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.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

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

tia

 

[Deleted member 117884]

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

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Here's the motion they filed to obtain the grand jury transcript.

Joint MOTION for Disclosure of Grand Jury Proceedings

You can download other case documents at this link.

United States v. Levy-Armstrong (0:26-cr-00025)

 

[witchway]

Here's the motion they filed to obtain the grand jury transcript.

Joint MOTION for Disclosure of Grand Jury Proceedings

You can download other case documents at this link.

United States v. Levy-Armstrong (0:26-cr-00025)

Thanks for this, I have been questioning this indictment for days.

 

[SouthAussie]

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

tia

I don't think it is set yet. Looking at point 4 of the signed and filed arraignment document.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102.117.0.pdf

 

[sds71]

Video footage appears to contradict key aspects of a federal indictment’s descriptions of former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s actions at a protest last month inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota, according to a review by The Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/02/13/don-lemon-minnesota-church-protest/

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Here's video that was livestreamed by BLM MN at the church on the day of.

267K views · 5.2K reactions | Up with Christ and down with ICE: #ICEoutofMinnesota #JusticeForReneeGood #JusticeForKeithPorterJr | Black Lives Matter Minnesota

Up with Christ and down with ICE: #ICEoutofMinnesota #JusticeForReneeGood #JusticeForKeithPorterJr

www.facebook.com

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Does anyone know how old the worshipper who ended up with a broken arm is? This kind of injury to an older person is more than "brokens arm hurts." It can take about two months to heal if it is a simple break, or longer if otherwise. It can also mean time of work and inability to drive and other issues. It can also mean lifelong pain, depending on the break and other factors. I imagine that there could be a civil lawsuit as well as criminal to Lemon and company.

Dhillon says in the video below that it was an elderly woman.

I've been watching her interviews, she does a lot of them! Here are a few more, and these are all since the protest.

On Newsmax

With Megyn Kelly

With David Rubin

I do believe she's largely wrong and misstates and overstates the evidence about Lemon.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

An interview with Lemon.

Trump officials condemned Don Lemon. He’s bigger than ever after arrest. - Washington Post

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Another interview with Dhillon, she starts taking questions about this case at about 18 minutes.

 

[Ruminations]

Another interview with Dhillon, she starts taking questions about this case at about 18 minutes.

She has been lying about this case in public according to the motion to release the grand jury transcripts.

I wouldn't give her a moment of my time, unless I was helping the defense gather overt acts of the federal prosecutors prejudicing the public.

MOO

 

[Betty P]

She has been lying about this case in public according to the motion to release the grand jury transcripts.

I wouldn't give her a moment of my time, unless I was helping the defense gather overt acts of the federal prosecutors prejudicing the public.

MOO

If she's making things up, I'll pass. Unfortunately, there's a lot to read and keep up with these days. I try not to waste my time listening to dishonest people.

JMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

If she's making things up, I'll pass. Unfortunately, there's a lot to read and keep up with these days. I try not to waste my time listening to dishonest people.

JMO

Same.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

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.

It depends. A lot of time they are not released publicly.

Even is cases like Watergate, it have never seen grand jury transcripts in full.

 

[Ruminations]

Did people storm into a place of worship? Like storming into a synagogue or a mosque to disrupt a religious meeting?

Shouldn't journalists take the stance that storming a religious building during a religious meeting is going to cause fear and safety concerns? Would Don Lemon film the storming of a synagogue during a religious meeting?

I am confused. What exactly are you asking?

A journalist will cover a story if it's a story.

MOO

 

[Ruminations]

It depends. A lot of time they are not released publicly.

Even is cases like Watergate, it have never seen grand jury transcripts in full.

Indeed! It is rare to see GJ transcripts.

The reasons the defense is requesting them against ordinary practice are very compelling.

In short, the allegations don't line up with the evidence. The public statements about the case are even more outrageously disconnected to the evidence. Public statements of law about the case have misrepresented the law. So the defense reasonably fears that the GJ was given untrue information, and incorrect instructions based on inaccurate assertions of the relevant law.

The defense believes that if the GJ were properly informed and instructed, they likely would have come to the same conclusion as the two judges who declined to indict.

It is a compelling argument, and might win. There is a similar recent US case where the federal prosecutors made so many outrageous public statements that it seemed the GJ may have been misled- and the transcripts were released to defense.

Please read the motion. It's very enlightening and changed my mind to: this is going to be different.

MOO

 

[J. J. in Phila]

It is not necessarily rare that they are requested. It is rare that the request is granted.

IMO.

I do not recall the transcripts being given in the Starr investigation of Bill Clinton, though some of Clinton's video testimony was released.