Independent journalist Georgia Fort was arrested by FBI agents early Friday while livestreaming from her home, an incident she said stemmed from her coverage of an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month.
Fort, who is based in Minnesota, told viewers during a Facebook livestream that federal agents were at her door with an arrest warrant issued by a grand jury.
“I wanted to alert the public that agents are at my door right now,” Fort said during the broadcast.
The arrest is connected to Fort’s coverage of a Jan. 18 protest at a church in St. Paul, where demonstrators interrupted a religious service to protest the congregation’s pastor, who also works as an immigration enforcement officer. Fort was among several journalists documenting the protest, including Don Lemon, who was arrested earlier this week on related charges.
Fort said her children were inside the home at the time of her arrest and that the situation was having a direct impact on them.
“This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media,” she said. “We are supposed to have our constitutional right of the freedom to film, to be a member of the press.”
She added that the arrest made her feel her First Amendment rights were being challenged.
“I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press because now federal agents are at my door for filming the church protest a few weeks ago,” Fort said.
Fort said she anticipated being targeted following her reporting and had been acting on the advice of her attorney in the weeks since the protest.
After Fort was taken into custody, her 17-year-old daughter spoke publicly, saying her mother was being arrested solely for documenting events as a journalist.
“My mom is being arrested for documenting what happened at the church, and this is wrong,” she said. “This goes against her First Amendment right as a journalist.”
“She is not a protester. She is not an activist,” her daughter added. “She is a mom working to provide for her children by documenting and sharing what’s happening in our community.”
She said Fort’s younger children woke up without their mother at home and called for her immediate release.
Fort’s arrest occurred shortly after federal authorities took Don Lemon into custody in connection with the same protest. Lemon, a former television anchor now working independently, has said he entered the church strictly in a journalistic capacity.
Prosecutors allege Lemon violated federal civil rights laws, including statutes related to interference with religious worship. His attorney disputes the charges and maintains Lemon was lawfully covering the demonstration.
Federal authorities confirmed additional arrests tied to the protest, including Black Lives Matter Minnesota co-founder Trahern Jeen Crews and community activist Jamael Lundy.
The arrests come amid heightened tensions between Minnesota residents and the Trump administration following two recent fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents. Those incidents have intensified public scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices and federal policing tactics in the state.
Fort has not entered a plea, and further court proceedings are expected.