Prosecutor who left Minnesota office amid anti-ICE unrest joins Don Lemon defense team

By Fox News · Fox News

A longtime federal prosecutor who left the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota last month amid a wave of resignations linked to concerns over the Trump administration's handling of anti-ICE agitators has joined former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s defense team, court filings show. Joseph H. Thompson, a former senior leader in the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office before he resigned, will now defend Lemon alongside Abbe Lowell, bringing firsthand experience from the same federal district prosecuting the case. Lowell is a well-known defense attorney who has sparred with the Trump administration in a number of high-profile cases in the past year alone, representing New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook and former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Lemon will fight these charges "vigorously and thoroughly" in court, Lowell told Fox News Digital last month. According to a formal notice of appearance, Thompson will appear alongside Lemon in federal court Friday for an arraignment and initial court appearance in the Minnesota federal district. DON LEMON TAPS HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY TO FIGHT TRUMP DOJ CHARGES 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 fi…