A weekly newsletter on power and the press Good morning. The arrest of journalist Don Lemon lays bare the Trump administration’s law-enforcement priorities, showing how punishment falls on perceived critics while lenience is reserved for supporters. We’ve seen this before. Donald Trump and his allies speak reverentially about law enforcement even as the president has pardoned Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting police officers. Trump has called that day a “lovefest,” but reserves no such language for anti-ICE protests. The past few weeks in Minneapolis, where citizens have stood up to the surge of federal agents enforcing Trump’s immigration crackdown, have put in stark relief whose rights the administration considers most important —and whose are treated as disposable. Lemon reported on an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church earlier this month, filming the event and conducting interviews, precisely the work a journalist would be expected to do. Now, Lemon, whom Trump has previously mocked as a “loser,” a “lightweight” and “the dumbest man on television,” is being charged with conspiracy to deprive others of their constitutional rights. The journalist is also being accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which in part prevents one from interfering with someone’s First Amendment right of religious freedom. Trump has previously pardoned anti-abortion activists convicted under the FACE Act. The Trump White House could have at least feigned respect for press freedom, framing the arrest of a journalist in sober terms. Instead, the White House mocked the former CNN anchor’s arrest on X, writing, “When life gives you lemons,” complete with a chains emoji. Such a callous message is jarring, though not unexpected, coming from the Trump administration. In Minnesota, federal officials also moved quickly to cast suspicion on Renee Good and Alex Pretti after they were killed by Border Patrol agents, even as video and witness accounts contradicted those early descriptions of events. Abbe Lowell, Lemon's attorney, pointed to the administration’s priorities when it comes to justice and accountability. “Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,” he said. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.” While the First Amendment is under threat, Trump has spoken less protectively about the Second Amendment. Trump said Pretti —who was holding a phone when approached by agents and already disarmed when he was shot dead —“shouldn’t have been carrying a gun,” effectively faulting the intensive-care nurse for exercising a right conservatives typically consider sacrosanct. Trump even described Pretti as an “agitator” and possibly an “insurrectionist.” That depiction stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s treatment of Kyle Rittenhouse, who, at 17, carried an AR-15-style rifle at a racial justice protest and fatally killed two people. Trump congratulated Rittenhouse after a jury acquitted him of homicide. The message through all this appears less about upholding the law and more about enforcing loyalty. Michael Calderone 
When Don Lemon emerged from a Los Angeles federal courthouse on Friday, he vowed to continue reporting the news. “I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” Lemon said. “In fact, there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.” “The DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night... 
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