1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

The indictments of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for reporting on a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota represent a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s assault on press freedom and constitutional governance. Mr. Lemon and Ms. Fort were covering a protest at a church whose pastor also serves as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field officer. Neither journalist organized the protest, led chants, obstructed worship, or threatened anyone. Video evidence shows that Mr. Lemon identified himself as a journalist, interviewed participants and congregants, and left the church shortly after being asked to do so. Federal judges reviewed these facts and rejected the government’s case. A magistrate judge refused to issue arrest warrants for Mr. Lemon and his producer, finding no evidence of criminal conduct. A district court judge declined to overturn that decision, calling the government’s request “unprecedented.” The Department of Justice then appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which also refused. Only after losing repeatedly in court did the administration seek and obtain indictments through a federal grand jury. This sequence matters. It demonstrates that the purpose of these indictments is not to enforce the law, but to intimidate journalists and deter future reporting. Weak cases that are unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny still impose severe financial, professional, and personal costs—especially on independent journalists without the backing of major media institutions. In that sense, the process itself becomes the punishment. The statutes invoked here underscore the abuse. The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act has historically been used to prosecute individuals who use force, threats, or physical obstruction to block access to reproductive healthcare. This administration has declined to enforce that law against anti-abortion extremists and has praised or pardoned many who were convicted under it. Repurposing the FACE Act to criminalize journalism is selective enforcement, plain and simple. Mr. Lemon is also charged under a civil rights conspiracy statute enacted after the Civil War to combat Ku Klux Klan violence. Applying that law to journalists after judges found no evidence of criminal intent is extraordinary—and incompatible with the First Amendment. The indictments of Mr. Lemon and Ms. Fort serve as a warning to other journalists covering protests, particularly those involving federal law enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The chilling effect on constitutionally protected newsgathering is immediate and profound. This is not how a constitutional democracy treats a free press. Congress has both the authority and the obligation to respond. You must demand a full explanation from the Department of Justice, conduct immediate oversight hearings, and reaffirm that journalism is not a crime. If indictments can proceed after courts have found no evidence of wrongdoing, then constitutional rights exist only at the discretion of the executive. That is not the rule of law. The charges against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort must be dropped. Congress must act now to defend the First Amendment and the Constitution it is sworn to uphold.