After being arrested in Los Angeles after an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota and released from custody on his own recognizance, Don Lemon vowed to fight the charges against him.
“I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now.” the former CNN anchor told reporters outside a Los Angeles courthouse on Friday, as seen in a USA Today video. “In fact, there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable. Again, I will not stop now. I will not stop ever.”
Lemon added, “Last night, the [Department of Justice] sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I have been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court.”
In his work as an independent reporter, Lemon live-streamed a protest outside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. But he also followed protestors as they entered the church, and now he is charged with conspiracy against rights, which prohibits groups of people from intimidating others against practicing their religious beliefs, and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which protects access to reproductive health care facilities and places of worship, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Robbins alleged, per Variety, that Lemon “knowingly joined a mob to storm into a church and terrorize people engaged in worship services.”
In an X post, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed Lemon and others were arrested “in connecting with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Patricia Donahue released Lemon on a no money-bond and cleared the journalist for a scheduled trip to France in June but ordered him to seek permission for other international travel, THR reported. “He is also barred from contacting any victims, witnesses, or other defendants in the case.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Lemon, said in a statement that Lemon was doing “constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis” that is “no different than what he has always done.”
Lowell continued: “Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention, and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case. This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.”
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