US EditionCivil rights attorneys predict charges against Don Lemon, others will be dismissed, citing flaws in FACE Act
Don Lemon and eight others face federal charges for allegedly disrupting a church service and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, with nine defendants indicted.
- On Friday, Don Lemon, former CNN anchor and independent journalist, is due in St. Paul federal court for a 1 p.m. arraignment with four others to enter pleas.
- On Jan. 18 activists entered Cities Church, interrupting a service with chants of `ICE out` and `Justice for Renee Good` to protest a pastor they believed worked for ICE, demanding his resignation.
- Federal prosecutors charge Lemon with conspiring to deprive civil rights and violating the FACE Act, alleging he and Georgia Fort livestreamed a `takeover-style attack` that intimidated congregants, with nine defendants charged after a grand jury indictment.
- Lemon says he acted as a journalist and has retained Joseph H. Thompson, lawyer and former Minnesota federal prosecutor, to defend him after his Jan. 29 arrest in a Beverly Hills / Los Angeles hotel lobby.
- Amid January 2026 turmoil in Minneapolis, two more defendants including Georgia Fort are scheduled for arraignment next week, as resignations from the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office continue.
177 Articles
177 Articles
Don Lemon pleads not guilty to civil rights charges after covering a Minnesota church protest for his online channel
Two more defendants accused in the protest at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul are scheduled for arraignment next week, including another independent journalist, Georgia Fort. Nine people have been charged in the case.
Was Don Lemon a Protestor, a Journalist or a Worshipper in Cities Church Disruption?
Don Lemon pled not guilty to charges that he violated the law when he entered Cities Church, in St. Paul, Minnesota, with activists to film a pro-illegal immigration demonstration that intentionally disrupted and shut down the church’s worship service. Lemon previously stated, in an Instagram video defending himself, that he was not part of the protest, adding, “We did an act of journalism.” The other defendants charged along with the former C…
Don Lemon tells judge he's innocent of disrupting church service he invaded * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh
Don Lemon Don Lemon, now an “independent journalist” after losing his position at CNN, has told a Minnesota judge that he’s innocent of charges of disrupting a church service that he invaded with a film crew and a team of agitators. The Washington Examiner characterized his confrontation with Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., in January as him “storming” the congregation. He was part of a group of agitators that violated the church’s constitutio…
Duluth News Tribune
Don Lemon pleads not guilty in St. Paul ICE protest case
ST. PAUL — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance on Friday, Feb. 13, to charges related to a church protest earlier this month. Lemon is one of five to appear in federal court Friday for the case related to the Jan. 19 protest when demonstrators disrupted a church service where a Minnesota ICE official is believed to be a pastor. He is one of nine charged with "conspiracy against rights of religious freedom…
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