Don Lemon Won’t Face Charges After Judge Rejects Trump Admin’s Push To Prosecute Over Anti-ICE Church Protest

As the fallout continues from Sunday’s anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church, Don Lemon, who was masking the occasion, has not been charged, regardless of Justice Department makes an attempt to pursue legal costs in opposition to him. Several different contributors within the protest have been arrested and face severe federal costs for the controversial demonstration.

Charges in opposition to Lemon rejected by decide

Politico reported {that a} Justice of the Peace decide rejected requests from federal prosecutors to cost the famous journalist in reference to Sunday’s protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon’s identify initially appeared on a federal courtroom docket examined by Politico, however the case was later eliminated. The Justice Department didn’t publicly touch upon the rejection of the case in opposition to Lemon, however U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was “enraged on the Justice of the Peace decide’s determination,” in response to a supply who spoke on the matter, per Politico. Attorney Abbe Lowell, who represents Lemon, said, “The Justice of the Peace’s reported actions affirm the character of Don’s First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter,” and described Lemon’s actions on the church as “no completely different than what he has completed for greater than 30 years” as a journalist, Politico reported.

As Blavity beforehand reported, activists affiliated with a number of teams entered the Southern Baptist Church in St. Paul on Sunday to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions within the state, alleging {that a} pastor on the church additionally labored as an area ICE official. Lemon was additionally current, interviewing protesters and members of the church earlier than and in the course of the demonstration. Officials inside the Department of Justice shortly pledged to pursue legal costs in opposition to the protesters and included Lemon amongst them, seeming to reject his claims that he was reporting on the occasion reasonably than collaborating in it. For now, plainly a decide has sided with Lemon’s place.

Trump administration takes aggressive authorized motion in opposition to protests

While Lemon has not been charged for the protest, three others have been arrested Thursday. Nekima Levy Armstrong, William Kelly and Chauntyll Allen have been taken into custody, with photos of their arrests posted on social media. The Trump administration has been criticized after it was revealed that the White House posted a digitally altered picture of Armstrong’s arrest, which was manipulated to darken her pores and skin and to make it seem as if she was sobbing, when in actuality she maintained a stoic expression as authorities took her into custody.

The Department of Homeland Security posted a video of officers arresting Allen, who’s a St. Paul School Board member. DHS mentioned within the put up that she “has been charged with conspiracy to deprive rights for her position within the St. Paul church riots.”