A federal appeals panel found sufficient evidence for charges tied to a protest inside a St. Paul church but declined to compel a magistrate judge to approve arrest warrants sought by prosecutors.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal appeals court has determined that the Justice Department established probable cause to charge former CNN anchor Don Lemon in connection with a protest inside a St. Paul, Minnesota church, while refusing to force a lower-court judge to sign arrest warrants requested by prosecutors.
The ruling, unsealed Saturday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, followed an appeal by the U.S. Department of Justice after a Minnesota magistrate judge declined to approve multiple arrest warrants related to the incident.
According to the court, prosecutors met the legal threshold to support charges arising from the protest, but the panel stopped short of ordering the magistrate judge to issue the warrants, leaving that determination to the lower court’s discretion.
The protest occurred on a Sunday inside Cities Church, where demonstrators opposed to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered the building after believing that an ICE official was among the church’s pastors. The incident drew federal scrutiny and prompted prosecutors to seek arrests in connection with the disruption.
The appeals court’s decision resolves the narrow question of whether probable cause exists while preserving the magistrate judge’s authority over whether arrest warrants should be issued. No timetable was announced for further proceedings, and the Justice Department has not publicly indicated whether it will pursue additional legal steps following the ruling.
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