In arresting and prosecuting journalists, Trump administration draws from authoritarian playbook

By arresting and prosecuting journalists, writes our columnist, the Trump administration has attacked the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (iStock/Getty Images)

Like many Americans, I am deeply concerned about the Trump regime’s unhinged and unchecked authoritarian tactics. U.S. Immigration and Enforcement agents killing peaceful protestors on the street. Officials threatening lawyers and universities. Now, the administration is going after journalists who report the news.

This is the authoritarian playbook — to weaken institutions that might fight back or shed light on a corrupt and dangerous administration. We saw so many tipping points over the last year, but arresting journalists for reporting news should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

 

So what happened? 

On Jan. 29, the Department of Justice arrested two journalists in the middle of the night for covering a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The protest occurred Jan. 18.

The government arrested Don Lemon, a former CNN anchor turned independent journalist, and independent journalist Georgia Fort. Lemon has been a critic of President Donald Trump over the years.

 

The journalism

Protestors planned to walk into Cities Church in St. Paul to protest the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE. Demonstrators wanted to highlight a pastor who was also a director at the local ICE field office. On Jan. 18, protestors walked into the church during service, chanting “ICE Out!” and other slogans. The service ended.

Lemon covered the events leading up to the protest by interviewing its planners, and he covered the actual protest at the church by live streaming. Lemon then interviewed both protesters and parishioners inside the church about how they felt.

Immediately following the protest, Attorney General Pam Bondi began tweeting that the protest was a crime, singling out Lemon. So the journalist contacted lawyer Abbe Lowell. The attorney sent DOJ a letter stating that he represented Lemon, that he understood Lemon might be under investigation and asking that — if the agency was going to take any action — to please not make a circus out of it.

Lowell sent the letter to DOJ almost two weeks ago. It never responded.

 

DOJ’s attempt(s) to get an arrest warrant

The Trump regime failed in its first three attempts to obtain an arrest warrant for Lemon. First, a federal magistrate refused to issue a warrant for Lemon and others, citing that prosecutors had failed to present evidence to justify the arrests.

Then, the DOJ went to a federal district judge, who refused to overturn the magistrate judge, stating that the DOJ’s actions were “unprecedented.”

The department immediately appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which refused to order the lower court to issue an arrest warrant for Lemon. The three-judge panel included one Obama appointee and two Trump appointees.

Finally, at Bondi’s explicit personal direction (which she tweeted about), the DOJ went to a grand jury for an indictment. Remember — neither the accused nor their counsel is permitted to attend or participate in a grand jury proceeding. There’s not even a judge. A grand jury hears only the statements, arguments and evidence as presented by the government.

 

The arrest

With a grand jury indictment in hand, the department set out to arrest Lemon in a purposefully spectacular fashion, not ever responding to his lawyer’s request.

Lemon lives in New York. He traveled to Los Angeles late last month to cover the upcoming Grammys.

On Jan. 29, federal agents arrested Lemon in Los Angeles at 11:30 p.m. in the lobby of a hotel. A mass of federal agents surrounded Lemon and took him away. Lowell reported that the journalist thought he was being mugged because he has been controversial, and Lemon thought crazy people from the right might be stalking him.

Arresting Lemon at 11:30 p.m. meant he would have to spend the night in jail before he could see a judge. A night in jail for the journalist — that was surely the intent.

Within a day of Lemon’s arrest, the White House posted image of Lemon that says “DON LEMON ARRESTED FOR INVOLVEMENT IN THE ST. PAUL CHURCH RIOTS.” The White House caption reads, “When life gives you lemons…(chain emoji).” Let that sink in…the White House used a chain emoji to announce the arrest of a black man.

 

The charges

The DOJ’s charges against Lemon are set forth in a 14-page, two-count indictment. Lemon is charged with conspiracy to 1.) violate individuals’ federally protected rights and 2.) injure, intimidate, or interfere with the exercise of religion at a place of worship. The indictment alleges, among other things, that Lemon “peppered (the pastor) with questions.”

Last time I checked, asking questions is the literal job of a journalist.

Notably, the law prohibiting the violation of federally protected rights was enacted to punish civil rights crimes committed by the Ku Klux Klan and other such organizations after the Civil War. So, DOJ has charged Lemon — a gay black man — with the Ku Klux Klan law. That’s rich.

 

Lemon’s court appearance and statement

On Jan. 30, Lemon appeared at his initial hearing in Los Angeles. At the hearing, DOJ tried to restrict Lemon’s travel, claiming he was “a danger to the community.” The judge rejected that argument and released Lemon without bail or limits to his travel.

Soon after his court appearance, Lemon released the following statement: “I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now. I will not stop ever. Last night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I have been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects me and countless 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.”

Trump doesn’t like critics. Trump doesn’t like journalists trying to uncover facts. Trump doesn’t like anyone who opposes his corrupt regime. So the president is using the his Justice Department to silence those who speak out and to intimidate those who might.

Charging a journalist for the crime of reporting the news, and arresting that journalist with a mass of armed federal agents is, obviously, blatantly unconstitutional. The regime doesn’t care, though. Terrifying, intimidating and creating fear is the point.

The right to a free press — enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution—belongs to us. The press has a right to report to us things that happen, without fear of being arrested, jailed or even killed (like in Russia). A free press is fundamental to our democracy and the only way to hold the government and powerful institutions to account.

The Trump regime is infringing on our right to a free press by jailing journalists for doing their jobs.

After an authoritarian takes over, the press never criticizes its dear leader, so the people hear only what dear leader wants them to hear.  If we don’t speak up now — when the Trump regime arrests an independent journalist and charges him with a crime — in short order we’ll only hear what dear leader wants us to hear.

That should frighten us all.

Amii Castle is a professor at the University of Kansas, where she teaches at the law and business schools. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.