LOOKOUT Joins 50+ Newsrooms Calling for Charges Against Don Lemon, Georgia Fort to Be Dropped

LOOKOUT is one of more than 50 local, nonprofit and investigative news outlets nationwide calling on federal authorities to drop all charges against journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort—an extraordinary show of solidarity at a moment many in the industry say poses a direct threat to press freedom.

Lemon and Fort were arrested after covering a Jan. 18 protest at a church in Minneapolis, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as pastor. Both journalists have maintained they were not participating in the protest, but doing exactly what journalists are constitutionally protected to do: observe, document and seek comment during a newsworthy event. They now face charges including allegedly obstructing a place of worship and, more alarmingly, federal conspiracy charges.

In a joint letter, the undersigned outlets—ranging from The Guardian US and The Marshall Project to deeply local newsrooms like Block Club Chicago, Injustice Watch and Wisconsin Watch—condemned the arrests as “spurious and unwarranted” and warned of the chilling effect such prosecutions could have on journalists nationwide.

For LOOKOUT, an Arizona-based LGBTQ+ newsroom built on accountability journalism, signing the letter was necessary. Criminalizing routine reporting sets a dangerous precedent, particularly for independent and community-based journalists who already face outsized risks. As the letter states, a free press is foundational to democracy. Allowing journalists to be arrested for doing their jobs undermines that principle, and threatens all of us who rely on journalism to hold power to account.

You can read the letter below:

🗞️

As media outlets that regularly report on newsworthy events, we, the undersigned, vigorously condemn the recent arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.

Lemon and Fort were arrested after covering a January 18 protest at a church in Minneapolis. They were conducting the constitutionally protected activities of a working journalist: observing, recording and documenting a newsworthy event and attempting to obtain quotes from participants.

Their arrest on charges of allegedly obstructing a place of worship, and even worse, under federal conspiracy law, alarm all of us who believe in the First Amendment and seek to do our jobs without fear of obstruction by law enforcement or retaliation by agents of the government.

The principle of a free press animated the founding of the United States of America 250 years ago, and countless Americans have fought valiantly for it. We cannot allow colleagues to be subjected to spurious and unwarranted arrest for committing acts of journalism.

We call on federal authorities to drop all charges against Lemon and Fort and to publicly affirm their unqualified support for the work of professional journalists in this critical time.

Below are the news outlets who have signed:

THE CITY
Grist
The 19th
New York magazine, part of Vox Media LLC
The Cityside Journalism Initiative
CalMatters
NY Focus
Epicenter
Documented
The Intercept
Dallas Free Press
Florida Trident
The Jersey Vindicator
Cardinal News
El Paso Matters
Wasau Pilot and Review
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
InDepthNH.org
Lookout News
ByThe Xylom
The Lens
ecoRI News
The Providence Eye
San Francisco Public Press
Block Club Chicago
Injustice Watch
South Side Weekly
Invisible Institute
The TRiiBE
La Voz Chicago
New Bedford Light
Vox Populi
The Trace
Center for Investigative Reporting
The Jersey Bee
Capital B
Wisconsin Watch
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
San Francisco Public Press
Philadelphia Hall Monitor
The Guardian US
The Journal of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater
The Marshall Project
Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
FaVS News
East Lansing News

They Followed the Rules. Now They’re Being Targeted for Deportation.

A Tucson Case is Setting the Stage for Removing Residents Brought to the U.S. as Children

Stories to Keep You Inspired on the State

LOOKOUT Joins 50+ Newsrooms Calling for Charges Against Don Lemon, Georgia Fort to Be Dropped

LOOKOUT Staff