The Department of Justice has quietly backed away from seeking an arrest warrant against former CNN anchor Don Lemon over a disruptive protest inside a Minnesota church — but the case isn’t dead.
According to CNN, federal prosecutors withdrew their request after multiple judges refused to approve criminal complaints tied to a Jan. 19 disruption at Cities Church in St. Paul, where Lemon and others entered during an ongoing worship service. Those rulings stalled the DOJ’s first attempt to bring charges.
Still, prosecutors aren’t done. The investigation remains open, and the DOJ could still seek a grand jury indictment, the cable news outlet reported.
Lemon has insisted he was acting as a journalist, not a protest organizer. He says he entered the church to document a confrontation involving Pastor David Easterwood, an ICE official, and livestreamed the encounter on YouTube to demonstrate his media role.
The episode quickly went national. President Donald Trump publicly called for Lemon’s arrest, while Attorney General Pam Bondi later announced charges against several protest organizers.
Those arrested — Nekima Levy-Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and William Scott Kelly — were charged with conspiracy against rights and violations tied to interfering with religious worship. A federal judge later ordered their release, rejecting prosecutors’ arguments that they posed a public threat.
Lemon, however, was never taken into custody. A federal magistrate judge also declined to sign off on charges against him — a key setback for prosecutors.
According to a person familiar with the situation, Bondi was “enraged” by the ruling and spent two days in Minnesota meeting with federal prosecutors in an effort to find a way to charge Lemon over the church protest incident.
A federal appeals court panel, including two judges appointed by President Donald Trump, later rejected the DOJ’s emergency attempt to force through arrest warrants against Lemon.
Even so, the former anchor says he expects another attempt. On his podcast last week, he predicted the government would “try again,” underscoring that the DOJ’s retreat amounts to a temporary reprieve — not a clean break.
With the investigation still active, Lemon’s legal limbo appears far from over.
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He is so damn guilty.
He used to hide behind the CNN logo when he pulled this crap.
They fired him for it. Now he’s just an unemployed citizen and we are told we can’t touch this asshole??
For this federal judge to order these people released from jail because they don’t pose a public threat will just empower them to do this stunt again and again. And one of these times, someone will get hurt. It’s not a matter of “if” it happens again, but a matter of “when” it happens again.