Did Don Lemon violate the FACE Act in Minnesota? – NBC Los Angeles

The arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon in Beverly Hills has raised the question whether he committed a federal crime under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances & Places of Religious Worship (FACE) Act, in connection with a protest inside a Minnesota church earlier this month.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Lemon was charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers. Attorney General Pam Bondi also said on social media that Lemon and three others were arrested for the “coordinated attack” on the church.

While the exact nature of the charges was not immediately clear, the federal government appears to use the FACE Act, which prohibits use or threat of force, intimidation and interference, to bring charges against Lemon. 

The federal law, enacted by Congress in 1994, aims to protect people and facilities after a rise of violence at abortion clinics in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  

“If you’re in a church and a service is going on, you have a right to it not being disrupted,” Legal Analyst Royal Oakes said. “If people come in to try to demonstrate and exercise their First Amendment rights and interfere with it, they’re breaking the federal law.”

Lemon, now an independent journalist, was inside Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota when a group of protesters entered the place of worship during a service to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the shooting deaths of Renee Good. Lemon live-streamed and covered the event for his YouTube channel. 

The question surrounding Lemon’s arrest was on whether he was part of the disruption or he was acting as a journalist, covering the protest. 

“Let’s assume that Don Lemon was very sympathetic to the protesters. Let’s assume he was there and expressed his opinion that they’re doing the right thing. Did he actually interfere? We don’t know,” Oakes said, adding cellphone video from inside the church could play a big role in determining the charge. 

“Now, since we live in a surveillance society, and plus, if anything interesting happens, whether it’s 35,000 feet in a jet or in church, people whip out their phones, we’re probably going to get a lot of video and testimonial evidence about exactly what happened, and that’s what they have to drill down on,” the legal analyst said. 

Lemon was expected to make a court appearance in downtown LA at 1:30 p.m..

As the Trump administration has sought charges against eight people in the Minnesota case, including Lemon, the Justice Department had gone to two separate judges, trying to get an arrest warrant issued against the journalist, and they both rejected the case.

“(The federal government) finally did either get a third judge or a grand jury to say, ‘Yep, you may go around this guy up,” Oakes explained.