Welcome to the first edition for the Spring semester of The Fill From the Hill, a recurring political column where one University Times writer dissects the key political topics and controversies in the news, from domestic politics to international affairs. This week tackles the arrest of American journalist Don Lemon. Despite my position, this column is not representative or a reflection of the opinions of the UT Staff nor the UT itself.
On Jan. 29, 2026, journalist Don Lemon was indicted on federal civil rights charges after covering an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a church in Minnesota two weeks earlier. Another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, as well as seven others, were also arrested at the same time in Minnesota.
Following his release, Lemon spoke outside the courtroom, telling reporters, “I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court.”
Lemon was covering an anti-ICE protest that took place on Jan. 18 at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn., where protestors claimed the pastor was involved in the local ICE field office. Following this event, the Department of Justice said it would investigate the protest and those involved. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles while he was preparing to cover the weekend’s Grammy Awards ceremony.
This move has drawn criticism from many press freedom groups, who view this as yet another attempt by the Trump administration to crack down on the First Amendment. Groups that weighed in on the situation include the International Press Institute (IPI), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press.
This comes as yet another move against the press following the temporary removal of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC, as well as new guidelines at the Pentagon that made many large media outlets withdraw from the Pentagon press corps.
The DOJ alleged violations of two separate laws in their suit, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances law (FACE), as well as the Conspiracy Against Rights law. Both laws, passed over a century apart, focus on blocking or otherwise impeding people from exercising their constitutional rights. Prior to making the arrests, a federal judge rejected the federal charges against Lemon, citing his status as a journalist and not as a protester.
In a video posted to her official X account, Attorney General Pam Bondi stated, “Make no mistake. Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely.”
Minnesota has seen an uptick in protests following the start of “Operation Metro Surge,” which saw a large deployment of ICE to the Twin Cities. The president used reports of potential fraud regarding federal funding, as well as the Somali community, as a justification for his immigration crackdown. Protests grew stronger and were further driven by the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti (the latter of which happened after the protest Lemon attended).
Now that the table has been set, let’s get into our views on the arrest of Don Lemon and the attacks on the press.
Samuel Valencia: Attacking journalists–and journalism as a whole–is the final step in the dismantling of the First Amendment.
I am far from what you would call a fan of Don Lemon, nor is he some sentinel of anti-Trump sentiment worthy of being propped up, but no journalist should be the target of the government. Any attack on the press is the ultimate betrayal of the Constitution in the name of preserving an agenda.
Objective journalism is the backbone of truth in the government. Nothing that Lemon was doing was “anti-journalism;” in fact, man-on-the-street reporting is integral in such a critical moment like this.
The news, whether it’s in print or digital, in-person reporting, or holding remote interviews, is sacred. It gives us, the people, the chance to learn about the world around us, and if left unprotected can be dangerous. Most dangerous is when state-sponsored news becomes commonplace, and objectivity crawls away and perishes in the name of “making the regime look good.”
Donald Trump has made it clear time and time again that he hates the press. He’s taken an even stronger stance against journalism in his second term, moving from erratic tweets whining about the mean words people said about him to lashing out with the full force of the federal government to punish his critics. First it was Colbert, then it was Kimmel, and now his target has shifted to Lemon, who has made it clear he is no fan of the president. But the truth isn’t just that Trump had his feelings hurt by journalists doing their job. This is his entire brand: deflect, deflect, deflect.
It is no coincidence that Trump always has something going on. It’s his ace to play any time he finds himself in hot water, to throw so many things at the wall that the public, and more importantly, the news, simply cannot keep up. Whether it’s ICE on the streets murdering people, or the fact that his name is littered all over the Epstein file release, every day is a terrible day to be Donald Trump. So the only way out for him is to just keep flooding the news.
Least shockingly, few Democrats have rallied to the defense of Lemon and Fort. This serves as more evidence that this party has absolutely no clue how to challenge Trump and is just flailing around, praying that they win the midterms as if it’s their only course of action.
The ultimate irony of this situation is that Republicans can swear up and down that they love the First Amendment, but the truth is that it’s only when it’s to their benefit. Try to tell them that what they said wasn’t right? Well, you’re just soft, and you’re trying to silence them and cancel them. But when someone else does something they don’t like, it’s straight to “well, they deserve that.”
The disgraced former congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, made her hypocrisy pretty well known when she said in an interview with Bill Maher that she “completely supports” Lemon’s arrest. This comes after all of December, where she used her last media circuit as a congresswoman before disappearing into the realm of being a boring podcaster, to say she had grown past her prior vitriol.
It shouldn’t be any shock that the Trump administration is doing this, but this should be the final nail in the coffin for any naysayers that we are entering a fascist state. A government that is “for the people” does not target those who are fulfilling their role to tell the truth; that is the action of an administration that has loose control of public opinion.
