Georgia Fort Released: Federal Case Tests Limits of Press Freedom

Independent journalist Georgia Fort was released from federal custody after her arrested on Jan. 30 in connection with a Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Earlier in the day, Fort’s legal counsel released a statement on her behalf describing the arrest as stemming from her news coverage of the demonstration:

“Georgia Fort, Emmy-award winning independent journalist and NABJ-Minnesota Vice President, was arrested early today, January 30, in connection with her news reporting on the anti-ICE demonstration at a St. Paul church service on Jan. 18.”

The statement said Fort was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Minneapolis and would be released. It described the arrest as an unconstitutional attempt to intimate journalists, a claim federal authorities have not publicly addressed.

After Fort was released from federal custody, she was reunited with her eldest child, 17-year-old Arayah. Earlier in the day, the teenager spoke publicly in support of her mother’s release.

With Aaryah at her side, Fort addressed reporters outside the federal courthouse:

“As I reflect, as a journalist who has worked in media for more than 17 years, I leave this federal courthouse today with one question: do we have a constitution? I should be protected under the First Amendment, just like all of the journalists who I’ve been advocating for. I’ve been advocating for mainstream media journalists who have been brutalized for months. Do we have a constitution? That is the pressing questions that should be on the front of everyone’s minds.”

According to the charging documents, Ford faces two federal charges: conspiracy against right under 18 U.S.C. §241, and interference with the free exercise of religious worship under 18 U.S.C. §248(a)(2) also known as the FACE Act.

Fort appeared on AC360 with Anderson Cooper to discuss her arrest. When he pointed out that previous attempts to arrest her had been blocked by federal courts, she said:

“I think what is happening in Minnesota should be quite alarming to the entire nation. I that what happened to me today as an independent journalist, what happened to Don Lemon being arrested for reporting what’s happening, I think people should be alarmed. I think mainstream media should also be really concerned because if they can criminalize a journalist here in Minnesota, whether you’re independent or not, I think we’ve seen a track record where this just going to continue to escalate.”

Fort rose to national prominence in 2021 for her reporting on the trial and sentencing of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in the killing of George Floyd. Her work has appeared on NBC News and PBS Frontline, and her 2018 documentary Rondo: Beyond the Pavement was later distributed on Amazon Prime.

Fort currently hosts the weekly television program Here’s The Truth with Georgia Fort. She is also the founder of the BLCK Press Center for Broadcast Journalists, a nonprofit organization that trains emerging journalists.

A three-time MidWest Emmy Award winner, Fort has received numerous journalism honors from organization, including the Urban League and the National Association of Women in Business.

She is married to Cerresso Fort, a Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame inductee and founder of SIR Boxing Club.

References