Journalist Don Lemon, star CNN anchor, was arrested on charges of violating federal law while covering a protest at a church in Saint Paul(Minnesota) against the immigration raids of Donald Trump’s government, his lawyer said Friday.
Lemon, a 59-year-old freelance reporter, was arrested Thursday night in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards gala, his attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reported in a brief message on social networks that Lemon and three other people were arrested on her “order”, a fact that generated surprise given that a judge had rejected the charges filed against the journalist.
On January 19, Lemon was at a protest in which a group of protesters interrupted a church service to demonstrate against their pastor, who also works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and chanted slogans such as “ICE out!”
What happened to CNN reporter Don Lemon?
The Trump administration’s Justice Department sought to bring charges against eight people, including the journalist, invoking a law that protects those who participate in religious services in places of worship.
However, a judge reviewing the evidence only authorized the charges against three individuals and dismissed the charges against Lemon and the other defendants as insufficient.
Subsequently, the prosecution applied to a federal appeals court for the issuance of arrest warrants, but these were denied.
Lemon’s attorney stressed in the statement that the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, “exists to protect journalists whose work is to shed light on the truth and demand accountability from the powerful.”
The leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, declared on networks that “there is no reason” to arrest Lemon and demanded his “immediate release.”
The campaign of mass raids carried out in recent weeks in Minnesota, a majority Democratic state, has provoked numerous protests, which were repressed by federal forces.
Immigration agents shot dead two U.S. protesters, which sparked outrage and forced Trump to relieve the operational command and promise a “de-escalation,” reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
