The Asian American Journalists Association joins the National Association of Black Journalists to condemn the arrest of independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort in connection with their reporting on the anti-ICE protest in a Minnesota church.
The arrests of Lemon and Fort represent another alarming escalation in threats to press freedom by the government. Yesterday, AAJA joined the National Association of Hispanic Journalists to stand with journalists who have been physically or verbally attacked by federal immigration agents during immigration protests. These disturbing attacks on freedom of the press occurred just weeks after the FBI raid of a Washington Post reporter’s home.
Freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution, and these recent developments should alarm all Americans. AAJA stands in solidarity in defense of press freedom, and in support of all journalists doing the critical work of holding the government accountable through essential reporting.
Together, we urge the government to respect and uphold the First Amendment that is foundational to our democracy, and to protect journalists’ safety and security as they work to inform the American public.
AAJA joins a coalition of nearly two dozen journalism diversity and press freedom organizations to express outrage at the journalists’ arrests. Read the full statement from the National Association of Black Journalists.
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