Journalist Don Lemon has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges stemming from a protest against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown at a Minnesota church.
The former CNN host was among nine people who were charged over a protest at a Southern Baptist church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.
Protesters interrupted a service at the church last month, chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
Lemon maintains he was at the Cities Church in Saint Paul to cover protest and was not a participant, vowing to fight the “baseless charges”.
The now independent journalist entered the courthouse in Saint Paul for his arraignment on Friday local time wearing a black suit and waved to supporters.
“For more than 30 years, I’ve been a journalist, and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work,” Lemon said outside the courthouse.
“The First Amendment, the freedom of the press, are the bedrock of our democracy.
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“And like all of you here in Minnesota, the great people of Minnesota, I will not be intimidated, I will not back down.”
The defendants have been charged under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits interference or intimidation of anyone “seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom” at a place of worship.
Civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong was among the other defendants who pleaded not guilty on Friday.
Two more defendants accused in the protest are scheduled for arraignment next week, including another independent journalist, Georgia Fort.
Penalties can range up to a year in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
‘Lying under oath is a serious federal offence’
The hearing came as two immigration agents were placed on leave after they appeared to make “untruthful statements” about a shooting in Minneapolis last month.
One officer fired a single shot from a handgun that stuck Venezuelan man Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the thigh on 14 January, just days after Ms Good was killed, Sky News’ US partner NBC reports.
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Mr Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, also from Venezuela, had been accused of beating an ICE officer with a broom handle and snow shovel.
But video later emerged that was “materially inconsistent” with testimony filed against the men, leading to the charges against them being dismissed.
The incident is among at least five shootings in which initial descriptions by immigration officials were later contradicted by video evidence.
In an unusual turn of events, prosecutors asked to dismiss the cases citing new video evidence that contradicted allegations made against the men in a criminal complaint and at a hearing last month.
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Acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons said in a statement the agents could be fired and criminally charged after an investigation into the matter is carried out.
“Lying under oath is a serious federal offence,” he said.
