Don Lemon was arrested for allegedly leading an anti-ICE protest at City’s Church in St. Paul. Former CNN anchor Abbey Lowell issued a scathing statement Friday condemning the Trump administration and the Justice Department.
Don Lemon was taken into custody on charges related to the City’s Church protest (Evan Agostini/INVISION/AP)Lemon was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards.
What charges does Don Lemon face?Although no official announcement has been made, journalist and political commentator Megyn Kelly has reported, citing sources, that he faces at least one criminal charge.
“Don Lemon has been charged criminally – we can report at least one felony charge per a source familiar with the matter. Five other (new defendants) have also been charged,” he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
MS Now reports that Lemon has been charged under the FACE Act
Don Lemon’s responseLemon said he was just covering the protest and not participating.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis is no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to uncover the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
Lowell added that “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
A federal appeals court last week refused to compel a lower court judge to sign arrest warrants for five people, including Lemon, who is under protest. The Justice Department sought appeals court intervention to compel the U.S. District Court in Minnesota to issue the warrant, which involved civil rights complaints and alleged unlawful interference with the defendants’ constitutionally protected right to exercise their religion.
The protest occurred when protesters entered the church after learning that an ICE officer appeared to be one of the pastors there.
Several people have been charged since the incident.
One of the three appeals judges noted in the filing, and according to a CBS source familiar with the matter, he believed there was probable cause to justify the arrest.
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