Federal agents arrest journalist after filming church protest (Full Transcript)
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Agents are at my door right now, and I'm being advised to go with them.
[00:00:05] Speaker 2: Independent journalist Georgia Fort was taken into custody by federal agents Friday morning. Video shared with CNN shows agents at her home before the arrest.
[00:00:14] Speaker 3: Well, this is really scary. There's kids in the house. This seems a little bit aggressive.
[00:00:22] Speaker 1: This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media.
[00:00:30] Speaker 2: Fort's arrest comes the morning after former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon was taken into custody. Both Fort and Lemon filmed anti-ICE protesters in a St. Paul church during a service earlier this month.
[00:00:43] Speaker 1: I don't feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press.
[00:00:48] Speaker 2: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed in a post this morning on X that Lemon and Fort, as well as two others, were arrested in connection with the church protest.
[00:00:56] Speaker 1: I'm going to have to hop off here and surrender to agents. As a member of the press, it's hard to understand how we have a constitutional rights when you can just be arrested for being a member of the press.
[00:01:11] Speaker 2: The charges Fort faces have not been made publicly available.
- Georgia Fort was arrested by federal agents after filming an anti-ICE protest in a St. Paul church.
- Don Lemon was arrested the prior day; both arrests are tied to the same church protest during a service.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi said Fort, Lemon, and two others were arrested in connection with the incident.
- Fort stated she felt her First Amendment rights as press were not being respected.
- Authorities had not publicly released the charges Fort faces at the time of reporting.