Two independent journalists were arrested in Minneapolis recently.
Both of them are black, and one of them is gay. The other is a woman. Hardly a coincidence, you'll agree (and you'd better agree, punk!)
You've heard of one of them . . . former CNN newsman Don Lemon.
Both Lemon and Fort were arrested while they were covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and interviewing people after the demonstrators entered a church to continue their protest. Lemon and Fort were not among the protestors, of course, they were just covering the protestors and following them around to get the story. But ICE arrested them for the same reason the faceless (literally) agency deemed illegal - that demonstrators and reporters (and others) who disrupt a legitimate service in a house of worship are breaking the law.
There is such a law protecting religious freedom, but from all of the evidence, the "service" at this particular church, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (a Southern Baptist church? In Minnesota??), was more likely leading a civic meeting in what happened to be a house of worship. The pastor just happens to be a local ICE officer. And yet, veteran journalists like Al Hunt, who are supposed to know better, are condemning the protestors for intruding on a worship service, whose participants were more likely using Our Lord and Savior as a human shield.
Lemon and Fort were arrested to send a warning to anyone else who even thinks about investigating ICE, but both pan to continue their investigatory work. Meanwhile, I think I ought to retire from covering public affairs completely. It's too dangerous. Besides, I always did want to be an arts and entertainment critic.
Although that too is being politicized . . ..
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