by Leo Cusimano
(Leo Cusimano is publisher of Dallas Voice, and he works with a variety of LGBTQ news and local media organizations. The following piece was first published on February 6, 2026, and is reprinted here with permission.)

When journalists are arrested for doing their jobs, every one of us should stop and pay attention.

The recent arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are not just mildly troubling, they are highly alarming. These reporters were not inciting violence or interfering with law enforcement. They were doing what journalists are supposed to do: document events and tell the public what is happening in their communities.

That is not a crime. It is a cornerstone of democracy.

At Dallas Voice, we’ve been reporting on LGBTQ life in North Texas for more than 40 years, because LGBTQ media exists out of necessity. We carved out a space to tell stories that were ignored, minimized or actively suppressed — stories about our lives, our struggles, our joy and our right to exist openly and safely.

Here at Dallas Voice and at other LGBTQ media outlets, we know firsthand what it means to cover stories that make people uncomfortable. During the AIDS crisis, when our community was being devastated, and the federal government would not even say the word “AIDS,” LGBTQ media stepped in to report what was happening. We were there to name the loss, to demand attention, to refuse to be silent.

And that is not ancient history. It is a reminder of why independent LGBTQ journalism exists in the first place.

When the government arrests journalists, the message is clear: Watch what you cover. Watch what you say. Watch yourself.

That kind of intimidation doesn’t just chill the press, it chills the public’s right to know. And for marginalized communities, that chill hits harder and faster.

It matters who is being targeted. Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are both Black queer journalists. They were reporting on a civil rights protest, amplifying voices that have long been marginalized and dismissed.

LGBTQ journalists and journalists of color have always faced heightened examination for doing the same work others are praised for.

A federal magistrate reportedly found no evidence of criminal behavior in Lemon’s reporting. Still authorities persisted anyway. That should concern conservatives and liberals alike.

The First Amendment is not a partisan document. It exists precisely to protect speech and a free press when those in power find them inconvenient or threatening.

Around the world, we’ve seen this playbook before. Governments that claim to value freedom begin to punish those who document dissent. Independent media becomes an enemy. Truth becomes negotiable.

Democracy weakens not all at once, but piece by piece.

This is not abstract for us at Dallas Voice. If journalists can be arrested for covering protests today, what stories won’t be told tomorrow? What injustices will go unreported? LGBTQ media has always filled the gaps left behind when others looked away. We can’t do our job if reporting itself is seen as something suspicious.

Journalism is not a crime. It should not be controversial to say so, but here we are.

Dallas Voice stands in solidarity with Don Lemon and Georgia Fort and with journalists everywhere who continue to do their jobs under increasing pressure and risk.

We call for accountability, for charges to be dropped and for a recommitment to the basic principle that a free press is essential to a free society.

When journalists are silenced, communities are silenced. And that is something we cannot — and will not — accept.

GUEST COMMENTARY
Volume 28
Issue 1