"This indictment, among other things, attempts to criminalize reporting, criminalize asking questions, criminalize what is widely understood as journalism, even though there's robust debate about exactly where those lines were, Melber said. So jumping right into it on page 11, the Justice Department under Donald Trump is claiming that one of the overt acts in furtherance of a conspiracy or crime, so that this is an element of the crime, is that, quote, Don Lemon peppered the pastor with questions,' quote unquote."
"As you know, we cover a lot of stories here, and I cover law here. I've never seen anything like this in the modern time. I mean, this is outrageous, baseless, argued Melber. He continued: On the Lemon front, I'll mention that it is part of a wider indictment. So, there are nine defendants named here together, and some of them are redacted, as mentioned. Some of them are not. Lemon is one of them."
An unsealed Department of Justice indictment charges journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort alongside seven alleged co-conspirators in connection with reporting on ICE presence in Minneapolis. The indictment alleges an overt act that a journalist "peppered the pastor with questions" and names nine defendants, some redacted. The charging language could expand criminal liability to include routine journalistic activity such as asking questions and reporting on immigration enforcement. The matter is linked to a broader case about storming an area where civilians might face legal exposure, and the indictment uses a broad prosecutorial approach rather than a narrowly tailored legal theory.
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