By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press

Don Lemon said about a dozen federal agents came to his Los Angeles hotel to arrest him last week, even though his attorney had told authorities he would turn himself in to face federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.

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Lemon told ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that sending the agents was a waste of resources because law enforcement wouldn’t have had to dispatch agents to follow him if he had been allowed to surrender to authorities.

“I was walking up to the room and I pressed the elevator button, and then all of a sudden, I feel myself being jostled and and people trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs,” the independent journalist said Monday on the show on the show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

He asked the agents who they were and said they identified themselves. Lemon asked to see a warrant and was told they didn’t have it. The agents then summoned an FBI agent to come in from outside to show Lemon the warrant on a cell phone.

The Department of Justice and FBI didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Kimmel introduced Lemon, his first guest of the night, by saying he was “was arrested for committing journalism.”

Lemon’s attorney has said Lemon plans to plead not guilty. He told reporters “I will not be silenced” after he was released in response to a judge’s orders.

A grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon, another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, and others on charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023 following a bumpy run as a morning host, has said he had no affiliation to the group that disrupted the Sunday service by entering the church.

Lemon said he couldn’t say much about the case but he said he was not a protester.

“I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening. I was following that one group around, and so that’s what I did. I reported on them,” Lemon said.

Lemon said he asked the arresting officers if they would let him make a phone call. He said he was told no and that he could talk to his attorney the next day. He tried to use Siri on his Apple Watch to call his husband and his attorney but neither picked up.

A diamond bracelet he was wearing kept getting caught on his handcuffs, which hurt, and the agents told Lemon they would take it off. Lemon said he asked if the agent would mind taking it up to Lemon’s husband in his hotel room and they agreed to do that.

“And that’s how my husband found out. Otherwise, no one would have known where I was,” Lemon said.

Lemon said he was kept in a holding room at the federal courthouse from midnight until 1 p.m. the following day.

Kimmel himself became a symbol of a fight against censorship last year, when ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for remarks made following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr had pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air shortly before that.

ABC lifted the suspension after a public outcry, and Kimmel returned to the air with much stronger ratings than he had before. In Congress, Democratic senators raised concerns that Carr’s actions trampled on the First Amendment.

Minnesota’s 2026 election season kicks off Tuesday with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican precinct caucuses, local-level party events where participants select convention delegates and consider changes to party platforms.

Besides delegate elections and policy priority discussions, caucus-goers also vote for who they’d like the party to support for governor in a non-binding straw poll, giving an early look at who party organizers might endorse at their conventions this spring.

For the DFL, that might not reveal much — U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the only major candidate running for the party’s nomination after Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term in January.

Still, there is a competitive Senate nomination contest between Congresswoman Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who are vying for the DFL nod to run for the seat U.S. Sen. Tina Smith is vacating. And with President Donald Trump’s recent immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, DFL Chair Richard Carlbom said he expects “massive” turnout.

“We’re in the midst of an unprecedented retribution campaign being waged on us by the President of the United States,” he said. People are alarmed at his behavior and his activity in the state, and I think that they’re ultimately understanding that the only way we change course here is by putting a check on him.”

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Republican Party has a crowded field with around a dozen gubernatorial candidates. Walz’s perceived vulnerability on widespread fraud in state government programs drew a large field of GOP candidates. It could also attract wider interest in caucuses than the last gubernatorial election in 2022, said Minnesota GOP Chairman Alex Plechash.

“The amount of fraud that has been uncovered and continues to be uncovered — which affects every Minnesotan — it’s real. It’s in their pockets. That is driving people,” he said.

Republicans running for governor in 2026 include House Speaker Lisa Demuth, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, 2022 gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen, a doctor who rose to prominence for his criticism of state COVID policy; state Rep. Kristin Robbins; 2022 Republican endorsement contender Kendall Qualls, a former congressional candidate; and businessman Patrick Knight.

Plechash acknowledged that the federal immigration crackdown and resulting protests have taken some steam out of the fraud issue, but called it a temporary setback.

“I’m sure the Democrats are going to pound that drum as hard as they can for as long as they can — it is to their advantage to do that,” he said. “But that really is not talking about things that matter to Minnesotans, that come out of their pocketbooks, in their day-to-day lives.”

There are also several candidates seeking the GOP nomination in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race this year. Former Minnesota GOP chairman and Senate Minority Leader David Hann, ex-Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze, former NFL sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya and former NBA player Royce White, have all announced their candidacy.

Besides the U.S. Senate and governor races, all 67 state Senate seats and 134 House seats are on the ballot, as are attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor. Primary elections are on Aug. 11. Election Day is Nov. 3.

How it works

Caucuses for both parties begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The minimum age to participate is 16, though you must be eligible to vote in the November general election to be elected as a delegate.

Minnesota doesn’t have party registration, but the parties ask those who attend their local caucuses to stand with the party’s values. You’re only allowed to participate in one party’s caucuses each year.

Caucuses are typically held at locations like community centers, churches or town halls.

Location details can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website: caucusfinder.sos.state.mn.us. There are many individual events scheduled statewide, and more information can be found on party websites.

DFL: dfl.org/caucus/

GOP: mngop.com/

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Today is Tuesday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2026. There are 331 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 3, 2015, a Metro-North Railroad commuter train slammed into an SUV stuck on the tracks at a suburban rail crossing 20 miles north of New York City, killing five train passengers and the SUV driver and injuring about 30 others.

Also on this date:

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting Black American men the right to vote, was ratified.

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In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.

In 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain (after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats).

In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; only some 230 of the 900 aboard survived.

In 1959, which would become known as “the day the music died,” rock ‘n roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first man-made object to make a soft landing on the moon.

In 1998, a U.S. Marine jet sliced through the cable of a ski gondola near Cavalese, Italy, causing the car to plunge hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.

In 2006, an Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 people.

In 2007, a truck bomb exploded in a busy street market in Baghdad, killing more than 100 people in one of the deadliest single attacks in the Iraqi capital.

In 2023, more than three dozen freight cars of a train carrying hazardous materials derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, close to the Pennsylvania line. The derailment prompted an immediate evacuation and the intentional burning of toxic vinyl chloride three days later that sent flames and acrid smoke in the air.

Today’s birthdays:

Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 86.
Actor Blythe Danner is 83.
Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 81.
Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 79.
Actor Morgan Fairchild is 76.
Actor Nathan Lane is 70.
Actor Maura Tierney is 61.
Basketball Hall of Famer Vlade Divac is 58.
Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen is 57.
Actor Warwick Davis is 56.
Actor Isla Fisher is 50.
Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 49.
Actor Aimee Lou Wood is 32.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 30 points, Ty Jerome added 19 and Memphis built a 20-point lead in the second half and held on for a 137-128 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) shoots against Memphis Grizzlies center Jock Landale (31) and forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis maintained a double-digit advantage through much of the fourth quarter. Minnesota, behind Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards, seemed poised to overtake Memphis, but the Grizzlies never let the Timberwolves within nine points and snapped a six-game losing streak.

Jaylen Wells scored 18 points for Memphis, while Cam Spencer and Vince Williams Jr. added 16 points apiece.

Edwards led Minnesota with 39 points and seven rebounds. Jaden McDaniels scored 29 points and DiVincenzo finished with 21, including 13 in the fourth. Minnesota had its four-game win streak halted.

The Timberwolves defeated Memphis 131-114 on Saturday in the first of consecutive games between the teams. In that one, Edwards scored 33 and Julius Randle added 27, and Minnesota had four players with at least 20 points.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies center Jock Landale (31) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

On Saturday, Memphis made one of its first 18 3-point attempts. On Monday, the Grizzlies used long-range shooting to build a double-digit lead in the first half. Memphis was 8 of 15 from beyond the arc, and the lead reached 14 points. The Grizzlies were ahead 66-58 at the half.

Memphis led 98-86 after three quarters and extended its advantage to 109-89 by making its first four shots of the fourth, including three 3-pointers.

With the loss, Minnesota dropped to 31-20 overall, 14-12 away from Target Center. Next up, the Wolves travel north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors at 6:30 Wednesday night. The game will be televised on FDSN.

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