Prosecutors
Federal prosecutor who resigned amid immigration crackdown joins journalist Don Lemon’s defense team
Joseph H. Thompson, center, answers questions during a press conference at the Minneapolis federal courthouse on March 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Photo by Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via the Associated Press)
Independent journalist Don Lemon, one of nine people indicted for alleged involvement in the disruption of a Minnesota church service, has retained a former federal prosecutor who had previously worked on the case against him.
On Tuesday, a court filing showed that Lemon has hired former senior federal prosecutor Joseph H. Thompson, who was overseeing the prosecution of fraud cases for the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office.
Thompson resigned from the office in mid-January after observing the Department of Justice’s handling of the immigration operation, according to coverage in the New York Times.
Lemon, a former CNN anchor who now produces content for YouTube, said he intends to plead not guilty to federal civil right charges, including that he “stood in close proximity” to a pastor during a protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18, where one of the church’s pastors is a senior official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The journalist said he was covering the protest, which followed a fatal shooting by ICE in Minneapolis. Thompson will join lawyer Abbe Lowell in defending Lemon.
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