Justice Department Arrests a Journalist for Doing Journalism

In a brazen attack on press freedom, Don Lemon and three others were arrested on charges they violated federal law during a protest at a Minneapolis church last week. The Justice Department filed criminal charges against Lemon, a second journalist, and two protestors.

A magistrate judge threw out the case last week, and a Federal District Court in Minneapolis denied the Justice Department’s appeal. Friday morning, James Blair, deputy White House chief of staff, announced that Lemon and another journalist, Georgia Fort, were indicted by a federal grand jury.

The Trump administration is doing some Olympic level legal gymnastics to trample all over the First Amendment.

What the Law Says

The DOJ alleged that Lemon, Fort and the protestors “conspired” to interfere with the civil rights of congregants at the church, claiming it was a violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances or FACE Act. It’s a law intended to protect abortion clinics but also covers houses of worship.

But five different judges shot down the government’s case against Lemon and the other journalist, saying that there was no evidence they’d engaged in any criminal behavior or conspiracy to do so.

Precisely because they’re journalists. Doing their job. Explicitly protected First Amendment activity. Which makes this a textbook attack on a free press.

We’ve Seen This Before

This is right in line with Trump’s MO for handling the press. He’s thin-skinned and vindictive and that means he’s ready to lash out and punish or suppress media he doesn’t like.

Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were just the next in line.

Just two weeks ago, federal agents raided a Washington Post journalist’s house, under the pretense of an investigation into a federal contractor. They seized her laptops and her phone, in an extraordinary measure the government rarely takes against the press.

Not anymore.

Jimmy Kimmel took a hit last year, after ABC capitulated to Trump’s demand to kick him off the air after a comment about Charlie Kirk. But the network quickly learned actions have consequences after a massive boycott of Disney and its properties forced them to reverse course.

Trump’s gone after practically all the major media outlets, with massive and meritless lawsuits over petty grievances. He went after the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion, the New York Times for $15 billion. He wanted $475 million from CNN for referring to his claim that the 2020 election was stolen as “the big lie,” which he felt was a reference to Hitler. Paramount paid him $16 million to settle over Trump’s claim that they unfairly edited a CBS interview with Kamala Harris. And ABC kicked in another $16 million for another interview Trump didn’t like. He cut a billion dollars from PBS and NPR, kicked journalists from Reuters, the AP, and HuffPost out of the press pool and replaced them with right wing media outlets handpicked by the administration.

Are you sensing the pattern here?

This isn’t the kind of behavior you see in a democracy, where freedom of the press is a fundamental right. It’s a signature move straight out of dictator’s playbook. You can assume Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Viktor Orban are all thinking “game recognize game” today. Stalin is probably smiling down on his budding protege.

This Is a Wake Up Call

Don Lemon has the privilege of name recognition. He’s one of the country’s most recognizable journalists. And that didn’t stop the federal government from taking him into custody for simply doing his job and exercising his constitutionally-protected rights.

Whether or not you like Don Lemon, or agreed with his coverage, this should set off alarm bells. No one is immune, not legacy media and not independent journalists. Don Lemon was both, and if they can do this to him, they can do it to anyone.

This is how it happens: Slowly, then all at once.

Democracies don’t disappear overnight. They erode when intimidation replaces accountability and journalism becomes a liability instead of a safeguard.