Federal agents in the United States have arrested two independent journalists amid an ongoing immigration crackdown in the Midwest state of Minnesota. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal authorities in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, while Georgia Fort, a prominent local independent journalist was detained at her home on Friday morning.
The US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Lemon, Fort and two others were taken into custody “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.” Federal prosecutors are pursuing charges related to an incident at the church earlier this month when demonstrators interrupted a service led by a pastor who also serves as an official with ICE, the federal agency leading the Administration’s immigration crackdown. The White House says both Lemon and Fort were indicted by a federal grand jury, despite a federal magistrate judge refusing to sign arrest warrants for the two journalists, citing insufficient evidence.
Tensions have been running high in Minnesota’s twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul since federal immigration agents fatally shot two protestors, Renee Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents earlier this month. Both had been demonstrating at the deployment of armed ICE agents.
Lemon and Fort insist they were at the church working as journalists. Lemon livestreamed parts of the demonstration and interviewed participants, and Fort livestreamed the moments before her arrest. Both say their arrests undermine press freedom.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, providing a ‘shield’ for journalists and news organisations from government retaliation for lawful newsgathering and reporting on matters of public interest. Arrests must be based on clear evidence of criminal intent, not merely presence at a protest. Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, called the arrests “an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment,” stressing that Lemon was performing journalistic work he has carried out for decades.