Gregg Jarrett Explains Why Don Lemon Could Still Face Charges
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi has several options for pursuing charges against former CNN host Don Lemon after he allegedly stormed a church service on Sunday.
FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen for their roles in the assault on Cities Church in St. Paul, which they allegedly targeted because a pastor at that church was an official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A magistrate denied the request for an arrest warrant for Lemon. Jarrett said Lemon’s own livestream, in which he explained that Armstrong was conducting a “surprise operation,” was incriminating and that Bondi could go to a “real” federal judge to get an arrest warrant. (RELATED: Don Lemon calls parishioners at church stormed by anti-ICE rioters ‘titled white supremacists’)
“Dismissing the charges against Don Lemon seems fishy to me. We might learn more about the magistrate’s motivation, biases and conflicts of interest,” Jarrett told Hannity. “Legally, the magistrate would have to decide that these prosecutors do not meet the criteria for probable cause. But personally disagreeing with the wisdom or fairness of bringing the case is not a valid reason to overturn the charging decisions. So, Sean, I really expect the Department of Justice to do one of two things. Either bypass this magistrate by going to a grand jury for an indictment against Don Lemon, or go to an actual judge of district court, because a magistrate is in reality only a ministerial assistant He manages crimes and warrants and empties the trash.
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“Clearly, here, prosecutors felt that Don Lemon was not simply an observer, recording the illegal protest inside the church, which would be a typical journalist’s role,” Jarrett said. “Instead, he appeared to be a very active participant, who integrated himself into the mob, tormenting these parishioners. In fact, Lemon’s own videotape incriminates him, as he confronts the pastor with controversial issues, the same way the agitators do. And you can see and hear Lemon defending them all and taking up their cause, arguing that they are allowed to invade the church, disrupt the service, shut down the congregants, which shows a astonishing ignorance of Lemon’s law.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday that Lemon could face charges for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, despite his claim that he was acting in a journalistic capacity. Jarrett said Lemon’s subsequent remarks to left-wing podcaster Jennifer Welch further complicated things for the former CNN host.
“It’s a protected, off-limits place, everyone knows that. It’s a crime to invade and interfere, and to make matters worse, Lemon later called the worshipers white supremacists,” Jarrett said. “This is not only despicable, it shows that they were targeted because of their race, which only furthers the criminal civil rights violations under the FACE Act and Act 247. In fact, this qualifies as a hate crime, a double hate crime, because the targets were based on race and religion.” (RELATED: Don Lemon defends protesters who stormed Minneapolis church service, believing pastor was ‘affiliated with ICE’)
“So just calling yourself a journalist is not a defense. Your behavior is what matters,” Jarrett said. “That’s what the law looks at, and Lemon’s conduct was, in my opinion, deplorable.”
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