WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were taken into federal custody in connection with events at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, earlier this month. Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement in response to the event:
“We are deeply troubled by the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for doing exactly what the First Amendment protects. Freedom of the press is not optional—it is foundational to a thriving multiracial democracy and is a vital constraint on government overreach.
Targeting two acclaimed Black independent journalists for criminal prosecution sends a chilling message at a moment when independent Black media is more necessary than ever. Criminalizing journalism is an outrage, and it threatens the ability of all of us to know and tell the truth.
This is not just stifling dissent–it’s chilling speech and stifling basic access to information and facts, targeting viewpoints the administration dislikes, and retaliating against law firms, universities, nonprofit organizations, and now reporters who value truth, equality, and justice. This is authoritarianism. And it must not stand.”
