Former CNN anchor Don Lemon pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota, to charges of conspiracy to deprive religious freedom rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, stemming from his livestream coverage of an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a service at Cities Church last month.
Prosecutors did not seek detention, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko released Lemon under standard conditions, including no further law violations. Lemon flashed peace signs to photographers as he arrived at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building with his legal team and husband, Tim Malone. His defense team, led by attorney Abbe Lowell (who previously represented Hunter Biden) and former federal prosecutor Joe Thompson, expressed "serious concerns" about the application of the statutes and plans to file a motion related to grand jury proceedings.
Lemon was arraigned alongside several co-defendants, including activists William Kelly and Nekima Levy Armstrong, all of whom also pleaded not guilty. The group faces similar charges related to the January 18 incident at Cities Church, where protesters entered and interrupted the service, alleging the pastor collaborated with ICE.
Lemon maintains he was acting solely as an independent journalist documenting the event via livestream, not participating in the disruption. He has described his role as entering to report on what he called a "clandestine mission," stating: "You have to be willing to go into places and disrupt and make people uncomfortable. That’s what this country is about."
The case has drawn attention for its use of the FACE Act—typically applied to clinic access—in a house-of-worship context, with some legal experts questioning its applicability here.