Don Lemon fights federal indictment over protest coverage, says he was there 'as a journalist'
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday, February 13, to federal charges stemming from his coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a Church in St Paul, Minnesota.
Lemon entered his plea during a brief arraignment before US Magistrate Judge Douglas L Micko in Minneapolis.
Prosecutors alleged that Lemon and eight co-defendants conspired to interfere with religious freedom during a January demonstration at Cities Church. Lemon denied wrongdoing, saying he was present as a journalist covering the event.
Federal charges stem from Church protest coverage
The charges were related to a January 18 protest at Cities Church in St Paul, where demonstrators entered the Church during services to protest a pastor they alleged had ties to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lemon, now an independent journalist, livestreamed the protest as it unfolded.
A federal grand jury indicted Lemon and eight others on charges of conspiracy against the right of religious freedom at a place of worship, as well as injuring, intimidating, and interfering with the exercise of religious freedom.
The indictment did not distinguish Lemon’s role as a journalist from the other defendants.
During the hearing, Judge Micko advised Lemon of his constitutional rights and confirmed that he understood the charges.
Lemon responded that he did. The judge said Lemon would be permitted to travel as long as he did not violate any state or federal laws.
Prosecutors told the court they had obtained a search warrant for Lemon’s phone and remained in possession of it. Lemon, 59, was arrested in Los Angeles earlier this month and released without bail the following day.
During the livestream inside the Church, Lemon told viewers, “I’m not going to get in the middle of it, because I’m not here as an activist. I’m here as a journalist.”
He also said he “had no affiliation” with the protest organizers and that he followed demonstrators without prior knowledge of their destination.
Attorney General Pam Bondi described the incident as a “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota.”
Press freedom concerns and DOJ response
Lemon’s arrest prompted criticism from press advocacy organizations.
The National Association of Black Journalists said that the prosecution of Lemon and fellow journalist Georgia Fort represented “the government’s escalating effort and actions to criminalize and threaten press freedom under the guise of law enforcement.”
In a statement the organization said, “A government that responds to scrutiny by targeting the messenger is not protecting the public, it is attempting to intimidate it, and considering recent incidents regarding federal agents, it is attempting to distract it."
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said, “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing his work.”
Within the Justice Department, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon acknowledged that use of religious freedom statutes in this context marked a departure from past practice.
“In all these years up until I was the assistant attorney general for civil rights, nobody ever used that houses of worship part to prosecute protesters or criminals blocking access to a house of worship, so we’ve started to do that,” Dhillon has said.
