Don Lemon avoided charges in the church mob incident, raising questions about legal accountability.
a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota shut down the Justice Department’s attempt to bring charges against Don Lemon over his involvement in Sunday’s anti-ICE protest at St. Paul’s Cities Church. The decision leaves the former CNN anchor legally off the hook — at least for now. The DOJ hasn’t ruled out pursuing him through other channels. Attorney General Pamela Bondi had previously warned that «no one is above the law» in the church incident and suggested that Lemon would face charges.
The protest itself targeted St. Paul’s Cities Church on Sunday because left-wing agitators suspected the pastor had cooperated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lemon live-streamed the entire spectacle as agitators stormed the church, telling his viewers that «the freedom to protest» is what the First Amendment is all about.
During the livestream, Lemon asked the pastor, “What do you think of this?”
“I mean, this is unacceptable,” the pastor told him. “It’s shameful. It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship.”
That’s when Lemon insisted that the agitators had every right to be there.
“Okay, but listen,” he began. “There’s a constitution and a First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest.” That argument made no sense because the First Amendment doesn’t give anyone the right to demonstrate on private property.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon revealed earlier this week that federal prosecutors were pursuing multiple potential charges over the church invasion, citing the FACE Act as one possible avenue.
