The IPI global network strongly condemns the legal harassment and arrests of two journalists, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, as a blatant violation of press freedom and the rights afforded to journalists under the First Amendment. These arrests are yet another signal of the Trump administration’s wider and deeply alarming campaign against the free press in the United States.
On January 30, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests of former CNN anchor Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, the founder of BLCK Press, following their coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest in a Minnesota church on January 18.
Lemon and Fort were charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshipers, charges both journalists have said they intend to fight. The two were released later in the day on January 30 following initial court hearings while they await trial.
“The arrests of two independent journalists doing their jobs is a shocking and disturbing escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign against the free press in the U.S.,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen. “Lawfare against journalists is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes around the globe – and it is therefore deeply troubling to see similar tactics being deployed against journalists in the United States.”
“This is an unequivocal attack on the First Amendment and the American people’s right to know. This case has significant consequences for the future of free media and freedom of information in America. IPI condemns the Trump administration’s attempts to criminalize journalism and calls for charges against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort to be dropped.”
The Department of Justice had made several earlier attempts to bring charges against Lemon and his producer, who was also present at the protest, but were unable to immediately do so after a federal magistrate judge and a district judge declined to sign off on charges, citing the fact that Lemon and his producer were in the church in a journalistic capacity and finding no evidence of criminal behavior. After a three-judge appellate panel declined to review the decision, the government obtained a grand-jury indictment.
In Lemon’s live coverage of the protest, which involved a group of demonstrators entering a church in St. Paul while a service was in progress, Lemon can be heard stating that he was covering the events as a journalist, and was not affiliated with the group protesting.
A pattern of targeting
Separately, IPI has documented several recent incidents of journalists experiencing harassment at the hands of federal agents while covering the unfolding events in Minnesota, which has become an epicenter of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
On January 28, two Associated Press (AP) journalists were physically pushed back into their car while they were filming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity on a sidewalk and threatened with arrest. After the journalists identified themselves as members of the press affiliated with the AP, one of the ICE agents stated, “I don’t care who you are, get back in your vehicle.”
Days earlier, two Italian RAI journalists were similarly threatened by ICE agents while they were documenting ICE activity in the area. During the altercation, one journalist repeatedly told the ICE agents: “We are press.”