“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement posted to Lemon’s Instagram account on Friday.
The lawyer added: “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.”
In his own defence, Lemon said in a recent video: “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it.”
President Donald Trump’s administration initially sought to charge eight people involved in the Minnesota church protest, citing a law that protects people in places of worship.
But a magistrate judge who reviewed the evidence presented by the justice department approved charges for only three of those involved, excluding Lemon.
The government then sought to appeal against the decision.
The protests were part of ongoing unrest in Minnesota, where an operation by federal immigration agents has sparked confrontations that have left two US citizens dead.
