A federal magistrate judge in Minneapolis on Thursday denied the Justice Department's initial attempt to bring charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon after he joined a group of protesters who interrupted a church service Jan. 18 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Lemon, who is an independent journalist, was with dozens of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters as they interrupted services at Cities Church, where a pastor there allegedly leads the local field office overseeing operations involving the arrest of illegal aliens.
"The attorney general is enraged at the magistrate judge's decision," a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has been in Minnesota for two days meeting with federal prosecutors.
The bid to charge Lemon came as federal authorities announced the arrests Thursday of three others involved in the protest: Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Kelly.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in posts on X that all three were charged with conspiracy against rights, a federal offense that prohibits conspiring to threaten, intimidate, or interfere with individuals exercising constitutionally protected rights, including religious worship.
Lemon said during a livestream that the group's plans were intentionally undisclosed ahead of time.
He said the protest was organized by Levy Armstrong, who he said has "been doing this since George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and others, where they surprise people, catch them off guard, and hold them to account."
The protest also was livestreamed on the Facebook page of Black Lives Matter Minnesota.
"The fact that ahead of time before this even happened, he said that he had conducted some surveillance before they went into this church," Noem told Newsmax on Tuesday about Lemon.
"He identified individuals that were going in with him that were activists, and the work that they'd done in the past, the fact that this entire situation was then posted on the Black Lives Matter website, all of that is something that they're going to be responsible for."
Newsmax reached out to the DOJ for comment.
During his podcast Thursday, Lemon said, "I stand by my reporting and I stand by the First Amendment. Everything else from there is just noise."
Protests erupted in Minneapolis following two shootings involving federal law enforcement.
On Jan. 7, Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by an ICE officer during a federal immigration enforcement operation.
A week later, a federal officer shot a man in the leg during a traffic stop. The Department of Homeland Security said the man was an illegal alien from Venezuela and that the officer was assaulted with a shovel and a broom handle.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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