Former CNN news anchor Don Lemon has been released from custody after he was charged over an anti-ICE church protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.
According to Sky News, Lemon was charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and violating a law that has been used to clamp down on demonstrations at abortion clinics, but also forbids obstructing access to houses of worship.
Six other people who were at the protest, including another journalist, are facing the same charges.
Speaking to reporters after a court appearance in California, Lemon declared, "I will not be silenced."
It came as thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the US staged walkouts on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota following the fatal shootings of two US citizens.
Lemon was one of four people detained in connection with the protest inside Cities Church in St Paul during a service on 18 January.
The 59-year-old, now an independent journalist, livestreamed the demonstration, which took place because activists alleged that a pastor associated with the church also held a leadership role within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Inside the church, the defendants shouted slogans and blew whistles after the sermon was about to start, with the pastor and congregants perceiving "threats of violence", according to prosecutors.
Lemon has maintained he was observing the protest as a reporter.
