Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, was arrested late last night on charges that he violated federal law during that recent protest at a church in St. Paul, Minn., his lawyer said, in a case that was rejected last week by a magistrate judge.
Mr. Lemon has said he was simply reporting as a journalist when he entered the Cities Church on Jan. 18 to observe a demonstration against the immigration crackdown in the area.
The protesters interrupted a service at the church, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as a pastor, and chanted “ICE out.” Afterward, the Trump administration sought to charge eight people over the episode, including Mr. Lemon, citing a law that protects people seeking to participate in a service in a house of worship.
But the magistrate judge who reviewed the evidence approved charges against only three of the people, rejecting the evidence against Mr. Lemon and the others as insufficient. The Justice Department then petitioned a federal appeals court to force the judge to issue the additional warrants, only to be denied.
As you may recall (I know, it's hard to tell one day, one month, or one year from the next these days), the Trump administration was very, very offended about the protesters interrupting the sanctity of their worship services, and vowed to arrest them.
And now, let's go back to Jan. 21, 2025, and one of Trump's first executive orders:
Immigration authorities can now enter schools, healthcare facilities and places of worship to conduct arrests, according to a new policy from the Department of Homeland Security.
"Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense."
The directive, which covers agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, rescinds guidance from the Biden administration that created "protected areas" that primarily consisted of places where "children gather, disaster or emergency relief sites, and social services establishments."
Masked thugs with guns taking children? Check.
Protesters highlighting the hypocrisy of having a pastor who's an ICE agent? OH THE HORROR!
Update:
Independent journalist Georgia Fort was arrested:
