Don Lemon’s Fate Hangs in Balance as ‘Enraged’ Pam Bondi Seeks Path To Charge Fired CNN Star After Judge Blocks First Attempt

The failure of the Department of Justice’s initial effort to charge the former CNN host Don Lemon for disrupting a Sunday worship service at a Saint Paul church alongside hardened anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters is certain to escalate scrutiny of Attorney General Pam Bondi.The protesters interrupted Sunday services at Cities Church, a house of worship on Saint Paul’s prestigious Summit Avenue. Mr. Lemon would later claim he was there as a journalist, but he told viewers of his YouTube show, before the controversy exploded, that he’d conducted “reconnaissance” of the church, presumably on behalf of the anti-ICE protestors, prior to their incursion. The demonstrators penetrated the church in order to confront a pastor there, David Easterwood, who was suspected of working for ICE. The Justice Department, however, said the protesters had illegally disrupted a Christian worship service. The assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon, warned Mr. Lemon that he was “on notice.” For his part, President Trump told reporters on Monday that Mr. Lemon was “a loser” and a “lightweight,” adding that “I saw him walk into that church, it was terrible.” Mr. Lemon joined the left-wing podcaster Jennifer Welch on her “I’ve Had It” show and said the churchgoers whose service he’d intruded on were exhibiting “entitlement” rooted in “white supremacy.”On Thursday, Ms. Bondi announced the arrest of three other church-intrusive protesters, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, Nekima Levy Armstrong and William Kelly. To charge the threesome, the DOJ employed the FACE Act, a 1994 law that, ironically, was passed by Democrats to enable the prosecution of anti-abortion protesters who blocked access to abortion clinics. Don Lemon speaks to the Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, during his reporting trip to the Twin Cities. The Don Lemon ShowNot charged, however, was Mr. Lemon. It turned out that the request to charge him with a misdemeanor was rejected by a federal magistrate judge, a lower level jurist whose job is usually to assist with routine tasks and paperwork but who here refused to sign the complaint offered by the government. CNN reported that Ms. Bondi “is enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision.” Minnesota has become the epicenter of immigration conflict.Reports emerged overnight that the magistrate judge is Douglas Micko. The Minnesota court system notes on LinkedIn that Judge Micko “joins the bench after years of both private practice and time as an assistant U.S. Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota.” Judge Micko’s wife is an assistant attorney general working under the state’s Democratic attorney general, Keith Ellison. Meanwhile, Mr. Ellison told Mr. Lemon in an interview that he should not face charges or arrest for the church incident and that “chanting cannot be a crime; it’s freedom of expression,” The DOJ has other avenues to pursue if the government wants to ensure that Mr. Lemon, who was fired by CNN in 2023 after he made offensive comments about women, faces an indictment. Prosecutors could seek an indictment by way of a grand jury, though that path too has occasionally proved challenging for the Trump administration. Two grand juries in Virginia, for example, refused to hand up charges against New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. Ms. Bondi can also appeal the judge’s decision to the supervising district court judge, who is empowered to overrule the magistrate judge. A judge, though, is likely to take the magistrate’s opinion into account. Judges are also generally reluctant to authorize cases against journalists on account of the First Amendment. The Justice Department, however, claims Mr. Lemon was participating in the demonstration, not merely covering it. Mr. Lemon — who made a name for himself on CNN floridly denouncing Mr. Trump nightly on his eponymous show — in a video of the episode uploaded to YouTube, claims that he was “just here photographing, I’m not part of the group… I’m a journalist.” He is being represented by the prominent Democratic lawyer Abbe Lowell, whose client list includes Hunter Biden and who now also represents New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, as well as Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Both have been targeted for prosecution by Ms. Bondi’s Department of Justice.Ms. Bondi declares in a statement that “Our nation was settled and founded by people fleeing religious persecution. Religious freedom is the bedrock of this country. We will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith.” A charge of violating constitutional rights is a felony that can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Mr. Lemon said on Instagram that he was merely “chronicling the protests.”

Don Lemon’s Fate Hangs in Balance as ‘Enraged’ Pam Bondi Seeks Path To Charge Fired CNN Star After Judge Blocks First Attempt

Don Lemon’s Fate Hangs in Balance as ‘Enraged’ Pam Bondi Seeks Path To Charge Fired CNN Star After Judge Blocks First Attempt

More from the New York Sun

Ram Has Resurrected a V8-Powered Flying Dinosaur

Anti-Jeffries Petition Tops 1 Million Signatures as Progressives Seek a More Combative Speaker

Hochul and Mamdani Celebrate Democratic Election Gains, Not at Home but in Puerto Rico

Zoo Atlanta’s New Pandas Steal the Spotlight in Public Debut

GOP Lawmakers Erupt Over Trump’s Promotion of Stephen Miller

Incoming Texas Democrats May Flip Policies on Abortion, Data Centers, Schools

Scaling ‘Heights’ Higher Than ‘Hamilton’

Calls To End Schumer’s Reign Grow Louder but Viable Challengers Fail To Materialize

More from the New York Sun

Ram Has Resurrected a V8-Powered Flying Dinosaur

Anti-Jeffries Petition Tops 1 Million Signatures as Progressives Seek a More Combative Speaker

Hochul and Mamdani Celebrate Democratic Election Gains, Not at Home but in Puerto Rico

Zoo Atlanta’s New Pandas Steal the Spotlight in Public Debut

GOP Lawmakers Erupt Over Trump’s Promotion of Stephen Miller

Incoming Texas Democrats May Flip Policies on Abortion, Data Centers, Schools

Scaling ‘Heights’ Higher Than ‘Hamilton’

Calls To End Schumer’s Reign Grow Louder but Viable Challengers Fail To Materialize