Don Lemon And Georgia Fort Arrested By Federal Agents
Donald Trump's administration is taking serious heat from the public and the media for its violent anti-immigrant agenda, but this morning's news will significantly raise the temperature in the public discourse.
Former CNN news anchor Don Lemon, now an independent journalist, was arrested in Los Angeles last night while covering the Grammys. Another independent journalist named Georgia Fort was also arrested.
According to the New York TimesLemon is accused of violating a federal law, the FACE Act (Freedom to Access to Clinic Entrances), which prohibits interference with people exercising freedom of religion at a place of worship or access to abortion services (more on that later).
The allegations stem from a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn. About a week ago, a group entered the church and shouted, “ICE out!” and “Justice for Renee Good!” Lemon went to the scene during the civil disturbance to interview people on camera. In one video, Lemon specifically tells a grieving churchgoer twice that he is not part of the protest.
This morning, January 30, a statement was published from Don Lemon's Instagram account by his lawyer Abbe Lowell.
“Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was sharing the Grammy awards. Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done.”
Georgia Fort was able to live stream her arrest Facebook crowd of 139,000 people before surrendering to federal agents who came to their home.
Attorney General Pam Bondi took to Twitter to wonder about the arrests, identifying the full list of those arrested in connection with the event, and misrepresenting what actually happened at Cities Church.
It should be noted that there is no video evidence of an “attack” or that any violence occurred during the disturbance.
Don Lemon's former employer, CNN, has also responded to his arrest, and has accused Pam Bondi of violating journalists' first amendment rights.
We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
