Editor’s Note: The Providence Eye has signed onto a statement by THE CITY condemning the recent arrests of Don Lemon and Georgie Fort.
As media outlets that regularly report on newsworthy events, we, the undersigned, vigorously condemn the recent arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort.
Lemon and Fort were arrested after covering a January 18 protest at a church in Minneapolis. They were conducting the constitutionally protected activities of a working journalist: observing, recording and documenting a newsworthy event and attempting to obtain quotes from participants.
Their arrest on charges of allegedly obstructing a place of worship, and even worse, under federal conspiracy law, alarm all of us who believe in the First Amendment and seek to do our jobs without fear of obstruction by law enforcement or retaliation by agents of the government.
The principle of a free press animated the founding of the United States of America 250 years ago, and countless Americans have fought valiantly for it. We cannot allow colleagues to be subjected to spurious and unwarranted arrest for committing acts of journalism.
We call on federal authorities to drop all charges against Lemon and Fort and to publicly affirm their unqualified support for the work of professional journalists in this critical time.
Signatories:
THE CITY
Grist
The 19th
New York magazine, part of Vox Media LLC
The Cityside Journalism Initiative
CalMatters
NY Focus
Epicenter
Documented
The Intercept
Dallas Free Press
Florida Trident
The Jersey Vindicator
Cardinal News
El Paso Matters
Wasau Pilot and Review
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
Lookout News
The Xylom
The Lens
ecoRI News
The Providence Eye
San Francisco Public Press
Block Club Chicago
Injustice Watch
South Side Weekly
Invisible Institute
The TRiiBE
La Voz Chicago
New Bedford Light
Vox Populi
The Trace
Center for Investigative Reporting
The Jersey Bee
Capital B
Wisconsin Watch
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
San Francisco Public Press
Philadelphia Hall Monitor
The Guardian US
The Journal of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater
The Marshall Project
Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
FaVS News
East Lansing News
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