Update: According to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, the Minnesota magistrate who declined to approve an arrest warrant for Don Lemon is Douglas L. Micko. Melugin also reported that Micko’s wife is employed as an assistant attorney general in Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office.
The Trump Justice Department charged journalist Don Lemon and seven others in connection with a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The protest targeted a pastor who demonstrators claimed had ties to ICE.
However, the federal magistrate judge rejected the charges against Lemon.
UPDATE: I took down this post because while Lemon’s name appeared a short time ago in court records as one of eight defendants in the church protest case, I’m told a magistrate judge rejected the charge against him. The docket entry is now gone. pic.twitter.com/4UWXEIvVOM
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) January 22, 2026
Politico reporter Josh Gerstein later corrected an earlier post to clarify that the judge specifically declined to approve charges against Lemon. CBS News reported that the Justice Department is now considering alternative legal avenues.
Earlier Thursday, CBS News cited multiple sources familiar with the proceedings who said a Minnesota federal magistrate judge refused to sign a criminal complaint against Lemon related to the church protest that occurred on Sunday.
“The attorney general is enraged at the magistrate’s decision,” one source told CBS News. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been in Minnesota for the past two days as the Justice Department increases prosecutorial and law enforcement resources in the state.
Homeland Security Investigators and FBI agents arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong who played a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She is being charged with a federal crime under 18 USC 241.
Religious freedom is the bedrock of the United States -… pic.twitter.com/O9yp4nRio1
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 22, 2026
Another source emphasized that the matter is not closed and that federal prosecutors may still pursue other options.
During the protest, Lemon livestreamed as anti-ICE demonstrators entered the church, disrupted the service, and confronted the pastor and parishioners. In the video, Lemon stated, “This is the beginning of what’s going to happen here,” as the protest unfolded, suggesting he had prior knowledge that demonstrators intended to disrupt the service.
Lemon later acknowledged that he was embedded with activist Nekima Armstrong and other protest participants.
On Thursday, the FBI arrested Armstrong and charged her with Conspiracy Against Rights, a federal offense that carries a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison.
