(Video via CNN)

CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested by The Minnesota State Patrol on live television early Friday morning while covering the Minneapolis protests.

The police have since released Jimenez and his crew. Minnesota governor Tim Walz apologized to CNN describing the arrests as "unacceptable," and said he wants the media to cover the protests in Minnesota.

Jimenez was taken into custody without any reason given shortly after 6 a.m. EST. Jimenez's crew, including a producer and a camera operator were also put in handcuffs, CNN reported. 

Jimenez had just shown a protester being arrested when half a dozen white police officers surrounded him.

Jimenez said after being released that it gave him a little comfort knowing people saw what was happening. "I was living what was happening, and the country was seeing what was happening unfold in real-time before their eyes," he said on CNN.

Another CNN journalist, Josh Campbell, was also on the ground not far from where Jimenez and his crew were arrested. Campbell told CNN anchor John Berman that he was "treated much differently."

"I'm sitting here talking to the National Guard, talking to the police. They're asking politely to move here and there. A couple of times, I've moved closer than they would like. They asked politely to move back. They didn't pull out the handcuffs. Lot different here than what Omar experienced," said Campbell.

Thursday marked the third night of protests in Minnesota over the death of a black man, George Floyd, seen in a video gasping for air while a white police officer knelt on his neck.