Last night, independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested. The arrest comes nearly two weeks after these journalists covered a protest of church minister who was allegedly assisting ICE officers in their surge of Minnesota.

These attacks on the free press come after a judge previously rejected an attempt to charge him last week.

This is just the latest attack on our rights and of a free press. Here’s how Lemon’s and Fort’s arrests affect all of us.

1)Arresting Journalists Violates the Freedom of the Press.

Full stop. It is not limited to the corporate press. Or certain outlets. A free press is any journalist speaking truth to power.

The First Amendment is meant to protect our freedom of expression, press, speech, protest, and religion. This was written by the framers when they were fighting tyranny and saw the importance of establishing these rights.

Without a free press, the Trump Administration can spin current events to favor them or absolves them of wrongdoings.

Read the First Amendment if you need to. 

2)The Powerful Want to Control the Press.

President Trump drastically slashed funding for public media in his budget bill. This has led to reporter cuts or media closures all over the United States, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This impacts access to local news outlets which are a lifeline in many in rural America in the case of dangerous weather events and other emergencies.

Meanwhile, Trump donors are buying up corporate media entities and controlling the narratives. Remember when the Washington Post wouldn’t run our Fire Elon Musk ad? 

With new leadership in CBS, intended to appease President Trump, several employees of color were fired, airing to the 60 minutes CECOT episode was delayed, and new leadership who support the Trump Administration’s policies have been hired.

This signals a change in the way that news will be reported on such a large influential network. Can we trust that they will be objective in their reporting?

3)The Arrest is Another Attempt to Silence and Intimidate Truth Tellers.

ICE agents are already trampling on our First Amendment rights to protest. We have seen numerous abuses of power, and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

But Minnesota isn’t the only place. ICE agents threw tear gas at Chicagoans who were peaceful. There are numerous reports of ICE escalation at protestors.

They want to silence us and they want to silence journalists. We won’t stand for either.

With President Trump’s influence in corporate media, it is essential to protect the freedom of the press, particularly the work of independent journalists who are informing the American public of what is happening on the ground across the country.

Sign our petition to call for Justice for Don Lemon and to protect our freedom of speech.

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