Black students who heard about the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort by the hands of the Trump administration saw an escalation to the censorship of the press, demonstrating a threat to First Amendment freedoms and protections.
On Jan.18, protesters entered a church in St. Paul, Minn., and interrupted a church service full of chants related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A chaotic scene unfolded inside the church as protesters and members of the Southern Baptist Church convention shouted at each other over injustices committed by ICE officers.
Lemon, a former CNN host, and Fort, a local journalist, entered the church to cover the demonstration against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.
According to an unsealed federal indictment, the United States Department of Justice accused Lemon and Fort of conspiring to deprive others of their constitutional rights — a felony punishable up to 10 years in prison, a fine or both for allegedly obstructing the free exercise of religion in a place of worship.
Lemon pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights charges. His attorney did not return calls seeking comments about Lemon’s legal process, but arrangements in federal court typically include the entering of pleas and scheduling for future proceedings.
“We don’t prosecute journalists for doing their job. That happens in Russia, China, Iran and other authoritarian regimes. And yet the government sold this unconstitutional mess to the grant jury,” the motion states.
While both parties, the church and the press, have their rights to freedom of expression, only the press was held liable in contrast to the ICE protesters’ actions or contributing factors that may have escalated the situation.
Being at the scene of a breaking news development to report is considered the job of a journalist. It is actively protected by the First Amendment, which expressly protects “freedom of the press.”
The president of Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ), Phil Lewis, underscored the importance of freedom to independent journalism and aspiring young journalists and what he believed this moment signifies for the future of aspiring press freedom and independent reporting.
“There’s a lot of doom and gloom about the journalism industry, a lot of which is valid,” Lewis said. “I’m hopeful people will understand why a free independent media is so important.”
Lewis spoke to the perspective of young journalists, especially from Black perspectives and how to interpret the unfolding and changing bureaucracy of access to freedom of speech under this administration and beyond.
“Young journalists understand how crucial it is to hold those in power to account, and the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort only underscore that point,” said Lewis. “There are more ways now than ever to tell stories and get people to listen.”
Lewis explained how Black journalists, in particular, have always been under attack, so this moment isn’t unfamiliar. In May 1892, a white mob destroyed the Memphis office of “Free Speech and Headlight,” the newspaper co-owned by journalist Ida B. Wells after she published an editorial exposing the truth behind lynching. Despite this history, Lewis remains inspired by the new generation of journalists who are taking up the mantle and contributing to the work of past journalists.
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