Former Federal Prosecutor Who Resigned Over ICE Shooting Probe Now Represents Don Lemon

By Blessing Nweke

A former federal prosecutor who resigned amid concerns about the Trump administration’s handling of a high-profile ICE shooting investigation has joined the legal team representing journalist Don Lemon in his ongoing criminal case.

Joseph H. Thompson on Tuesday filed a notice of appearance for Lemon, the former CNN anchor who faces federal charges tied to his livestream coverage of a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Demonstrators had interrupted services, alleging that the church’s pastor worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a period of heightened immigration enforcement in the region.

Federal prosecutors charged Lemon under statutes that include provisions of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which also covers houses of worship. Lemon has said he was present solely as a journalist. “I went there to chronicle and document and record,” he told Jimmy Kimmel last week. “There is a difference between a protester and a journalist.”

Thompson recently left the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, the same office prosecuting Lemon, citing ethical concerns over the Justice Department’s handling of the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer. In a LinkedIn post announcing his departure after 17 years at the Justice Department, Thompson said he would launch a boutique firm, Thompson Jacobs, focused on white-collar defense and complex litigation.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A federal magistrate judge previously rejected a criminal complaint against Lemon, but a grand jury later returned an indictment. Lemon, who was arrested in California and later released, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday and plans to plead not guilty.