Federal court should dismiss charges against independent journalists Georgia Fort, Don Lemon

The Reporters Committee, joined by 45 news and media organizations, is urging a federal court in Minnesota to throw out indictments against independent journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon related to their coverage of an immigration enforcement protest at a St. Paul church earlier this year.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the Reporters Committee argues that federal prosecutors are misapplying two civil rights statutes to criminally charge the journalists for engaging in newsgathering activity. If the charges are upheld by the courts, the Reporters Committee argues, federal officials would gain a powerful tool to suppress news reporting in the public interest.

“This is a case of clear government overreach, with the Justice Department attempting to deploy two highly potent civil rights laws to target journalists,” said Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown. “On-the-ground news coverage is essential to the public’s ability to stay informed about important issues, and federal prosecutors cannot be allowed to misuse the law to punish such vital reporting.” 

Fort and Lemon were indicted following their reporting on a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul. They were charged with conspiring to violate a federal law protecting the right of religious freedom at a place of worship. 

Last week, both journalists filed motions asking the district court to dismiss the charges, arguing, among other things, that the charges violate the First Amendment and are part of a vindictive prosecution by the Trump administration.

In its brief in support of the journalists’ motions, the Reporters Committee argues that Fort and Lemon cannot be held criminally liable for violating the two statutes cited in the indictments because those statutes require a specific intent to deprive someone of a protected right. As the brief explains, journalists covering protest activity lack that mental state.

The brief also emphasizes the harm that could result if the court accepts the government’s arguments, warning that prosecutors could use the laws to target journalists asking questions in public spaces — a First Amendment-protected activity that reporters engage in every day.

Related: In May, the Reporters Committee sued the Trump administration for records that could help the public better understand whether government officials followed federal law and internal U.S. Justice Department guidelines when arresting Fort, Lemon, and another independent journalist, Shane Bollman, following their coverage of the protest.