1. United States
2. Conn.
3. Letter

The Department of Homeland Security’s arrests of Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy on Friday, January 30, in connection with a St. Paul, Minnesota church protest are an unacceptable abuse of federal power and must be reversed immediately. Arresting journalists and demonstrators for protest-related activity is retaliatory enforcement and a direct violation of the First Amendment rights to free speech, assembly, and a free press. These arrests create an obvious chilling effect intended to suppress legally-granted rights to dissent through peaceful protests and to deter criticism of the government. It is especially alarming that those targeted are Black journalists. This raises serious concerns of unconstitutional discriminatory and retaliatory enforcement. Federal agents cannot be permitted to weaponize its authority to arrest and intimidate the press—particularly Black members of the press—under the pretext of “order.” I demand immediate action: Release all four individuals immediately; Dismiss all charges stemming from constitutionally protected activity: free speech, press, and assembly; Identify and discipline the officials responsible for authorizing these arrests, including the full decision-making chain; Initiate congressional oversight and investigation into DHS/ICE practices related to protest response and press targeting. Further, the federal government must fully cooperate with the state of Minnesota in a transparent, independent investigation into ICE agents responsible for the killings of Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Pretti, including preservation and disclosure of all body-camera footage, incident reports, and use-of-force documentation. A government that arrests journalists for covering non-violent protest activity while shielding federal agents from accountability for lethal force is not enforcing the law—it is abusing it.