Local, state and national organizations respond to Minnesota journalist's arrest

By Meg Martin  Minnesota Journalism Center

Early Friday morning, independent Minnesota journalist Georgia Fort was arrested by federal agents for her coverage of a protest at a St. Paul church service nearly two weeks earlier. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was also covering the protest as an independent journalist, was arrested in Los Angeles Thursday evening.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on social media that the arrests happened at her direction.

Within hours, statements defending press freedom began pouring in from colleagues across the industry. 

By midday, Minnesota chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists, Society of Professional Journalists and Asian American Journalists Association joined Fort's family, supporters and Center for Broadcast Journalism colleagues in Minneapolis City Hall for a press conference.

Brown: Arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort escalates the constitutional crisis in Minnesota — Minnesota Star Tribune

And the support continued to roll in. A coalition of local Minnesota news organizations — including the Minnesota Journalism Center and the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law — signed a joint statement condemning the arrests and defending press freedom, and many national and international press freedom organizations posted their own.

Fort and Lemon were each released from custody later on Friday, according to news reports, and face charges of conspiracy against right of religious freedom at a place of worship and injuring, intimidating or interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of worship. Seven other people were also charged in the case.

The Astonishing Arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort — Columbia Journalism Review

The Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Reformer, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Sahan Journal, the Center for Broadcast Journalism and the Minnesota Newspaper Association released a statement Friday morning  condemning the arrests and "any attempt to intimidate members of the press." It went on to recognize the role the First Amendment plays in our democracy, and added: "The Minnesota journalism community and its state and national partners stand united in defense of press freedom and the essential role reporting plays in holding power to account."

Dozens of additional organizations from across Minnesota's journalism community and beyond signed on to the statement in the hours after.

The MJC research team is tracking the growing number of signers and additional responses here.

Leaders and organizations that specialize in press freedom, journalism and local news issued statements throughout the day, including:

National Association of Black Journalists and a coalition of partner organizations — NABJ said in its statement it was "outraged and deeply alarmed" by the arrests of the journalists, and went on to say that "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 statement was signed by dozens of national and international media organizations, press freedom groups, unions, civil rights groups and others. 

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — RCFP's statement focused on the legal context in which the arrests happened. "To our knowledge, it’s unprecedented for the Justice Department to deploy the federal laws it has previously cited in this case against journalistic activity," said Gabe Rottman, RCFP's vice president of policy.

Society of Professional Journalists — The SPJ national organization called on federal authorities to drop the charges, and local authorities to explain the circumstances of the arrest. It went on to quote Society’s Code of Ethics, which calls on journalists to “seek truth and report it,” “support the open and civil exchange of views,” and fulfill a “special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government” to ensure transparent governance.

Federal agents arrest journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort in what press freedom groups say is an escalation — Poynter

Maynard Journalism Institute for Journalism Education — The organization, which focuses its work on equity, inclusion and belonging in journalism, condemned the arrests. It connected the moment to its own training and research: "Journalists working at the intersections of race, immigration, power, and community — often independent or community-based reporters — are the first to feel the chilling effect when newsgathering is criminalized."

Investigative Reporters and Editors — IRE, which says it's the nation's largest journalism organization, supports and trains investigative journalists across the U.S. It asked the federal government to "acknowledge and respect the rights of journalists covering protests across the country."

The Minnesota Journalism Center's research team will continue to track the responses as they arise. Please contact the team at [email protected] if you know of other statements that should be added to the list.