1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to protect First Amendment press freedoms and investigate the Department of Justice's arrest of journalist Don Lemon on January 24. This case represents a dangerous escalation in federal prosecution of journalists and demands congressional oversight. The facts are deeply concerning. Lemon, a journalist with 30 years of experience, was arrested by more than two dozen HSI and FBI agents while covering the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He faces federal charges for live-streaming a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul on January 18, despite repeatedly stating he was present as a journalist, not an activist. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, has called this an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment. What makes this prosecution particularly troubling is that a Minnesota magistrate judge already rejected these charges last week, finding insufficient evidence against Lemon and four others. The DOJ then took the case to a grand jury to secure an indictment. Additionally, a Minnesota chief judge previously found no evidence of criminal behavior in the journalists' work. The DOJ has now failed twice to obtain an arrest warrant in Minnesota, yet proceeded with this arrest in California. It is highly unusual for the Justice Department to criminally charge a reporter. Senior DOJ officials publicly asserted Lemon would face charges immediately after the incident, raising questions about whether this decision was politically motivated rather than based on evidence. Meanwhile, as Lowell noted, the DOJ has devoted significant resources to prosecuting a journalist while failing to investigate federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters. Press freedom organizations including Freedom of the Press Foundation and Public Citizen have condemned these arrests as authoritarian overreach and clear warning shots aimed at other journalists. Even CNN, which terminated Lemon in 2023, has defended his work and stated that the DOJ's attempts to violate press rights are unacceptable. I urge you to demand a full investigation into the DOJ's handling of this case and to support legislation that strengthens protections for journalists covering protests and other newsworthy events. The First Amendment depends on your action.