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Don Lemon has been released from custody after being criminally charged for covering a church protest in Minneapolis, and he made it clear ... this will not silence him.

Lemon told the crowd ... he has been a reporter for 30 years, and he will not stop doing what he has always done -- covering the news.

As we reported, Lemon was arrested Thursday night at his home in Los Angeles, for allegedly co-conspiring with protesters to disrupt a church service in Minneapolis.

Federal prosecutors are explaining why they have the gall to arrest and charge Don Lemon in connection with his coverage of an ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service ... they claim he wasn't reporting from the sidelines, and was part of the plot to raid the church.

According to the federal indictment, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors allege Don conspired with protestors to "injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate" clergy, staff, and congregants at Cities Church in Minneapolis.

The feds say Don met up with the protestors before the demonstration and got instructions on where they would be protesting and how the "operation" would go down once at the church.

Prosecutors say Don started livestreaming the morning of the Jan. 18 protest, telling his audience he was in Minnesota with an organization that was gearing up for a "resistance" operation against the federal government's immigration policies.

The feds say Don took steps to "maintain operational secrecy" by not revealing the location of the planned protest to his audience ... and prosecutors say he stepped away from a live mic so he "would not accidentally divulge certain portions of the planning session."

Elon Musk has been swept up in the new batch of Epstein files — with the Tesla CEO firing off a 2013 email to Jeffrey Epstein to make plans to hang out on Epstein island.

In December 2013, Musk sent the email to Epstein telling the late convicted pedophile that he would be in the British Virgin Islands over the holidays and wanted to know if it was a good time to visit the island. Previously, Elon claimed that he refused invitations from Epstein to visit the island, where alleged acts of pedophilia went down.

Two days later, Epstein wrote back to Musk that he could swing by at the start of the new year, adding that there's “always space for you.” Epstein sent a follow-up email Christmas Day, stating he would pick up Musk on January 2 or 3.

8:17 AM PT -- Don Lemon is being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights, and violation of the FACE Act -- interfering by force of someone’s First Amendment rights -- according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.

Don Lemon was arrested Thursday night by federal agents in Los Angeles in connection with his coverage of an ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service.

Lemon was charged with violating a federal law by impeding people's right to worship during an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in Minneapolis on January 18, according to The New York Times.

In a statement Friday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says ... "At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota."

How's this for a Friday news dump ... the Department of Justice just released millions of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein Files, plus a couple thousand videos and hundreds of thousands of images.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says the DOJ released more than 3 million pages of docs ... in addition to 180,000 images and 2,000 videos.

Unclear what's in the massive document dump ... but TMZ will be poring through them for any and all relevant and juicy nuggets.

It's the first Epstein Files release of the year ... the release of documents had slowed to a trickle ... but now it's an Epstein avalanche.

We've already seen Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and tons of celebs in the Epstein Files ... and folks are hungry for names, so it will be interesting to see what's in this latest document dump.

Huge win for Luigi Mangione ... the trial judge just ruled the death penalty is officially off the table.

The feds wanted the judge to rule that the stalking charges they filed against Mangione were a "crime of violence" -- and proving a crime of violence is a prerequisite for opening the door to even charging Mangione federally with murder. The judge ruled stalking is NOT a crime of violence ... the upshot is that Mangione can't even be charged with murder in the federal case. All he can be charged with is stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of life without parole.

Mangione is still charged in state court with murder, although in New York, there is no death penalty.

Luigi Mangione has a ton of fans rooting for his release ... and at least one of them who allegedly tried to take matters into his own hands by busting him out!

Mark Anderson -- a 35-year-old Minnesota man -- was arrested at MDC Brooklyn in New York, the notorious prison that houses Mangione and other high-profile inmates such as former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, late Wednesday night.

According to a criminal complaint -- cited by NBC News -- Anderson was arrested after prison workers asked for his credentials ... and he only handed over an MN driver's license.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are obviously no longer on speaking terms ... but they once had a solid enough rapport for Blake to call Justin a "friend" and ask if he'd consider moving up filming.

We've obtained a new 4-and-a-half-minute-long voice message which BL sent to JB prior to shooting "It Ends with Us" ... which starts with her detailing her wildly hectic schedule.
Lively says she's bitten off more than she can chew professionally ... trying to sneak in a movie right before filming 'IEwU' despite still looking for child care.

The actress says she's locked into shooting "Proxy" -- which appears to be the upcoming science fiction movie by "Pieces of a Woman" director Kornél Mundruczó -- before "It Ends with Us," but she thinks she can get the movie pushed back to give herself more time to prepare for both roles.

The man seen on video spraying Rep. Ilhan Omar with a liquid substance has been charged with assaulting her during the performance of her official duties, TMZ has learned.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, the feds say not only did Anthony James Kazmierczak confess on body cam that he squirted liquid on Omar, he also gave a possible motive.

The papers say after spraying the liquid -- now officially identified to have been water and apple cider vinegar -- on the congresswoman, videos show him turning and saying she was "splitting Minnesotans apart."

Not only that, the feds point to a Facebook post from 2021 in which they say Kazmierczak shared a cartoon depicting Omar -- the Democratic U.S. Representative from Minneapolis -- saying "Security for me ... None for thee" while embracing a security guard and holding a "Defund Police" sign.

7:32 PM PT -- Sources close to Kenan tell TMZ ... this was a contractual disagreement and not about him choosing to not pay rent. Our sources tell us Kenan never received the keys to the property and had never even stepped foot on the property.

Kenan Thompson is being dragged to court by a landlord, who claims he owes over $34,000 for breaking his lease on a rental home.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the 'SNL' star is being sued for allegedly breaching a 12-month lease for a 3-bedroom rental property in Los Angeles.

In the docs, the landlord claims they entered into a written lease agreement with Kenan in September ... they say the lease started October 1 and Kenan agreed to pay the $10,250 rent for a year before the lease would go month-to-month.

1/28/2026 7:30 PM PT -- Haley's lawyer adds to the back and forth battle, telling us ... “Minnesota is so committed to protecting First Amendment rights that it recently passed a law allowing speakers to recover their attorneys’ fees if they are forced to endure a lawsuit for exercising those rights. We will be seeking such an award here.”

5:30 PM PT -- Legal counsel for Haley Kalil -- Matthew Bialick -- tells TMZ Sports ... “We moved to dismiss the complaint because Minnesota has a longstanding commitment to free speech, which is important now more than ever. Allowing a lawsuit to proceed against a woman for sharing a truthful, autobiographical account of sexual trauma would directly undermine those core values."

Bialick ends his statement to us with a counter to Matt's, saying ... "We believe the motion will be granted."

3:26 PM PT -- Matt Kalil's legal team scoffed at Haley's filing ... telling TMZ Sports she missed the point.

"Haley Kalil's motion to dismiss does not dispute the fact that she wantonly disclosed private and intimate details about Matt Kalil that resulted in widespread ridicule and unwanted attention," Ryan Saba of Rosen Saba LLP told us ... reiterating their stance that a "spouse does not have a right to expose private and confidential marital and sexual details for the purpose of profiting."

"We expect that the motion will be completely denied."

Haley Kalil is firing back at her ex-husband Matt Kalil after he sued her for shockingly claiming his penis size torpedoed their marriage ... and she wants his lawsuit thrown out of court.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Haley says Matt is cherry-picking comments she made on a November 2025 livestream ... and missing the point she was trying to make.

Haley says she praised Matt in the stream when she also described his penis as the size of two soda cans, and doubles down on her claim that his girth contributed to their 2022 divorce.

She says Matt had a "specific anatomical incompatibility that rendered a normal sexual relationship impossible" and says they had a "loving union that was ultimately hindered by an unfortunate physical incompatibility."

Hailey Bieber's sister was charged with 4 misdemeanors for her alleged tampon attack ... but her lawyers are forecasting a rosy outcome, TMZ has learned.

Alaia Aronow's attorneys, Drew Findling and Cris Schneider, tell TMZ ... "We remain absolutely confident, there will be a positive resolution."

Their terse statement was in response to Georgia prosecutors filing formal charges against Aronow for battery, simple battery, simple assault and criminal trespass.

Us Weekly first reported the formal charges.

Bill Cosby admitted under oath he refilled a recreational prescription for quaaludes he got from a gynecologist at a poker game 7 times with the intention of giving the pills to women in hopes of having sex with them ... and he says he never downed a single pill himself.

The bombshell admission is part of a deposition Cosby gave in a lawsuit filed by one of his rape accusers, Donna Motsinger ... and parts of his testimony are included in new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Cosby said in the deposition, which is sealed, he was prescribed quaaludes by a freaking OBGYN, Dr. Leroy Amar, at a poker table. Talk about some shady business dealings!!!

The docs say Dr. Amar is a "disgraced" gynecologist who was Cosby's friend ... and the poker game where Cosby got the quaaludes prescription was hosted at Cosby's Los Angeles house prior to 1972, which is significant.

Zac Efron’s name just got pulled into an explosive federal sex trafficking trial against the wealthy Florida-based Alexander brothers ... with prosecutors claiming they used ties to famous people to lure victims.

In a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday, the government’s first witness -- testifying under the pseudonym Katie Moore -- told jurors a dream invite to a 2012 party at Zac's NYC apartment spiraled into a nightmare hours later ... when Alon Alexander -- the brother of of real estate moguls Tal and Oren -- allegedly raped her repeatedly at their home, and mocked her afterward.

Katie testified she was offered alcohol at Efron’s place and later took what she believed was Molly with Tal and her friend ... from there, she says they hit a nightclub, where she was given another drink -- and said she remembered little until waking up naked in a different apartment with Alon, also naked, standing over her.

Djimon Hounsou's baby mama, Ri'za Marie Simpson, was arrested for alleged assault earlier this month ... but Ri'za just told a judge she's the one who needs protection from Djimon.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ, Ri'za says she was wrongfully arrested and has suffered financial abuse and an attempted illegal eviction at the hand of Djimon.

Ri'za also claims Djimon slammed a vehicle door on her left side, screamed in her face and called her names during an incident in December ... and says there was a separate incident in October when Djimon got in her face in front of their children. Ri'za claims Djimon began to "come at" her, yelling and standing nose-to-nose with her in the heated exchange.

The judge ended up granting the temporary protective order, which requires Djimon to not have any contact with Ri'za and stay 200 yards from Ri'za and the children ... at least until a hearing in early February.

'Love Island' contestant Cashel Barnett copped a plea deal in his domestic violence case ... and it looks like he's going to spend the next year behind bars.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Cashel agreed to plead guilty to one count of third-degree felony aggravated assault and one count of third-degree felony domestic violence in the presence of a child. In a separate case connected to the prior, he agreed to plead guilty to second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.

Cashel is scheduled to be sentenced March 16 in a Utah court ... and the docs show prosecutors will push for him to get a year in jail and then probation.