Independent journalist Don Lemon is asking a federal judge to dismiss charges brought against him in connection with his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a Minnesota church earlier this year, claiming he has been wrongfully targeted by the Trump administration.
Lemon’s lawyers filed a motion on Friday requesting that a felony indictment charging the former CNN anchor with federal civil rights and conspiracy crimes be thrown out on “vindictive prosecution” grounds.
They pointed to a “well documented” pattern of President Trump’s “animosity” toward Lemon, as well as public statements from senior Justice Department officials that demonstrated “direct hostility” toward his work as a journalist.
“The government should not be permitted to use criminal prosecutions to chill journalism disfavored by the President,” Lemon’s lawyers wrote. “The targeting of Mr. Lemon for criticism even before the Minnesota protests, and then the attacks starting on and continuing after, provide more than sufficient grounds to conclude the prosecution of Mr. Lemon is vindictive.”
The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Lemon was arrested in January in connection with what then-Attorney General Pam Bondi described at the time as a “coordinated attack” on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., during the administration’s federal law enforcement surge.
His lawyers wrote that he attempted to turn himself in to authorities but claimed the federal government ignored his request to self-surrender and “chose to deputize agents” to his Los Angeles hotel “in what can only be described as an effort to punish and humiliate” him.
Lemon was among a group of journalists who documented a group of protestors entering the church where one of the pastors was believed to be affiliated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and interrupting the service with chants of “ICE out!”
Eight people, including Lemon, were indicted on two charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which protects access to houses of worship “free of force or threats of force.” He has pleaded not guilty.
The grand jury indictment followed failed attempts by the Justice Department to secure charges from a federal magistrate judge, who found no probable cause to arrest Lemon, according to the filings. The chief judge and Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit also declined to intervene.
Lemon has maintained that he was not on the church premises as a participant but rather as a journalist simply covering the demonstrations, arguing his actions are protected by the First Amendment.
The filings also cited a social media post from the White House account that featured Lemon’s picture on a graphic about his arrest with the caption “when life gives you lemons.”
“While the government may think it has made lemonade, all it has really made is a grave constitutional violation by arresting a journalist in the middle of the night for his coverage of a matter of public concern,” the journalist’s lawyers wrote.
Lemon is asking that the charges be dismissed with prejudice, meaning they could not be brought again.
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