The Justice Department announced plans to charge internet personality and former CNN host Don Lemon following his involvement in disrupting a church service in Minnesota alongside anti-ICE protesters. Federal officials allege Lemon played a knowing role in an incident that interfered with worship and violated congregants’ civil rights.
[read more]
Harmeet Dhillon, the U.S. assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said Monday that Lemon will be charged under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. She stated that Lemon has already acknowledged he knew “exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” undermining claims that he was merely an observer.
Dhillon rejected Lemon’s assertion that he was acting as a journalist covering a protest. She said that claiming press status does not shield someone from prosecution when they knowingly participate in actions that intimidate or disrupt people exercising their constitutional rights.
The Ku Klux Klan Act makes it a federal crime to terrorize, intimidate, or conspire against individuals engaging in protected civil activities. Originally enacted to protect newly freed slaves, the statute has since been applied in a range of civil rights cases, including conspiracy charges beyond traditional law enforcement contexts.
Dhillon noted that the Biden administration previously used the Klan Act in conjunction with the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to pursue enhanced conspiracy charges in abortion clinic protest cases. She said similar legal tools are available in this matter and confirmed that charges will be pursued.
Federal investigators are also examining who funded the protest, how it was organized, and whether interstate travel or mail and wire communications were used, factors that could lead to additional charges. Dhillon warned that those involved in coordinated intimidation campaigns should expect aggressive federal enforcement and severe legal consequences.[/read]