Don Lemon Dodges Federal Charges Over Minnesota Anti-ICE Church Protest

11:40 AM PT -- Don Lemon posted a statement from his attorney, Abbe Lowell, on his official IG account Thursday after the judge rejected the DOJ's attempt to charge him … noting journalists' First Amendment rights were properly reinforced by the federal judge.

The statement concludes … "Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court."

Don Lemon looks like he's off the hook in Minnesota ... because a judge reportedly swatted away the U.S. Department of Justice's first attempt to charge him with a crime over an anti-ICE protest that tore through a church service.

CNN reports a federal magistrate judge rejected the DOJ's bid to bring charges against the former CNN host, who reported live from Sunday's protest at Cities Church in St. Paul.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is in meeting with federal prosecutors in Minnesota, is reportedly "enraged" at the judge's decision.

TMZ broke the story ... the DOJ launched a criminal probe into the protest and DOJ Assistant AG for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told us every demonstrator who stormed the church was under federal investigation.

About 30 to 40 anti-ICE protesters interrupted the service to confront the church's pastor, David Easterwood, a Minneapolis ICE official. He was not present during the protest. The protest organizer was arrested this morning.

Don told us he was just doing his job and reporting a news story from the scene ... but on his livestream, he's seen kissing the protest's organizer on the cheek ... and that's exactly the kind of thing the feds could use to argue he wasn't just an innocent bystander.

For now, a judge isn't having it ... and the feds may have to go back to the drawing board here.