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 defendant’s list for filming the protest. Since then, she has continued to follow her attorney's advice.
Demonstrators launched the protest at Cities Church, where pastor David Easterwood heads up an ICE field office in Minnesota.
The presence of ICE agents in the state 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,” during the incident.
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 Lemon’s arrest, although he was taken into custody in Los Angeles while covering the 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.
Minnesotan Christian leaders had been enraged by the January 18 protest, with many calling on the government to tighten laws surrounding the protection of religious groups.
“No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in the house of God,” Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, said in a furious statement.
Others were more tempered in their calls for greater protection for Church congregants.
“I believe we must be resolute in two areas: encouraging our churches to provide compassionate pastoral care to these (migrant) families and standing firm for the sanctity of our houses of worship,” Trey Turner, the leader of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention, told the Associated Press.
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