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USA Herald’s Key Takeaways

• Federal investigators obtained warrants authorizing the use of cell-site simulators while attempting to locate Jerome Richardson, a producer who worked with journalist Don Lemon during coverage of an anti-ICE demonstration at a Minnesota church.
• Investigators also applied for cell-site-simulator warrants targeting independent journalist Georgia Fort and Jamael Lundy, who was then a Minnesota state Senate candidate. Available court records reviewed by WIRED did not establish that those applications were approved.
• Prosecutors acknowledged that Lemon and Fort were incorrectly described as “chanting with agitators.” Fort’s attorneys said the government acknowledged that the incorrect statement appeared in at least 15 warrant affidavits.

By Samuel López | USA Herald

MINNESOTA (USA Herald) - Federal investigators obtained judicial authorization to use cell-site simulators while attempting to locate Jerome Richardson, a producer who worked with journalist Don Lemon during coverage of a January anti-ICE demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

According to court records reviewed by WIRED, judges in Minnesota and Pennsylvania signed warrants on January 30 and January 31 authorizing investigators to use the surveillance technology against Richardson.

Cell-site simulators, commonly known by names including Stingray and IMSI catcher, imitate cellular towers and cause nearby cellular devices to communicate with them. Law enforcement can use the technology to locate a targeted device.

The court records reviewed by WIRED did not establish whether investigators actually deployed a cell-site simulator against Richardson or obtained information from one.

Richardson later voluntarily surrendered at a federal courthouse in Philadelphia and was released on bond.

Federal investigators also applied for cell-site-simulator warrants targeting independent journalist Georgia Fort and Jamael Lundy, who was then a Minnesota state Senate candidate.

The records reviewed by WIRED did not establish that judges approved those applications.

Investigators separately sought pen-register orders involving Fort and a telephone number that WIRED reported was associated with Lemon.

Incorrect statement appeared in warrant affidavits

Court proceedings have also addressed the accuracy of information contained in government warrant applications.

According to the reporting, affidavits stated that video showed Lemon, Fort, Richardson and others “chanting with agitators.”

Prosecutors later acknowledged that Lemon and Fort were not chanting.

Attorneys representing Fort said the government acknowledged that the incorrect assertion appeared in at least 15 warrant affidavits.

No court finding cited in the available reporting establishes that federal investigators intentionally included false information in those affidavits.

Before the later indictments, the government sought arrest warrants against eight people connected with the Cities Church incident.

A federal magistrate judge approved three and declined to issue five.

The Justice Department subsequently sought relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz wrote during the dispute that two of the individuals were not protesters but instead “a journalist and his producer.” He also stated that the evidence presented at that stage did not establish that those two individuals had committed a crime or conspired to do so.

The Eighth Circuit declined the government's request to compel issuance of the warrants.

Federal prosecutors subsequently obtained grand-jury indictments.

Homeland Security investigators issued 92 customs summonses

The federal investigation also involved extensive demands for third-party records.

Defense attorneys said Homeland Security investigators issued 92 customs summonses connected with the Cities Church investigation.

According to court-record-based reporting, the demands sought information including telephone records, social-media information, flight records and rental-car information.

Unlike a traditional search warrant, a customs summons does not require a judge to approve the demand before it is issued.

The government has defended its use of the summonses and stated that Homeland Security Investigations regularly uses them to obtain third-party information.

Defense attorneys have challenged the government's use of that authority in the case.

Investigators sought records concerning REI beanie purchases

One government records demand involved a specific piece of clothing.

Federal investigators sought transaction information concerning people who purchased a particular REI beanie in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area dating back to January 2024, according to court filings reported by WIRED and the Minnesota Reformer.

The request was part of investigators' effort to identify individuals associated with the Cities Church incident.

What the record establishes

The publicly reported court record establishes that federal investigators obtained cell-site-simulator warrants targeting Richardson; sought similar authorization involving other individuals; sought pen-register information; issued dozens of customs summonses; and obtained extensive third-party records during the investigation.

It also establishes that an incorrect statement describing Lemon and Fort as “chanting with agitators” appeared in multiple warrant affidavits and that prosecutors later acknowledged the two were not chanting.

The available reporting does not establish that investigators actually deployed a cell-site simulator against Richardson.

It also does not establish that investigators intentionally supplied false information to federal judges.

It does, however, document the broad spectrum of investigative tools federal authorities used during the Cities Church investigation. And the underlying criminal case remains pending.

United States of America v. Nekima Levy Armstrong, et al., No. 0:26-cr-00025-LMP-DLM (D. Minn. filed Jan. 2026). The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, before U.S. District Judge Laura M. Provinzino, with Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko. The defendants include Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen, William Scott Kelly, Done Renaldo Lemon (Don Lemon), Jerome Deangelo Richardson, Jamael Lydell Lundy, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Ellyse Fort, and Ian Davis Austin. Department of Justice