Count the Reasons to Think the Arrest Was Politically Charged

   Go ahead and count the reasons to think the arrest of Don Lemon was politically charged:

   1. Legal experts commenting on the case agree there was no legal basis for his arrest. 

   2. Multiple federal judges had turned down the DOJ's attempts to charge him, indicating they found insufficient evidence of a crime.

   3. Despite the courts having said no, the DOJ persisted, ultimately seeking and obtaining a grand jury indictment— an unusual escalation since two courts had already ruled against the arrest.

   4. There were 30-40 participants in the protest, yet most of them were not arrested -- while a journalist who did not participate in the protesting and was just there to cover it was arrested.

   5. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the arrests were made at her direction. That’s uncommon language, as normally the institutional process is emphasized, not personal command.

  6. Lemon has a long history of friction with President Trump, having repeatedly criticized the president, which raises the question of political retaliation.

   7. The DOJ relied on a never-before tried twist, as the statute used had never been applied to a protest made inside a church. Legal scholars note it is a red flag that the DOJ stretched the statute into new territory.