Journalist Georgia Fort pleads not guilty in Minnesota ICE pastor church arrest

Twin Cities journalist Georgia Fort, indicted on federal charges after last month's protest inside St. Paul's Cities Church, entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday. 

A sea of supporters greeted Fort outside federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was one of two remaining defendants to enter pleas in connection to the Jan. 18 Sunday service at the church, where a pastor on staff is also the head of the capital city's ICE field Office.

Former CNN host Don Lemon and Fort both argue they're protected under the First Amendment.

"The attack on the press did not start with my arrest," Fort told supporters outside court Tuesday. "It is the government trying to muzzle me, to make me unable to report on one of the most historic cases not just in our state, but in our country."

Also on Tuesday, lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said in a statement the protest "was about provocation, intimidation, and spectacle."

"They were here to incite violence," Parnell said. "God willing, they will answer for what they have done in a court of earthly justice."

Fort and the eight others now charged with two federal crimes have called for the case to be dropped entirely. 

"As a journalist, I not only stand here today asking the world to help protect the press, but to continue fighting for me as long as this case takes," Fort said.

In Tuesday's hearing, federal prosecutors said they will argue this be handled a "complex case," causing it to take longer to play out. Defense attorneys say they'll argue against that.