Former CNN host Don Lemon pleaded not guilty Friday to federal civil rights charges stemming from his coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor. Four other individuals also entered not guilty pleas in the case.
Don Lemon Faces Charges Related to Minnesota Church Protest
Lemon did not comment to reporters as he arrived at the courthouse with his attorney, Joe Thompson, but later released a statement vowing to fight what he called “baseless charges” and refusing to be intimidated by the Trump administration.
“For more than 30 years, I have been a journalist – and the power and protection of the first amendment has been the underpinning of my work,” Lemon said, referencing the US constitutional right to a free press. “The events before my arrest, and what’s happened since, show that people are finally realizing what this administration is all about.”
“For them, the process is the punishment. Like all of you here in Minnesota, I will not be intimidated, I will not back down, and I will fight these baseless charges.”
Approximately two dozen protesters gathered outside the courthouse, chanting slogans such as “Pam Bondi has got to go” and “Protect the press.” Signs displayed messages including “Lemon was just doing his job” and “ICE out.”
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe David Lowell, informed the judge that he intends to raise first amendment issues in the case. Lemon, 59, has maintained he was at the Southern Baptist church in St Paul to report on the protest and was not a participant.
Lowell also requested the return of Lemon’s phone, which was seized during his arrest in Los Angeles, arguing the seizure may have been an “over-execution.” Prosecutors stated the phone is in Department of Homeland Security custody and a search warrant is sealed, preventing its immediate return.
Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, also among those pleading not guilty, was previously the subject of a doctored photo posted on official White House social media falsely depicting her crying during her arrest. The image is part of a larger trend of AI-altered imagery circulating since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Two additional defendants, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, are scheduled for arraignment next week, bringing the total number of individuals charged in the case to nine.
The protest at the Cities church on January 18 involved demonstrators chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referencing the 37-year-old mother of three fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis 11 days prior.
A federal grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon on charges of conspiracy and interfering with congregants’ constitutional rights to freely exercise their religion during the protest. Lemon has stated he was present as a journalist to cover the event for his livestream show.
“I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now. In fact, there is no more important time than right now, this very moment for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable,” Lemon said after his arrest.
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) condemned the arrests of Lemon and Fort as part of “the government’s escalating effort and actions to criminalize and threaten press freedom under the guise of law enforcement.”
“A government that responds to scrutiny by targeting the messenger is not protecting the public,” the NABJ said in a statement. “It is attempting to intimidate it, and considering recent incidents regarding federal agents, it is attempting to distract it.”
The church protest drew criticism from conservative religious and political leaders. US Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the demonstration a “coordinated attack” on the church. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned on social media that President Trump “will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.” Even clergy opposed to the administration’s immigration policies expressed discomfort with the protest.
All nine defendants are charged under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits interference or intimidation of individuals exercising their right to religious freedom, with penalties ranging up to a year in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Thompson, Lemon’s attorney, is among several former prosecutors who have resigned from the US attorney’s office in Minnesota, citing frustration with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and its response to the killings of Good and Pretti.
Thompson previously led investigations into major public program fraud cases for the prosecutor’s office before resigning last month. The Trump administration has used these fraud cases, involving primarily members of the state’s Somali community, to justify its immigration crackdown.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
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