联邦执法部门获法院授权用伪基站追踪CNN制片人

美国联邦执法部门获得法院授权，使用伪基站等高度入侵性监视工具追踪21岁大学生杰罗姆·理查德森，他曾协助前CNN主播唐·柠檬报道2024年1月圣保罗的反ICE抗议活动。1根据法庭文件，明尼苏达州和宾州法官分别于1月30日和1月31日签署了针对理查德森的伪基站追踪令。1检控部门在涉嫌虚假宣誓的情况下获取了这些令状，在15份搜捕令宣誓状中声称唐·柠檬和记者乔治亚·福特与抗议者"一起呼喊口号"，但检控部门后来承认该声称虚假。1

这场抗议发生于2024年1月18日，在圣保罗的城市教堂举行，针对该教堂牧师大卫·伊斯特伍德同时领导ICE圣保罗办公室一事。1联邦政府指控39人违反礼拜者民权并干扰宗教礼拜，其中包括唐·柠檬、福特及理查德森。1理查德森于1月31日发布YouTube视频，表示预期在"即将到来的日子"进入联邦监禁，两天后他在费城联邦法院主动自首。1

此案引发了对政府监视权限的严重关切。国土安全部声称伪基站仅在"公共安全目标最适合的少数情况"才使用。1一位曾任十年反恐检察官评价政府战术为"激进"，称"我完全不理解为什么这在任何意义上是必要的"。1美国公民自由联盟技术人员指出，"针对自由新闻成员使用高级监视工具来报道对总统不利的故事，是对第一修正案的可怕攻击"。1

Federal law enforcement secured court authorization to use fake cell towers and other highly invasive surveillance tools to track Jerome Richardson, a 21-year-old college student who assisted CNN anchor Don Lemon in covering an anti-ICE protest in January 2024 1. Court documents reveal that prosecutors obtained at least two fake cell tower tracking warrants, allegedly while making false statements under oath, even though Richardson ultimately turned himself in voluntarily 1.

The surveillance effort stemmed from a January 18 protest at Cities Church in Saint Paul, where demonstrators gathered against the church's pastor David Easterwood, who simultaneously leads the local ICE office 1. Federal authorities charged 39 people with violating worshippers' civil rights and interfering with religious services, naming journalist Georgia Fort, Don Lemon, and producer Jerome Richardson among them 1. To build their case, prosecutors claimed in 15 search warrant affidavits that Lemon and Fort had chanted slogans alongside protesters—assertions the government later admitted were false 1. Minnesota and Pennsylvania judges signed the fake cell tower warrants targeting Richardson on January 30 and January 31 respectively 1.

Richardson posted a YouTube video on January 31 anticipating imminent federal incarceration, and surrendered voluntarily at Philadelphia federal court two days later 1. The case has sparked significant constitutional concerns. A former federal counterterrorism prosecutor who spent a decade in that role described the government's tactics as "radical," stating: "I completely don't understand why this would be necessary in any sense" 1. The American Civil Liberties Union's technology staff characterized the deployment of advanced surveillance tools against a news organization member covering stories unfavorable to the president as "a terrifying assault on the First Amendment" 1. The Department of Homeland Security maintained that fake cell towers are deployed only in "a limited number of circumstances where the public safety objective is most suited" to their use 1.