A group of twelve congressional representatives has sent a formal letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi questioning the Department of Justice's (DOJ) decision to arrest journalists who covered protests at a Minnesota church in January.
Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) organized the letter expressing concern over the arrests of former CNN journalist Don Lemon and journalist Georgia Fort, who was also covering the protest.
"Arresting journalists is a five-alarm fire as the authoritarian takeover of our country accelerates," Ansari wrote on X. "Pam Bondi must answer for it."
The arrests came after protestors disrupted a Minnesotan Church St. Paul services after learning that pastor David Easterwood directs a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.
Lemon entered the building to interview Easterwood, drawing controversy over infringement of the First Amendment.
Background on Arrests
On January 29, federal authorities arrested Lemon in connection with what Bondi termed a "coordinated attack" on the church. Lemon was released the following day.
His legal representative condemned the action as an "unprecedented attack on the First Amendment."
Moreover, Fort was arrested the morning of January 30 and later released the same day.
In the letter to Bondi, Ansari and her colleagues argued that the Justice Department should focus on investigating federal agents involved in two civilian deaths in Minneapolis rather than targeting journalists documenting public reaction to those incidents.
The lawmakers characterized the arrests as "a direct assault" on constitutional rights and principles that "raise the specter of political prosecution."
The letter was signed by:
- Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ)
- Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY)
- Sarah McBride (D-DE)
- Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX)
- Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA)
- Andrea Salinas (D-OR)
- Maxine Dexter (D-OR)
- Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)
- Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
- April McClain Delaney (D-MD)
- Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM)
"I'm leading my colleagues in demanding action," Ansari continued on X. "We have to use every lever we have, including DHS funding, as Trump and Republicans shred the Constitution."
The lawmakers are awaiting a response from Bondi.
