CPJ urges clarity on DHS secretary nominee Markwayne Mullin’s press freedom views

Washington, D.C., March 19, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges lawmakers to ask Sen. Markwayne Mullin about protecting media freedom in the United States in advance of a full Senate confirmation vote on his nomination for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary given the progressively active role the department has taken in suppressing freedom of the press. 

“The Department of Homeland Security has increasingly been using its power to target journalists in an attempt to silence coverage with which it does not agree,” said CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “It is imperative that Congress hold Sen. Markwayne Mullin accountable for stopping this harmful trend of DHS overreach and ensuring the department respects journalists’ First Amendment rights.” 

Mullin has previously made social media comments about using violence against “fake news” media. He later said in a post on X that he was joking. During the nomination hearing on Wednesday, Mullin was asked about other past comments condoning political violence.

CPJ has been documenting the ways in which DHS has been used to curb freedom of the press during the second Trump administration: 

• Journalist Estefany Rodríguez was arrested by DHS agents, despite being in the country legally at the time of her arrest. Her lawyers have argued that her arrest was a violation of her First, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, stating that her journalism was a motivating factor in her detention. Rodríguez was granted a $10,000 bond by an immigration judge, though remains in ICE custody at the time of publication. 
• Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, and Junn Bollmann were charged with felony and misdemeanor charges in relation to their coverage of an anti-ICE demonstration at a St. Paul, MN church. Lemon and Fort have separately pleaded not guilty; Bollmann’s hearing has not taken place yet. 
• Journalists have reported being targeted by ICE agents while covering anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles last year, and the killings of two anti-ICE protesters by ICE agents in Minneapolis earlier this year have increased concerns about the safety of covering these demonstrations. 
• Immigration officials detained Chinese citizen journalist Guan Heng during an August 2025 raid in New York and sought his deportation to a third country, Uganda. Guan had previously sought asylum in the United States after publishing videos documenting Uyghur detention camps. Following outcry from civil society groups, including CPJ, he was ultimately granted asylum.
• Atlanta metro-area journalist Mario Guevara, who was deported to his native El Salvador, despite being in the country legally at the time of his detention. Guevara was initially detained by local law enforcement while covering a local anti-Trump protest. He was then transferred to immigration authorities and deported after over 100 days in law enforcement detention. 
• Allistair Kitchen, an Australian writer who has reported on Substack, was denied entry into the United States after border officials at the Los Angeles International Airport searched his phone and questioned him about his views on the Israel-Gaza war. Kitchen said that interrogators asked him about his views on a one-state, versus two-state solution in relation to Israel and Palestine.

Last year, CPJ issued its first-ever travel advisory for journalists entering the United States, which included warnings about searches of electronic devices.