Feds Got Warrants to Use Fake Cell Towers to Hunt Down Don Lemon’s Producer
Court filings show federal warrants for cell-site simulators to locate Don Lemon's producer after a church protest.
Court filings show federal judges authorized cell-site simulators, also called Stingrays or IMSI catchers, to locate Jerome Richardson, a former Temple University student charged over a January protest at Cities Church in St. Paul. Richardson is among 39 defendants, including journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort. Agents also applied for simulator warrants for Fort and Jamael Lundy and sought pen-register orders, though the records do not confirm approval or actual deployment. Prosecutors later conceded a false claim that Lemon and Fort chanted appeared in at least 15 affidavits, and defense lawyers are challenging 92 customs summonses.
- Judges signed simulator warrants on January 30 and January 31.
- The stated goal was locating and arresting producer Jerome Richardson.
- Agents also sought warrants for Georgia Fort and Jamael Lundy.
- Prosecutors conceded a false chanting claim in at least 15 affidavits.
- Defense lawyers are challenging 92 customs summonses for records.
From the original article
5 min read at wired.com
Investigators also sought permission to use an invasive surveillance tool called a cell-site simulators against journalist Georgia Fort and a Minnesota state Senate candidate.
By Dhruv Mehrotra · wired.com
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