The allegations against former CNN anchor Don Lemon were unsealed Friday from an indictment over his participation in a protest at a church that terrified churchgoers.
The document, screenshots of which were shared by CNN’s Jake Tapper, sets out the evidence against Lemon and the other defendants in the “takeover” of the Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18 at about 10:30 a.m.
He referred to the experience as ‘traumatic and uncomfortable’ … and admitted that was the purpose of the takeover.
Lemon has claimed that he was in attendance at the incident only as a journalist, but the indictment sets forth evidence that he participated as an aggressor to threaten and intimidate church members and clergy.
“After the service commenced, a group of approximately 20-40 agitators, including all of the defendants named in this Indictment, entered the Church in a coordinated takeover-style attack and engaged in acts of oppression, intimidation, threats, interference, and physical obstruction alleged herein,” prosecutors said.
The indictment said that church leaders were forced to shut down the church service as some congregants fled, but others “took steps to implement an emergency plan.”
Those acts by the defendants deprived the church members of their constitutional right to religious freedom, according to prosecutors.
Lemon was present at a briefing before the incident and began streaming live online on his channel but took steps to conceal information of the plot, livestream video showed.
“We’re going to head to the operation. Again, we’re not going to give any of the information away,” he is quoted as saying in the indictment.
“Don’t give anything away,” he said to one of the other defendants on the livestream. “We can’t say too much. We don’t want to give it up.”
Lemon said to his audience that he saw a “young man” who was “frightened,” “scared,” and “crying.” He referred to the experience as “traumatic and uncomfortable” for those Christians attending the service and admitted that was the purpose of the takeover, according to screenshots of the indictment.
He also questioned the church’s pastor while other defendants “largely surrounded” the pastor in an attempt to “oppress and intimidate him,” the indictment claimed. They “physically obstructed his freedom of movement while Lemon peppered him with questions to promote the operation’s message,” it added.
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Lemon was arrested by federal agents on Thursday evening, leading to wide condemnation from many on the left who repeated his claims that he was merely acting as a journalist during the incident.
“Don Lemon is an accomplished journalist whose urgent work is protected by the First Amendment. There is zero basis to arrest him and he should be freed immediately,” wrote House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). “The Trump Justice Department is illegitimate and these extremists will all be held accountable for their crimes against the Constitution.”
The charges against Lemon were rejected by a Minnesota federal magistrate judge before he was charged with federal civil rights violations.
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