Category: Charges against don lemon
Wife of judge who shut down charges against Don Lemon is an assistant AG to Keith Ellison: Report
The wife of the judge who refused to accept charges against Don Lemon for disrupting a church service is herself an assistant attorney general working for AG Keith Ellison.
Three alleged participants in the anti-ICE protest at a Saint Paul church were charged on Thursday, according to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
‘We will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith.’
While many believed the former CNN anchor would also face charges over his participation in the protest, sources told various news outlets that a magistrate refused to sign off on the charges.
The magistrate was later identified as Judge Douglas Micko, whose wife, Caitlin Micko, works in Ellison’s office, according to some reports.
Lemon has claimed to have acted as a journalist when he joined the protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They targeted the Cities Church because a senior pastor at the church has been reportedly identified as the leader of an ICE office.
Activist attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said the pastor’s ICE role posed a “fundamental moral conflict” with his church role.
“You cannot lead a congregation while directing an agency whose actions have cost lives and inflicted fear in our communities,” Armstrong said. “When officials protect armed agents, repeatedly refuse meaningful investigation into killings like Renee Good’s, and signal they may pursue peaceful protesters and journalists, that is not justice — it is intimidation.”
The administration may pursue other alternatives to seek Lemon’s prosecution.
One source said that Attorney General Pam Bondi was “enraged at the magistrate judge’s decision.”
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, released a statement defending his actions.
“The magistrate’s reported actions confirm the nature of Don’s First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter,” he said, according to Politico. “It was no different than what he has done for more than 30 years, reporting and covering newsworthy events on the ground and engaging in constitutionally protected activity as a journalist.”
A Blaze News request for comment from Ellison’s office was not immediately answered.
RELATED: Don Lemon nailed with fierce backlash for ‘trans’ slur against Megyn Kelly
Bondi excoriated the protest at the church in a post on social media.
“Religious freedom is the bedrock of this country,” she wrote. “We will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
DOJ tries to put the squeeze on Don Lemon over church invasion — but judge says no, enraging Bondi: Report
While the Department of Justice has filed charges against anti-ICE radicals linked to the disruption at a Saint Paul church service, Don Lemon is reportedly escaping charges.
Lemon claimed to have been acting as a journalist when he joined the group protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations by confronting a Saint Paul church whose pastor reportedly leads an ICE office.
‘Once the protest started in the church we did an act of journalism.’
According to CBS News sources, the Minnesota federal magistrate judge refused to sign a complaint against the former CNN anchor.
“The attorney general is enraged at the magistrate’s decision,” said a source said to be familiar with the matter to CBS.
However, another source said that the Justice Department had other avenues to seek charges against Lemon.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had announced charges against three of the radicals who allegedly participated in the storming of the church on Sunday. CBS reported that a source confirmed a magistrate judge had approved charges.
The Associated Press also reported that the charges against Lemon were rejected.
“Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it and talk to the people involved, including the pastor, members of the church, and members of the organization,” Lemon later said in defense of his actions. “That’s it. That’s called journalism.”
RELATED: Anti-ICE radical who took credit for the invasion of Minnesota church ARRESTED by feds
The administration is likely to pursue charges under the FACE Act, which was passed during the Clinton administration chiefly to prosecute pro-life protesters outside abortion clinics.
Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023 and has since begun commenting on the news from his YouTube channel.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
