Former CNN anchor Don Lemon taken into custody, sources say

[wmheel1287]

My point was not to argue whether the J6 reporters were entitled to 1A protections during J6 (I'm not familiar with all the details on those cases) but to simply point out that multiple J6ers (the article mentions 8) made claims that they were journalists and/or documentary filmmakers and there was absolutely NO CONCERN or OUTRAGE expressed by the mainstream press about freedom of the press for these reporters. We know why: these were right wing journalists or film makers who were unworthy of 1A protection. Only liberal hacks like Lemon or some lefty activist named Georgia Fort are worthy of 1A freedom of the press protections - according to the legacy media.

I don't know whether Lemon is guilty but he was indicted by a federal grand jury. He has funds to mount a vigorous defense and he has a favorable jury pool in Minneapolis so he'll likely be fine.

And you whined incessantly here about lawfare. You might be one of the biggest hypocrites I have ever encountered.

 

[Calheel]

Thank you. I'm of course with Wittes on this, but my analysis would be simpler. Were these people in disguise? They were not. Second clause of the statute is eliminated. First clause requires "injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate" none of which happened here.

I can't believe the magistrate signed off on this.

The magistrate didn't sign off. The US Attorney got a grand jury indictment after magistrate refused to sign it and 8th circuit refused to make him sign it.

 

[theel4life]

Lemon is in court right now apparently.

Just a huge waste of time.

 

[superrific]

The magistrate didn't sign off. The US Attorney got a grand jury indictment after magistrate refused to sign it and 8th circuit refused to make him sign it.

Here's what Anna Bower said in the linked podcast transcript. I don't know if it's accurate but I assume it is:

And one photo that we've seen of one of those arrest warrants showed that the magistrate actually did not find probable cause for a FACE Act violation, but did find probable cause for an 18 U.S.C. 241 violation, which is the conspiracy against right statute.

 

[Calheel]

Here's what Anna Bower said in the linked podcast transcript. I don't know if it's accurate but I assume it is:

And one photo that we've seen of one of those arrest warrants showed that the magistrate actually did not find probable cause for a FACE Act violation, but did find probable cause for an 18 U.S.C. 241 violation, which is the conspiracy against right statute.

The magistrate arrest warrant wasn't for Lemon, but other people. And there are at least allegations that would support the charges against other people.

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

 

[theel4life]

the horror

 

[nycfan]

“… we're talking about a reporter that is asking tough questions and that the government decides to arrest him. That's exactly what's happening. The same thing that happened in Venezuela“

 

[nycfan]

 

[BlooVooDoo]

This should be immensely entertaining.

Don Lemon Hires Federal Prosecutor Who Quit Over Immigration Crackdown​

Facing charges over his role at a church protest, Mr. Lemon, a journalist, retained a veteran litigator who recently resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.

The federal prosecution of the journalist Don Lemon took an unlikely turn on Tuesday.

Facing charges over his presence at a church protest challenging the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, Mr. Lemon has hired as one of his defense lawyers a veteran criminal litigator who, until just weeks ago, was helping lead the prosecutor’s office that has charged Mr. Lemon with felonies.

Joseph H. Thompson, a former senior federal prosecutor who resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota in mid-January over the Justice Department’s handling of the immigration operation, has joined Mr. Lemon’s defense team, according to a court filing.

Mr. Thompson’s appointment is the latest plot twist in a high-profile case that has been anomalous from the start. By representing the most prominent of nine defendants charged in the church protest case, Mr. Thompson will face off against a department that employed him for nearly 17 years. Mr. Thompson will work alongside Mr. Lemon’s lead defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell.

Gift link…

Don Lemon Hires Federal Prosecutor Joseph H. Thompson in Minneapolis Church Protest Case

Facing charges over his role at a church protest, Mr. Lemon, a journalist, retained a veteran litigator who recently resigned from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.

www.nytimes.com

 

[nycfan]

“… But in the nearly two weeks since he was taken into custody, Lemon has enjoyed a triumph of his own. A new audience galvanized by the arrest has flooded his online-media empire, earning him more than 300,000 new followers on Instagramand 140,000 new subscribers on YouTube.

His Substack business has soared 73 percent to more than 140,000 subscribers, many of whom pay $8 a month to be a part of “Lemon Nation.” His online store has even started offering a new line of merchandise: tees, stickers and $55 sweatshirts labeled “We Will Not Be Silenced.”

… Even before the arrest, Lemon had become a profitable figure in the online creator economy. On YouTube, he earns a cut of the ad revenue for the freewheeling videos he delivers to his more than 1.2 million subscribers. Kyle Tharp, who has tracked Lemon’s online audience for his media newsletter Chaotic Era, estimated that Lemon is, based on viewership, making $1 million a year on the video platform.…”

 

[Calheel]

“… But in the nearly two weeks since he was taken into custody, Lemon has enjoyed a triumph of his own. A new audience galvanized by the arrest has flooded his online-media empire, earning him more than 300,000 new followers on Instagramand 140,000 new subscribers on YouTube.

His Substack business has soared 73 percent to more than 140,000 subscribers, many of whom pay $8 a month to be a part of “Lemon Nation.” His online store has even started offering a new line of merchandise: tees, stickers and $55 sweatshirts labeled “We Will Not Be Silenced.”

… Even before the arrest, Lemon had become a profitable figure in the online creator economy. On YouTube, he earns a cut of the ad revenue for the freewheeling videos he delivers to his more than 1.2 million subscribers. Kyle Tharp, who has tracked Lemon’s online audience for his media newsletter Chaotic Era, estimated that Lemon is, based on viewership, making $1 million a year on the video platform.…”

And I got several negative reactions when I posted that Lemon stood to benefit greatly from being arrested. He has basically 0% risk of actual criminal jeopardy and it significantly boosts his profile -- an important commodity when you are trying to make it in the independent journalist world.