By Kara Scannell, CNN
(CNN) — Journalist Don Lemon asked a judge to dismiss an indictment tied to his presence at a protest in a Minnesota church earlier this year, arguing the charges violate the First Amendment and are a result of a vindictive prosecution.
“The record could not be more clear that Mr. Lemon has been a persistent target of President Trump’s ire before the events in Minnesota (and) that the Justice Department acted on the President’s animus by filing unprecedented charges against a journalist for doing his job,” Lemon’s lawyers wrote in a motion Friday, citing more than a dozen statements from the president and administration officials.
“The government should not be permitted to use criminal prosecutions to chill journalism disfavored by the President,” his lawyers wrote.
Lemon, a former CNN anchor, was arrested earlier this year and charged with conspiring to violate someone’s constitutional rights and violating the FACE Act, which prohibits the use of force or threats to intentionally interfere with someone expressing their First Amendment right to practice religion. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Lemon and another independent journalist were part of a “takeover-style attack” of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon live-streamed anti-ICE protestors rushing into the church on January 18 on his YouTube channel. Lemon has said repeatedly, including during his live-stream, that he was at the church to document the demonstration.
“The law has long recognized that bearing witness is not the same as taking part,” his lawyers wrote.
“Prosecuting journalists for aiding and abetting the crimes they simply cover, on the theory that they failed to prevent those crimes or ‘promoted’ the criminals’ message, would chill large swaths of critical reporting. It would deter the public’s eyes and ears from gathering essential information in real time. It would end much of investigative reporting as we know it,” his lawyers wrote in a motion.
Lemon’s lawyers, led by Abbe Lowell, also argue the charges are legally deficient and should be thrown out on those grounds.
The-CNN-Wire
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