To mark World Press Freedom Day, CPJ’s Américas Director José Zamora and Amnesty International USA’s Senior Director of Research Justin Mazzola published an op-ed calling attention to the Trump administration’s actions to silence journalists and attack independent media.
The editorial highlights the case of independent journalist Georgia Fort, who was arrested in January in connection with her reporting on a protest against immigration enforcement at a Minnesota church. Other members of the press who covered the same protest have been arrested and face federal charges, including independent journalists? Don Lemon, Michael Walker Beute and Junn Bollmann. Amid a larger pattern of targeting journalists by the federal government, Fort’s case is reminiscent of repressive government tactics CPJ has documented around the world.
Zamora and Mazzola write, “If the relentless targeting of journalists continues, cruelty will go unreported and injustices will remain uncovered. We must take action to end the silencing of journalists and erasure of independent media.”
Read the full op-ed here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.