Stop the DOJ’s attacks on a free press!

This is an urgent threat to the First Amendment.

Federal authorities arrested independent journalist and former CNN host Don Lemon for documenting a peaceful protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protesters were raising concerns that the church’s pastor allegedly leads an ICE field office. Lemon was reporting — not organizing. A judge had already dismissed prior charges against him for lack of evidence. Still, the Department of Justice moved forward.

The arrest has been widely reported by NBC News, Associated Press, Axios, and The Hollywood Reporter, with press freedom advocates warning it amounts to intimidation of lawful journalism.

This comes less than a month after the FBI searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, a move PBS NewsHour reports triggered alarm across the media industry and renewed warnings about government overreach.

Together, these actions point to a dangerous pattern: federal agencies treating journalists as targets instead of watchdogs. Arresting reporters for covering protests chills speech, silences witnesses, and undermines democratic accountability.

We are demanding immediate action from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, and DOJ leadership: drop any remaining efforts against Don Lemon and publicly affirm protections for journalists engaged in lawful reporting.

Public pressure works. When constitutional violations become a public liability, officials are forced to respond.

Add your name now to defend the free press.

Thanks,
Mary