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In a surprising turn of events, federal authorities have apprehended two journalists, allegedly due to their coverage of a recent protest at a Minnesota church.
Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, and Georgia Fort, an Emmy-winning journalist from Minnesota, were detained on unspecified charges, according to a report by KARE.
The protest, which took place on January 18 at Cities Church in St. Paul, previously led to the arrests of three individuals, including Minneapolis civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong. This demonstration drew attention because the church’s pastor also serves as the acting director of the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office.
Those earlier arrests were made under the provisions of the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances), a 1994 statute that prohibits the use of force, threats, or physical barriers to obstruct individuals seeking reproductive health services or practicing their right to worship.
Authorities had initially sought a warrant for Lemon’s arrest in Minnesota, but a judge had declined to approve it. Lemon was ultimately taken into custody on Thursday night while he was in Los Angeles covering the Grammy Awards, as confirmed by his attorney.
Fort was arrested Friday morning, according to a Facebook live she posted.
“As a member of the press, I filmed the church protest a few weeks ago and now I’m being arrested for that,” Fort said in her video message. “It’s hard to understand how we have a Constitution, Constitutional rights, when we can just be arrested for being a member of the press.”
Fort said the agents outside her door had documentation indicating she had been indicted by a grand jury for unknown crimes.
Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s attorney, released a statement noting that “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
“There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work,” Lowell said, adding that the arrest was an “unprecedented attack on the First Amendment” and a “transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration.”
“Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” he said.
Levy Armstrong, who participated in the church protest, said Thursday evening she believed her arrest was a “political retaliation.”
“This is not only an immigration fight, this is a fight for police accountability,” she said. “This is a fight for racial justice. This is a fight for our constitutional rights, and we must not forget that.”
After her arrest last week, the official White House social media accounts posted an AI-altered photo of her “perp walk” making it appear Levy Armstrong was crying as she was led by federal agents.