‘Agents are at my door right now’: Journalist goes dwell as FBI arrives to arrest her over Minnesota church protest
Journalist Georgia Fort was apparently arrested on a social media live stream by FBI agents at 6.30 am this morning, over charges related to a protest in Minnesota.
Fort was one of several journalists who filmed a demonstration at Cities Church in St Paul’s on January 18, which saw protestors interrupting a service and chanting, “ICE OUT.”
Her arrest follows that of Don Lemon, the former CNN star, who has also been taken into custody in connection with the protest, which had been organized to show opposition to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Fort’s arrest unfolded on a livestream, with her telling viewers that FBI agents had been given an arrest warrant by a grand jury.
“I wanted to alert the public that agents are at my door right now,” Fort said.
“My children are here, they are impacted by this,” she said. “This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media.
“We are supposed to have our constitutional right of the freedom to film, to be a member of the press,” she continued. “I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press because now federal agents are at my door for filming the church protest a few weeks ago.”
Fort told listeners that she knew she had been placed on a defendants’ list for filming the protest. Since then, she had been continuing to follow advice from her attorney.
The January 18 protest saw demonstrators interrupting the service at Cities Church because the organization’s pastor, David Easterwood, leads an ICE field office.
The presence of ICE agents in Minnesota has become increasingly controversial, particularly after Renee Good, a local mom-of-three, was shot to death on January 7.
The Cities Church protest took place shortly after Good’s shooting, with many of the demonstrators shouting, “Justice for Renee Good.”
The protest sparked fury from the Trump administration, with Attorney General Pam Bondi posting, “WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,” shortly after.
Fort’s arrest in connection with the protest took place on the same day as CNN journalist Don Lemon’s arrest, although he was taken into custody in Los Angeles, while covering the prestigious Grammy Awards.
His attorney, Abbe Lowell, confirmed the news in a statement seen by PBS News.
“Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” she said, insisting that her client had been following the law at the January 18 protest.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” she added. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.
“There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Fort and Lemon’s arrests on social media.
“At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota,” she gloated on X.
Source: independent.co.uk
