NEW: Appeals Court Rebuffs DOJ’s Emergency Request to Arrest Don Lemon

A federal appeals court Friday evening rejected the Justice Department’s emergency request to arrest Don Lemon and several others who stormed Cities Church last weekend.

The Trump Justice Department charged former CNN host Don Lemon and 7 others for storming Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

WATCH:

However, only three out of eight of the church protestors were taken into federal custody.

Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko earlier this week rejected the charges against Don Lemon and four defendants.

Magistrate Judge Micko’s wife works as an Assistant Attorney General in Minnesota AG Keith Ellison’s office.

The Trump DOJ asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to revive the arrest warrants.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declined the DOJ’s request.

The three-judge panel included: Jane Kelly (Obama), Steven Grasz (Trump), and Jonathan Kobes (Trump).

The two Trump-appointed circuit judges on the panel said the Trump DOJ had probable cause to arrest Don Lemon and the other four defendants, but they said they could obtain the arrest warrants through other means.

CBS News reported:

A federal appellate court on Friday declined to order a lower court judge to sign arrest warrants against five people, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, in connection with an anti-ICE protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. One of the three judges said he felt there was probable cause to justify the arrests, according to court filings and sources familiar with the matter.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which was unsealed Saturday, came about after the Justice Department asked the appellate court to compel the U.S. District Court in Minnesota to sign five arrest warrants over civil rights charges alleging the defendants were unlawfully interfering with the churchgoers’ constitutionally-protected freedom to practice religion.

The ruling made public on Saturday did not identify the names of the five defendants for whom the Justice Department is seeking arrest warrants, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS that Lemon is one of them.

Harmeet Dhillon responded to the Eighth Circuit Court’s decision.

“Stay tuned,” she said.

Stay tuned U.S. appeals court sees probable cause to charge journalist Don Lemon, but declines to order lower court to sign arrest warrants – CBS Newsd https://t.co/ZPVePpT7wJ

— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) January 24, 2026

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