beverly Hills.

In video captured by The Shade Room, Rhymes, 53, praised Lemon’s activism and vowed to protect him for “doing his job.”

“I’m proud of Don. We proud of Don,” the rapper said. “We gonna advocate for Don. We need to protect Don at all costs, for doing his job, in the divine alignment way. We salute him for that.”

Hours later, Lemon would be in custody, facing charges under the FACE Act, a federal law that protects the right of people to participate in services at houses of worship. The former CNN anchor’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, reiterated Lemon’s claims that he entered the church solely in his role as a journalist covering the demonstration in a statement 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,” read the statement, which was posted to Instagram. 

“The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” the statement continued. “There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”

Trump’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, confirmed Lemon’s arrest, along with three others, in a video message posted to social media on Friday.

“Make no mistake: Under President Trump’s leadership, and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely, Bondi said. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right? We are coming after you.”

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According to The New York Times, federal prosecutors initially sought to charge eight people in connection with the protest, including Lemon. However, a magistrate judge reviewed the evidence last week and approved charges against only three individuals, rejecting the evidence against Lemon and four others as insufficient.

The Justice Department later petitioned a federal appeals court to compel the magistrate judge to issue additional arrest warrants, including one for Lemon, but that request was denied, the outlet reported.

Lemon has previously addressed the incident in a video on Jan. 21, saying, “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 organization. That’s it. That’s called journalism.”