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Welcome home, y'all.
There is breaking news today as we have just been told that Don Lemon was arrested and last night covering the Grammys, by the way, and so was Georgia Ford, who's become a dear friend to us, has been wonderful on this show.
As you all know, Georgia Ford.
Joined me just last Tuesday for a solo pod talking about the threat of arrest, talking about everything that was going on on the ground in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today, Georgia Ford was served with an arrest warrant where they claimed emphasis on claims that there was a grand jury impaneled.
She was charged with both.
The Face Act and the KKK Act of eighteen seventy one. For those of you who have been watching, you know what we have to say about the KKK Act of eighteen seventy one.
For those of you who have not.
Been following, we will get into that today, but before we get any deeper, joining us right now is this tremendous constitutional law expert, a commentator, and a columnist for the nation. He is a friend to this show. Ellie missed out. Please tell us what in the world is going on.
Yeah, there's no point of having constitutional expertise because nothing happening right now is constitutional. Right. The white supremacists running this government do not care about the Constitution. It's not clear that they've read the Constitution, and they certainly don't understand the Constitution because arresting journalist is unconstitutional one oh one. Right, it's right in the very first Amendment to the Constitution that the freedom of the press will not be abridge.
Don Lemon, Georgia fort were covering a protest. They were doing journalism. You can't arrest people for doing journalism. Again,
that's the first amendment of the Constitution. So not only are these arrests unconstitutional, plainly, blatantly obviously unconstitutional, they're also plainly illegal, right, And the difference there is that there the Trump administration went to a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota asking for an arrest warrant for Don Lemon, and the judge told them no. The judge said there was
no probable cause for an arrest warrant. So then they appealed that ruling and they went up to an appellate court and the appellate court said no, there's no probable cause for an arrest warrant, and they arrested him anyway, So that's illegal right now, Pambondi or Trump people have now come out and said like, oh oh, we had a grand jury and paneled and they issued the arrest
warrant for Lemon and for it. Well, first of all, going to a federal grand jury to get an arrest warrant that you couldn't get from the state court is you know, weird, is highly unusual. A and B. They haven't said that they have paneled the grand jury for the other two p people, the activists they arrested Cruise and Lundy, Right, so we don't even know what the legal justification is for arresting those other two people. And then you have to be like, is what was this grand jury?
Like?
What was this grand jury? How did that process worked work? If what we're talking about is a blatantly unconstitutional arrest in the first place, right, So the whole thing is goatka right to use a yiddishism like it is. It is an expression of white supremacy. And so when I look for constitutional justification for these arrests, it's obviously not
in the Constitution. It's obviously not well, it's obviously not in the constitution anymore if there wasn't something in the original Constitution that would have allowed them to arrest a black journalist like Don Lemon. And that was called the fugitive Slave Clause in Article four of the original Constitution, which allowed the government to reclaim escaped property should that
property have successfully made it to a free state. And the reason why the fugitive slave clause is, you know, actually relevant to what's happening in the Lemon right now, is that you have to understand what the fugitive Slave Clause was meant to counteract. Right, And the fugitive State clause counteracts the Tenth Amendment.
Right.
The tenth Amendment says explicitly that the police power is reserved to the states. I'm sure, Angela, I'm sure Andrew, you have heard Maggie talking about states rights.
Right.
States rights is why I get this. States rights is why I get that right. Well, states rights is in the Constitution, right, it's the Tenth Amendment. To what part of states rights is that states have the rights to police themselves, States have the right to determine for themselves. Who is to get arrested and who is not to get arrested. The Slave Clause suit ceded states rights. Right a Minnesota could say no, no, we're not going to arrest future of slaves. The future of the Slave Act says, oh,
actually we have to. The federal government can supersede States rights and arrest whoever they want as long as they're black. Yeah, that's what's happening to Lemon. He's getting arrested because he's black, and the federal government is ignoring states rights, is ignoring a federal magistrate, is ignoring a federal appeals court to arrest the black man. It is a new story, but actually it's a pretty old sea.
Yeah they can. I can I ask you real quick? The the so we know that they are using a prosecutor out of somewhere to to to pursue a case in Georgia around elections. Supposedly, we don't know a whole bunch about that. I'm curious in the and paneling of a grand jury, would they have had to and panel this grand jury in the state of Minnesota or could this grand jury be anywhere America?
It could be anywhere America, right like again, they're they're not telling us what they did and how they did it. But the thought here is that you get a willing, a USA Assistant Attorney General who's like, I will bring an unconstitutional so and we know they have I mean Lisa, you know, I always call her miss Hannigan, Lisa Halligan, h Lindsay Halligan has been clowning herself all across the country.
So you find a Lindsay Halligan type, they say that they have a claim under the Clan Act, under the Face Act, or the perversion of those acts that the Trump administration is using to arrest them. And then you panel the grand jury in the state where you found this, uh fascist prosecutor, right like, so, so we don't know that it has to be in Minnesota. It could have been in Minnesota, but it could have not been in Minnesota. And the grand jury process is a black box, like
we're not supposed to know what goes into it. The testimony, it's supposed to be sealed. Now, you can get in trouble when you lie to the grand jury.
I would imagine, no, not everybody. Prosecutors don't get in trouble for lying to the grand jury.
You're you're supposed to get in trouble for lying to the grand jury. And again, I don't see how you can get this arrest warrant out without lies, because you have to proactively not tell the grand jury that what you're asking for is blatantly unconstitutional. So I don't know
how you do that, but we know. But Andrew, You're right, we know that those prosecutors probably will not be held accountable because we live in effectless country that doesn't hold any white supremacist accountable for their actions.
I want to just thank you, Ellie.
I know that you have a deadline, a writing deadline, so I really appreciate you. Coming on, we're going to back into now this story. Some of you may still be floored learning that Don Lemon was arrested last night covering the Grammys about the alleged actions he took in Minnesota, which we're merely covering a protest, but somehow now that
is criminal conduct in Trump's America. Also getting to into Georgia Fort, who is an Emmy Award winning journalist in Minnesota, has been on the ground every single day, and we will run her Facebook live where she was detained this morning from her home in front of her children. So, Ellie, thank you so much for what you're doing. You know, I can't wait to read what you put out.
We love you.
Thank you, Thank you, Ellen, thank you.
So let's go ahead and run the clip. Andrew, if you don't mind of Georgia Fort being arrested this morning, you.
Guys, I wanted to alert the public that agents are at my door right now. They're saying that they were able to go before a Grand Jerry sometime I guess in the last twenty four hours, and that they have a warrant for my arrest. I've talked to my attorney and I'm being advised to go with them.
I guess down to Whipple and my children are here.
They're impacted by this. This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest. As a member of the media. We are supposed to have our constitutional right of the freedom to film, to be a member of the press. 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 arresting me for filming the church protests a few weeks ago. Again, I don't have a long time here you guys, but I wanted you to know for me. Agents are at my door
right now. My attorney has spoken with them. I did send a relative outside to talk to them. They're showing some type of documentation apparently that they got in an indictment from a grand jury. I knew that I was on a defendants list. I did not publish it because it was under sealed.
I I'm floored by that.
Andrew, you know, this is someone who was with us on stage just two days ago.
I'm sorry, well Tuesday.
You know, in that moment, Georgia showed the courage that she always has, and she is reporting what's happening on the ground and putting her life on the line.
She said.
When she was on the podcast The Solo Pod with Me the week before, so literally back to back weeks we've had Georgia on. She talked about Ida b Wells being her inspiration, and of course the very next day we had Don lemonon as a guest co host.
And so to.
See people who are our colleagues, who become kind of chosen family put in harm's way for doing the thing they do so well is mind blowing. So I wanted to take just a moment, Well one, Andrew, I want you to react to the clips are so emotional.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I have PTSD. Yeah, I know what it is to surrender yourself to the government, and even when you have right on your side, it's it's it's hard. And I heard her family members emotional in the background.
Right.
I think in the long run, y'all, we're gonna fight, and we're gonna win. We will win, Don and Georgia, and I think the other activists who have been arrested, who also and I know we're not focusing so much in on those individual stories, but who I also believe were exercising their constitutional rights. But the fight is going
to be real and for them individually. I just because I have had federal you know, agents show up at my house and I know what it was like to have my ankles chained and my arms cuffed in and and that never leaves you right. And so I think what I'm emotionally reacting to one is just it threw me back to that instance. But I also know, as these folks stand in their truth, in their innocence, that these are moments that they will never forget the impact
here is real. It's deep, it's cut, it's cutting, it's frightening, and I have to imagine that it's even the fright. The fright of this is amplified by the fact that you know, you have a lawless president and a lawless Attorney general, and a bunch of stoogents who work beneath them, who are more than happy to carry out their unlawful wishes with joy. Right. The truth is, Angela, is that both Don who was who was arrested in the late night Georgia and in her case early morning Don I
believe it is overnighted in jail. These law enforcement folks had the opportunity, had they wanted to schedule those folks to come in and see them, they could have told them in advance that they are, that there's an indictment for them, and that they must surrender themselves. They could have offered that opportunity. They didn't do that, And what that underscores for me is the theater of it. These folks want. They want the theater, they want the They
want us to be shaken by what we saw. I'm shaken from having my having had my own experience, but like them, not bowed and not running the opposite direction. Like you said, we were just there this week, and we know that as we talk and as we move that we are at risk as well.
Yeah, but you know what, so what Yeah.
Because the absence of it, we're at risk anyway. We're at risk anyway.
And speaking of that risk, Andrew, there's a gentleman by the name of Eli Dares who runs the the Minnesota Freedom Fund. He had this to say earlier on a Facebook live. Eli also joined us this week in Minneapolis.
Georgia Ford and Don Lemon. We're both arrested for filming a church protests. So now we're responding with handcuffs to cameras. Now, the so called free press is on the direct assault, as you would see in any totalitarian government. In fact, media it's the first entity that a totalitarian regime goes after to silence this sent to silence questioning, to silence people being able to hold governmental officials accountable. It is unconscionable what we witness today. It is a direct assault
against the constitution. It is a direct assault against basic pillars that we all have come to just accept as life. The press has a freedom to film and to record the people have the freedom to film and record, and the moment that becomes under attack, nothing is safe. You're not safe in California. You're not safe down there in Florida. You're not safe down there in Texas. You're not safe over there in New England. And none of y'all safe if we're not safe here in Minnesota. This is a
direct assault. Every last single one of you should be outraged, should be incensed at the attacks on basic liberties. You have to have a warrant. You cannot stop someone and ask them questions without reasonable, articulable suspicion. You can't use force unjustifiably. You cannot attack oppress, you can't shoot munitions at them, you can't shoot rubber bullets at them. And
now today you cannot arrest them. And yet what we're seeing is the eroding of basic, basic principles that have been foundational to the way that we have expected to live life here in America. Everybody is waking up to a reality that many of us in the African American community have known for a very long time. And now we're trying to fight to once again say this democracy. It's not a Minnesota thing. This is an US thing, what said, who cares about truth in the last morning seen it?
Joining us now is the executive director of Minnesota Freedom Fund, Eli Darrison, as well as the honorable Zeena Muhammad, who's a Minnesota state Senator, joining us as well.
Thank you both for being here.
Of course, there was just a press conference at Minnesota's or Minneapolis's City Hall about the arrest of Georgia Ford, Trey Earn Cruz, and Jamal Jamel Jamel Lundy, my apologies. I want to know what chu All's reaction is to that pressor and to these arrests, these very unlawful and unconstitutional arrests.
And Senator I'll come to you first.
Yeah, I mean, I'm grateful that community is organizing in such a quick way to do a press conference. We all got the call this morning. I think many of us who've worked with Georgia. I worked with Georgia and Eli. I think we were on the ground all of twenty twenty, and Georgia is you know, what's happening to Georgia and Don is horrible, but it's also like what is happening across the country, which is an attack on freedom of press.
It's ensuring that people only tell one narrative. But what we know about Georgia, those of us who know her personally, is she's a mom first and foremost, who cares deeply about her family, and she's somebody who is an honest truth teller. She has been on the ground for communities, for the movement, and it's not in a point where she agrees or not. It's telling the truth of what's happening, the facts on the ground of what people are experiencing. And you know, I think for many of us were
like blindsided by this, but not shocked. We have been seeing the attacks in the community, but the attack, the liberate attack on press who's there to report a story or our news for doing their job is beneath any administration and certainly beneath the job that they're supposed to do.
And I talked to Georgia last week.
I talked to her the other day when we were all together too, But when Nakima got arrested, she was very shaken up, and we talked a little bit about just like how she's feeling as a person and the fact that she was worried about her family. Because I think very often when we tell these stories of what's happening to the individual, it becomes a story. But we forget the fact that this woman has young kids, young children and a husband, and they expect her to come
home at the end of the day. When she does, when she goes out there and puts her life on the line, and you know, I'm worried about them, but I know she has a lot of grit and she's a very strong person. But we're all going to be out there fighting for her as she's been doing for communities for a long time.
Absolutely, and Eli, I want to come to you thankfully. You you knew that this was coming. Minnesota Freedom Fund has been set up to be a bailout resource to folks who have been arrested today, as well as to so many others.
Can you talk about what you're feeling right now? You're live?
Earlier was very powerful calling on all of us to save democracy. But for those who still feel like it has not yet knocked on their front door, what's the wake up call to those folks?
Uh?
Good good morning to you both, And good morning senators. It's actually not a good morning. It's not a good morning at all. You know, I don't know what the wake up call is going to be for them. It will it will probably be the knocking on uh their doors. Here in Minnesota, we're on the front lines of all of this. And you know, as an organizer, as an activist, I've been tear gas. I've been shot with rubber bullets.
Uh.
Before or uh the Senator became one of the great senators here in Minnesota, she and I were both on the front lines.
Uh. Uh.
Those type of tactics come with the territory. They are expected.
Uh.
You know, we have a role and a position that we're pushing, and and you know, state has a role in a position that is pushing, and it uses violence oftentimes to push his position, and and you know we we resist that.
Uh.
And oftentimes what we see is media. They're recording, you know, documenting, you know, both sides of what's happening, so that the public can have an opportunity to see what is you know, happening on the ground and then arrive at their own conclusion.
Uh.
During the uprising, uh, in which we were fighting for justice for for George Floyd who was murdered here by by the Minneapolis Police Department. Uh, what we started to see. And at the time I worked for the a c o U of Minnesota, UH, and what we were seeing was a deliberate and an intentional targeting of media, UH to such a tune that our organization at the a c AU we had to put a lawsuit in in order to to get retribution and to stop UH, the targeting of media. Who was there to do a job.
Georgia Ford.
UH was in a very comfortable and acclaim role inside of media. And you know, because of what she was witnessing, she realized that she needed to step back, step out, and to take the risk of beginning to bring stories that were underreported or completely unreported. And she has been able to bring out, UH some some of some of the darkest, most harrowing tales that never would have seen the light of day at all, that never would have given been given.
Voice at all. UH.
And and UH to to set a Zadam's point, she has always brought those stories out in a fair and unbiased kind of way. And so to wake up today to see those demons go to her house with her sleeping babies and to and to to drag her out. And yet you know, for some reason we can't muster up the courage to put handcuffs on actual killer cops that have killed multiple of our community members just in the past few weeks. Weeks, you all, weeks. It just
goes beyond my comprehension. This federal government, this this lawless regime is pushing its agenda with strength and with vigor. And my frustration, and I'm sorry, let me let me rein it in My frustration is.
That you know, we can't muster.
The courage and the ability to send the counter messages to a lawless regime, Whereas we have the authority to arrest if we believe a crime has been committed against one of our community members, and we haven't done it, and yet this regime is sending out law enforcement to arrest reporters to arrest peaceful protesters. So do we have a separation of church and state or not. I'm just
I'm really trying to understand what is happening here. Because we had a minister stand up and challenge another minister inside of a church and to say, I don't believe this is right what you were doing, and we had reporters capture the interchange. And I've seen both reporters Don Lemon and Georgia Ford give equal opportunity to everyone to voice what their perspective was and what their views was in terms of in terms of the protest.
That was happening.
And so yeah, I'm just I've waken up to some really horrible news. I'm truly incensed at, you know, at the crumbling of this democracy before our eyes. It's almost like the nineteen thirties didn't happen at all.
I want to it's such a profound point. And Eli can hear you speak all day on this. You are the clearing call that we need in this hour. So thank you for all that you're sharing.
Andrew.
I was just going to say that right now, doctor Resma Menikim has joined us. Doctor Resma Menichem is a licensed cycle psycho therapist and also trauma expert, and he has spent a lot of his time in Minnesota trying to heal the land, and yet the terror comes back, and so a resume. I would love to hear from you in this moment. And I also want to bring up right after that, doctor, I'm sorry. Attorney Leslie Redman, who was streaming the press conference in Minneapolis City Hall
live just moments ago. So we want to hear from her, get her reactions, and as you all have to drop off, you can throw up peace signs. We know it's a busy day. We know you got constituent Senator Eli. I know you are on paternity leave and cannot leave the city alone because the city won't leave the people alone. So thank you for pulling double duty. Doctor Resmond Menikan.
Hey, first of all, I just got to say my heart is broken right now. This sister Georgia has been doing this work for our people here in this city for a very long time. We count on her to to be in places that we can't be, to show us what's actually going on, not what they're telling us is going on, and and to to you know, to watch her have to deal with that and having these terrorists at her front door and hearing her babies cry in the back. I you know, this is what I
said the other day. You know, if anybody's trying to take your anger and and and and molded into something that's usable for them, you have to reject that. You we we we we have to understand that what's happening to us right now will not go away because we're nice.
Mm hmmm.
I understand that the only way forward for us is to be unpermissioned and ungovernable. Part of the way that they keep doing this ship to us is that we are too governable, we are too permissioned. We have to stop asking for permission to do things, and we have to just do them with each other. Make the mistakes, not like each other, come back, tend to each other, do all the things that human beings do in order to in order to UH birth the future that tends to us, not to them, not to these, not not
to be listen this. At the same time that this governor and this mayor here are talking about they have contacted the federal government. They've they had a good conversation with this uh with this with this brutal dictator. At the same time, they are right now figuring out if they can open up for smelling so they can have house more ice agents there. Pete headsais is right now has petitioned the Department of War to see if they can get that open. Why would they do that if
they're talking, if they're really pulling out ice agents. Yeah, if they're really pulling off ice agents, Why would they do that, because they're selling you one thing in order for you to go to sleep. This is what I've been saying. The fact is is that these folks, these folks want you to believe something that absolutely your body knows is not true. You everybody who's jumping up and down every time they think Ice is gonna leave, and like they want this is this is what I'm what
I'm fearing. What I'm fearing is that all of these white folks and all of these people that are that think that this is about an episod battle mm hm and and and when when when four Ice ages leave, we jump up and down and we forget and we don't we don't understand that this is not an episode. It's structural and that and that we are not conditioned for the long haul the things that we're putting it right now in terms of our ability to be uh
mutually care for each other and develop mutual aid. That's the life we have to craft.
That's not just an that is not just responding to uh, responding to what Ice is doing and what Trump is.
To need to craft a different way of being with each other. So that's that's where I'm at right now. I I we if we think we're gonna get out of this ship alive, we're thinking about this in the wrong way. We're not gonna there's the we. This is the beginning of what they're getting ready to do. And if you don't understand saying that, I don't know what to say to you. I don't. I don't know what to say.
If you don't, if you're not if you're not talking with with with each other, if you don't have a plan with each other, if you don't if you don't know how to, if you don't know what self defense is, if you don't know how to, how to, how to how to develop uh ways of watching and caring for each other and making sure we keep receipts for all of these folks.
If you don't know how to do that, and and when they come back and let you do, I don't know what to take.
Yeah, I want to say, uh, resma, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, we would not have been able to be on the ground in Minneapolis earlier this week. And we did not know that that was merely a time to prepare us for what was coming next. I remember asking you you know what you would say to us for about where do we go from here? And rightfully so it was almost a loving rebuke. You were like, we need to sit right here in this rage, and
you're right because we have to keep moving. To that point. Somebody who always keeps moving is Attorney Leslie Redman, who just finished streaming live the Minneapolis City Hall press conference, is on her way to the rally. Leslie, please give us an update of what you know.
Grays in peace everyone.
We were just here at the Minneapolis City Hall, a place that many of you have seen us stand time and time again. We were there in twenty twenty when after brother George Floyd was murdered, and I said that it was said then in twenty twenty that there was a state of emergency, and now it's even more of a state of an emergency.
Right.
George's daughter and her husband spoke at the press conference today really emotionally about the fact that her seven year old and her other young child had to wake up this morning without their mom, and we talked about how our constitutional rights are under attack, that this is not a drill, this is not a joke. Donald Trump thinks that this is a TV show, and we need to really continue to stand up.
Because we are all in danger.
When they start taking the journalist, when they start taking the reporters, when they start taking the truth tellers, we're all in jeopardy. And so there's a hearing at one thirty for Georgia fort right across the street. We're headed to the rally at one pm and then the hearings at one thirty. We have very limited information at this time, but I would tell people to just you know, keep watching, keep watching local media outlets. I'll keep reporting all day.
And then also, is not a coincidence that there is another national strike right now today that's happened. Oh, they're just trying to distract us and target us. And then also two other Organs, So Trey Horn Cruz is a well known organizer in Minnesota. Also notably, I'm a Bush fellow, George is a Bush Fellow, Trey Hank Trey Horn Cruise is a Bush Fellow. And then Drew mail Lundy, who I went to We were in law school at the same time in Black Law student associations at the same time.
He's a local attorney works at the Hennepin County Prosecutor's office. He is running for office right now. It's supposed to be caucus next week. Like this, this is just very targeted, it's very strategic. As brother Rasma said, it's very systemic. And you know, I talked to Georgia a lot. You all got a chance to meet and talk with Georgia when you all were in town, and you know, she was worried that she was going to get arrested. And I kept telling her, like, well, they can't arrest Don Lemmon.
They can't arrest you. You know what I mean, Like you all are journalist, you all protected with our constitutional rights, and y'all were just reporting and telling the truth. And then they got Don Lemon and Georgia for and so it's just heartbreaking, is devastating. Then this should be a major wake up call that none of us can stay silent, none of us can stay complicit. And then also you all know a year ago, almost to this date, the kim O, Livi Armstrong, Jaylini Monique, they stood in front
of Target headquarters saying that we need the boycott. Georgia four used to have contracts with Target. They stopped funding her. It's important to connect all of this of like the corporations have abandoned us, the churches are abandoned. Where is that church that they went into? Why are they not saying release Georgia four and don limit right? Why are they not speaking of saying nobody was hurt, no property
was even damaged. Why are we more concerned with these people speaking truth to power if we remember about Renee and the Cold Good than we are because those officers do have not been arrested. Nobody's been held accountable for Renee or Alex killing right, but yet we want to hold peaceful protesters.
And journal accountable.
We should all be preached.
That's true.
I really appreciate you joining us, Leslie.
I know you are actively organizing right now, so we will hopefully follow up again with you later. Thank you so much for streaming the press.
Nobody knows go ahead agent and no I just said doctor, both poignant points made.
I don't know if doctor Resmond is still with us or if he's uh yeah, if he's left us.
Not buy by resume comeback, res I.
Just want to it was what he said is prescient. It's also terrifying, but we have to hear the difficult News. He talked about us not just preparing for an emergency, right, not organizing for the exceptional moment that is happening in society. He's saying, we have to create.
A new normal, our new normal in the environment that we have right now with a lawless federal government treading on the rights of individuals, treading on the rights of states, treading on the rights of journalists to simply bear witness and report what you.
See the point around them going after journalists before they go after murderers. Yeah, that's not that's not a tagline
there that that that's that's real. The same agency that has refused to investigate Renee Goods killing, right, the Department of Justice would not allow the Civil Rights Division to open an investigatation against the lawless killing of her or if alex is the same goddamn entity that decided they had the time to go to a federal judge, to be denied by that federal judge, to then go to an appellate a federal appeals court, to then be denied
by that federal appeals court. No, you cannot arrest them. I will not sign an arrest warrant for them to then go and panel and somewhere America, Minnesota or elsewhere a grand jury. And by the way, are they going to tell us how many grand juries they in panel before they got an arrest warrant? Are they going to be transparent and say whether or not they were refused by a grand jury before they found one that would
would issue an indictment? Did they tell the truth? And by the way, we don't have to know, We don't even have to query ourselves about whether or not they told the truth, because all we have to look is that passes prologue, that what they have told the American people at every turn has been a lot lie. Don't believe our line in eyes?
Yeah right, I think you're so right on so many points. Ag.
I've always said that so long as the Department of Justice air Quotes is in the j. Edgar Hoover Building, we will be so far from actual justice. I want to pull up Attorney General Bondi's tweet about Don Lemon earlier, and Jamel Lundy and Georgia Fort and Trey Hearn Cruz, and I want to get your reaction to this. Andrew, at my direction. Early this morning, federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trey Arn, Jean Cruz, Georgia Fort, and Jamail Lidale Lundy
in connection with the coordinated attack. Listen to the words with the coordinated attack on city's church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This was six h nine am Easter in this morning, January thirty of twenty twenty six. She says more detail soon, Andrew wishoul your reaction to the Attorney General using Twitter as a space for her to report out that they have arrested for people in connection to a church protest. Two of those people we know for a fact we're
reporting out. Don said that right here on the show, and we'll play that clip in a moment too.
It's a shame that we have to refer to her as the Attorney General.
Damn shame.
It's it's it's it's a shame that she she gets the moniker of of of somebody of a title that we actually are supposed to have some some degree of faith in, some some belief in. We know that it hasn't been fair to us always. In fact, in instances where it has been fair to us, I would consider that an exception to to to to the rule. But but she's so lawless she is. She is the queen
of lawlessness right now. And I don't believe a thing that comes out of their mouths Angela, I don't believe anything her tweets to me alive the words selection is deliberate. But I also saw that there were three million likes or something like that underneath that her statement, her posts. And I think one of the things that a lot of us are not paying attention to is the fact
that their lawlessness also has a constituency. That there are people in our communities, people we work with, that we live in neighborhoods with, that we are in social organizations with who are cheerleading what they're doing. I understand that the polling by and lawge is not necessarily popular, but there's a constituency for their lawlessness. And when that extreme right wing returned to White America constituency thought that Donald Trump was going to pull up on his efforts in Minnesota,
they got loud. They didn't get loud to us, they got loud to the White House through their leaders and their organizations. They got loud with the chiefs of staff and all those special advisors that the president has, and they said hold up. We told you we sent you here for this complete the mission. And that's why Donald Trump has backtracked yet again, and that's why Pam BONDI had to turn their eyre toward him. And by the way, just dot dot and you can then take the mic
Epstein files. Three million documents release today right a document dump on a Friday, and also on the friday that they choose to arrest people in our community who we care deeply about, and they do it lawlessly. So let's not forget. There are a lot of moving parts and pieces here. There's a lot that this administration has to distract the American people from. So I just we have to, guys, we have to move with our eyes wide open and increasingly our eyes and our mouths and our feet walking
and our hands working. We have to. This is when we throw our shoulders to the wheel, because if we don't, we ain't gonna have no goddamn wheel to throw a shoulder to.
There's that.
And speaking of that, look at this tweet two Andrew, I just pat it up, Okay, thank you. I'm very happy this is Matt Walsh, another alleged church white supremacist. I'm very happy that Don Lemon was arrested, but there is one extremely important.
Caveat in now.
Caveat now that it's been done, he has to be convicted and sent to prison for an extended length of time. If he is not convicted or not seriously punished, then this whole thing is an unequivocal.
Win for him.
It makes him a martyr and ten times more famous with no significant consequence. Limit was totally irrelevant prior to this, not true. Donald Trump was tweeting about Don Before this, nobody watched his show or even knew that he was still alive. This is inflammatory. Now he's relevant again. He'll almost certainly get another job in cable news on the heels of this. The only way to make this a
win for the good guys. I wonder who the good guys are in his mind is to punish it severely, correct make the reward of fame and martyrdom not worth the cost. If you won't do that, then you never should have arrested him. As you know, Andrew, we had done on with us as a guest co host just this week. I just want to roll this clip really quick, because I know we got a heart out at well twelve year time.
Roll this clip. Please.
Yes, I was there reporting and I don't even know the name of the church. I don't even know the name of the pastor who was there. But I do know the name of the pastor who was alleged to be and now has been confirmed by the church to be like the I forget some sort of coordinating agent or something of ICE, a directing agent of ICE.
Actink Field director David.
Was right, David Eastwood, and that he was a pastor in the church. And so that group said that they went there to protest that I didn't even know what the what, you know, what place they were going. It was an organization that people said were doing. They had sent out a flyer and they were a protest and they had been protesting what was happening in Minneapolis. And I landed in Minneapolis, said sure, I'll go, I'll follow them.
I'll just go chronicle what they're doing. And so when I found out it was a church, I sat back for a bit and I said, let them do their thing. Did I know they were going to go in there? Of course, of course they're going to go in there, that's what they do, or go in there around the church well, I wasn't sure if they were going to go inside or go around the church or whatever. I didn't know what their actions would be, but I knew that I wanted to report on it because that's part
of what was happening that day. And so when they went into the church, I stood there and waited for a bit and waited and waited, and I saw other members of the press going in, and so I walked in. When I saw the when the unrest happened, I walked in and just started started saying, Hey, look this group is over here.
It's chaos right there.
They're channing this. They're parishioners and church members over here who are upset. And let me go over and talk to the pastor, pastor, how do you feel about this? About this happening in the church. And then he did this thing, and I went over to one of the some of the Prissians, I said, what do you feel
about this? If they said they didn't want to talk, I said, I understand, and I moved on and uh, And then I talked to the afterwards, the members of the group that had organized the protest, and that was it.
I left, and then.
So I became the yes. Somehow I became the face of it. I'm like, I'm not the face of it. I'm not a protester. And I kept saying to them when people would say, why are you going you guys, what do you I said, sir, I'm not part I'm not one of the protesters.
I'm just here. I'm a journalist and I'm here reporting.
Here reporting.
I want to Andrew, I know that this is something that you would want to do. In the spirit of my brother, who's very detail oriented. Let's actually throw to the clip where Don Lemon is interviewing the pastor.
Yeah, what do you think of it?
I mean, this is unacceptable, it's shameful. It's shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in workship. But there were folks. I have to take care of my flow.
Listen.
We live in there's a Constitution in the First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assembling protest.
We're here to worship. We're here to worship Jesus because that's the hope of these cities, that's the hope of the world is Jesus Christ. We're very respectful, but please don't push me. Then we're here. We're here to worship Jesus. That's why we're here. Okay, that's why we're here. Hopefully that's what we're about.
Which you think Jesus would be understanding.
And we're about the mode. We're about spraying the love of Jesus.
But did you try to talk to them as a as a christone is willing to talk.
Okay, I have to take care of my church and my family, so I asked this, you actually would also leave this blod you don't.
Want us to worship.
I'm always worship. I'm a Christian. We're here, well, we're here to worship.
We're here to worship.
Okay, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
I mean, he says repeatedly in the clip, Andrew what he's there to do. He's documenting it, he's chronicling it. He's he asked the man to please take his hands off of him. A g wish your reaction to that, I mean.
So one, I think hopefully, First of all, I hope this case doesn't get any further than than what we've seen up to this point. But should should it go further, hopefully this will be evidence that that as as Don has said consistently while at the protests, because I went back to look at the live stream to see him. He's at before he goes into the church. You know,
actually he's as he's outside again the church. One of the parishioners who is leaving the church because of the protests, you know, says, I don't you know, I just want I don't want to talk to you guys. He said, Oh, I'm not a protester. I'm just chronicling what's happening. I'm a journalist. And then he proceeds to answer Don's question and then they have a back and forth. So he's consistently said that he's there as a journalist. I don't
even think that is in repute. What is crazy is that this indictment alleges that he was violently involved and holding that ground at the church, right, And there's no I just can't wait to see the evidence. What what are they going to produce as evidence to back up to substantiate their having done this. But you know what, I don't have a real belief that it will go that far. And if it does, I believe he will
emerge on the side of right. But but but but but I think all of this is done for the theater. I don't think they care whether or not. You know, they're gonna disappoint that man who's supposed to be just put up, who made my point right, which was there's a constituency out there who who are one thousand percent behind what this administration is doing with this regime is doing. And that's and we heard one of the voices there.
But I think they're gonna be solwly disappointed because to prosecute this man is a violation of the Constitution his constitutional rights. And I know that they are selective about the application of the Constitution in this country who gets to exist under the banner of it and who doesn't. But it's gonna be hard for any any person to turn away their eyes and and act like this didn't happen, or that it happened differently than what we're witnessing.
I am.
I'm so grateful for what you're what you're saying, Andrew. It's a it's a just like a mind blowing reminder of where we are and versus where we should be.
We have, uh hopefully soon.
The statement from Don Lemon's lawyer, Abby Lowell, who's a legend and what he said in response to Don's arrest. If we don't have that yet, we can end with that. But I do want to play this clip too of Georgia fort speaking.
Uh to us about being outa b Wells today.
So what drives you to keep cause you're not just like reporting on it from videos you're seeing online. You're going to the heart of the protest, You're going to the heat of the action. What is driving you to be at ground zero in spite of that fear?
We cannot be neutral about the dismantling of our demidocracy and still expect to be protected by it. We cannot allow our fear to paralyze us to the point where we decide to do nothing, that we just become spectators and then just live with the consequence of whatever this administration is doing. And so I am activated by my ancestors. I feel like I stand on the shoulders of I to b Wells, who documented lynchings that was probably extremely
controversial at her time. I imagine that because she had such a narrow focus, and because she decided to tell the stories of people who are lynched in their families and not so much so of the people who are lynching them. She was probably accused of not being objective and being an activist, and probably all the same things that I hear. But it did not It did not prevent her from continuing to do that documentation, which now fast forward years late, is extremely essential to us understanding
that era. It is extremely essential because of the continued attempts to erase our history. I stand on the shoulders of David Jackson, the photographer who took the horrific image of Emmitt Till which touched the hearts, the minds, and the souls of so many white Americans and activated them to do something. And so I understand the power of media and the power of storytelling. And if I allow my fear to paralyze me, then I feel like they have won. I feel like in twenty years we won't
have an accurate reflection of what is happening. And I think it's essential because you mentioned this, like in your opening, this administration has a history of lying. So who is going to be the archivist of this moment? Who is going to gather the truth and hold it so that future generations can have an accurate reflection of what this moment is really like, oh, pressure.
So Andrew, as we get ready to sign off.
Angela before a week before we go, I just want to say a lot of people have listened to different you know, We'll hear a clip from Don Lemon and they'll say, well, he's got an opinion. Listen, journalists are allowed to have a if you are confused about whether or not journalists can be can have opinions and perspectives and lenses by which they see things. I don't know a journalist who doesn't have a lens by which they
see the world. And so if you are looking at clips that show him expressing an opinion, that does not remove from him the designation of a journalist. He still has the credentials, the background, and considers himself a journalist and allows equal forum for all sides. Period.
Yeah.
I want to pull this statement up from Don's attorney, Abby Lowe, and I will read it for the folks who are listening and not watching, or who will listen and didn't watch. My eyes are bad, Nick, help us stout the magistrates reported actions confirm the nature.
That's how rude's not that bad.
Nick of Don's First Amendment protected work this weekend in Minnesota as a reporter. It was no different that what he has done for more than thirty years, reporting and covering newsworthy events on the ground and engaging in constitutionally protected activity as a journalist. Should the Department of Justice continue with the studying and troubling effort to silence and punish the journalists for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and
fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court. This is actually the first statement, So I pulled the wrong one. But here's what we know, Andrew, our work as far from over. As we continue to get information throughout the day. Hopefully the three of us can rejoin and bring back our friends, our allies in Minnesota and really make sure that we raise attention right now, Andrew, You've always been my favorite person to tell me what is required of
us in this moment. So I would just ask you, you know, in the spirit of always doing great calls to actions, what you would ask calls to action young people, our elders, people at home who aren't in Minnesota but want to do something.
What is the thing that you will recommend we all do?
Now, you know, first of all, we all have voices. Whether I mean that literally, you can speak, whether it's in your writing, whatever we can do. If we are sitting silent right now waiting for this thing to come up our block, y'all it in the house, Yeah, it is in the house. We have to wait for our neighborhood, our street, our driveway. It is in the house. They are challenging the very basic fundamentals of this society that
we consider a democracy. And I think what's become most apparent to me right now, Angela, and this time, is how much this democracy relied on our belief in a subscription to a set of ideals not necessarily codified in law. Not necessarily I mean in this case, we've got a lot of it written down in law. It's called the Constitution and the first ten Amendments, the Declarations of Independence and so on and so forth, but so much of it requires an action from us to be preserved. Right.
That's why the position man Franklin said, we give you a republic if you can keep it. If you can keep it, part is right now, if we're going to keep this thing, we have to raise our voices right now to the illegality. That's taking place in relation to yes, these journalists, but across the whole system. They are coming for us. We know what's happening in Georgia and those
and the taking of the those ballots. That's yeah, a little bit about religating, religating twenty twenty, but it's mostly about twenty twenty six and twenty twenty eight and the elections that come after. Right, they want to stifle the ability for us to get access to that. This fight is everywhere. If you are waiting for it to come up your block, it's already in your house is on fire, and we all have to get a hose, right, We all got to put our shoulder to the wheel. Right now.
I'm so anxious about this because I'm gonna be researching the recesses of my mind around what more, what more? What more? What more? What more?
Right?
What more? And if you're feeling like you're not doing enough, you're probably right do more. And maybe some of that doing more means enlisting others to join you, But the sidelines, if you own it.
All.
I'm gonna tell you this, brother, the one thing again that I know you've come up with some of the most creative responses to these kinds of attacks that I know of, So please tell me if there's something that you need me to do to help amplify whatever strategy you got. You know, I'm ten toes down for you, always, the other friend I know, all of us. Yes, indeed, So with that, we actually do have Abby Loyle's latest statement.
We're going to read that as we go out.
Please remember, even though we're reading the statement from Don Lemon's attorney, Georgia fort Our, dear sister journalist extraordinaire Emmy Award winning journalist at that in Minnesota, was also arrested this morning in front of her children inside of her home.
Also Trey Earn Cruz, a Bush.
Foundation fellow who is the co founder of Black Lives Matter, you can put the statement back up. And Jamel Lundy, an attorney who's running for office, who of course they are trying to stifle Don Lemmon. This statement from Abby Lowell for those listening. Don Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards. Dona has been a journalist for thirty years and is constitutionally protected. Work in Minneapolis
was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work. Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention, and resources to this arrest. And that is the real indictment of
wrongdoing in this case. This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court. I want to remind our listening audience that the charges against these individuals include the eighteen seventy one KKK Act and then section eighteen USC. Code A, Section two forty eight eighteen USC.
Two forty eight Freedom of Access to clinic entrances. If you go back to listen to our podcast with Dawn, we talked about the Face Act, which was a bill that was sponsored by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, and what it is really about, you will see that neither eighteen USC. Section two forty eight and neither eighteen USC. Section two forty one apply. Section two forty one is the KKK Act. These do not apply here. These charges
will not stand. Hopefully they go before judges with good intention who can actually read and interpret and apply the law. Until then, Welcome home, y'all.
I'm home. Native Lampod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with Reisent Choice Media. For podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.