The White House celebrated the arrest of journalist Don Lemon and mocked the unprecedented action ordered by President Trump’s attorney general, which critics have rebuked as a chilling violation of the First Amendment and the free press.
“When life gives you lemons…” read a Friday post from the White House’s official X account along with a graphic of Lemon with the caption, “Don Lemon Arrested: For Involvement in the St. Paul Church Riots.”
The post from the White House and the arrests of Lemon and Georgia Fort, an independent journalist in Minneapolis, is connected to their reporting of a protest inside a church, where demonstrators decried Trump’s ICE operations and the pastor’s alleged role as an ICE field director.
“The arrest of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort—both Black journalists and members of the free press—is meant to send a chilling message to anyone documenting the abuses of this President and his Administration: if you tell the truth about us, we will tell lies about you, and we will crush you,” said Jeremy Edwards, a former White House spokesperson and assistant press secretary under the Biden administration.
When life gives you lemons… ⛓️ pic.twitter.com/wxry0fudOj
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 30, 2026
Edwards told theGrio that the post of Lemon, as well as an altered image of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and activist who was arrested for organizing the church protest, “underscores the particular contempt this Administration has for Black Americans.”
“It’s not enough to try and drown our dissent; they must embarrass us in the process,” said Edwards, who is a senior communications advisor at The Century Foundation, a research and policy think tank. “No matter how many Nicki Minajes or Kanye Wests this administration uses to obscure their racism towards Black and Brown people, it’s clear to anyone with eyes that they will use every tool at their disposal to destroy us and our allies.”
According to The Associated Press, the DOJ charged Lemon with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers. While President Trump made clear he wanted to see Lemon and protesters in Minneapolis face legal action, he has not publicly commented on Lemon’s arrest. During a press conference on Friday, not a single reporter in the White House press pool asked President Trump about the unprecedented arrest or its implications for the free press.
“This is a political miscalculation by the White House. A judge had already declined charges in the Don Lemon matter, so to then see DOJ action, directed by Pam Bondi, feels less like justice and more like something personal and politically motivated,” said Yemisi Egbewole, former White House chief of staff to former Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Egbewole told theGrio, “And for Republicans, you can be uncomfortable or outraged with what happened at the church and still acknowledge that fact. And for the WH press pool and members of media, I hope they push the White House on this decision.”
