A magistrate judge refused to sign an arrest warrant for leftist commentator Don Lemon on charges related to his presence at a church invasion Sunday, and the judge’s ties to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have raised questions about a potential conflict of interest.
Lemon traveled with and recorded a group of 30-40 agitators who disrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul Sunday. The agitators targeted the church because a pastor on staff also appears to be the acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in St. Paul.
Lemon claims he was present as a reporter, not a participant.
Authorities arrested three of the group’s ringleaders Thursday on federal charges, but multiple sources confirmed to Fox News’ Bill Melugin that Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko had denied the Justice Department’s arrest warrant for Lemon. Melugin reported that Micko’s wife works as an assistant attorney general in Ellison’s office.
Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, praised the magistrate judge’s decision.
“The magistrate’s reported actions confirm the nature of Don’s First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter,” Lowell told Fox News Digital. “Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Lemon has insisted he has “no affiliation to that organization,” and did not know the plans to invade the church before the event started.
The Justice Department did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment about the potential of appealing the magistrate judge’s decisions.
Conflict of Interest?
Micko’s connection to Minnesota’s Democrat attorney general may raise questions, considering Ellison’s opposition to ICE and public statements about the case.
On Jan. 12, Ellison sued the Department of Homeland Security, urging the court to strike down as illegal the surge of federal immigration agents into Minneapolis and St. Paul.
“This federal invasion of the Twin Cities has to stop, so today I am suing DHS to bring it to an end,” Ellison said.
Ellison has also commented on the church invasion, stating that the Justice Department’s charges against the agitators are “inappropriate.” The Justice Department charged agitators with deprivation of rights under the Ku Klux Klan Act and sought charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Sources say Micko struck down the FACE Act charges.
Ellison argued that the two federal laws did not apply in the case of the church invasion.
“So, the KKK Act is when people will use the threat of force or violence to deny you your human rights, your civil rights, under the color of law,” the attorney general said. “It’s a wild stretch and inappropriate” to use it in this case, he added.
“The FACE Act, by the way, is designed to protect the rights of people seeking their reproductive rights to be protected, and so that people for a religious reason cannot just use religion to break into women’s reproductive health centers,” Ellison added.
“So how they are stretching either of these laws to apply to people who protested in a church over the behavior or the perceived behavior of a religious leader is beyond me.”
The plain text of the FACE Act forbids attempts to interfere with “any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
The magistrate judge’s office told The Daily Signal it is unable to comment on pending litigation.
The Daily Signal reached out to Ellison’s office for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
Republicans Speak Out
Minnesota Republicans condemned Ellison for twisting the law.
“Instead of protecting the rights of Minnesotans, Minnesota Democrats have given tacit approval for our officials to put politics before the law,” Lisa Demuth, speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and House Republican Leader Harry Niska told The Daily Signal in a joint statement Friday. “We need leaders who will put Minnesotans ahead of their political vendettas.”
Cities Church Responds
Renee Carlson, who represents Cities Church as general counsel for True North Counsel, highlighted a previous statement suggesting that, even if Lemon avoids all criminal liability, he may face civil liability.
“The First Amendment does not allow premeditated plots or coordinated actions to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship, and intimidate small children,” Carlson said in a previous statement she highlighted for The Daily Signal. “There is no ‘press pass’ to invade a sanctuary or to conspire to interrupt religious services.”
