Don Lemon Pleads Not Guilty To Church Protest Charges
Don Lemon Pleads Not Guilty To Charges Related To Church Protest In Case That Could Determine Future Of Free Press
Anyone who is interested in the preservation of the First Amendment and the free press should be paying close attention to what happens in the federal government’s case against Don Lemon, who was arrested late last month over his coverage of an anti-ICE protest that disrupted the Sunday service at a St. Paul church where a local ICE director serves as a pastor.
Lemon’s arrest came after a magistrate judge and an appeals court rejected the Department of Justice’s push for an arrest warrant, indicating that the Trump administration is so hellbent on making an example out of Lemon and the anti-ICE movement that it is flat-out ignoring legal authorities that are looking at the so-called case against the former CNN anchor and deciding that their isn’t one.
According to NBC News, Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that include conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with religious freedom, which the eight arrested protest organizers and journalists were also charged with under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits interference or intimidation of “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
From NBC:
Lemon answered in the affirmative before the judge said he was free to travel unless he were to violate any state or federal laws.
A prosecutor also revealed on Friday that authorities seized Lemon’s phone during the arrest and have obtained a search warrant.
Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said taking the phone was a possible “over-execution.”
Lemon, now a freelance journalist, followed protesters who entered a St. Paul church on Jan. 18. He live streamed the demonstration against a pastor there who protesters said works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States,” Lemon said outside court.
“For more than 30 years, I’ve been a journalist, and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work. The First Amendment, freedom of the press, is the bedrock of our democracy.”
“I’d like to thank everyone again for their support,” Lemon said. “To my colleagues, countless journalists around the world … my family and my friends, you all have showed up for me in a real way, and I am extremely grateful for that. I feel it. I feel it. I feel it.”
It’s worth mentioning that while the Trump administration is focusing its attention on Lemon and the other protesters, mounting evidence is surfacing and going on record that indicates what most of us already knew: federal agents are initiating and escalating violence against protesters, citizens, and immigrants, and the government routinely lies to cover it up and smear the victims.
They love to pretend these protests are happening for no reason, but this is what resistance to authoritarianism looks like, and if the administration wishes to shed that image, arresting journalists for doing journalism is not aiding its cause.
SEE ALSO:
Don Lemon Arrested Over Anti-ICE Church Protest He Covered
Don Lemon’s Arrest Is A Warning Shot At Black, Independent Journalists
