Converge Media Stands in Solidarity with Georgia Fort and Don Lemon: A Call for Justice and Freedom of the Press
(Photo: Georgiafort.com)
SEATTLE, WA – Converge Media joins the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and newsrooms across the nation in expressing our profound outrage at today’s federal arrest of three-time Emmy-winning independent journalist Georgia Fort and veteran journalist Don Lemon. These arrests, directed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, represent a chilling escalation in the criminalization of newsgathering—particularly for Black journalists who provide essential, front-line reporting for marginalized communities.
The First Amendment is Not Optional
The charges brought against Fort and Lemon—stemming from their documentation of an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church earlier this month—are a direct assault on the First Amendment. As a media organization that lives on the front lines, Converge Media knows that witnessing is not a crime. When the federal government uses the FACE Act to target journalists for filming a public protest, it strikes at the heart of our democracy. If a journalist can be arrested for documenting an event because the government dislikes the narrative, then no reporter in this country is safe from state-sanctioned intimidation. As the NABJ has stated: the First Amendment is not optional. It is the cornerstone of a free society, and it must be defended.
From the Central District to the Twin Cities
We at Converge Media understand the weight of this moment because we have carried it ourselves. During the historic 2020 protests in Seattle and the weeks of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), Converge was on the ground every single night. We documented the de-escalation efforts, the community mutual aid, and the moments of intense friction that the world needed to see.
The people of Seattle know the importance of independent media: without our cameras, the narrative of our city would have been written solely by those in power. We see the same pattern today in the targeting of Georgia Fort. Her arrest is a transparent attempt to ensure that "witnesses" like her no longer exist.
Black Media Standing Together
We stand firm with the NABJ in their assertion that journalism is under attack. Georgia Fort has dedicated her career to narrative justice, providing a platform for voices that are systematically ignored. We recognize that this is not just an attack on an individual; it is a systematic attempt to silence Black media creators who refuse to let the truth be sanitized.
"The arrest of Georgia Fort is a clear warning shot aimed at every independent journalist in America," said Omari Salisbury, CEO of Converge Media. "Seattle knows the importance of a free press, and we will not watch it be dismantled in Minnesota or anywhere else. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our colleagues in the Black press. We will not be intimidated, and we will not be silent."
We call upon the Department of Justice to uphold the constitutional protections guaranteed to the media and to recognize that documenting history is a service to the public, not a conspiracy against it.
