A New Legal Battle Unfolds for a TV Anchor

Don Lemon, the former CNN host now facing serious legal trouble over a protest at a St. Paul church, has hired a former Minnesota federal prosecutor as his lawyer. The new attorney, Joseph H. Thompson, once led the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota until he resigned last month along with several colleagues. Their departures followed pressure from the Trump administration to focus a federal investigation of an ICE officer’s fatal shooting on activists involved in protests, rather than the shooter himself. Thompson’s experience includes handling major fraud cases that shook the state and influenced Governor Tim Walz to step down from a third term. He also served as acting U. S. Attorney for several months before leaving the office shortly after the shooting of Renée Good and just days before Lemon’s protest at Cities Church.Lemon, who now runs a YouTube show, was arrested on January 30 in Beverly Hills. Authorities accuse him of leading a “takeover-style attack” on the church, intimidating worshippers and violating both the free‑exercise of religion and the FACE Act. The charges carry two felony counts for conspiring to intimidate religious practice and using force or threats against First Amendment rights. The case is now overseen by a prominent Washington, D. C. , attorney named Abbe Lowell. Thompson’s firm has not yet commented on the new client arrangement.