This is what it looks like when a government tries to intimidate reporters

The arrest of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort signals a dangerous escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against the press

President Donald Trump and his administration, over the past 10 years, have stooped to many low and distressing levels in their all-out assault on the media: lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, bans, funding cuts and insults.

But last week, the administration did what was previously thought of as unthinkable. It reached for an even more ominous attack. It arrested two journalists.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, now an independent reporter, was arrested with three others, including independent journalist Georgia Fort, on charges that they violated federal law during a recent protest at a church in Minnesota. Lemon was charged with violating churchgoers’ constitutional right to worship when he entered a church along with protesters who were demonstrating against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Lemon appeared to have been there merely to report on the situation.