Don Lemon & Georgia Fort’s Arrest Sparks Outrage as Journalists Face Arrest for Covering Minnesota Church Protest

The arrest of Don Lemon and three others following a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul represents a stark threat to press freedom and protected speech. Lemon, a veteran journalist, was detained by federal agents in Los Angeles while covering the Grammy Awards, despite a magistrate judge previously rejecting prosecutors’ first attempt to charge him. Lemon has been clear that his presence at the Jan. 18 protest was journalistic, not political. “I’m not here as an activist. I’m here as a journalist,” he said repeatedly while reporting from the church, describing events and interviewing demonstrators and congregants.

According to his attorney Abbe Lowell, “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.” That protection appears absent here. Lemon was arrested alongside Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy after Attorney General Pam Bondi announced their detention in a social media post tied to what she called a “coordinated attack” on Cities Church.

Lemon, former CNN anchor in 2023 and now hosts an online show, anticipated renewed charges after the initial effort failed. “And guess what,” he said, “here I am. Keep trying. That’s not going to stop me from being a journalist. That’s not going to diminish my voice.” His words capture the chilling effect these arrests risk imposing on independent reporting.

Local journalist Georgia Fort live streamed moments before her arrest, saying, “I don’t feel like I have my first amendment right as a member of the press because now the federal agents are at my door arresting me for filming the church protest.” Prosecutors allege civil rights violations stemming from chants of “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referencing a mother killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

The Justice Department’s rapid pursuit of protesters and journalists, contrasted with its refusal to open civil rights inquiries into deadly federal shootings in Minnesota, reveals a troubling imbalance. As Lowell stated, “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.”

Link: Sahan Journal