Journalist Don Lemon charged with federal civil rights crimes after covering anti-ICE church protest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody Friday aft helium was arrested and deed with national civilian rights charges implicit his sum of an anti-immigration enforcement protestation that disrupted a work astatine a Minnesota church.

Lemon was arrested overnight successful Los Angeles, portion different autarkic writer and 2 protestation participants were arrested successful Minnesota. He struck a confident, defiant code portion speaking to reporters aft a tribunal quality successful California, declaring: “I volition not beryllium silenced.”

“I person spent my full vocation covering the news. I volition not halt now,” Lemon said. “In information determination is nary much important clip than close now, this precise moment, for a escaped and autarkic media that shines a airy connected the information and holds those successful powerfulness accountable.”

The arrests brought crisp disapproval from quality media advocates and civilian rights activists including the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said the medication of President Donald Trump is taking a “sledgehammer” to “the knees of the First Amendment.”

A expansive assemblage successful Minnesota indicted Lemon and others connected charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the Jan. 18 protestation astatine the Cities Church successful St. Paul, wherever a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authoritative is simply a pastor.

In tribunal successful Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Robbins argued for a $100,000 bond, telling a justice that Lemon “knowingly joined a mob that stormed into a church.” He was released, however, without having to station wealth and was granted support to question to France successful June portion the lawsuit is pending.

Defense lawyer Marilyn Bednarski said Lemon plans to plead not blameworthy and combat the charges successful Minnesota.

Lemon, who was fired from CNN successful 2023 pursuing a bumpy tally arsenic a greeting host, has said helium has nary affiliation to the enactment that went into the religion and helium was determination arsenic a solo writer chronicling protesters.

“Don has been a writer for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected enactment successful Minneapolis was nary antithetic than what helium has ever done,” his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said successful a connection earlier Friday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi promoted the arrests connected societal media.

“Make nary mistake. Under President Trump’s enactment and this administration, you person the close to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said successful a video posted online. “And if I haven’t been wide already, if you interruption that ineffable right, we are coming aft you.”

Indictment describes Lemon's livestream

Since helium near CNN, Lemon has joined the legion of journalists who person gone into concern for themselves. He posts regularly connected YouTube and has not hidden his disdain for Trump.

Yet during his online amusement from the church, helium stressed: “I’m not present arsenic an activist. I’m present arsenic a journalist.” He described the country earlier him and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators.

The indictment names 9 defendants including Lemon. It says 2 of them posted their planned enactment connected societal media the time earlier and gave the others instructions successful a buying halfway parking batch the pursuing morning.

Lemon started livestreaming and told the assemblage helium was with a radical gearing up for a “resistance” cognition against national migration policies, according to the document. Lemon “took steps to support operational secrecy by reminding co-conspirators to not disclose the people of their operation,” the indictment says, and stepped distant truthful his microphone would not accidentally divulge the planning.

During the briefing earlier the operation, prosecutors say, Lemon thanked Nekima Levy Armstrong, a salient section activistic who is among the 9 indicted, for what she was doing and assured her helium was not saying what was going on.

Inside the religion the defendants shouted slogans and blew whistles aft the pastor was astir to statesman the sermon and gestured successful a hostile and assertive manner, according to prosecutors, and the pastor and congregants perceived “threats of violence.”

Lemon told the livestream helium saw a young antheral who was frightened, bittersweet and crying and it was understandable due to the fact that the acquisition was traumatic and uncomfortable, the indictment says. The defendants past surrounded the pastor and Lemon “peppered him with questions to beforehand the operation’s message.”

‘Keep trying’

Last week a magistrate justice rejected prosecutors’ archetypal bid to complaint Lemon. Shortly afterward helium predicted connected his amusement that the medication would effort again.

“And conjecture what,” Lemon said. “Here I am. Keep trying. That’s not going to halt maine from being a journalist. That’s not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead, marque maine into the caller Jimmy Kimmel if you want. Just bash it. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Independent writer Georgia Fort livestreamed the moments earlier her arrest, telling viewers that agents were astatine her doorway and her First Amendment close arsenic a writer was being diminished.

A justice released Fort, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy connected bond, rejecting the Justice Department's effort to support them successful custody. Not blameworthy pleas were entered. Fort's supporters successful the courtroom clapped and whooped.

“It’s a sinister crook of events successful this country,” Fort's attorney, Kevin Riach, said successful court.

Discouraging scrutiny

Jane Kirtley, a media instrumentality and morals adept astatine the University of Minnesota, said the national laws cited by the authorities were not intended to use to reporters gathering news.

The charges against Lemon and Fort, she said, are “pure intimidation and authorities overreach.”

Some experts and activists said the charges are not lone an onslaught connected property freedoms but besides a onslaught against Black Americans who number connected Black journalists to carnivore witnesser to injustice and oppression.

The National Association of Black Journalists said it was “outraged and profoundly alarmed” and warned of an effort to “criminalize and endanger property state nether the guise of instrumentality enforcement.”

Crews is simply a person of Black Lives Matter Minnesota who has led galore protests and actions for radical justice, peculiarly pursuing George Floyd’s sidesplitting successful Minneapolis successful 2020.

“All the greats person been to jail, MLK, Malcom X — radical who stood up for justness get attacked,” Crews told The Associated Press. “We were conscionable practicing our First Amendment rights.”

Church leaders praise arrests successful protest

A salient civilian rights lawyer and 2 different radical progressive successful the protestation were arrested past week. Prosecutors person accused them of civilian rights violations for disrupting the Cities Church service.

The Justice Department launched an probe aft the radical interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old parent of 3 who was fatally changeable by an ICE serviceman successful Minneapolis.

Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists 1 of its pastors arsenic David Easterwood, who leads ICE's St. Paul tract office.

“We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to support Cities Church truthful that we tin proceed to faithfully unrecorded retired the church’s ngo to worship Jesus and marque him known,” pb pastor Jonathan Parnell said.

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Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Dave Bauder and Aaron Morrison successful New York; Giovanna Dell'Orto, Tim Sullivan, Steve Karnowski and Jack Brook successful Minneapolis; and Josh Funk successful Omaha, Nebraska, contributed.

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