News organizations, journalism leaders, legal experts and civil rights leaders reacted swiftly on Friday as the U.S. Justice Department under President Donald Trump arrested two Black journalists—BLCK Press founder Georgia Fort and former CNN host Don Lemon—over their coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minnesota.
Here’s a compilation of statements from news leaders across the country:
Statement on Behalf of Georgia Fort by Her Attorney
Georgia Fort, Emmy-award-winning independent journalist and NABJ Minnesota Vice President, was arrested early today, January 30, in connection with her news reporting on the anti-ICE demonstration at a St. Paul church service on January 18. She is scheduled for an initial appearance at 1:30 p.m. today in federal court in Minneapolis and we expect her to be released.
Fort was present at the demonstration solely in a journalistic capacity, documenting an event of significant public interest and concern. The free speech and free press guarantees of the First Amendment fully protect such newsgathering and reporting activities and Fort’s arrest is a transparent and unconstitutional attempt by our federal government to intimidate journalists and chill their protected speech. She will be vigorously defending herself against these charges.
Statement on Behalf of Don Lemon by His Attorney
Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards. 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. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.
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, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case. This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.
Minnesota Public Radio
We strongly condemn the arrests of journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, as well as any attempts to intimidate members of the press.
The First Amendment recognizes the press as holding a distinct and protected role in our democracy.
In America, we do not arrest journalists for doing their jobs. The Minnesota journalism community stands united in defense of press freedom and the essential role reporting plays in holding power to account.
CNN
The FBI’s arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment.
The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge of the Minnesota Federal District Court found there was “no evidence” that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work. The First Amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the DOJ’s attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable. We will be following this case closely.
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump
“Arresting a journalist for doing his job is a blatant attack on the First Amendment. Don Lemon should never have been put in handcuffs for exercising protected freedoms of the press. This is dangerous, unconstitutional, and must not stand. What makes this even more egregious is that a federal magistrate judge previously declined to sign an arrest warrant, finding prosecutors had not established probable cause.
“When our judicial system determines an arrest lacks legal foundation, it highlights just how severe this violation of constitutional rights truly is. A free press is the cornerstone of our democracy. When journalists are intimidated, detained, or arrested for reporting the news, we all lose.”
URL Media
The arrest of independent journalists, Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and especially journalists of color nationwide.
Like other journalists in Minnesota, Don and Georgia were doing their jobs when they were reporting on the community’s response to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state.
Reporting the facts, shining a light on the truth, and most importantly, holding the powerful accountable is not a crime – it’s a constitutionally protected right that we have as journalists, publishers, and newsrooms. The First Amendment is clear: The work we do as journalists is not only protected, but plays a critical role in our society.
URL (which stands for Uplift, Respect, and Love) Media is a network built to uplift Black and Brown newsrooms, audiences, and journalists nationwide. Earlier this week, we hosted a solidarity mixer with the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York City, showing our clear support for journalists facing unprecedented attacks.
We take this action – of solidarity – not just seriously but as a founding pillar of our own organization. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.
We stand with Don Lemon and Georgia Fort and with every journalist unfairly silenced or criminalized for doing their jobs.
In solidarity,
Sara Lomax, President and CEO of WURD Radio, LLC
S. Mitra Kalita, CEO and Publisher of Epicenter NYC
Co-founders of URL Media
National Association of Black Journalists
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is outraged and deeply alarmed by the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort by federal agents, and by the government’s escalating effort and actions to criminalize and threaten press freedom under the guise of law enforcement.
Let us be perfectly clear: The First Amendment is not optional and journalism is NOT a crime. 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.
These arrests follow Lemon’s and Fort’s coverage of an anti-ICE protest in Minneapolis at Cities Church and appear intended to single out such messengers who were simply onsite to do their jobs. “As journalists, our first obligation is to bear witness and to inform,” said NABJ President Errin Haines. “When those obligations are met with detention or prosecution instead of protection, we must ask: what message are we sending about who gets to report and who gets silenced? A free press, not a penalized one, is essential to democracy; especially, when coverage intersects with contentious public issues.”
This moment is bigger than two journalists. It is about whether the First Amendment has meaning when reporting is inconvenient to those in power. The selective targeting of journalists—especially, Black and LGBTQIA journalists—raises urgent concerns about unequal enforcement and retaliatory policing of the press. It also mirrors a broader pattern in which government actors appear quick to criminalize those documenting injustice, while accountability for official misconduct remains elusive.
When will this stop? When will journalists be allowed to do their jobs without becoming targets? When will the constitutional rights of the press stop being tested, stretched, and ignored to make an example out of those who tell the truth?
NABJ calls on federal authorities to immediately clarify the legal justification for these arrests and to halt all retaliatory posture toward journalists that undermine constitutional press protections. We further call on media organizations, newsroom leaders, press freedom advocates, civil rights groups, legal experts, and allies across the country to not only stand together, organize, and act, but to also closely monitor these cases and unapologetically speak out against any actions that threaten the ability of reporters to do their jobs safely and without interference. The normalization of arrests during lawful newsgathering poses risks to ALL journalists.
Journalism that holds power to account strengthens democracy. That mission must be defended, not punished. Not now. Not this way, and again, NOT ON OUR WATCH!
In Solidarity,
National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
Aegis Safety Alliance
Amnesty International USA
Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association
Asian American Journalists Association
Association of Foreign Correspondents in the USA
Capital B
Center for Journalism & Democracy
Committee to Protect Journalists
Defending Rights and Dissent
First Amendment Coalition
Free Press Action
Freedom of the Press Foundation
GLAAD
Human Rights First
Institute for Nonprofit News
International Women’s Media Foundation
Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
James W. Foley Legacy Foundation
Journalism & Women Symposium
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Media and Democracy Project
Multicultural Media and Correspondents Association
National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)
National Association of Science Writers
National Black Justice Collective
National Press Photographers Association
National Writers Union
Online News Association
PEN America
Radio Television Digital News Association
Reporters Without Borders
SAG/AFTRA
Society of Environmental Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
South Asian Journalists Association
The 19th
The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists (NLGJA)
The Intercept/Freedom Defense Fund
The News Guild/CWA
The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
The Trust Project
Tiny News Collective
Trans Journalists Association
URL Media
Whistleblower & Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at ExposeFacts
WURD