Don Lemon, Georgia Fort Arrested After Church Protest Stream (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: former CNN anchor turned independent journalist Don Lemon appeared in federal court this afternoon to face charges related to a live streaming report he did at a protest during a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Here's what he told reporters afterwards.

[00:00:14] Speaker 2: Last night the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I've been doing for the last 30 years and that is covering the news. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless of other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them and I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court.

[00:00:43] Speaker 1: Along with Don Lemon, three other people were arrested including Minnesota independent journalist Georgia Ford. She went before Judge Day. She joins us tonight. We'll have that interview in a moment. Attorney General Pam Bondi says the arrests are connected to a quote coordinated attack on city's church nearly two weeks ago. But Lemon and Ford say they were doing their jobs as journalists and were not protesters. All four arrested are charged with one count of conspiracy against right of religious freedom at place of worship and one count of injure, intimidate and interfere with exercise of right of religious freedom at place of worship. In announcing their arrests on social media this morning, Bondi used the words quote at my direction which is not what you typically see from an attorney general. The White House has posted this photo with the words when life gives you lemons along with a chain emoji. President Trump has been critical obviously of Don Lemon for years. Lemon himself has not been shy in calling out the president and his administration. A magistrate judge had initially refused to allow federal officials to arrest Lemon and take him into custody, but they took it to a grand jury in Minnesota and got a felony indictment. The indictment unsealed this afternoon alleges that Don Lemon and the others charged quote oppressed, threatened and intimidated the church congregants and pastors. Here's some of what Lemon said during that live stream. Take a look.

[00:02:03] Speaker 2: I'm just here. I'm just here photographing. I'm not part of the group. I'm just here photographing. I'm a journalist. We don't know. That's that's what they're saying. So we're here just chronicling and reporting. We're not part of the activists, but we're here just reporting on them.

[00:02:20] Speaker 1: Don Lemon's attorney released a statement saying in part quote this unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court. When agents showed up at Georgia Fort Georgia Fort's door yesterday, she started recording. Here's some of her message.

[00:02:43] Speaker 3: You guys, I wanted to alert the public that agents are at my door right now. 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 to be a member of the press. 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 arresting me for filming the church protest a few weeks ago.

[00:03:23] Speaker 1: It was a live stream she did on Facebook. Journalist Georgia Fort is out of jail and joins me tonight. Georgia, first of all, how are you doing? And were you surprised that you were arrested? Obviously, previous attempts to arrest you had been blocked by federal courts.

[00:03:40] Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I'm hanging in there. It is quite frightening to have two dozen agents outside of your home. You know, my my children were home with me when I was arrested. And so, yeah, just it's been a long day. And yes, it was extremely shocking.

[00:04:01] Speaker 1: You had two dozen agents show up at your door?

[00:04:04] Speaker 3: Yes.

[00:04:06] Speaker 1: I want to read part of what the Justice Department alleged in the indictment and let you respond. They claim and you and the other defendants, quote, entered the church in a coordinated takeover style attack and engage in acts of oppression, intimidation, threats, interference and physical obstruction, as they said. And, quote, as a result of defendants conduct, the pastor and congregation were forced to terminate the church's worship service. Congregants fled the church building of fear of their for their safety. Other congregants took steps to implement an emergency plan. And young children were left to wonder, as one child put it, if their parents were going to die. What is your reaction to that?

[00:04:45] Speaker 3: Anderson, I am a journalist just like you. I went in my capacity as a journalist. I documented as a journalist. The footage is published. It speaks for itself.

[00:05:02] Speaker 1: You captured video of your own arrest, federal agents outside your home. Can you just talk about that experience?

[00:05:13] Speaker 3: As journalists, we never want to be the story. But unfortunately, I did find myself in a predicament where I felt that I needed to be able to tell my own story, that I needed the world to see that journalism is on trial, that we are at a state in our nation where if you are documenting what's happening, you may be criminalized for it. You may be arrested. And so I think what is happening in Minnesota overall should be quite alarming to the entire nation. I think what happened to me today as an independent journalist, what happened to Don Lemon being arrested for reporting what's happening, I think people should be alarmed. I think mainstream media should also be really concerned because if they can criminalize a journalist here in Minnesota, whether you're independent or not, I think that we've seen a track record where this is just going to continue to escalate.

[00:06:20] Speaker 1: How do you face something like this? Obviously, the federal government has unlimited resources. What is your next move, both legally and just in terms of the work you do?

[00:06:34] Speaker 3: You know, I am a mother of three daughters. Right now, my focus is on making sure that they can recover from the trauma of what they experienced today and making sure that I can recover. From there, I have an incredible legal team, very reputable among media leaders across the country. And so I am counting on them to do what they do best.

[00:07:04] Speaker 1: You have no doubt that this is meant to intimidate not just yourself and Don Lemon and the others who were charged, but journalists everywhere.

[00:07:14] Speaker 3: I would ask you, how does it feel to you to see a journalist arrested for simply reporting the news? I would challenge every journalist in America to ask themselves how it felt to them today to see their colleagues be arrested for reporting the news. And if any of them say that it made them fearful, it made them concerned, it made them second guess going out tomorrow and covering what's happening in their communities, then, yeah, I would say that that was probably the intent. It does send a chilling message to our entire industry. I've been in journalism for several years. I've been in media almost two decades, OK, 14 regional Emmy nominations across two different regions. I've won three regional Emmys here in the Midwest producing my own television show as an independent journalist. And so, you know, being a journalist who's from here, who's from Minnesota, I've been on the ground. This is my community. I'm not flying in and flying out. I'm here and I'm doing the best that I can to tell the stories of what's really happening. And as an American-born citizen, it's always been my understanding that I have that protection under the Constitution, under the First Amendment, that we have freedom of press. But today, the way that I was treated for simply doing my job, the way that I have been criminalized and dehumanized, it makes me really, really wonder if our Constitution is something of the past and if it's just a thing made up of empty promises at this point, honestly.

[00:09:15] Speaker 1: Are you intimidated if that's the objective, which it certainly seems to be?

[00:09:20] Speaker 3: I will continue to tell the stories of my community.

[00:09:24] Speaker 1: Georgia Ford, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.

[00:09:28] Speaker 3: Thank you.