Former CNN anchor said he was working as a journalist when he was arrested at protest during church service
Former CNN host turned independent journalist Don Lemon pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal civil rights charges connected to his coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official is a pastor. Four others also pleaded not guilty in the case.
Lemon did not comment to reporters as he entered the courthouse accompanied by his attorney Joe Thompson, but he later issued a statement stating his refusal to be intimidated by the Trump administration and vowing to “fight these baseless charges”.
“For more than 30 years, I have been a journalist – and the power and protection of the first amendment has been the underpinning of my work,” Lemon said, referring to the US constitutional right to a free press. “The events before my arrest, and what’s happened since, show that people are finally realizing what this administration is all about.
“For them, the process is the punishment. Like all of you here in Minnesota, I will not be intimidated, I will not back down, and I will fight these baseless charges.”
