Former NCS anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal civil rights charges stemming from his protection of an immigration protest in Minnesota.
Lemon, now an unbiased journalist, was amongst reporters who coated a protest final month at a St. Paul church the place an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor.
Lemon, one other reporter and 7 different persons are accused of conspiring towards the appropriate to non secular freedom and with interfering with the appropriate to train non secular freedom at a spot of worship.
Lemon, who livestreamed the church protest, pleaded not guilty to the charges throughout a short look in a federal courtroom in St. Paul, the dual metropolis of Minneapolis.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Lemon mentioned the charges are an assault on the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which ensures freedom of speech and of the press.
“This isn’t just about me,” Lemon mentioned. “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 mentioned.
“I will not be intimidated. I will not back down. I will fight these baseless charges and I will not be silenced,” Lemon mentioned.
Minnepolis has been gripped for weeks by protests towards President Donald Trump’s immigration raids within the Democratic-run metropolis and the killings of two American residents by federal brokers.
Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration enforcement chief, introduced on Thursday that the administration was winding down its aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota.
Campaigning towards unlawful immigration helped Trump get elected in 2024, however the killings of the 2 Americans, movies of masked brokers snatching individuals off the streets, and experiences of individuals being focused on flimsy proof, have contributed to a steep drop in his approval rankings.
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