Pam Bondi, US attorney general, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Lemon, who describes himself as an independent journalist, was arrested last month for his alleged involvement in the storming of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, by anti-ICE agitators. Eight others were also arrested and charged in an event that Attorney General Pam Bondi described at the time as a "coordinated attack."
"Make no mistake, under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely," Bondi said in a video posted to social media. "And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you."
Thompson is one of roughly 14 federal prosecutors who resigned from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota since January — a mass exodus many have attributed to the Justice Department's handling of the unrest in Minnesota. He was one of five U.S. prosecutors who resigned from the office shortly after the fatal shooting of Renee Good and concerns over DOJ's handling of the case.
"It was an honor and privilege to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the District of Minnesota and Northern District of Illinois," Thompson said on LinkedIn to announce his departure. He did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the news that he will represent Lemon.
Thompson previously spent 11 years at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, including in key leadership roles. He served as the acting U.S. attorney for the district through October 2025 and headed up the fraud and public corruption section for the federal district.
MINNESOTA DRAGS TRUMP'S ICE TO COURT IN EFFORT TO PAUSE IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
Protesters chant and bang on trash cans as they stand behind a makeshift barricade during a protest. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
And Lemon, for his part, said he had been attending the demonstration in a reporting capacity.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Lemon remarked, "I’m just here photographing, I’m not part of the group … I’m a journalist."
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"I went there to chronicle and document and record," Lemon told Jimmy Kimmel in an interview last week, adding, "There is a difference between a protester and a journalist."
Lowell echoed this claim. "Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done."
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/prosecutor-who-left-minnesota-office-amid-anti-ice-unrest-joins-don-lemon-defense-team