By Robert Simels
Originally published in amNewYork on
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Robert Simels reacts to the arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was charged along with others, including local journalist Georgia Fort, after covering a protest inside a Minneapolis church. Lemon was arrested days later in a predawn raid at his Los Angeles hotel. Simels does not argue the merits of the charges. He notes that three judges initially refused the FBI's request for arrest warrants and that the Justice Department then obtained an indictment to make the arrests anyway. He also cites the predawn search of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's home in January.
Simels describes his own experience on both sides. As a prosecutor in the late 1970s, he wanted to let two defendants in a case he had built surrender quietly, but he was overruled so that investigators could raid their homes at 5 a.m. He writes that the raid accomplished nothing. In 2008, he was arrested in his own office by federal agents, handcuffed, and walked through the building lobby while agents removed the office's electronics. He says he would have complied with a subpoena.
His argument is that a recognizable journalist is not a flight risk and that predawn raids in cases like this are performative. He sees them as an attempt to intimidate the press that chills First Amendment rights, and as part of a broader law enforcement culture that values spectacle over justice. He concludes that performative predawn raids must end.
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This page is a summary prepared for robertsimels.com. The full commentary was published by amNewYork and remains on amNewYork's site.
Robert Simels. Robert Simels hosts the podcast Injustice for All and serves as a consultant on criminal justice matters. He is no longer practicing law.
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