An always intense rivalry pitted #5 Rabun County (16-4; 5-2 in 8-A DI) against #7 Banks County (13-8; 6-2) in Homer on Friday night, with the Lady Wildcats securing a 63-48 victory.
A lopsided second quarter put Rabun ahead by a wide margin, as the Lady Leopards weren’t able to rally back despite a good effort in the fourth.
A low-scoring first quarter was evidence of a light practice week for both teams, but Maecee Crumley for Banks had five points in the period while Rabun County connected on three shots from beyond the arc. It was a 14-13 game in favor of the Lady Cats after one.
Rabun outscored Banks 13-2 in the second, going into the half up 27-15. Adelyn Thompson’s third 3-pointer of the game was key to Rabun County pulling ahead, as was Millie Southard’s flurry of buckets.
Thompson added two more triples in the third, and Crumley answered for the Lady Leopards. Rabun was up by as many as 18 points.
Banks County had a great fourth offensively, pulling within single digits a couple of times. Southards had a 3-point play that essentially sealed the game.
Southards had a game-high 20 points, as Thompson added 18 and Madison Houck 10 for Rabun. Addy Beth Owens and Jaydynn Cohee each had seven, and Conley Spivey added two.
For Banks County, Crumley led with 14 points, followed by nine for both Ansley Moore and Adarae Thomas. Janakate Gibson added eight, Kate Grier four, Marleigh Dale three, and two by Callie Whitlock.
Banks County raced out to a comfy lead, but the #3-ranked Rabun County Wildcats recovered quickly and went on to take a 67-54 win in Homer on Friday.
Senior Huey Blalock dropped in a game-high 24 points as Rabun (17-2; 6-1 in 8-A DI) earned the win over the Leopards (10-11; 3-5). The latter got out to a quick 9-2 start, as Macade Huff had four points early on.
Hayes Free threw down a dunk off a beautiful lob from Blalock, who moments later had a 3-point play then hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the opening quarter. Blalock had a dozen as Rabun led 16-10.
Free added another electrifying dunk in the second, and the Wildcats were up 32-23 at the break. The Leopards roared back in the third, outscoring Rabun 16-13 to get within two points late in the quarter.
Freshman Gavin Barker had three shots from downtown, and Huff continued to pour in buckets to narrow the gap. In the final quarter though, Blalock, Free, Reed Burrell, and Trace Adcock pulled away.
For Rabun, Blalock had 24 points to lead the way. Free ended with 17 and Burrell 13, while Adcock had seven and Landan Bedingfield added five. The Wildcats had seven 3-pointers in the contest.
Huff led the Leopards with 21 points, and was followed by Barker’s nine, while Dayden Rogers and Caden Watson each finished with eight. Aidan Beasley had four and Griffin Hill added two.
The ultimate milestone for a high school basketball player is 1,000 career points. A handful of players each year hit the mark. Below are the ones who have, as well as those who are close.
FILE — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (Governor's Office)
ATLANTA — Governor Brian Kemp has declared a statewide State of Emergency ahead of a new winter storm expected to impact Georgia this weekend.
The declaration is a separate executive order from the one issued on January 22 ahead of Winter Storm Fern. Kemp also directed the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to activate the State Operations Center at noon Friday, Jan. 30. The State of Emergency will remain in effect through February 6.
The emergency declaration will allow the state to more easily move resources to areas expected to be impacted and stage those assets ahead of the storm.
“While Mother Nature may not be giving us a break with these back-to-back storms, the good news is we don’t take any days off when it comes to keeping Georgia communities prepared and safe,” Kemp said. “Along with our state partners, we have been monitoring this new winter storm well ahead of its arrival and preparing for whatever it may bring.”
The storm will mostly impact north and east Georgia, extending all the way to the coast.
Unlike last week’s storm, which brought heavy ice and freezing precipitation, the incoming system is expected to deliver extreme cold and accumulating snow.
“As this winter weather moves into Georgia, we encourage residents to stay home if possible before and during the storm,” Lamb said. “Fewer vehicles on the roads give Georgia Department of Transportation crews the space they need to treat roadways safely and efficiently, helping keep everyone safer this weekend.”
GDOT has already begun pre-treating roads. Crews are brining more than 20,000 lane miles on interstates and state routes, prioritizing areas expected to receive the heaviest precipitation. GDOT crews will work in 12-hour shifts before transitioning to plowing operations once snow begins to fall. Officials again asked drivers to remain off roads beginning Friday evening if possible.
The emergency order also prohibits price gouging, suspends hours-of-service limits for commercial drivers involved in response efforts, and temporarily increases size and weight limits for vehicles transporting essential supplies.
Emergency Management Officials gathered in Mt. Airy this afternoon for a winter storm briefing. (Patrick Fargason/Now Georgia)
HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. — Habersham County officials are preparing for dangerous travel conditions, downed trees and a surge in emergency calls as a significant winter storm moves into Northeast Georgia, bringing heavy snowfall, strong winds and bitterly cold temperatures.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service warned county leaders Friday afternoon that snow would begin spreading across the region Friday evening, intensify overnight and peak Saturday morning before tapering off later in the day. The storm is expected to produce several inches of snow across the area, with temperatures remaining below freezing through the weekend and wind chills dropping to near or below zero.
Chris Horne, observing program leader with the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg, said the combination of very cold air and “light, fluffy” snow will allow accumulation to occur quickly on roadways.
Habersham EMS Chief Jeff Adams is asking people: stay at home, stay off the roads.
“We are expecting this snow to stick to roadways much faster than we normally see in the Carolinas,” Horne said, adding that blowing snow and strong winds could sharply reduce visibility, particularly in higher elevations.
County emergency officials said crews are already in place and ready for extended operations.
Habersham County Emergency Services Chief Jeff Adams told Now Georgia staffing levels remain strong after crews worked through Winter Storm Fern last weekend.
“They’re good. Staffing is good,” Adams said. “We’ve got the crews lined up to come in this weekend, come in early and be prepared to hang over, pretty much like they did last week.”
Adams said snow presents fewer challenges for response vehicles than ice but emphasized that road conditions will still be hazardous.
“The snow is a little bit easier for four-wheel-drive vehicles to drive on,” he said. “We’re still asking people: stay at home, stay off the roads. It’s more important that our guys get there and that they’re safe about it.”
Reflecting on last weekend’s storm, Adams said most calls during Winter Storm Fern were related to downed trees, with relatively few medical calls until after conditions improved.
“Once the storm was over, then the medical calls started to pick up,” he said.
Habersham County Road Superintendent Matt Ainsworth said road crews will focus first on main routes before moving to secondary roads as snowfall increases.
“We’re going to pre-treat the main roads and some intersections,” Ainsworth told Now Georgia. “Then we’re going to focus on the snow as it drops, plowing secondary roads and salting them as we’re plowing.”
Ainsworth said crews will make real-time decisions on when to salt, noting that many county roads are narrow and resources must be used carefully.
“They have to plow one road and then salt it,” he said. “We don’t want to waste the salt.”
Ainsworth said last weekend’s ice storm was especially difficult but credited crews for their performance and expressed confidence heading into this event.
“Our guys did a great job handling that ice storm,” he said. “Now we have the snowstorm coming up, so I have no worries about how this is going to end.”
He added that morale remains high among road crews.
“This is our family away from our family,” Ainsworth said. “We know we’re going to have some tough times, but we work through it.”
At Habersham County E-911 and Emergency Management, Director Melanie Bellinger said extra staff will be on hand throughout the weekend to handle increased call volume.
“Yes, we have extra personnel in here to assist us with the call volume, because it increases,” Bellinger told Now Georgia.
The National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg gave Habersham officials a briefing Friday regarding the upcoming snowstorm. (Patrick Fargason/Now Georgia)
She said 911 calls often double during winter storms and can triple depending on severity.
“Most of the time it doubles,” Bellinger said. “But depending on how hard it hits, it can triple our call volume.”
During Winter Storm Fern, Bellinger said the county received relatively few accident-related calls, with no injuries reported in about five traffic incidents. Tree- and power-line-related calls, however, surged.
“We were looking at 120 to 150 calls for tree lines and things like that,” she said.
Bellinger said similar issues are possible with this storm as winds increase and snow accumulates on trees.
“When wind gusts come in and snow sticks to surfaces, it will still bring down trees,” she said.
Officials continue to urge residents to avoid travel during the height of the storm and to call 911 only for emergencies, noting that extreme cold, blowing snow and refreezing conditions could make roads treacherous well into next week.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A judge considering whether to grant a new trial to the Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley heard testimony Friday from a DNA expert retained by his attorneys to analyze evidence in his murder case.
Jose Ibarra’s trial attorneys had asked the judge to delay a hearing set a few weeks before his November trial after the expert told them she would need six weeks to review the data and complete a report.
The move would have pushed back the trial. Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard ultimately proceeded with the trial as scheduled.
The expert, Ruth Ballard, said during Friday’s hearing that she could not rule out the possibility that Ibarra’s DNA was transferred onto a jacket and other evidence she reviewed indirectly.
Under questioning by a prosecutor, Ballard acknowledged she had not finished a complete review of the case. She also acknowledged writing that a “reasonable explanation” for the crime lab findings in the case was that Ibarra’s DNA got onto the evidence when he killed Riley.
Ibarra, dressed in a white jumpsuit, sat at a table with his attorneys.
Haggard did not rule immediately on Ibarra’s request to vacate his guilty verdict and life sentence and grant him a new trial. He gave attorneys another month to file legal arguments.
Haggard found Ibarra guilty of murder and other charges in November after Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial. He sentenced Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors decided before trial not to seek the death penalty.
Ibarra, 28, had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case. Riley’s killing in February 2024 heightened tensions in the national debate over immigration.
The first bill President Donald Trump signed upon taking office last year, the Laken Riley Act, was inspired by the 22-year-old’s killing. It requires the detention of people who are in the country without authorization and are accused of theft and violent crimes.
Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, 2024, and killed her during a struggle. Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Atlanta.
Ibarra’s lawyers argue that his constitutional rights were violated by the judge’s denial of the request for a delay and by the admission of cellphone evidence the defense sought to exclude.
Under Georgia law, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of a conviction becoming final, which is the date of sentencing or the date of the denial of a motion for a new trial, whichever is later. The filing of a motion for a new trial effectively extends the deadline to file an appeal.
Ibarra’s trial attorneys filed a motion for a new trial within weeks of his conviction. New lawyers have since taken over his case and filed an amended motion for a new trial earlier this month.
Before trial, Ibarra’s lawyers had asked the judge not to allow evidence stemming from the search of two cellphones the state believed belonged to Ibarra. They argued that the search warrants used to seize and search the phones were not valid because police lacked probable cause to obtain the warrants. Haggard rejected those arguments.
Ibarra’s trial attorneys had also asked the judge to exclude evidence and expert testimony based on the use of TrueAllele Casework, software that is used to analyze DNA.
FILE - Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York on July 2, 2020. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — The U.S. Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages of documents Friday related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The release, which in the 3 million pages includes more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, comes more than 40 days after the agency was legally required to release the full set of filesinvolving the disgraced financier, in compliance with federal law.
The department instead opted for a piecemeal rollout of the files, prompting backlash.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday’s release marks the end of a “very comprehensive” records review process to “ensure transparency to the American people and compliance” with the federal law — known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act — mandating the release.
“After submitting the final report to Congress as required under the act and publishing the written justifications for redactions in the Federal Register, the department’s obligations under the act will be completed,” he said.
In total, the DOJ has now released approximately 3.5 million pages in adherence with the federal law.
President Donald Trump signed a bill into law in November requiring the DOJ to make publicly available “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein,” including materials related to Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California co-sponsored the measure — which gave the department 30 days after the bill was enacted into law to release the files, or Dec. 19.
Trump, who has appeared in several of the files, had a well-documented friendship with Epstein, but has maintained he had a falling-out with the disgraced financier and was never involved in any alleged crimes.
“There’s a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents,” Blanche said.
John Andrew “Drew” Branson, age 41, of Mount Airy, GA, peacefully entered into eternity with Jesus, healed and whole, in the early morning hours of Monday, January 26, 2026, following his year-long courageous battle with cancer.
Drew was born in Gainesville, GA, on September 7, 1984. He was an avid outdoorsman and had a great love for hiking, backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing, and had a deep appreciation for nature and exploration. He had a true passion for music and believed it communicated something clearly that words could not convey. All of Drew’s life, he was an exceptional athlete and loved playing soccer, golf, basketball, softball, football, and the swim team. He naturally excelled at anything he put his hand and heart to.
Drew spent the last year building his own business, Branson Construction Inc., and took pride in the mastery with which he worked. He served many in his community with the love he poured into his craft. He was devoted to the love of his life, Hali, and their children. He enjoyed working on their home, landscaping their yard, tending to his chickens, spontaneously taking them on some kind of adventure, or taking them hunting. He believed in teaching life and survival skills and valued imparting his knowledge and experience to others, using it diligently to help his neighbors, serve his community, and lead his family.
Drew’s encouraging smile was contagious, and his presence was invigorating with his witty humor. His big personality lit up any and every atmosphere, and the void he leaves is now equally as vast.
Drew was preceded in death by his little brother, Rhett Walker Branson; maternal grandfather, John Truman Page; paternal grandparents, Retired Major William Branson & Mary Jean Branson; paternal aunt, Julia Darnell; and paternal uncle, Bill Branson.
Survivors include his wife, Hali Branson of Mount Airy; children, Karagan and Elijah Branson of Alto; stepdaughters, Kenli, Kayli, Kori and Karalai Jarrard of Mount Airy; mother, Debra Page Branson of Clarkesville; father and stepmother, William “Dell” and Dee Branson of Demorest; sister and brother-in-law, Courtney and SFC (Ret.) Jason A. Cheek, and their son, Nashton Andrew Cheek, named after his Dad and his beloved “Uncle Bub”, of Canton; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Mike and Sandra Free of Clarkesville; and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jennifer and Caleb Tyler, and their children, Dane and Glori Tyler of Clarkesville; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Chris and Sara Bennett and their daughter, Drew’s namesake, Andrea Bailee Bennett of Clarkesville; maternal grandmother, Martha Courtney Page of Aiken, SC; aunts and uncles, John & Cynthia Branson, Al & Kathy Branson, Leslie Branson, Pamela Kulp, Donna and Gorman Ridgley, many beloved cousins and a multitude of friends.
Celebration of Life services will be held at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 08, 2026, at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Clarkesville, with Pastor Jonah Norman officiating.
The family will receive friends from 2-4 & 6-8 pm on Saturday, February 07, 2026, at the funeral home.
The Red Cross opened this shelter at White County's Yonah Preserve recreation center during Winter Storm Fern. (Bryce Barrett/White County)
Officials in Northeast Georgia had varying responses regarding shelter needs, if there is a storm or cold weather emergency this weekend. Some officials contacted had shelter plans in place for people who lose power or electricity, while others had no working contingency plans, and some were not reachable Friday. A summary of what we learned follows:
Hall County
Natalae La Douceur of the Parks & Leisure Department in Gainesville said there were no county plans to provide emergency shelter, beyond existing services.
“At this time, Hall County is encouraging residents to prepare to shelter in place during the upcoming weather event. Residents should ensure they have alternative sources of heat, adequate supplies, and a plan to in place to remain safe during extended periods of cold,” La Douceur wrote. “For non-emergency assistance, residents may contact Hall County Dispatch at (770) 536-8812, which can help connect individuals with available resources as needed.”
In addition, Hall County has a community resource guide available to the public that includes information on assistance and support services. The resource guide names their existing shelters for homeless men, women, and families, and identifies two warming centers in Gainesville.
Hart County
Last weekend, Hart County Administrator Terrell Partain wrote: “We do not have any published shelters open to the public. We have limited space for critical needs people. They have been notified as well as messages to the public if there is an extreme case to call and we will try to arrange something for them.” Partain had not yet responded Friday afternoon to a new inquiry.
Lumpkin County
Alicia Davis, division director for community and employee services, said that, unlike last weekend, there were currently no plans to open the sheriff’s department office in Dahlonega if shelter was needed. Mitzi Deaton, secretary at the sheriff’s office, also said there was no such plan as of early Friday afternoon. She said residents could check the sheriff office’s Facebook page to see if shelter was needed.
Davis said the Community Helping Place in Dahlonega, the county’s largest social service agency, might coordinate shelter options with a church in Dahlonega, but neither the agency nor the church responded to inquiries about that Friday afternoon.
Rabun County
Brian Panell, Emergency Management Agency director, said the county was preparing to open shelter space, if needed, at the Recreation Department at 400 Recreation Park Drive in Tiger. Gym 3 in that building will house anyone who needs it, Panell said.
Stephens County
Christian Hamilton, Stephens County administrator, said the county will open a shelter at the Hope Center, 69 W. Whitman St. in Toccoa, at 10 a.m. Saturday running through Monday. The shelter will offer food and overnight accommodations for residents in need. Hamilton said the shelter could accommodate several dozen people if necessary.
“You can let people know that our public safety personnel are very much in tune with what’s going on, and we will check in with people to make sure they’re OK,” Hamilton said.
White County
Bryce Barrett, public information officer, said that people in need of shelter can request it through the County by calling (706) 865-9800.
However, he said, “The National Weather Service has not forecasted the widespread power outages that they did last week. Our shelter supplies remain in place, and the shelter can quickly be opened should the need arise.”
Franklin, Towns
Franklin County EMA Ryan Parks and Towns County EMA Director Marty Roberts had not replied to new inquiries about shelter as of Friday afternoon.
Habersham Hardware in Clarkesville was loaded with sleds on Jan. 22 ahead of Winter Storm Fern. The store ran out of sleds ahead of the snow on Jan. 30, 2026. (Habersham Hardware/Facebook)
HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. — Last weekend, as Winter Storm Fern bore down on Northeast Georgia, shoppers across Habersham County rushed to stock up on generators, chainsaws, gas cans and propane. The storm delivered more than a half-inch of ice in some areas, knocking out power for thousands and leaving crews scrambling to clear fallen trees.
With the risk of ice reduced and meteorologists calling for 4 to 7 inches of snow across Habersham County, the hottest — and hardest to find — item isn’t emergency equipment. It’s sleds.
Now Georgia searched for sleds across the county and found empty shelves at every stop.
At Cornelia Ace Hardware, owner Matt Colston said sleds have been sold out for more than a week.
“We sold out ahead of Fern last week and now we can’t even order any,” Colston said. “There’s not a sled to be found.”
The search then moved to the Cornelia location of Walmart, where a store manager who identified himself as Chris said shoppers won’t find sleds there either.
Chris said Walmart stores in the region do not typically sell sleds this far south, even when winter weather is in the forecast.
At the Lowes in Cornelia, store manager Jeremy Gattis said the store has not carried sleds for several years.
Our final stop was Habersham Hardware in Clarkesville, which did have sleds earlier this week but was sold out as of press time. They had 138 sleds at the start of the week. “We sold out yesterday,” a clerk told us.
While sleds were nowhere to be found, all four stores visited were well stocked with the high-demand items that flew off shelves ahead of last weekend’s ice storm. Each location had generators, gas cans, chainsaws and propane available.
The contrast highlights how this week’s storm has shifted consumer demand from emergency preparedness to winter recreation, as residents hope for a lighter, more playful event than last weekend’s ice storm, which forced road closures, delayed emergency responses and left some areas without power for days.
Without sleds on store shelves, longtime snow-day improvisation is making a comeback.
Household items such as large pieces of cardboard, plastic storage bin lids, cafeteria trays and heavy trash bags layered over cardboard can serve as makeshift sleds. Pool floats, inner tubes and plastic laundry baskets have also been used during past snowfalls, particularly on gentler hills and shorter runs.
Extreme caution was urged with improvised sleds, especially on steeper slopes. Riders should avoid areas near roads, trees and fixed obstacles, wear helmets when possible and closely supervise children.
While ice brought anxiety and damage to Northeast Georgia just days ago, the coming snowstorm is shaping up to deliver something many residents have been hoping for instead — a quieter winter weekend, neighborhood hills filled with laughter and a reminder that sometimes the best sled is whatever happens to be in the garage.
And this time, at least, no one is scrambling for chainsaws.
FILE PHOTO - Georgia Department of Transportation crews are brining state roadways ahead of expected snowfall in Northeast and East-Central Georgia. (GDOT)
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Transportation is preparing for a winter weather event expected to bring snow and dangerously cold temperatures to Northeast Georgia beginning early Saturday, Jan. 31.
Forecasts call for light to significant snowfall across the region, including mountain and foothill counties, followed by extremely cold temperatures. In response, the Georgia Department of Transportation has begun repositioning personnel, equipment and materials to support winter operations throughout Northeast Georgia.
Pretreatment with brine is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Friday, Jan. 30, ahead of the expected snowfall. Crews will focus first on interstates, U.S. highways and other high-priority routes, followed by additional state routes as conditions allow.
Georgia DOT has replenished brine supplies used during last weekend’s storm and reports nearly 2 million gallons of brine available statewide, with resources staged locally for Northeast Georgia operations.
In areas expected to see the greatest impacts, crews will pretreat outside lanes only on interstates, including Interstate 85 through Northeast Georgia, Interstate 985, and key interstate ramps and connectors. Officials said the strategy allows crews to cover the greatest number of roadways while preparing routes for plowing once snow begins.
Because of the size of the storm and the potential for widespread impacts, Georgia DOT said it will manage resources to maximize coverage and keep routes passable. On multi-lane interstates, crews will treat the two outside lanes and ramps. On interstates with two lanes in each direction, the outside lane and ramps will be treated.
Snowplows, spreaders, dump trucks and heavy-duty pickup trucks equipped with plows are staged across Northeast Georgia and will remain active throughout the storm. Plowing operations will continue during and after snowfall ends.
Georgia DOT cautioned that due to large, fluffy snowflakes and extremely low temperatures, snow accumulation is expected to continue even after routes are treated and plowed. Motorists should not expect roadways to remain clear during periods of heavy snowfall, even after plows have passed.
Contractor crews will supplement state forces as needed. Officials urged residents to avoid travel whenever possible on Saturday and Sunday, noting that keeping traffic off the roads allows crews to work more effectively and improves safety.
Drivers who must travel are advised to use extreme caution, reduce speeds, increase following distance and remain alert for snowplows and emergency vehicles.
HERO and CHAMP units will be available to assist stranded motorists on interstates and major routes as conditions allow. Motorists needing assistance can call 511.
Georgia DOT reminded drivers that local and county roads are maintained by local governments and may have different treatment plans. Residents should check with local officials for updates on county and city road conditions.
Motorists can find real-time road conditions, closures and traffic updates at 511ga.org or by calling 511. Updates will also be shared on Georgia DOT Northeast social media channels as conditions develop.
Former Columbus journalist arrested after Minnesota church protest (Georgia Fort/Facebook)
A former Columbus, GA news reporter was arrested after filming a Minnesota church protest. Georgia Fort currently works as an independent journalist in Minneapolis and has been covering the aftermath of two deadly shootings involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She is one of four journalists, including former CNN reporter Don Lemon who were arrested by federal agents in connection to the church protest.
Fort posted a live stream on Facebook just minutes before being taken into custody. “They have a warrant for my arrest. My children are here. They are impacted by this. This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest. As a member of the media, we are supposed to have our constitutional right, freedom to film-to be a member of the press. I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press,” she said in part during the video.
NBC News reports the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Lemon was charged with conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers. It is unclear if Georgia Fort is facing those same charges. Fort previously worked for the ABC affiliate WTVM in Columbus.
