Appeals court finds evidence to charge Don Lemon over church protest, but won’t force arrest warrant

A federal appeals court concluded that the Justice Department has shown probable cause to charge former CNN anchor Don Lemon in connection with a protest inside a St. Paul, Minnesota church, but the court declined to order a lower-court judge to sign the arrest warrants that prosecutors sought.

The decision, unsealed Saturday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, came after the Justice Department asked the appeals court to overrule a Minnesota magistrate judge who refused to approve multiple arrest warrants related to the protest.

The protest took place Sunday inside Cities Church in St. Paul after demonstrators against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered the building when they believed an ICE official was one of the church’s pastors.