Former CNN anchor Don Lemon asked a federal judge Friday to dismiss the case stemming from an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service, arguing President Donald Trump’s Justice Department selectively and vindictively targeted him for reporting.
Prosecutors allege Lemon was part of a “takeover-style attack” at Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18. Demonstrators rushed into the church during worship, and Lemon live-streamed the episode. He has maintained that he was there to document it.
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Lemon, who has pleaded not guilty, faces charges of conspiring to interfere with religious rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act. The law bars force, threats, or physical obstruction intended to interfere with the exercise of religious freedom at a place of worship.
His lawyers argued in a 24-page motion that he was merely a journalist bearing witness to a matter of public concern. “The law has long recognized that bearing witness is not the same as taking part,” they wrote, warning that prosecuting journalists for covering criminal conduct would chill reporting.
But the indictment does not merely accuse Lemon of observing the protest. It alleges he participated in a coordinated intrusion that interrupted parishioners’ worship. The central question is whether Lemon merely reported on the disruption or helped execute it. His presence at the protest blurred the lines between protected newsgathering and alleged participation in the incident in the eyes of the government.
Lemon’s motion says Trump’s hostility toward him predates the Minnesota episode and that the administration acted on that animus. Lawyers cited statements by Trump, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Harmeet Dhillon, the Civil Rights Division’s assistant attorney general, arguing that prosecutors are punishing First Amendment-protected reporting related to Operation Metro Surge.
Separate motions also challenge the government’s legal theory and assert newsgathering protections. Lemon’s lawyers said the government misapplied the statutes, and alleged a case agent falsely portrayed Lemon in sworn affidavits as chanting with demonstrators and obstructing parishioners.
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A magistrate judge initially rejected the DOJ’s criminal complaint for lack of probable cause. Prosecutors unsuccessfully asked the Eighth Circuit to intervene before obtaining a grand-jury indictment.
Lemon’s lawyers said they offered to arrange a self-surrender, but agents instead arrested him at a Los Angeles hotel. They called the arrest punitive and humiliating, and cited a subsequent White House post mocking him, which stated, “When life gives you lemons.” The government has not yet responded to Friday’s motions.
