Journalist Don Lemon is charged with federal civil rights crimes in anti-ICE church protest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Journalist Don Lemon has been charged with national civilian rights crimes successful transportation with an anti-immigration enforcement protestation that disrupted a work astatine a Minnesota church, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Friday.

Lemon was arrested Thursday by national agents successful Los Angeles, wherever helium had been covering the Grammy Awards, his lawyer Abbe Lowell said. He was expected to look successful tribunal determination Friday afternoon.

The seasoned writer is charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers during a Jan. 18 protestation astatine the Cities Church successful St. Paul, wherever a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authoritative serves arsenic a pastor. Another writer and 2 protestation participants were besides arrested successful Minnesota.

Lemon, who was fired from CNN successful 2023, has said helium has nary affiliation to the enactment that went into the religion and that helium was determination arsenic an autarkic 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,” Lowell said successful a connection earlier Friday. “The First Amendment exists to support journalists whose relation it is to radiance airy connected the information and clasp those successful powerfulness accountable.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the apprehension of Lemon and the others who were contiguous during the protest.

“At my direction, aboriginal this greeting national agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, successful transportation with the coordinated onslaught connected Cities Church successful St. Paul, Minnesota,” Bondi said connected societal media.

‘Keep trying’

Since helium near CNN, Lemon has joined the legion of journalists who person gone into concern for himself, posting regularly connected YouTube. He hasn’t hidden his disdain for President Donald Trump. Yet during his online amusement from the church, helium said repeatedly: “I’m not present arsenic an activist. I’m present arsenic a journalist.” He described the country earlier him, and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators.

A magistrate justice past week rejected prosecutors’ archetypal bid to complaint the seasoned journalist. Shortly after, helium predicted connected his amusement that the medication would effort again.

“And conjecture what,” helium 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.”

Fort, an autarkic journalist, livestreamed the moments earlier her apprehension Friday connected Facebook Live.

“I don’t consciousness similar I person my First Amendment close arsenic a subordinate of the property due to the fact that present the national agents are astatine my doorway arresting maine for filming the religion protestation a fewer weeks ago,” Fort said.

It was not instantly wide if Fort and the 2 different Minnesotans who were arrested person attorneys.

Discouraging scrutiny

The arrests brought crisp disapproval from quality media advocates and civilian rights activists. The Rev. Al Sharpton said the Trump medication was taking a “sledge hammer” to “the knees of the First Amendment.”

Kelly McBride, a elder vice president astatine the Poynter Institute, said the arrests and the caller hunt of a Washington Post journalist’s location were intended to intimidate journalists documenting absorption to the president's policies.

In an Instagram post, the National Association of Black Journalists said it was “outraged and profoundly alarmed" by Lemon's arrest. The radical called it 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.

After Trump medication officials said earlier this period that arrests would beryllium coming successful the religion protest, Crews told The Associated Press there’s a “tradition” of Black activists and leaders being targeted oregon subjected to violence.

“Just arsenic being a Black person, you ever person to person that successful mind,” Crews said.

Protesters charged previously

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 a civilian rights 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.

Jordan Kushner, an lawyer for Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was successful the archetypal radical arrested, said the latest prosecutions "are beyond the pale."

"Nonviolent protestation is not a national felony,” Kushner said.

Lundy is an intergovernmental affairs manager successful the bureau of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and is joined to St. Paul City Council Member Anika Bowie. Bowie and Moriarty could not beryllium reached for comment.

Lemon concisely interviewed Lundy, who is besides a campaigner for authorities senate, arsenic they gathered with protesters preparing to thrust to the church.

“I consciousness similar it’s important that if you’re going to beryllium representing radical successful bureau that you are retired present with the people,” helium told Lemon, adding helium believed successful “direct action, surely wrong the lines of the law.”

Church leaders praise arrests successful protest

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 Friday successful a statement.

“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 to societal media connected Friday. “And if I haven’t been wide already, if you interruption that ineffable right, we are coming aft you.”

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

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