The grand jury indictment landed this week, charging Don Lemon and Georgia Fort with conspiracy against rights and interference with religious freedom for their coverage of an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18 [1]. As this paper noted Thursday, the prosecution's legal theory has been under sustained criticism since a federal magistrate rejected the initial charges for insufficient probable cause. The government bypassed the magistrate and went to a grand jury instead [2].

The legal architecture remains fragile. The DOJ is using the FACE Act -- the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a statute written to prosecute Klan-style intimidation at abortion clinics and houses of worship -- to charge journalists who were livestreaming a protest [3]. Lemon's attorney, Abbe Lowell, and Fort's counsel have signalled they will challenge the charges on First Amendment grounds. Seven protesters were also indicted. Charges against one co-defendant were quietly dropped in March [4].

The prosecution has not recovered from the magistrate's rejection. The trial approaches anyway. The process is the punishment, and the chilling effect on protest coverage is the product.

-- ANNA WEBER, Berlin