The US Justice Department is taking some heat for arresting a renowned journalist. Don Lemon was taken into custody Thursday evening in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. His attorney says that the former CNN journalist was there with dozens of anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protestors.
The protests have been against the shootings by border patrol and ICE agents this month, which have been making plenty of headlines. Don had previously live streamed one of these protests.
Don Lemon’s attorney condemns “transparent attempt to distract attention” after arrest
Donald Trump’s justice team are violating the First Amendment. That’s according to Abbe Lowell, who is among the many expressing their disgust following his client’s arrest. In a statement posted on Instagram, Abbe says, “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
According to Abbe, the President’s Justice Department is devoting its time to arresting Don. He calls this “the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case.” He adds that it is a “transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration.”
Don had been put on notice by the Justice Department this month. Harmeet Dhillon messaged him on X recently, saying that the First Amendment doesn’t protect what she called his pseudo journalism from disrupting a prayer service. Harmeet is the head of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on the same page as Abbe regarding this arrest. He called for Don to be freed immediately, adding that there is no basis for his arrest. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to charge Don and seven others who were at the church in St. Paul. Abbe says that his client was covering the Grammy Awards.
TELL US – BASED ON WHAT WE’VE HEARD, DO YOU BELIEVE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ARE VIOLATING DON’S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS?
