Journalists, Lawmakers, Press Freedom Groups Condemn ‘Horrifying’ Arrest of Don Lemon
Journalists, lawmakers and press advocacy groups on Friday condemned the Justice Department’s arrest of independent journalist Don Lemon, with many accusing the department of infringing on Lemon’s First Amendment protections as a member of the press.
Lemon was arrested nearly two weeks after he covered an anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said on Friday that federal agents arrested the former CNN anchor in Los Angeles as he was preparing to cover the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Lemon is expected to be charged with two federal statutes, according to a spokesperson, one that protects against those trying to impede someone from practicing their constitutional rights and another that prevents one from interfering with someone’s First Amendment right of religious freedom.
Lowell said Lemon’s “constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done” and that the journalist would “fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Independent journalist Georgia Fort was also arrested, she revealed in a post on Facebook. Attorney General Pam Bondi named both of them in an announcement of the arrest, saying federal agents seized them “at my direction.”
Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta, who worked with Lemon for years, blasted the arrest as “outrageous“ as he shared Lemon’s attorney’s statement on X.
“The First Amendment is under attack in America!” Acosta said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described Lemon in an X post as “an accomplished journalist” whose work was protected by the First Amendment.
“There is zero basis to arrest him and he should be freed immediately,” he wrote. “The Trump Justice Department is illegitimate and these extremists will all be held accountable for their crimes against the Constitution.”
Seth Stern, the director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the arrests of Lemon and Fort amounted to “naked attacks on freedom of the press.”
“These arrests under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists,” Stern said. “The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them. Fort’s arrest is meant to instill the same fear in local independent journalists as big names like Lemon.”
Journalist Jemele Hill called Lemon’s arrest “horrifying” in an X post.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) wrote on X that Lemon’s arrest meant “the First Amendment is under its greatest threat since our founding.”
“Journalists arrested on bogus charges; citizens executed in the streets by masked secret police; election offices raided at the direction of an intelligence agency; oil executives notified of a military invasion before Congress. Putin’s America is here,” Goldman wrote.
CNN, Lemon’s former employer, said the arrest “raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment” after multiple federal judges refused to sign off on arrest warrants.
“The First Amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the DOJ’s attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable,” the network said in a statement. “We will be following this case closely.”
Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera wrote in an X post that Lemon was “a journalist and has the right to cover the undeniably important news events in Minneapolis.”
“Arresting him will not silence criticism of the federal government,” Rivera wrote.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office indicated the arrests of Lemon and Fort, along with the FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home earlier this month, indicate “they are coming for you. Speak out.”
Gabe Rottman, the vice president of policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said it was “obviously concerning” to see journalists arrested over their work. “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,” he said in a statement.
Rev. Al Sharpton said Lemon‘s arrest was “alarming at several levels” and that he stood with “Don, every member of the media, and every person who nonviolently protests these horrific ICE raids.“
“ We cannot let Donald Trump put tape over our mouths to muffle our right to free speech, when his administration is conducting some of the most heinous actions in American history,” he said in a statement.
Some conservatives heralded Lemon‘s arrest and argued that his status as a journalist did not give him a legal right to follow the protestors into the church as they protested.
“For those saying this is criminalizing journalism, journalists don’t get a pass when breaking the law just bc they have a mic,” conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly wrote on X. “If I accompanied ppl storming an abortion clinic harassing/scaring/‘traumatizing’ the crying women while saying ‘But I’m a reporter!’ I would absolutely have been charged under any Dem admin.”
Conservative Matt Walsh praised the arrest as “great news” in an X post and claimed the case against Lemon was “airtight.”
“He filmed himself committing felonies,” he wrote. “I pray that he is sent to prison and his life is permanently ruined, as he deserves.”
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