Appeals court rejects warrants for Lemon and protest participants

A federal appellate court declined to order a lower court judge to sign arrest warrants for five individuals, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, related to an anti-ICE protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The ruling, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and unsealed Saturday, stemmed from a request by the Justice Department to compel the U.S. District Court in Minnesota to sign the warrants over civil rights charges.

The Protest and Initial Charges

Demonstrators entered St. Paul’s Cities Church on Sunday after discovering that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official appeared to be one of the pastors. Three individuals have been charged in connection with the protest. The criminal complaint indicates several defendants were charged, but their names are redacted after the magistrate judge declined to sign the arrest warrants due to a lack of probable cause. Magistrate Judge Doug Micko also declined to approve some charges for the three individuals who were arrested, citing a similar lack of probable cause.

Justice Department’s Request and District Court Response

Following the magistrate judge’s refusal to sign the five arrest warrants, Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen personally contacted the court requesting a review of the decision. The matter was assigned to Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Schiltz noted that such a request was “unheard of” in the district and that it would typically be handled by either re-submitting an improved affidavit or seeking a grand jury indictment.

The Justice Department claimed urgency, citing national security concerns and asserting that failure to act could lead to similar incidents in other religious institutions. Schiltz disputed these claims, stating that the alleged misconduct involved protestors “yelling horrible things” and that there was “absolutely no emergency.”

Appellate Court Ruling and Concurring Opinion

The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied the Justice Department’s request to order the lower court to sign the five arrest warrants. However, Judge L. Steven Grasz, in a concurring opinion, stated he believed probable cause had been established to justify the arrest warrants, without providing further details.

Next Steps

It remains unclear what the Justice Department will do next. Options include drafting new affidavits to support the charges and re-presenting them to a magistrate judge, or seeking grand jury indictments.