8th Circuit blocks DOJ bid to revive arrest warrants in Minnesota church protest

An 8th Circuit panel rejected the Justice Department’s emergency bid to overturn a magistrate’s denial of arrest warrants for Don Lemon and four others tied to a church intrusion in St. Paul, Minnesota. Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz publicly rebuked the DOJ, saying there was “absolutely no emergency,” and noting Lemon and his producer showed no evidence of criminal conduct. The court left in place the magistrate’s decision, while the DOJ’s rare writ of mandamus request was denied and charges against leaders of the intrusion remained unresolved or limited.