Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested this week after documenting a protest that took place in a St. Paul church on Jan. 18.
The indictments of the protesters and journalists implied that there was some real threat to the church-goers there. This is a dubious claim, but regardless, the arrest of journalists covering a story is a dangerous precedent. Again, the Trump Administration has chosen to escalate a situation for political power, not to accomplish any useful goal for the people who live here. If that were true, we’d have federal indictments for the people who have been defacing mosques and synagogues, or for that matter the people who needlessly shot observers in the streets of Minneapolis over the past three weeks.
I know this statement will hit the same partisan buzzsaw as most other observations about the situation in Minnesota. I say it anyway. We are a country of freedoms. I have watched many people I disagree with express their opinions over the years, often at me, often unkindly. But I would rather that occur than anyone wonder if they are going to jail or being shot for observing and reporting information to the public.
Believe me, you don’t want to go down this road. The anger, pain and emptiness of this movement will destroy everything you love in the end. History provides clear guidance on this.
I make a more direct case in today’s column (gift link).
Read “Arrest of journalists escalates our ongoing constitutional crisis” in the Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
