(AFP) – Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal civil rights charges stemming from his coverage of an immigration protest in Minnesota. Lemon, now an independent journalist, was among reporters who covered a protest last month at a St. Paul church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor.
Lemon, another reporter, and seven other people are accused of conspiring against the right to religious freedom and interfering with the right to exercise religious freedom at a place of worship. Lemon, who livestreamed the church protest, pleaded not guilty to the charges during a brief appearance in a federal courtroom in St. Paul, the twin city of Minneapolis.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Lemon said the charges are an attack on the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. “This isn’t just about me,” Lemon said. “This is about all journalists, especially here in the United States.”
“For more than 30 years I’ve been a journalist and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work,” he said. “I will not be intimidated. I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges and I will not be silenced,” Lemon said.
Minneapolis has been gripped for weeks by protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration raids in the Democratic-run city and the killings of two American citizens by federal agents. Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration enforcement chief, announced on Thursday that the administration was winding down its aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota.
Campaigning against illegal immigration helped Trump get elected in 2024, but the killings of the two Americans, videos of masked agents snatching people off the streets, and reports of people being targeted on flimsy evidence have contributed to a steep drop in his approval ratings.
© 2024 AFP
