Civil rights attorneys predict charges against Don Lemon, others will be dismissed

The indictment against writer Don Lemon and 8 others volition apt beryllium dismissed due to the fact that it hinges connected a complaint that is viewed arsenic truthful constitutionally flawed that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has ne'er attempted to usage it to prosecute interference successful a location of worship, ineligible experts say.

The Jan. 29 indictment alleges that the defendants' engagement successful an anti-ICE protestation astatine the Cities Church successful St. Paul violated the FACE Act, which prohibits radical from intimidating oregon interfering with radical exercising their law state to signifier religion. It besides charges them with a felony of conspiring to interfere with individuals' spiritual rights.

They are owed to beryllium arraigned connected Friday.

The problem, immoderate erstwhile Civil Rights Division lawyers say, is that the conception successful the FACE Act criminalizing interference astatine houses of worship fundamentally misstates the rights radical person nether the First Amendment. 

The First Amendment protects individuals' spiritual state from authorities interference. But it does not support them from interference by backstage individuals, similar the protesters and journalists charged successful the indictment, they say. 

Congress passed the FACE Act successful 1994 to code rising concerns astir threats and intimidation that women were facing astatine reproductive wellness clinics.

Since then, it has lone been utilized by the Justice Department to prosecute radical accused of interfering with entree to aesculapian attraction astatine specified clinics — and not astatine houses of worship — due to the fact that courts person recovered that interfering with entree to a reproductive wellness session impacts interstate commerce.

The law problems with the law, arsenic related to worshipers, are portion of the crushed prosecutors person ne'er attempted to usage it successful a spiritual state case.

It's besides conscionable 1 successful a bid of reddish flags that erstwhile Justice Department officials judge could spell occupation for the lawsuit and pb to a speedy dismissal.

"This is not a morganatic usage of the FACE Act. This is wholly extracurricular the halfway intent that the instrumentality was passed, and I volition not beryllium amazed if these cases are rapidly thrown out," said Kristen Clarke, the erstwhile Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to questions astir the determination to usage the FACE Act successful this case. 

No probable origin and nary vocation prosecutors

From the infinitesimal the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division tried to complaint Lemon, writer Georgia Fort, Lemon's operator and section activists who attended the protest, officials person tally into roadworthy blocks. 

Lemon's lawyer has antecedently said helium was determination to screen the lawsuit successful his capableness arsenic a journalist, whose activities are protected by the First Amendment.

The affidavit successful enactment of the ailment was made by an ICE cause with little than a twelvemonth of experience. Affidavits successful cases similar this are usually filed by FBI agents, since they are the ones investigating transgression civilian rights violations.

Doug Micko, a magistrate justice successful the District of Minnesota, rejected apprehension warrants for Lemon and 4 others connected the FACE Act misdemeanor complaint and a 2nd felony civilian rights complaint alleging they conspired to interruption the churchgoers' rights.

He besides rejected the FACE Act complaint for respective others who were arrested, including salient section activists Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen, penning "no probable cause" successful the borderline of the warrants.

"This isn't a prosecution of First Amendment rights — this prosecution is a usurpation of First Amendment rights,"  Levy Armstrong's lawyer Jordan Kushner told CBS News.

When the Justice Department asked the main justice to reappraisal Micko's decision, and helium was incapable to respond arsenic rapidly arsenic the section wanted, it asked a national appellate tribunal to intervene and unit the little tribunal to motion the apprehension warrants. That tribunal declined to bash so. 

In tribunal filings related to the appeal, Minnesota Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz besides criticized the spot of the grounds against the journalists, noting "there is nary evidence" that they "engaged successful immoderate transgression behaviour oregon conspired to bash so."

Career prosecutors successful the U.S. Attorney's Office successful Minnesota, meanwhile, besides refused to get progressive successful the lawsuit due to the fact that they were acrophobic astir the deficiency of grounds that the defendants had committed a national crime, a root antecedently told CBS News.

Despite absorption from judges and vocation prosecutors, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division rushed to indict Lemon, Fort, and the co-defendants for violating the FACE Act and for conspiring to interfere with the churchgoers' spiritual rights.

The indictment lone names politically appointed Justice Department lawyers successful the Civil Rights Division.

One of the main attorneys assigned to the lawsuit — Orlando Sonza — is simply a failed Ohio Republican legislature campaigner who graduated from instrumentality schoolhouse successful 2022 and whose lone prosecutorial acquisition until present entailed moving successful the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office implicit the people of astir a twelvemonth and a fractional arsenic an intern, a instrumentality clerk and adjunct prosecutor, according to his unit record seen by CBS News.

A 2nd Civil Rights Division lawyer who was added to the lawsuit aft the indictment was returned, Greta Gieseke, is besides a 2022 instrumentality schoolhouse postgraduate who is assigned to the Civil Rights Division's appellate section.

A 3rd lawyer added to the case, Josh Zuckerman, is simply a 2020 instrumentality schoolhouse postgraduate who worked arsenic an subordinate for 4 years astatine the multinational instrumentality steadfast Gibson Dunn earlier joining the Justice Department. 

A fewer hours aft CBS News sought comment, Civil Rights Division Acting Deputy Associate Attorney General Robert Keenan, who antecedently appeared successful tribunal during an archetypal quality for respective of the defendants, formally entered an quality successful the case. 

Keenan is simply a longtime national authoritative from the U.S. Attorney's Office successful Orange County, California, though helium has not handled galore civilian rights matters, a reappraisal of tribunal filings show.

He was co-counsel connected a 2001 colour of instrumentality prosecution involving 2 jailhouse employees, 1 of whom was acquitted astatine trial, according to tribunal filings and sources acquainted with the matter. 

Last year, helium argued that a section lawman sheriff convicted of civilian rights violations successful California should person the felony counts struck and should not service situation time, prompting respective of his colleagues to resign. 

A fewer months later, helium was dispatched to Louisville to grip the sentencing for a erstwhile Louisville constabulary serviceman who was convicted of violating Breonna Taylor's civilian rights, wherever the Justice Department recommended the justice to enforce a condemnation of conscionable 1 time of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release.

"The Department of Justice stands firmly down the highly qualified attorneys entrusted with enforcing national law," a section spokeswoman told CBS News.

She added that Sonza helped convict a suspect successful a felony rape proceedings successful Ohio, portion Gieseke handled "complex civilian and transgression matters" portion clerking successful national territory and appellate courts.

Keenan, she added, "is a vocation national authoritative with much than 25 years of experience."

Since the indictment was returned, Magistrate Judge Micko has scolded the lawyers connected the lawsuit for divulging the details of sealed filings successful nationalist tribunal documents, and warned them that aboriginal violations "will not beryllium tolerated."

"When a national authoritative makes a determination to complaint idiosyncratic criminally, it is imperative that the Justice Department person a seasoned, sage and experienced authoritative to vet that process," said Gene Rossi, a erstwhile national prosecutor. "When authorities enters that process, atrocious things happen."

One suspect successful the Minnesota lawsuit filed a question this week to disregard the indictment, arguing that it fails to authorities a national discourtesy against him.

Uneven enforcement of FACE Act nether Bondi

When it was enacted 31 years ago, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, oregon FACE Act, was chiefly intended to forestall patients astatine reproductive wellness clinics from facing threats arsenic they sought care.

To triumph Republican enactment successful Congress, GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah extended it to see houses of worship arsenic a compromise with Democrats.

Over the years, the Justice Department has successfully secured convictions against some termination opponents trying to artifact entree to reproductive wellness clinics and termination rights activists.

The crushed wherefore that portion of the instrumentality has proven palmy is due to the fact that courts person recovered that reproductive wellness clinics are commercialized businesses, and truthful engaged successful interstate commerce, said Laura-Kate Bernstein, a erstwhile Civil Rights Division authoritative who handled FACE Act cases.

"There is simply a wealthiness of litigation and circuit tribunal decisions holding that the reproductive wellness facet of the FACE Act are constitutional," she told CBS News, noting that wellness attraction clinics are "inherently interstate" successful however they run due to the fact that they person aesculapian supplies and connection services to out-of-state patients.

A church, however, is typically a section cognition that is not engaged successful interstate commerce. That and the law concerns person made it untenable to usage successful immoderate transgression case, she said.

"There truly is nary interstate commerce clause hook," she said, noting that the indictment besides fails to mention one.

Even arsenic the Justice Department has sought to usage the FACE Act arsenic a prosecutorial instrumentality successful this case, it has scaled backmost enforcement successful different contexts.

Three days aft President Trump took office, helium issued astir 2 twelve pardons to anti-abortion activists who were charged successful FACE Act cases.

The pursuing day, the erstwhile acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle ordered the Civil Rights Division to instantly disregard 3 pending FACE Act prosecutions involving anti-abortion activists and to cease pursuing immoderate caller cases unless they had support from the caput of the division.

Pam Bondi, connected her archetypal time arsenic lawyer general, ordered the Weaponization Working Group to reappraisal anterior FACE Act prosecutions during President Joe Biden's tenure to spot if they unfairly targeted blimpish Christians.

A reappraisal of those cases is inactive pending and is expected to beryllium conducted, according to 1 root with nonstop cognition of the moving group's plans.

At the aforesaid time, however, the Justice Department has allowed FACE Act cases involving protesters astatine situation gestation centers that discourage abortions to proceed without interference.

In 1 specified case, the Justice Department's vocation civilian rights prosecutors were permitted to proceed with a transgression lawsuit successful Florida's Middle District against termination rights activists who were accused of trying to scare volunteers and workers astatine a situation gestation session that counseled connected alternatives to abortion.

The suspect who went to proceedings was yet sentenced to a 120-day situation word successful March 2025.

Some erstwhile section lawyers accidental the uneven exertion of the FACE Act is grounds of the weaponization of the Justice Department against Mr. Trump's governmental enemies.

"We person seen crossed the civilian rights statutes that the section enforces the ways successful which they person weaponized the usage of these laws, not to support the civilian rights of radical of this country, but to further their governmental agenda," said Johnathan Smith, a erstwhile lawman adjunct lawyer wide successful the Civil Rights Division.

"I deliberation this usage of the FACE Act is accordant with that pattern."

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• Don Lemon