Trump's U.S. government has arrested two journalists just for covering a story in Minnesota that the administration didn't like. This is an extremely serious situation. We have already seen Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) officers
murder peaceful protestors, and now apparently, the U.S. government is planning to start
arresting people for legal, Constitutionally-protected activities.Both individuals, former CNN anchor
Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, are Black independent journalists. They were exercising their
First Amendment rights of documenting a protest - and now Trump's cronies are
charging them with federal crimes.Sign the petition to demand that the U.S. Department of Justice drop these fabricated and disturbing charges against innocent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort!Both Lemon and Fort had been reporting on a protest at a Minnesota church where one of the pastors is an ICE leader. The peaceful protesters wanted to draw attention to the pastor's ICE connections and decry the hypocrisy and conflict involved in serving both roles.
Not only did Trump's team arrest seven of the protesters, it also went after Lemon and Fort simply for being present and filming the demonstration in their capacity as journalists.
Federal agents marched to Fort's home, where she filmed them arresting her. The recording shows her saying: "
As a member of the press, I filmed the church protest a few weeks ago, and now I'm being arrested for that. It's hard to understand how we have constitutional rights when you can just be arrested for being a member of the press."
Agents went after Lemon in Los Angeles, arresting him around midnight after he had covered the Grammy awards.
News organizations, journalists, politicians, and human rights groups are sounding the alarm about the significance of these arrests. As Jim Acosta, a journalist with CNN, wrote online: "The First Amendment is under attack in America!" A spokesperson for CNN itself said: "The FBI's arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon
raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the first amendment. ... 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."
Senator Chuck Schumer has painted a picture of the
broader ripple-effects: "Let's be very clear - this arrest is not just about one journalist in one incident. The arrest is a dark message to journalists everywhere: if you dare criticize this administration, watch your back."
The U.S. Department of Justice is charging Lemon and Fort with violating others' constitutional rights by reporting on this church protest. But in fact, the government is currently violating their constitutional rights as journalists right now.
This is a crossing a line-in-the-sand type of moment. We must NOT be silent! Sign the petition to show the Trump administration that you're paying attention and to demand an immediate drop to these cooked-up charges! 