{"id":33329,"date":"2026-08-08T22:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33329"},"modified":"2026-08-08T22:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:19:09","slug":"don-lemon-asks-judge-to-dismiss-minnesota-church-charges-cites-vindictive-prosecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33329","title":{"rendered":"Don Lemon asks judge to dismiss Minnesota church charges, cites vindictive prosecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/6a1756c9196740.23798513.jpeg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n        <iframe id=\"instaread_iframe\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Audio Article\" style=\"display:block\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n    <\/p>\n<p><\/instaread-player><\/p>\n<p>Independent journalist Don Lemon is asking a federal judge <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5716360-don-lemon-indicted-civil-rights-charges-minnesota-explainer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to dismiss charges<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>Lemon\u2019s lawyers <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mnd.231106\/gov.uscourts.mnd.231106.611.0.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mnd.231106\/gov.uscourts.mnd.231106.611.0.pdf\">filed a motion<\/a> on Friday requesting that a felony indictment charging the former CNN anchor with federal civil rights and conspiracy crimes be thrown out on \u201cvindictive prosecution\u201d grounds.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>They pointed to a \u201cwell documented\u201d pattern of President Trump\u2019s \u201canimosity\u201d toward Lemon, as well as public statements from senior Justice Department officials that demonstrated \u201cdirect hostility\u201d toward his work as a journalist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government should not be permitted to use criminal prosecutions to chill journalism disfavored by the President,\u201d Lemon\u2019s lawyers wrote. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Lemon was arrested in January in connection with what then-Attorney General Pam Bondi described at the time as a \u201ccoordinated attack\u201d on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., during the administration\u2019s federal law enforcement surge.<\/p>\n<p>His lawyers wrote that he attempted to turn himself in to authorities but claimed the federal government ignored his request to self-surrender and \u201cchose to deputize agents\u201d to his Los Angeles hotel \u201cin what can only be described as an effort to punish and humiliate\u201d him.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/ice-protest-church-minneapolis-fcc97a29b9c4434c665d76d4811c5a3e\">interrupting the service<\/a> with chants of \u201cICE out!\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Eight people, including Lemon, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5716360-don-lemon-indicted-civil-rights-charges-minnesota-explainer\/\">were indicted<\/a> on two charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which protects access to houses of worship \u201cfree of force or threats of force.\u201d He has <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/media\/5737966-don-lemon-pleads-not-guilty\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/media\/5737966-don-lemon-pleads-not-guilty\/\">pleaded not guilty<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Lemon has maintained that he was not on the church premises as a participant but rather as a journalist simply <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DTtlCxpDmt9\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\">covering the demonstrations<\/a>, arguing his actions are protected by the First Amendment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The filings also cited a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse\/status\/2017248964878143741\">social media post<\/a> from the White House account that featured Lemon\u2019s picture on a graphic about his arrest with the caption \u201cwhen life gives you lemons.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile 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,\u201d the journalist\u2019s lawyers wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Lemon is asking that the charges be dismissed with prejudice, meaning they could not be brought again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u2019s lawyers filed a motion on Friday requesting that a felony indictment charging&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/6a1756c9196740.23798513.jpeg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}