On Friday, January 30th, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were released from police custody following their arrest earlier that same day. The pair were charged in response to their coverage of the January 18th protest of Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, after it was revealed that their pastor was a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E). Despite only being at the church protest to provide live news coverage, Lemon and Fort, among others, were charged with conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers.
While their release spread waves of relief through the journalists’ supporters, the fact that they were ever arrested in the first place sent a message to members of the press that their First Amendment rights are not as protected as they might have once thought.
Seth Stern, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy, released a statement saying, “These arrests, under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting, are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists. The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them.”
In recent months, it seems that Stern’s statement rings true. We have already seen the censorship of media personalities like Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and 60 Minutes. Joy Reid has been removed from MSNBC, and cellphone recording has somehow been labeled as obstructive or even violent by our government.
Meanwhile, journalist Bisan Owda was banned, at least temporarily, from using TikTok to document the Palestinian community’s struggles in Gaza just days after the company’s sale to U.S. investors.
Seeing so many prominent voices in the media being punished for speaking out against this administration makes me fearful for our future. I am scared of what this will mean for a journalist’s ability to report accurately and authentically about issues that might challenge this administration’s agenda. I am scared about what rights will be next on the President’s mind if his censorship of the media is successful. But above all, I am scared of what this will mean for the American people. Because a country that controls what people say and think is a far cry from the United States I was taught to believe in. And if our freedom of speech falls, our entire American democracy falls with it.
That being said, church protestors will likely face charges for violating the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances), which prohibits the use of force, threats, or physical obstruction to intimidate or interfere with religious worship. However, Lemon had stated multiple times that he was solely there to cover the event, and to charge a journalist for doing their job is appalling.
Journalists are an essential part of our communities, keeping us updated on what is happening in the world around us and being our eyes and ears in spaces that many of us may not always be welcome in. In punishing them for doing their jobs, this administration is advocating for the American people to be left entirely in the dark.
The National Association of Black Journalists released a statement last month that, in part, stated that “A government that responds to scrutiny by targeting the messenger is not protecting the public, it is attempting to intimidate it, and considering recent incidents regarding federal agents, it is attempting to distract it.”
Journalists are frequently arrested while covering protests, trying to protect their sources, or investigating local officials, but the way in which these two were arrested is cause for concern. These arrests are particularly alarming because they seem to be another example of the Trump administration’s efforts to control press freedom.
Lemon and Fort were tracked down at their homes days after the protest, after the DOJ went to a grand jury to get an indictment, despite another judge previously having refused the approval of a criminal complaint against Lemon. With the lack of any valid reason for their arrest, Lemon and Fort’s capture seems like nothing more than an attempt at humiliation.
However, from what we have seen from their release, neither journalist seems willing to go down without a fight. Both journalists have vowed to continue reporting despite the target on their backs, with Fort even explaining the livestream of her arrest on Anderson Cooper 360º. “As journalists, we never want to be the story. But unfortunately, I did find myself in a predicament where I felt that I needed to be able to tell my own story, that I needed the world to see that journalism is on trial,” she said.
With more and more voices being targeted for speaking out against this administration, it seems like independent, unbiased journalism is more important than ever. My only hope is that with every brilliant journalist, media personality, or writer silenced, five more will emerge in their place. For without them, so many other underrepresented voices would go silent.
I, for one, am not willing to let that happen. And neither should you.