Friday, August 07, 2026

Don Lemon prosecution - Lemon's Motion to dismiss. Relating to back then in Minneapolis, when there was a church protest because one pastor was an ICE boss.

 https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231106/gov.uscourts.mnd.231106.611.0.pdf

From the second page, a screen capture -

 

click the image to enlarge and read

"PROSECUTORIAL VINDICTIVENESS" is asserted as a basis to throw the whole thing out. MSN carries reporting by The Hill, providing detail, including:

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 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.

[...] 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 case certainly looks vindictive, from the above excerpt and other general online coverage. The DOJ is noted above as having a difficult time getting charges filed. That is likely because the case is bullshit. What the motion suggests, is soon the case will be thrown out, as more likely than not.

UPDATE: From Jan. 2026. The Hill  background coverage from roughly the time of the event.