The federal government just arrested two Black journalists for doing their jobs. And the legal weapon they chose? An 1871 law originally written to stop the Ku Klux Klan.
Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, and Georgia Fort, a three-time Emmy-winning independent journalist based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, now face federal charges tied to their coverage of an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 18. Both were livestreaming as demonstrators entered the church to protest Pastor David Easterwood, who also leads the local ICE field office. Both maintained they were reporting, not participating.
That distinction did not matter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who described the protest as a “coordinated attack” and lumped the journalists in with the demonstrators.
The Charges Are the Story
Lemon and Fort face two federal counts: conspiring against religious freedom rights at a place of worship, and injuring or intimidating people exercising those rights. The charges rely on two laws never before used against journalists. One is the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, designed to protect Black Americans from white supremacist violence. The other is the FACE Act, written to protect abortion clinics from blockades.
Read that again. Laws built to protect civil rights are now being turned against Black journalists covering civil rights issues.
A federal magistrate judge already found the government lacked probable cause to arrest Lemon and several co-defendants under these statutes, according to CNN. The DOJ had previously failed twice to secure arrest warrants in Minnesota, where a chief judge found “no evidence” of criminal behavior. Both journalists were released on personal recognizance bonds. Lemon has pleaded not guilty.
Georgia Fort Deserves Your Attention
While Lemon’s name drives the headlines, Fort’s story hits closer to the ground. She is a St. Paul native who founded the Center for Broadcast Journalism in 2022 to increase media representation across Minnesota. Her nonprofit acquired Power 104.7 FM. She won a Bush Foundation fellowship in 2025. She was one of two reporters in the courtroom when Derek Chauvin was sentenced for murdering George Floyd.
Federal agents surrounded her home at 6 a.m. Her 17-year-old daughter watched it happen.
“I am a journalist who was arrested for doing my job, despite the constitutional protections afforded to the press,” Fort said, as reported by NPR.
Why This Matters to the Culture
The National Association of Black Journalists issued a direct warning: “A government that responds to scrutiny by targeting the messenger is not protecting the public.” NABJ raised concerns about the selective targeting of Black and LGBTQIA journalists, calling it evidence of unequal enforcement.
This is not abstract. Minnesota experienced a 10-week federal occupation that resulted in ICE agents killing two Minneapolis residents, Renee Good and Alexi Pretti, along with thousands of arrests. The journalists covering that story are now defendants in it.
Black press has documented American injustice since Freedom’s Journal launched in 1827. Nearly 200 years later, the pattern is familiar: those who tell the truth face consequences designed to silence them.
Onyx Impact responded by announcing a $500,000 investment in Black media, according to Essence. That is a start. But investment without legal protection only funds louder targets.
The takeaway: When the government uses civil rights laws against the people those laws were built to protect, press freedom is not the only thing under attack. The entire framework of accountability is. Pay attention. Share this story. And support independent Black media before there is none left to support.
