Don Lemon’s Indictment Leads To Not Guilty Plea
The legal battle to Don LemonThe indictment reached a critical turning point on Friday as the former CNN journalist officially entered a not guilty plea. During the arraignment in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lemon and his legal team took a challenging position against his indictment, arguing that the federal prosecutors are a political attempt to criminalize independent journalism. The case stems from a Jan. 18 anti-ICE protest at Cities Church, an event Lemon insists he only attended as a reporter to document.
According to new legal documents obtained by TMZ, Lemon's defense team is now demanding access to the confidential transcripts of the grand jury proceeding that led to Don Lemon's indictment. They believe the government likely misrepresented key issues to the jury, especially since two separate judges had previously reviewed the case and denied the DOJ's initial requests for arrest warrants due to a lack of evidence. Lemon has compared the federal government's persistence to the tactics of authoritarian regimes, stating in the filings that the government sold “this unconstitutional mess” to the grand jury in a way more consistent with Russia, China or Iran than the United States.
The allegations against Lemon and eight co-defendants include conspiracy to violate constitutional rights and a felony violation of the FACE Act, which protects places of worship from physical obstruction. Federal prosecutors allege that Lemon was not just a bystander, but an accomplice who helped maintain operational secrecy during a coordinated takeover of the church. However, Don Lemon's indictment has received heavy scrutiny from press freedom groups, which argue that holding doors or interviewing interviews does not constitute physical obstruction. Outside the courthouse on Friday, dozens of protesters gathered to chant “Protect the press,” reflecting Lemon's sentiment that his 30-year career has always been anchored in the First Amendment.
The aggressive nature of the arrest has also become a focal point of the defense, with Lemon revealing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that federal agents ignored his offer to turn himself in. Instead, nearly a dozen agents intercepted him in a Beverly Hills hotel lobby on January 29, an act Lemon describes as “revenge theater” designed to intimidate the media. While Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko has allowed Lemon to remain free on bond, the government still keeps his phone, claiming that it remains under a sealed search warrant. As the proceedings move forward, the legal community is watching closely to see if Don Lemon's indictment will serve as a precedent-setting test of whether the presence of a journalist at a protest can be described as criminal conspiracy.
Furthermore, the seizure of Lemon's cellular device has set a chilling precedent for reporters nationwide, as his legal team claims the government's continued possession of the phone constitutes a “backdoor search” of 30 years' worth of confidential sources and investigative memos. Defense attorneys have expressed grave concern that federal agents are sifting through unrelated sensitive materials under the guise of the Jan. 18 investigation, effectively turning the criminal trial into an act of institutional surveillance. By keeping its primary tool of trade, the government is not only targeting one individual, but is signaling to all independent journalists that documenting state-related protests entails the risk of total professional risk.
