A judge has rejected a brazen attempt by one of Donald Trump’s federal goons to collect the personal data of fans of a YouTube channel belonging to the former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John Docherty denied a request from Homeland Security Investigations agent Timothy Gerber for five separate search warrants as part of the criminal investigation into Lemon for covering an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minnesota in January.
One of the more shocking warrant requests sought “subscriber information” from fans of Lemon’s YouTube channel, where the independent journalist broadcast the protest at Cities Church in St. Paul.
The requested data included subscribers’ names, home and business addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and IP addresses of anyone who watched The Don Lemon Show.
Unsealed court documents showed that Docherty rejected the “concerning” request and explained his reasoning.
“There is no attempt made to explain why the compilation by the government of a comprehensive index of subscribers to ‘The Don Lemon Show’ is evidence that a crime was committed,” Docherty wrote.
“That this information may be seized only to determine ‘events relating to the crime under investigation and to the Account owner’ is little comfort, since subscriber information is not needed to prove or disprove the commission of a crime—indeed, it is hard to see how such information could be relevant evidence of the commission of a crime. There is no probable cause set out in the search warrant application.”
Lemon is one of 39 people facing federal charges after protests interrupted a church service over allegations that a pastor there works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and injuring, intimidating, and interfering with the exercise of the right to religious freedom.
Lemon said his actions were protected under the First Amendment because he was merely documenting the demonstration rather than participating in it.
The former CNN anchor and another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, have requested that transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that led to their indictments, along with those of seven others, be unsealed.
They argue there has been an “unprecedented and growing distrust” of the Department of Justice since Donald Trump returned to office, with several of the president’s political adversaries facing charges brought by the federal agency.
Lemon’s attorneys argue they should be allowed to review the grand jury records because of the “checkered history of this case” and “numerous examples of grand jury misconduct by DOJ around the country.”
They cited examples such as the case against four activists in Chicago, including former journalist and Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, whose charges related to protesting outside a federal building were thrown out after a judge scrutinized allegations of grand jury misconduct by prosecutors.
The Daily Beast has contacted Lemon’s legal team and the Department of Justice for comment.
