Overview
- Federal magistrate Douglas Micko declined to approve a proposed criminal complaint against Don Lemon related to the Jan. 18 demonstration inside Cities Church, multiple outlets reported.
- Lemon’s attorney called the decision an affirmation of press protections, and a WCCO-obtained warrant shows Micko struck one charge against activist Chauntyll Allen with a handwritten note of “no probable cause.”
- Attorney General Pam Bondi announced arrests of Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly by FBI and Homeland Security agents, with DHS citing conspiracy to deny rights connected to protections for houses of worship.
- Justice Department officials and legal analysts said prosecutors could seek a grand jury indictment or go to a district judge after the magistrate’s refusal, and CBS-reported sources described Bondi as enraged by the decision.
- Armstrong and Allen were granted release but remained detained after a government appeal, with a detention hearing expected Jan. 23, and separate media reports about the judge’s spouse working in the Minnesota attorney general’s office remain unconfirmed.