Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has turned years of attacking journalists as “enemies of the people” and condemning news outlets as “corrupt and illegal” into concrete government action, using the power of the executive branch to suppress critical journalism and punish reporters and commentators who challenge his administration.
The arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for filming a protest exemplifies Trump’s systematic assault on press freedom, part of the same authoritarian tactics he’s used to purge independent inspectors general, politicize the Justice Department, and dismantle checks on executive authority.
Here are a few examples of the Trump administration’s attacks on the free press:
Criminalizing Journalism: Arrests, FBI Raids, and Criminal Prosecutions
- Federal agents arrested journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for filming a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
- The White House X account posted an image of Lemon with chain emojis and the caption “When life gives you lemons” – openly mocking a journalist’s criminal prosecution.
- In April 2025, Attorney General Bondi rescinded the Biden-era policy that prevented searching reporters’ phone records, systematically dismantling protections for press freedom.
- In January 2026, the FBI executed a search warrant at the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson in a “highly unusual and aggressive” tactic. Agents seized her personal phone, two laptops, and her smartwatch in what appeared to be an effort to identify her confidential sources.
- The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called the raid a “tremendous escalation” in weaponizing law enforcement against journalism.
- In January 2026, the FBI executed a search warrant at the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson in a “highly unusual and aggressive” tactic. Agents seized her personal phone, two laptops, and her smartwatch in what appeared to be an effort to identify her confidential sources.
Government Censorship: Banning News Outlets and Restricting Press Access
- In February 2025, Trump barred the Associated Press from the White House after the news organization refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” explicitly conditioning press access on a news organization’s willingness to adopt government-dictated language.
- The Associated Press sued over the restrictions, and the case is currently being contested in federal appeals court. A lower court initially ruled in April 2025 that Trump unlawfully retaliated against the AP, but the appeals court paused that ruling while considering Trump’s appeal.
- The White House blocked an AP reporter from attending a Trump-Modi news conference, escalating the ban from institutional restrictions to blocking individual reporters from official government events.
- Under Trump-appointed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon implemented unprecedented limitations upon press coverage, including conditioning press passes on reporters signing a restrictive pledge.
- Trump eliminated the U.S. Agency for Global Media and gutted Voice of America, dismantling independent government-funded international broadcasting and replacing it with White House-controlled messaging.
Weaponizing the FCC: Federal Investigations Into Media Outlets
- Under Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the commission launched investigations into NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, NPR, and KCBS radio based on complaints from conservative groups, while declining to pursue complaints against Fox News.
- Trump has repeatedly threatened to revoke broadcast licenses over negative coverage.
- After FCC Chairman Carr threatened to investigate Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show for criticizing Trump, ABC temporarily suspended the program. Trump celebrated the suspension and called for revoking ABC’s broadcast license.
- The FCC launched an investigation into Comcast for having diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
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