Appeals court rejects Justice Department’s push to charge more people over Minnesota church demonstration
By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court rejected a Justice Department bid to indict five more people accused of disrupting a church service in Minnesota this month, according to court documents made public on Saturday that reveal how much effort the Trump administration has put into prosecuting those who attended the demonstration.
The decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest legal setback for the Justice Department, which is pursuing demonstrators who disrupted a service Sunday to protest a priest’s apparent connection to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A judge involved in the case said the department’s request appeared unprecedented.
A federal magistrate judge this week refused to approve arrest warrants for five proposed defendants, including former CNN host Don Lemon, who taped the show, citing a lack of evidence. The judge approved the charges against the three alleged leaders of the demonstration, but accepted the proposed charge accusing them of physically obstructing a place of worship.
CREDITS ACCUSED THE ADMINISTRATION OF RETALIATION
The case has attracted widespread attention as the Trump administration has begun a sweeping crackdown on immigrants in the state and administration officials have vowed to protect Christian services.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to a criminal complaint, the three defendants — activists Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly — were each charged with conspiracy to violate rights for allegedly intimidating and harassing parishioners. They accused the Trump administration of retaliating against their protests.
Citing the risk of similar church disruptions, the Justice Department asked first the lead trial judge and then the appeals court to immediately intervene and approve arrest warrants for five other proposed defendants.
Patrick Schiltz, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota, called the Justice Department’s request “unheard of in our district” and any request under the 8th Circuit, which covers seven U.S. states, according to a letter made public Saturday.
All three judges on the 8th Circuit panel agreed not to intervene. One of the judges, Leonard Steven Grasz, wrote that he believed prosecutors had presented enough evidence to justify charges against the other proposed defendants, but that prosecutors had several ways to get them approved outside the appeals court.
The Justice Department could still ask a grand jury to approve charges against demonstrators or try to present additional evidence to a magistrate judge.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Sergio Non, Rod Nickel)
