MN - Journalist Don Lemon arrested for church protest, Minneapolis, 18 Jan 2026

[303gmf]

The pastor's other profession was working for federal immigration enforcement charged with detainment and deportation of illegal immigrants. I don't know any country that would just sit by and watch 15 million illegal immigrants enter the country with no repercussions.

I don’t agree

Immigrants, wether documented or not are human beings

Seems very very unchristian to denigrate

 

[Rolypolyoly]

It's the 1st Amendment rights that are being used to defend Don Lemon. We always talk about the defense argument on these threads, so it makes sense that in this case, we'd be discussing 1A.



Tricia actually answered this question quite eloquently earlier in the thread. No one seems to know anything about Georgia Fort, but there is no doubt whatsoever (or there shouldn't be) that Don Lemon is a legitimate journalist. He has the education, the training, and decades of professional experience behind him, so it's understandable that we'd be talking about him when discussing freedom of the press. There's a difference between legitimate journalists (even when acting independently) and influencers who just pick up a camera.

MOO.

I just did a quick google, and Wikipedia suggests that Fort has worked as a journalist since she graduated. A news anchor for KBGR in Wisconsin, a reporter for WVTM in Georgia, among other things so I would say she is a journalist.
MOO though because wiki.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

Interesting that it was the federal magistrate judge who recommended to the government prosecution that they go the route of a grand jury as one option.

Is it though? To me it reads "I'm not touching that with a barge pole, but if you're determined then float it past a GJ and you'll probably get a couple more miles out of it before it sinks"

 

[MrsWatson]

Is it though? To me it reads "I'm not touching that with a barge pole, but if you're determined then float it past a GJ and you'll probably get a couple more miles out of it before it sinks"

Worth noting that two other judges passed on prosecution before the GJ.

 

[Ruminations]

He is a federal officer upholding the laws of the US. ?

Extra judicial killings are not lawful.

The pastor didn't pull the trigger as far as I know, but if he said nothing after the killing of an American citizen, he can hardly claim that he is a federal officer upholding the most basic laws of the United States.

This country was founded on no kings, no oppression and free speech. It was also founded on no taxation without representation.

Being that ICE is very unpopular and appears to have a crazy-unlimited budget, this is also taxation without representation.

MOO

 

[Ruminations]

And my opinion is he's a journalist. Journalists have historically covered events, even when the participants have broken the law, without being charged because it was understood they had a right to cover the story thanks to the 1st Amendment.

MOO.

I don't think this symbolic arrest and crackdown on the legal actions of Lemon and other journalists is random, it's strategic.

First this, but will the next false arrest be when a journalist is on the street with legal ICE watchers? When a journalist interviews a witness to an extra-judicial killings if a citizen?

The gestapo has slipped its foot in the door to make journalism illegal by clutching pearls and sobbing for those for poor, interrupted parishioners. The end game has nothing to do with protecting freedom of religion. The end game is to make journalists covering protests illegal.

Journalism is essential to democracy. I hope that we all agree on that on this thread.


MOO

 

[Ruminations]

I wonder where they found a grand jury to hear their case.

Grand juries are generally standing and ready to hear presentations on a regular basis. Jurors have a term of service and hear many cases, not just one.

They are given elements of potential charges and behaviors that prosecutors believe occurred by the "target," and the grand jury makes the decision such as, "If the behaviors the prosecutor asserts happened are proven, than it would be X crime, Y crime, but don't try charging with Z, the behaviors you asserted occurred wouldn't meet the criteria for Z."

Prosecutors don't have to prove their assertions, and can use evidence that would not be admissible in a criminal trial, such as hearsay. Grand jurors do not have to feel anything was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, usually have to have some percentage of majority, not a consensus, and generally don't hear the defense or counter-argument.

Jurisdictions that rely on Grand Juries always have them available, with calendars of cases to present to them.

MOO

 

[SilentHill]

The pastor's other profession was working for federal immigration enforcement charged with detainment and deportation of illegal immigrants. I don't know any country that would just sit by and watch 15 million illegal immigrants enter the country with no repercussions.

Well that could be because a quick Google search shows your claim of 15 million illegal immigrants entering the country to be untrue.

Correcting the Record: False or Misleading Statements on Immigration - The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS)

During the 2024 US campaign season, numerous false or misleading statements have been made about immigration which deserve correction.

cmsny.org

 

[SouthAussie]

Grand juries are generally standing and ready to hear presentations on a regular basis. Jurors have a term of service and hear many cases, not just one.

They are given elements of potential charges and behaviors that prosecutors believe occurred by the "target," and the grand jury makes the decision such as, "If the behaviors the prosecutor asserts happened are proven, than it would be X crime, Y crime, but don't try charging with Z, the behaviors you asserted occurred wouldn't meet the criteria for Z."

Prosecutors don't have to prove their assertions, and can use evidence that would not be admissible in a criminal trial, such as hearsay. Grand jurors do not have to feel anything was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, usually have to have some percentage of majority, not a consensus, and generally don't hear the defense or counter-argument.

Jurisdictions that rely on Grand Juries always have them available, with calendars of cases to present to them.

MOO

I am guessing that this grand jury squeezed this case into the start of their calendar. The next available grand jury convened on the 27th. On the 29th there was a filed indictment.