A US appeals court has rejected a federal justice department request to charge five more people in connection with a disruption at a Minnesota church service in January, in the latest setback for the Trump administration's pursuit of demonstrators. The ruling by the eighth US circuit court of appeals was made public on Saturday and revealed the extent of the administration's efforts to prosecute those involved in the protest.
The demonstration took place on 18 January at a church service, in protest against a pastor's apparent connection to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A federal magistrate judge had previously declined to approve arrest warrants for five proposed defendants, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who recorded the demonstration as a journalist, citing a lack of evidence. The judge did approve charges for three alleged leaders of the protest but struck out a proposed charge of physically obstructing a house of worship.
Speaking to former CNN colleague Alisyn Camerota, Lemon said he was prepared for the administration to continue pursuing him, even if that meant having to “go around a judge”. He added: “I'm not naive. They just don't give up because they want to save face. If there's no law to fit, they will try to fit or retrofit something or go around a judge and just do it themselves.”
The case has drawn significant attention as the administration pursues a sweeping immigration crackdown in Minnesota and officials have vowed to protect Christian services. A justice department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The three defendants – activists Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly – have each been charged with conspiracy against rights for allegedly intimidating and harassing parishioners, and have accused the administration of retaliation.
The justice department had asked the chief trial judge and then the appeals court to intervene and approve warrants for the five other proposed defendants, citing a risk of similar church disruptions. Patrick Schiltz, the chief US district court judge in Minnesota, described the request as “unheard of” in his jurisdiction and any other federal court in the eighth circuit, which covers seven states. All three judges on the appeals panel declined to intervene, though one, Leonard Steven Grasz, wrote that prosecutors had shown enough evidence but had other means to seek approval, such as asking a grand jury or presenting additional evidence to the magistrate judge.
