US Attorney Pam Bondi ordered the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon and journalist Georgia Forte in Minneapolis. Since then, federal agents have arrested the two along with local public officials.
Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are freelance journalists covering the community response to ICE and Border Patrol violence in Minnesota. Forte went live on Facebook early Friday morning to share that agents were at her door to detain her. Her lawyer certain to the Minnesota Star Tribune That they were federal law enforcement agents.
Local political candidates Traherne Jane Cruz and Jamal Liddell Lundy were also arrested. The government alleges that Lemon and Forte violated federal law while engaging in the constitutionally protected activity of covering the Jan. 18 protest inside St. Paul’s Church. A magistrate judge dismissed the federal government’s case for Lemon’s arrest last week.
At least three community members were also arrested for participating in the protest, including Minneapolis civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board member Countell Allen, and military veteran William Kelly. The protest was organized to demand the resignation of one of the church’s pastors from his position as commander of the local ICE field office.
Director of advocacy for freelance journalistic work Jenna Ruddock He said:
“As the Trump administration’s all-out assault on Minnesota continues, the First Amendment remains in the crosshairs. While journalists and civilians continue to heroically document conditions on the ground in the face of escalating violence by federal agents, the Trump administration is using every weapon at its disposal to halt efforts to document, report, and oppose.
“The First Amendment protects both acts of protest and acts of journalism. Criminalizing both journalists and protesters serves the same authoritarian project: silencing dissenting voices or any content that deviates from the official narrative. These actions should outrage our leading media organizations, our elected officials, and the public alike.”
“These recent arrests are the latest in a long line of First Amendment violations by the Trump administration. Too often, corporate media outlets have too easily capitulated to the administration’s demands. Independent journalists, on the other hand, continue to lead by example in their critical reporting under increasingly unsafe conditions — in effect, with targets on their backs.”
“The charges against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort should be dropped, along with the charges against Nakima Levy, Kuntil Allen, and all the other protesters arrested in Minneapolis for exercising their First Amendment rights.
“But this is just the beginning. In order to ensure that our fundamental constitutional rights are protected, Congress needs to exercise oversight over the Department of Justice by subpoenaing Attorney General Bondy before Congress; reintroducing and passing the Press Act; reforming the Espionage Act; and reaffirming everyone’s right to record so that those involved in journalism do not become direct targets of state violence and crackdowns.”
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