politics
Federal Judge Rejects DHS Warrant Requests in Probe of Church Protest
A magistrate judge twice denied search warrants sought by a DHS agent for YouTube and iPhone records tied to former CNN anchor Don Lemon and other defendants. The government later withdrew the applications after the judge found no probable cause.
May 28, 3:35 PM·2m read2 sources
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A federal magistrate judge rejected five search warrant applications filed by a Department of Homeland Security agent seeking YouTube and iPhone records connected to former CNN anchor Don Lemon and eight other defendants. The applications were part of a case stemming from a January 18 protest at Cities Church in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Prosecutors had charged the group with violating federal civil rights laws after the demonstrators targeted the church because one of its pastors also worked as a supervisor at the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.
Warrant Applications and Court Rulings U.S. Magistrate Judge John F.
Docherty issued orders on February 24 and March 6 finding that none of the applications established probable cause. The judge wrote that the affidavits improperly referred the court to material outside the warrant applications themselves. Docherty also noted that the government had not filed a motion to seal the applications despite the agent's request.
He stated that search warrants must be self-contained and that directing the court to review the indictment separately was improper.
The judge raised additional questions under the Privacy Protection Act, which limits searches of work product held by people who disseminate news to the public. He observed that the government had not addressed whether the law applied to the YouTube records stored on the company's servers.
Docherty further noted that Justice Department regulations requiring notice and narrow tailoring when seeking press materials appeared not to have been followed.
26 the government informed the court it was withdrawing the warrant applications. In a May 15 brief, prosecutors acknowledged that other options were available and that the data sought was of limited value. U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty, February 24 order (Reason) Caitlin Vogus, senior advocacy adviser at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, called for the charges against Lemon, Georgia Fort, and photographer Junn Bollmann to be dropped, stating that having or watching a YouTube channel is not a crime.
