"A federal appeals court refused to overturn a lower court judge's decision not to sign warrants for the arrest of out journalist Don Lemon and four others this past Friday. Lemon reported on a protest in a Minneapolis church, and the administration is trying to arrest him because, they argue, he was not actually acting as a member of the press but was actually participating in the protest."
"Last week, a federal magistrate judge rejected the Department of Justice's (DOJ) attempt to criminally charge Lemon for broadcasting a protest at Cities Church in Minneapolis. The protestors called for the resignation of a pastor at the church, David Easterwood, who is also the acting field office director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in St. Paul, Minnesota."
"Two judges on a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit refused to overturn the magistrate's decision. Two of the judges were appointed by the current president and the third was appointed by Barack Obama. One of the conservative judges wrote in a brief concurring statement that the DOJ did have probable cause to arrest Lemon, but agreed with refusing their appeal on technical grounds."
A federal appeals court declined to overturn a magistrate judge's refusal to sign arrest warrants for Don Lemon and four others. Lemon reported on a January 18 protest at Cities Church in Minneapolis where demonstrators demanded the resignation of Pastor David Easterwood, who also serves as acting ERO field office director for ICE in St. Paul. Three protestors were arrested for participating in the demonstration. The administration characterized the protest as an attack on a house of worship and Christian worshippers. The DOJ appealed the magistrate's ruling, but the Eighth Circuit panel refused to overturn it, and the DOJ later ceased pursuing Lemon's arrest.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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