Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanded an investigation by Department of Justice Inspector General William Blier after the arrest of independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for covering a protest in the wake of the killing of Renee Good. The arrests appear politically motivated, aimed at threatening the press and undermining protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“The detentions of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are a clear violation of the First Amendment and a massive abuse of power. Once again, the Trump Administration is targeting perceived political opponents instead of enforcing the rule of law. This assault on a free press threatens every American, and it demands an immediate investigation. Oversight Democrats are fighting back,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
In the letter, Ranking Member Garcia wrote, “From all appearances, it seems the arrests of these journalists are calculated to send a message to other journalists or critics of the Trump Administration. The DOJ has pursued arrest warrants for these journalists at multiple levels of the federal judiciary, only to be denied at the district court and appeals court levels. In denying the DOJ’s request to reverse the magistrate judge’s decision, U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schlitz, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, stated, “[t]wo of the five protestors were not protestors at all; instead, they were a journalist and his producer. There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.” Given that the Attorney General tweeted that she directly ordered the arrest of the journalists, the free speech implications for all journalists and Americans would be damning.”
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