Overview
- Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles on Thursday night, appeared in court Friday, and was released on personal recognizance.
- An unsealed indictment charges Lemon and three others with conspiracy and interference with worshippers’ First Amendment rights tied to the Jan. 18 Cities Church disruption.
- Officials say the case relies heavily on videos from the protest, with prosecutors invoking civil-rights statutes associated with protecting religious services.
- Independent journalist Georgia Fort, activist Trahern Jeen Crews, and Jamael Lydell Lundy were also arrested in connection with the church protest.
- The arrests follow earlier judicial pushback that blocked emergency warrants, and the case now heads into pretrial motions where Lemon’s team plans First Amendment defenses.