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Cities Church anti-ICE protesters in court Friday: What to expect
Journalist Don Lemon and several others are set to appear in federal court on Friday, facing charges related to an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul nearly a month ago. Lemon and other people arrested in connection to the protest will be arraigned on Friday. They are scheduled to make their first appearance at 1 p.m., court records show.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Journalist Don Lemon and several others are set to appear in federal court on Friday, facing charges related to an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul nearly a month ago.
Lemon and four other people arrested in connection to the protest will be arraigned on Friday. They are scheduled to make their first appearance at 1 p.m., court records show.
Arraignments in federal court typically include entering of pleas and scheduling of future proceedings.
Lemon pleads not guilty
What we know:
Lemon has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Prosecutors said they are not seeking to detain Lemon.
The judge said he will impose standard release conditions for Lemon, which includes not violating laws.
Anti-ICE protest and charges
The backstory:
Lemon, a former CNN host, was arrested following the protest and is now facing federal charges. These charges include conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with religious freedoms.
The Jan. 18 protest occurred inside Cities Church in St. Paul, where activists disrupted a service to demand a church pastor resign, saying the pastor also serves as the acting director for the ICE field office in Minneapolis.
Lemon says he was working as a journalist, livestreaming the anti-ICE protesters.
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Don Lemon, others in court Friday after St. Paul ICE protest
Freelance journalist Don Lemon and several others will appear in court on Friday over their connection to an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul. Lemon is charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with religious freedoms.
Lemon's legal team includes Joe Thompson, who previously served as Minnesota's top prosecutor. Thompson resigned from the U.S. Attorney's Office in protest after being pressured to investigate the widow of Renee Good.
The other side:
The protest drew complaints from conservative religious and political leaders, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warning that "President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship."
Others charged in Cities Church protest
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Nekima Levy Armstrong speaks out after arrest [RAW]
Activist Nekima Levy Armstrong speaks out for the first time since she was released after she arrested for protesting at a St. Paul church whose pastor works for ICE.
Dig deeper:
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer and social justice advocate, is also expected in court on Friday for her arraignment. Armstrong attempted to turn herself in after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced more arrests, but she was not allowed to and was subsequently arrested along with other protesters. Those protesters include St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Allen, William Kelly, Ian Davis Austin and Jerome Deangelo Richardson.
The charges include violations of the FACE Act, which prohibits the use of force or interference with people exercising their right to religious freedom at a place of worship. In total, nine people have been charged in connection with the church protest.
Two more people charged in the case, including journalist Georgia Fort, are scheduled to be arraigned next week.
Nine people total were charged in the case.
The Source: This story uses information gathered from federal court documents and previous FOX 9 reporting.