Judge issues final ruling on Justice Department’s attempt to charge Don Lemon over anti-ICE church protest

A federal magistrate judge has blocked the Justice Department’s attempt to charge journalist Don Lemon over his attendance at an anti-ICE protest that breached a church in Minnesota.

“The Attorney General is enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision,” a source told CNN, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been meeting with federal prosecutors for two days in Minnesota.

On Sunday, former CNN journalist Lemon documented civilians protesting the recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota, which escalated as they rushed into Cities Church in St. Paul, interrupting the morning service. The protesters claimed one of the eight pastors, David Easterwood, reportedly works as the state’s acting field director for ICE.

In videos shared to YouTube, Lemon— who was fired from CNN in 2023 after an alleged history of sexist behavior at the network but continues to share content independently — clearly stated he was documenting the protest as a journalist and not participating in the demonstration.

“I’m just here photographing, I’m not part of the group,” Lemon said. “I’m a journalist.”

The Justice Department declared that Lemon would face charges for being on the church’s private property and interrupting the service, therefore impeding churchgoers’ constitutional rights to express their religion.

“The magistrate’s reported actions confirm the nature of Don’s First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter,” Lemon’s attorney Abbe Lowell said. “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 added that Lemon would “fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court” if the Justice Department continues to pursue them.

The Justice Department has arrested at least three people involved in the protests, including local activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen.

Minnesota has become a political battleground in recent weeks as Donald Trump’s administration deployed ICE to commit mass immigration deportations despite the objections from Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey.

There have been many major protests, including a planned statewide general strike on Friday, as a result of ICE’s increased actions and ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shooting an unarmed Minneapolis woman, Renee Macklin Good, on Jan. 7.

In footage of the tragic killing, which has sparked nationwide outrage, the mother of three is sitting inside a Honda SUV, blocking ICE agents from driving down the street. Several officers then surround the vehicle on foot and tell her to exit. When she begins to drive away, an agent opens fire through the windshield, prompting Good’s vehicle to crash into a parked car.

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On his TruthSocial platform, Trump defended the ICE agent who fired at least two shots into the vehicle by claiming it was an act of self-defense.

“The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” Trump wrote. “The reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!”