Twenty-one current and former faculty members of Northeastern’s School of Journalism and Media Innovation signed a joint statement published Feb. 4 condemning “unconstitutional arrests of independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.”
“We are instructors, mentors and colleagues of young journalists, and we believe it is imperative that we stand up for the vital role of a free and unfettered press in a democratic society,” the statement reads.
Former CNN anchor Lemon and Twin Cities-area independent journalist Fort reported on a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, Jan. 18 at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn. The demonstration disrupted a church service where alleged ICE agent David Easterwood works as a pastor.
Nearly two weeks later, Lemon was arrested overnight Jan. 30 in Los Angeles, Calif. while covering the Grammy Awards. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi shared a statement on social media that federal agents arrested Lemon, along with three others, including Fort, “in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church” at her request.
The Jan. 18 protest has become a defining moment in the ongoing debate about the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement operation across the nation, raising concerns about the First Amendment rights of protesters, journalists and bystanders. The defending lawyers argued the journalists were exercising their rights to freedom of the press. The Trump administration said the journalists and protesters who filmed the event infringed upon religious freedoms.
“Everyone has a right to free speech,” said Matthew Carroll, one of the faculty who signed the statement, in an interview with The Huntington News. “For journalists, that means we can also report and write or video. And that means that we should be going out there to do that because the only way you can have a stable, well-structured and well-informed democracy is if the press is informing people of what’s happening.”
The Feb. 4 letter, also signed by Channel 5 investigative reporter and Northeastern professor Mike Beaudet, said that Lemon and Fort were charged for the “crime of committing journalism.”
“The activists were there to protest the pastor’s alleged employment by ICE. The journalists were there to observe, to live-stream the proceedings and to interview participants, church members and the pastor before leaving the church,” the statement reads. “In so doing, they engaged in activities protected by the First Amendment with the goal of informing the public about the Trump administration’s deadly and illegal occupation of the Twin Cities.”
Professor Dan Kennedy, who authored the statement, told The News it is important to remind journalism students at Northeastern how their jobs are protected by the Constitution.
“It is a very unstable world, and increasingly, journalists are going to be making their own way through it. They’re not going to have the support of a major news organization behind them, and it’s important for everybody to understand that the First Amendment is for all of us,” said Kennedy, who published the statement on his personal media commentary website Media Nation. “It’s not just for credentialed journalists. It’s for citizen journalists. It’s for independent journalists and it’s for anybody who’s engaged in acts of journalism.”
The statement by Northeastern faculty was inspired by a similar joint statement signed by faculty members at the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Former journalism professor Laurel Leff forwarded the letter to her former colleagues at Northeastern, prompting the publication of the Feb. 4 statement.
Leff, who was a credentialed newspaper reporter for 18 years and a journalism professor for 29 years, reflected on the drastic evolution of the journalism industry over her career.
“When I was a reporter, because I was not a foreign correspondent, I didn’t feel like I had to be courageous in order to do my job. That was not an absolute requirement of the job,” Leff said in an interview with The News. “Now I do think you need to be courageous in order to practice journalism. I think you have to be. I don’t think there’s any way out of it.”
Other university journalism schools have also spoken out, including the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, which released a statement condemning the Jan. 30 arrests.
“The arrests of Ms. Fort and Mr. Lemon — who were detained by federal agents in connection with their reporting on public protests — represent a threat to the First Amendment,” the Hubbard statement reads.
Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism also released an article outlining journalists’ rights and legal protections in response to the arrests that day.
“Following the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, Columbia Journalism School would like to remind journalists and the public of their rights to record public events, to be free from government retaliation and to assert journalist privilege–even when government authorities attempt to intimidate or silence reporting,” the article reads.
President Donald Trump told reporters that he had no prior knowledge of Lemon’s arrest, but that “it was the best thing that could have happened to him,” labeling him a “sleazebag” and calling out his “lack of notoriety” as a reporter.
Lemon was released without bond Jan. 30, and his arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 9.
“I have spent my entire career covering the news,” Lemon said to a group of journalists Jan. 30 following his release, which The New York Times reported on. “I will not stop now. There is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.”
In light of ongoing trials for Lemon and Fort, the Feb. 4 statement from Northeastern faculty quoted Amnesty International, highlighting the critical role of journalism in holding individuals of authority accountable for their actions.
“As Amnesty International put it, ‘Journalism is not a crime. Reporting on protests is not a crime. Arresting journalists for their reporting is a clear example of an authoritarian practice,’” the Feb. 4 statement reads. “We call on the Justice Department to drop all charges against Lemon and Fort and to acknowledge the centrality of journalism in holding the government and other powerful institutions to account.”
