The Trump administration continues to crack down on individuals involved in the recent anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Following up on previous threats, federal authorities have arrested journalist Don Lemon, raising serious concerns and criticisms about freedom of the press.
Lemon, others taken into federal custody over church protest
On Friday, several journalists shared a statement from Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, stating that “Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy awards.” The statement says that Lemon’s arrest, in connection with a Minnesota church protest, was penalizing him for “constitutionally protected work” as a journalist. “Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest,” the statement read, “and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case.”
News reports indicate that three other people were also arrested early Friday in connection with the Minnesota church protests. NBC News describes the other three people as journalists, while the New York Times describes them as “a second journalist and two protesters.” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of the four journalists in a post on social media, saying, “At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
More on Georgia Fort’s arrest
Fort, per Phil Lewis, is an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter. Lewis also posted footage sent to him of agents at her door.
Fort also went live on Facebook at the time.
In the video, she said in part, “My children are here; they’re impacted by this. This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media. We are supposed to have our constitutional right of the freedom to film, to be a member of the press. I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press.”
Charges remain unclear as calls come in to release Lemon
As Blavity previously reported, Lemon was criticized by Trump administration officials after he covered a controversial protest of a St. Paul church by anti-ICE activists. Lemon was accused of participating in the protest despite his insistence that he was only covering it in his capacity as a journalist. While several of the protestors were arrested for their roles in disrupting the service, Lemon initially remained free when a federal magistrate judge rejected efforts by the Department of Justice to charge him. It is unclear what charges Lemon will face, though the Justice Department had indicated that it might pursue the journalist under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which prohibits interference with health clinics and houses of worship, or the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, passed to protect the civil rights of Black Americans after the Civil War.
News of Lemon’s arrest has sparked outrage among journalists and critics of the Trump administration. “Don Lemon is an accomplished journalist whose urgent work is protected by the First Amendment,” posted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “There is zero basis to arrest him and he should be freed immediately,” said the New York Democrat on social media. “The Trump Justice Department is illegitimate and these extremists will all be held accountable for their crimes against the Constitution.”
Given the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown and its efforts to go after critics of the president and his policies, it is unlikely that the Justice Department will heed Jeffries’ calls and release Lemon. Rather, his case is likely to play out in the court system, offering a test of how journalistic freedom will be treated under the current administration.