Guild condemns arrests of journalists who covered St. Paul protest

The Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild unequivocally condemns the arrests of journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, and we call on the Department of Justice to drop all charges against them.

Prosecuting members of the press for covering a protest is a flagrant assault on the First Amendment to the Constitution. The criminalization of journalism has no place in a free society.

These arrests come less than a week after federal agents targeted members of the press with tear gas and pepper spray during protests in Minneapolis — part of an escalating pattern of attacks on journalists. 

Reporters and photographers must be allowed to do their jobs without threat of prosecution or physical harm.