Judge Raises Integrity Concerns Over Grand Jury Case Against Georgia Fort
Contributing writer Clint Combs reports on a motion hearing where Judge Doug Micko partially granted journalist Georgia Fort's request for grand jury testimony and exhibits, amid mounting allegations that prosecutors mishandled evidence and misinformed the grand jury that indicted Fort and the rest of the Righteous 39. Government attorney Neville Hedley acknowledged a "mischaracterization" in an affidavit while insisting the case had probable cause, as separate filings raised questions about withdrawn subpoenas and the use of Homeland Security summonses to gather defendants' records.
Judge Doug Micko partially granted a request from lawyers representing independent journalist Georgia Fort for the government to turn over grand jury testimony and exhibits to the court at a motion hearing last Friday, a ruling that came amid mounting allegations that government lawyers mishandled evidence and misled the grand jury that indicted Fort and the rest of the Righteous 39.
Government lawyers, through their responses in court, confirmed that Pastor Jonathan Parnell, the Cities Church pastor at the center of the alleged confrontation, is a key witness in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neville Hedley told the court, “The grand jury transcript of Pastor Parnell has been turned over.”
Micko raised concerns about how the grand jury had been presented with information about Fort. “The grand jury may have been misinformed that Ms. Fort was among the people,” Micko said.
Hedley pushed back, maintaining Fort was present at key moments described in the indictment. “Ms. Fort was identified at a pre-meeting,” said Hedley. “That’s probable cause.”
The meeting took place at a grocery store parking lot in St. Paul, and Hedley’s comments appeared to reference probable cause tied to allegations that the group blocked Parnell from leaving Cities Church. Hedley added, “She’s on video at the church.”
But Hedley also acknowledged missteps in the government’s filings. “There was a mistake in the affidavit,” said Hedley. “It was a mistake. It was a mischaracterization.” Hedley clarified Fort was not accused of chanting: “We did not allege in the indictment that Ms. Fort was chanting.”
Micko responded by underscoring the stakes of any inaccuracies presented to grand jurors. “I am concerned about the integrity of the proceedings,” he said.
Hedley insisted the government had nothing to hide. “We’ve been transparent,” said Hedley. “We’re happy to turn over the grand jury transcripts.”
Fort’s attorney, Matthew Ebert, went further, asking the court to order disclosure of communications between government prosecutors and the grand jury, a request dubbed “the second bucket.” Micko declined. “I am not going to order that,” Micko said.
The courtroom exchange followed weeks of legal filings that raise separate questions about how prosecutors led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s Civil Rights Division have handled evidence in the case. Hedley told Ebert in a July 2 letter that he didn’t want to put certain representations in writing, reportedly out of concern that what he told the defense “could be put before the Court and/or otherwise used against it.”
Separately, an investigative report submitted as an exhibit by co-defendant Thomas Tier’s attorney states that on June 2, Hedley instructed HSI Agent Timothy Gerber and three others to withdraw two dozen subpoenas sent to Google, GoFundMe and Meta between April 9 and April 15, weeks after a superseding indictment had already been returned. Tier’s attorneys argue in a motion to compel discovery that continuing to use the grand jury process after an indictment has already been handed down is improper, and that some of the subpoenas may have improperly targeted defendants’ fundraising records, raising Sixth Amendment concerns about interference with their ability to fund a defense.
Ebert’s own filings raise a related issue: that Gerber used Homeland Security summonses, a tool intended for customs and duties enforcement, to gather employment and communications records from defendants despite the case involving civil rights charges with no connection to customs matters.
The scrutiny of the grand jury process against Fort specifically has been building for months. Court records show Micko denied similar transcript requests from other defendants in June while keeping Fort’s request open, and that a witness transcript Fort’s team received in mid-June reportedly conflicts with claims made to the grand jury that she chanted, intimidated Parnell or blocked a van from leaving the church.
Records also show that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and Dhillon personally traveled to Minnesota for the grand jury presentation, with Bondi posting on social media that Fort and journalist Don Lemon were arrested “at my direction.”
Outside the courtroom, members of the Minnesota 15 case facing conspiracy charges described the scale of discovery they now face.
Cameron Kennedy said the case involves more than 24 terabytes of material, mostly video tied to Signal messages, sweeping in rapid response networks and mutual aid chats across the Twin Cities. “It’s like impossible to f—ing search,” Kennedy said, adding that his attorney “had to buy a 1,000-dollar hard drive just to fit this stuff.”
“This evidence is primarily video of Signal messages, and we’re talking like all of the rapid response chats in the Twin Cities,” Kennedy said. “We’re talking about mutual aid chats, Whipple Watch. Basically, I mean things that almost the entire population of the Twin Cities was engaged in.”
William Kelly, part of the Righteous 39, disputed the government’s claim that Parnell felt threatened, noting he approached the group rather than retreating.
“If he was threatened, he would have either walked away,” said Kelly. “He would have tried to leave. Instead, he came down from his pew and he came and engaged with protesters.”
Clint Combs is a contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. He welcomes reader responses at combs0284@gmail.com.