An Open Letter to Defend Democracy and the First Amendment

NOTE: On Friday, January 30th, we wrote an open letter stating clear opposition to the arrests of four journalists and activists in Minnesota on what were clearly illegal, partisan charges. Today we add a call to action to our outrage—five concrete demands that we expect every elected leader—especially every Democrat—to enact.

If you feel the danger and desperation of this moment, too, please join us and add your name to this letter.

February 1, 2026

We write as journalists, publishers, creators, and citizens who believe that democracy requires more than elections—it requires the rule of law, equal justice, and an uncompromising commitment to the First Amendment.

That commitment is now under direct attack.

On January 30, federal authorities arrested four people in Minnesota: Georgia Fort, an independent journalist; Trahern Crews, a community organizer; Don Lemon, a media figure; and Jamael Lundy, a candidate for the Minnesota State Senate. Their alleged offense was entering a church to protest a pastor who collaborates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This letter is not about personal preferences, reputations, or styles of journalism or activism. Reasonable people may disagree about tone, tactics, or presentation. None of that is relevant here. Nothing that occurred was unlawful, and everything that occurred—whether we would have done it differently or not—is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

That is the bottom line. A free society does not condition press freedom or political speech on likability, restraint, or conformity. When a government arrests journalists, organizers, and political candidates for constitutionally protected activity, it is no longer enforcing the law—it is trampling it.

The context makes this even more alarming.

All four individuals are public figures engaged in journalism, political organizing, or electoral opposition. All four are Black. These arrests appear to have been carried out in defiance of existing court orders limiting federal enforcement actions in Minnesota. They occurred just one day after reporting revealed that Attorney General Pam Bondi pressured the Minnesota Secretary of State to surrender private voter data in exchange for ICE standing down—an act that would constitute coercion, voter intimidation, and a gross abuse of federal power.

Taken together, these actions are not isolated. They follow a pattern seen in authoritarian systems worldwide: criminalize dissent, target opposition figures, intimidate the press, and test how far the public and institutions will allow it to go.

This is a test of the First Amendment itself.

If journalists can be arrested for covering or participating in protest, candidates detained for organizing, and voters’ private data treated as leverage, then constitutional rights exist only at the pleasure of those in power.

Accordingly, we make the following demands, grounded in constitutional law and democratic principle:

1. The immediate dismissal of all charges against Georgia Fort, Trahern Crews, Don Lemon, and Jamael Lundy.
   There is no lawful or constitutional basis for these prosecutions.

2. A full public accounting of who authorized these arrests and under what legal authority.
   Any federal officials or agents who violated court orders, civil rights, or state law must be investigated and held accountable.

3. The immediate resignation of Attorney General Pam Bondi—or, failing that, the initiation of impeachment proceedings.
   An Attorney General who uses the machinery of the state to intimidate voters, pressure election officials, or suppress dissent cannot remain in office in a constitutional republic.

4. An immediate halt to any federal effort to access, coerce, or weaponize state voter data.
   Voter rolls are not bargaining chips. Their misuse is election interference.

5. Action by state attorneys general, district attorneys, governors, and courts to block unlawful federal overreach and enforce the law equally.
   Federal agents must be held to the same legal standards as everyone else. Arrests conducted without proper identification, the use of masks to conceal identity, detentions without stated cause, failure to explain the basis for arrest, reliance on improper or civil warrants, and unlawful entry are violations of state and federal law. No agency—and no badge—confers immunity from accountability.

These demands are not partisan. They are foundational.

We make them together because the alternative is normalization of repression. Because the next arrest may target another reporter, another publisher, another organizer, another candidate. Because the First Amendment only survives if it is defended when it is inconvenient.

History is clear about moments like this. Neutrality becomes complicity. Silence becomes consent.

The question before us is simple: Will we defend the Constitution when it is tested, or explain later why we did not?

We choose to act.

Signed,
The undersigned journalists, creators, publishers, and citizens

BLUE AMP MEDIA

Cliff Schecter, Founder & CEO

David Shuster, VP of Content

Lawrence Winnerman, COO

Melissa Corrigan, Director of Social Media

Dana DuBois, Director of Editorial

Ellie Leonard, Contributing Editor

Erica Vanaver, Production Director