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

[Smelly Squirrel]

Lemon's attorneys are asking for the grand jury transcripts, which would be nice to see. Grand jury transcripts were an issue in the Comey indictment, and they showed an unusual process, and that case has been dismissed (but under appeal). That's one of several failed cases initiated <modsnip>. moo

Don Lemon Pleads Not Guilty to Civil Rights Charges Over Coverage of Minnesota Church Protest

The former CNN anchor covered a demonstration that involved protestors disrupting a church service. His lawyer says the journalist is protected by the First Amendment, while prosecutors argue that Lemon crossed a line into activity violating civil rights laws.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Also at issue in the hearing was grand jury transcripts, which Lemon’s legal team is seeking to obtain. Lowell said prosecutors took an “unusual” path to charge the journalist, referring to another court previously declining to sign an arrest warrant against him.

 

[Inthedetails]

Does anyone know when the next court date will be for Don Lemon's case?

tia

 

[Inthedetails]

Below are quotes from an article. The entire article is at the link. BBM:


The Trump administration's accusation against former CNN journalist Don Lemon appeared to be contradicted in a newly released piece of video, according to a Friday report from the Washington Post, casting significant doubt on the rationale given for his the charges brought against him. ...

At no point in the footage, the outlet explained, did Lemon appear to behave in a manner consistent with the allegations against him. ...

"The videos and audio reviewed by The Post contain no indication Lemon threatened church congregants or chanted or yelled."

At one point in the footage reviewed, Lemon can be heard saying, "I’m not part of the group; I’m just here photographing. I’m a journalist." Later on, he holds the door for people leaving the church, asking some for interviews. When one man declines the request, Lemon said, "Okay, thank you, I appreciate it." The two continue a heated back-and-forth after the man claimed to support the deportation operation in the Twin Cities area, with Lemon accusing him of not listening to facts and the man countering that Lemon was posing as a journalist. While tense, the Post noted that Lemon at no point prevented the man from exiting the building, as the indictment said.

Link:

MSN

 

[Izzylizzy]

Does anyone know when the next court date will be for Don Lemon's case?

tia

I didn't see it in any of the articles I checked.
This is a good one, more indepth.

Don Lemon faces judge who rejected DOJ’s previous attempt to charge him with a crime

The Trump Justice Department is testing whether courts will find that journalism is a crime.

www.advocate.com

 

[Ruminations]

The affidavit says the broken arm was reported to dispatch, so I tend to believe some church member did claim that. But of course it would not be the first time federal officials lied when charging someone in Minnesota during the ICE operation. It's hard to take anything they say at face value at this point, before further corroboration.

(The Daniel Rosen mentioned below is also named on the Lemon indictment.)

Prosecutor Seeks Dismissal of Charges Against Man Shot by ICE

The top federal prosecutor in Minnesota asked a judge to drop charges against the immigrant who was shot by an ICE agent, saying new evidence was “materially inconsistent” with what officials had claimed.

www.nytimes.com

In an extraordinary court filing, the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota acknowledged on Thursday that officials had provided incorrect information about a shooting by an immigration agent last month.

The prosecutor, Daniel N. Rosen, asked a judge to dismiss charges against a man who was wounded in that shooting, as well as another man who had been accused of attacking the agent. Mr. Rosen wrote that “newly discovered evidence in this matter is materially inconsistent with the allegations” that federal officials made in a charging document and in courtroom testimony.

We can be quite confident someone called 911 the next day and reported that they had broken their arm. The affiant said he knew that the actual break occurred on the day of the protest.

I doubt the above is untrue.

What is dubious is the circumstances surrounding the break occurring. There are so many ways to suffer such an injury, especially in super cold and icy weather. Footage does not show a panicked scene. It's not hard to believe someone leaving that day fell. It is hard to believe it was related to the presence of the protesters. But, I will keep an open mind and not let the fact that I am underwhelmed by the affidavit close my ears to their first-hand account,

MOO