A magistrate judge in Minnesota refused to approve federal charges against journalist Don Lemon in connection to a protest at a Minnesota church on Sunday, according to CBS News.
The judge’s decision comes as the Department of Justice has charged three people in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul, where protesters believed one of the pastors was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. Attorney General Pam Bondi said officials arrested Chauntyll Louisa Allen, who serves on the St. Paul School Board, Nekima Levy Armstrong and William Kelly.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Lemon, praised the decision and said it confirmed “the nature of Don’s First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter.”
“It was no different than what he has done for more than 30 years, reporting and covering newsworthy events on the ground and engaging in constitutionally protected activity as a journalist,” Lowell said.
A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though a source close to Bondi told CBS News the attorney general was “enraged” by the decision. A separate source said the department may try other avenues to charge Lemon.
Lemon and a film crew followed the protestors, commented on the protests and interviewed both the pastor and the demonstrators, but he did not specifically demonstrate. DOJ officials, including Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, have hinted that Lemon could face charges for his appearance at the protest. Lemon, in turn, defended his actions in an Instagram post on Monday as “an act of journalism.”
“Why don’t you talk to the actual person who is in charge of the organization and whose idea it was to have the protest at the church before you start blaming me for stuff for which you have no idea about?” Lemon added. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Lowell said in his statement that, if the department still tried to pursue charges, it would mark “a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job.”
“Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” he said.
