The Case Against Don Lemon Is Junk, and Dangerous

"On the basis of the record available so far, the case against them appears factually weak, legally shoddy, and marred by a baffling series of procedural irregularities that raise serious questions about the Justice Department's ability to win in court. This prosecution is best understood not as law enforcement but as propaganda, junk intended purely to get attention. But that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous."

"That Sunday, a group of Minnesota activists organized a demonstration interrupting services at a Southern Baptist church whose pastor reportedly works as the acting director of an ICE field office. Lemon interviewed activists before the protests, livestreaming news coverage on his YouTube channel, and both he and Fort filmed the protest from inside Cities Church. Again and again during the livestream, Lemon explained that he was there as a reporter, not an activist."

The Trump administration has shown a pattern of hostility toward open public discourse, including barring and evicting journalists and deploying FBI searches. Two journalists, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, were arrested and charged with conspiring to violate parishioners' civil rights and blocking access to a house of worship. The available record suggests the case is factually weak, legally flawed, and plagued by procedural irregularities that undermine chances of conviction. The prosecution functions more as political propaganda than genuine law enforcement and stems from a January 18 protest at Cities Church where journalists filmed and livestreamed while asserting they were reporting.

Read at The Atlantic