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[
{
"title": "Independent video journalist assaulted, arrested in St. Louis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-video-journalist-assaulted-arrested-st-louis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-01-27T17:24:18.063629Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-27T21:17:42.041017Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-27T21:17:41.906644Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
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"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"phyn8\">According to a lawsuit filed on his behalf, freelance video journalist Demetrius Thomas was assaulted, arrested and his equipment damaged while documenting protests in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sept. 17, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"bz272\"><a href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.html\">The St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a> reported that more than 1,000 people had gathered in downtown St. Louis to protest the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"il3g3\">That night, police officers advanced around the intersection of Washington Avenue and Tucker Boulevard, boxing in approximately 100 people for arrest or detention in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/journalists-covering-protests-us-risk-getting-caught-police-kettling-tactic/\">a maneuver called kettling</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o2tg\">On Sept. 17, 2018, one year after the kettling arrests, ArchCity Defenders, a legal advocacy organization, and the law firm of Khazaeli Wyrsch <a href=\"https://www.archcitydefenders.org/on-the-anniversary-of-the-unlawful-police-kettling-archcity-defenders-and-the-law-firm-of-khazaeli-wyrsch-file-twelve-federal-lawsuits-against-st-louis-city-and-the-st-louis-metropolitan-police-dep-2/\">filed 12 lawsuits</a> against the St. Louis Metro Police Department on behalf of individuals whom they said were treated illegally by police officers during the protests. Thomas and two freelance filmmakers, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-filmmaker-pepper-sprayed-arrested-st-louis-protests/\">Mark Gullet</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-sues-st-louis-police-assault-arrest-while-covering-protest/\">Fareed Alston</a>, were among those represented.</p><p data-block-key=\"qya0r\">According to the lawsuit filed on Thomas’ behalf, Thomas drove downtown after receiving a call from a friend telling him about the protests, but by the time he arrived they had all but ended. He parked near Tucker Boulevard, where he saw police officers in “military garb” form a line and begin chanting loudly.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6ej9\">While filming the police, Thomas changed his position to get a better angle. According to the complaint, an officer approached Thomas and told him that he could record as long as he remained on the sidewalk. He complied and rejoined other members of the media on a sidewalk corner.</p><p data-block-key=\"8oiq4\">The lawsuit says that Thomas noticed a change in the officers’ attitudes and that they appeared to be preparing to kettle and arrest all those present, so Thomas attempted to leave the scene via a nearby alley. A police officer blocked his path and directed him back towards the intersection. Thomas complied.</p><p data-block-key=\"b1oqh\">At the intersection, Thomas saw between 100 to 200 officers pounding their batons against their shields and the ground. According to the complaint, Thomas was terrified and attempted to return to his car parked past the intersection. Officers blocked him once again.</p><p data-block-key=\"gxu1u\">“In response to Mr. Thomas’s plea, an SLMPD officer pointed a large can of pepper spray at Mr. Thomas and told him to ‘get out of here’,” the complaint says. Thomas complied, and followed the officer’s directions to return to the intersection. There, the crowd was pushed by police and Thomas was knocked to the ground. Suddenly and without warning, police began indiscriminately pepper spraying the kettled crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"2xddf\">According to the complaint, when police advanced into the crowd to arrest those present, several officers held Thomas by the arms and legs while another struck him repeatedly in the ribs with his baton. Another officer confiscated Mr. Thomas’s camera, and in the altercation officers broke Thomas’ drone.</p><p data-block-key=\"80305\">Thomas was zip tied and taken to St. Louis City Justice Center alongside others arrested at the scene, where he was detained for several hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9kpn\">“I was strictly there to film and document that night because it’s a part of history. Instead we were kettled, beat, and arrested — there was nowhere to turn, and you couldn’t call the police because they were the ones doing it to you,” Thomas said, <a href=\"https://www.archcitydefenders.org/on-the-anniversary-of-the-unlawful-police-kettling-archcity-defenders-and-the-law-firm-of-khazaeli-wyrsch-file-twelve-federal-lawsuits-against-st-louis-city-and-the-st-louis-metropolitan-police-dep-2/\">according to a press release</a> announcing the lawsuits. Thomas also said that the damage to his camera equipment cost him several job opportunities, making it impossible for him to keep up with house payments.</p><p data-block-key=\"ok28f\">In <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzy7pH6JsMI\">a video</a> posted on ArchCity Defenders’ YouTube, Thomas said the events are something he’ll never forget.</p><p data-block-key=\"7jywl\">“For it to end up the way that it ended up kind of damaged my whole outlook on trying to capture real life events like that, because it could always take a turn for the worse,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"sxols\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2017-09-16&date_upper=2017-09-18&tags=52\">10 journalists</a> detained, arrested, assaulted or had their equipment damaged while covering the protests that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"obdf4\">Thomas, Gullet, Alston and the other plaintiffs are seeking damages, attorneys fees, expenses and any other relief the court deems appropriate. Thomas’ case is not expected to go to trial until April 2021.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"610d6\">Police corner and detain protesters on the street following the not guilty verdict in the murder trial of a former St. Louis, Missouri, police officer on Sept. 17, 2017. Multiple journalists were arrested in the kettle.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2017-09-18",
"detention_date": "2017-09-17",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:19-cv-02590",
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{
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"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-08-03 13:32:00+00:00) Video journalist gets part of $4.9 million class-action settlement"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
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"Demetrius Thomas (Independent)"
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},
{
"title": "Independent filmmaker pepper-sprayed, arrested in St. Louis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-filmmaker-pepper-sprayed-arrested-st-louis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-01-27T17:22:34.337149Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T23:39:05.940864Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T23:39:05.840141Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8w24c\">In a lawsuit filed on his behalf, freelance filmmaker Mark Gullet says he was assaulted and arrested by police officers in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sept. 17, 2017, while recording footage of a protest for his film on crime.</p><p data-block-key=\"qbs0y\"><a href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.html\">The St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a> reported that more than 1,000 people had gathered in downtown St. Louis that day to protest the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"o4ge1\">The Post-Dispatch <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/undercover-cop-air-force-officer-med-student-among-those-police/article_e2dcc3de-f228-5311-a35f-e60e1bd9ebee.html\">reported</a> that Gullet said he arrived downtown around 11 p.m., “after all the vandalism had happened.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zdd6l\">“I was on the sidelines with other media. Out of nowhere, we hear marching and batons hitting shields,” Gullet told the Post-Dispatch.</p><p data-block-key=\"qcoo7\">Three lines of police in riot gear and one of bicycle officers advanced around the intersection of Washington Avenue and Tucker Boulevard, boxing in approximately 100 people for arrest or detention in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/journalists-covering-protests-us-risk-getting-caught-police-kettling-tactic/\">a maneuver called kettling</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"nn8vm\">According to the lawsuit filed on Gullet’s behalf, Gullet saw the bicycle officers approaching and asked them if he could leave. The lawsuit says the officers wouldn’t allow him to pass, and instead pushed their bicycles towards him and told him to get back. Trapped in the kettle, Gullet got on his knees on his own volition.</p><p data-block-key=\"ysn1w\">“At this point, Mr. Gullet observed officers unleash pepper spray without warning,” the lawsuit states. “Also without warning, a police officer grabbed Mr. Gullet’s arms so forcefully that Mr. Gullet thought his right shoulder was going to pop out. The officer then restrained Mr. Gullet’s hands with zip ties and pepper sprayed him directly in the face.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4iu8o\">Gullet was taken to St. Louis City Justice Center alongside others arrested at the scene, where he was jailed for approximately 20 hours without receiving medical attention, the lawsuit states.</p><p data-block-key=\"tg6fg\">On Sept. 17, 2018, one year after the kettling arrests, ArchCity Defenders, a legal advocacy group, and the law firm of Khazaeli Wyrsch <a href=\"https://www.archcitydefenders.org/on-the-anniversary-of-the-unlawful-police-kettling-archcity-defenders-and-the-law-firm-of-khazaeli-wyrsch-file-twelve-federal-lawsuits-against-st-louis-city-and-the-st-louis-metropolitan-police-dep-2/\">filed 12 lawsuits</a> against the St. Louis Metro Police Department on behalf of individuals whom they said were treated illegally by police officers during the protests. Gullet and two video journalists, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-sues-st-louis-police-assault-arrest-while-covering-protest/\">Fareed Alston</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-video-journalist-assaulted-arrested-st-louis-protests/\">Demetrius Thomas</a>, were among those represented.</p><p data-block-key=\"j9bxq\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2017-09-16&date_upper=2017-09-18&tags=52\">10 journalists</a> detained, arrested, assaulted or had their equipment damaged while covering the protests that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"ss03t\">Gullet, Thomas, Alston and the other plaintiffs are seeking damages, attorneys fees, expenses and any other relief the court deems appropriate. A trial for Gullet’s case has not been scheduled.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX3GQUZ.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"e2ijv\">Around 100 demonstrators and multiple journalists were arrested during protests following a verdict of not guilty in the murder trial of a former St. Louis, Missouri, police officer on Sept. 17, 2017.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2017-09-18",
"detention_date": "2017-09-17",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:19-cv-02590",
"case_type": "CLASS_ACTION",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
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"updates": [
"(2023-08-03 13:29:00+00:00) Filmmaker gets part of $4.9 million class-action settlement"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Mark Gullet (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Getty photographer arrested while covering protest in St. Louis",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/getty-photographer-arrested-while-covering-protest-st-louis/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-22T02:13:59.625024Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T18:43:41.973748Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T18:43:41.862109Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
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"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dwmyk\">Getty photographer Scott Olson was arrested while covering a protest in St. Louis on Sept. 17, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"jl6o0\">That night, hundreds of people gathered in downtown St. Louis to protest the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"k8quv\">Olson told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that more than a hundred St. Louis police officers converged from all sides on the intersection of Washington Street and Tucker Boulevard, where a crowd of people had gathered. He described the crowd as a mix of a few activists, some journalists and many bystanders. He said that the police ordered everyone to disperse while simultaneously cutting off their exits and then ordered everyone to lie down on the ground and started to arrest them.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ni2r\">“They did it kind of violently,” he said. “A lot of people were pepper sprayed or Maced while they were still on the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2n572\">He said that he was not pepper sprayed by police officers, which he attributes to his use of a gas mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"f739c\">“One of the reasons I may not have been pepper sprayed before my arrest is that it wouldn’t have had much effect,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I was wearing my gas mask because I was anticipating the use of mace or pepper spray. During the protest, I was wearing body armor, a bump cap, mil-spec eye protection and carrying/using a gas mask. Unfortunately, most of this protective gear is used to protect me from police tactics, not those of protesters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"msidb\">Although police did not pepper spray him, he said that that police did forcefully push him to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"kqpcm\">“I was holding my cameras, they told me to put them down, I didn’t do that, so I just took a knee, and then they forced me all the way down and then zip-tied me,” he said. “They were telling me to drop my cameras. They would not let me take my camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fg0j1\">According to Olson, one officer said “Fuck your camera!” after he asked to take it with him.</p><p data-block-key=\"vgjm3\">A spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that no journalists have filed formal complaints alleging police misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"51pfz\">“We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and any officer not meeting those standards will be held accountable,” she said. “No members of the media have contacted the Internal Affairs Division to make a formal complaint. If anyone would like to make a complaint of officer misconduct, they should contact our Internal Affairs Division via our website (slmpd.org) phone (444-5652) or in person at Police Headquarters, 1915 Olive.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t13l3\">Olson said that he was <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/18/ferguson-police-arrest-photographer-scott-olsen\">arrested</a> and taken to jail, where he was held for around 12 hours and then released on $50 bail. He said that the police returned his cameras to him when he was released and he does not believe that they were searched.</p><p data-block-key=\"v8ah8\">Before the arrest in St. Louis on Sept. 17, Olson said, he had only been arrested once in the course of his roughly 30 years as a photojournalist. His first arrest occurred in 2014, when he was covering protests in neighboring Ferguson, Missouri.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jvi5o\">Scott Olson, a Getty photographer, was arrested by St. Louis police on September 17, 2017, shortly after taking this photograph of police arresting demonstrators.</p>",
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"name": "Missouri",
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"(2018-09-17 00:00:00+00:00) Charges dropped against Getty photographer"
],
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"court verdict",
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"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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{
"title": "Fusion video journalist pushed into wall and detained by St. Louis police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fusion-video-journalist-pushed-wall-and-detained-st-louis-police/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-12T08:02:43.223742Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T18:44:32.787265Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T18:44:32.668940Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
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"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"so76v\">Chris Burke — a videographer working for Fusion — was forcibly pushed into a wall, handcuffed, and detained by police while covering protests in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sept. 17, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"v9tnw\">The protest was a response to the acquittal in September of of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"5zez7\">Burke told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that he was part of a group of photojournalists who were moving alongside demonstrators as they marched in downtown St. Louis on Sept. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"aabmd\">“We were obviously journalists”, Burke said, adding that the group was easily identifiable as press because many of them wore press badges and carried cameras and video equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dl3gv\">Burke said the police presence swelled in size as the demonstrators moved away from downtown St. Louis. When the march turned a corner, he said, police drove an unmarked van into the crowd and began shooting pepper spray balls at the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"vri1o\">“They pepper balled journalists as well as protesters,” Burke said.</p><p data-block-key=\"l5moq\">Burke said that he was not hit by any of the balls, but he saw <a href=\"https://www.columbiamissourian.com/from_the_newsroom/commentary-police-posed-a-greater-danger-to-journalists-than-demonstrators/article_27e06384-a063-11e7-b27b-77c18c5bce7d.html\">several journalists</a> who were.</p><p data-block-key=\"adj2m\">Burke said that he was later detained along with another photojournalist, Davis Winborne, after police enclosed a group of demonstrators and journalists. Burke said that police let some journalists leave the area but pushed him and Winborne into a brick wall.</p><p data-block-key=\"j7d8m\">Burke said that he felt one officer press his thumb behind his jawline.</p><p data-block-key=\"chx2x\">“It seemed like he was trying to find a pressure point,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"gfeyw\">Burke said that, when he asked the officer to remove his hand from his jaw, the officer ordered him to put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him. He also said that police used aggressive and profane language, calling Burke and Winborne “bitches.”</p><p data-block-key=\"r2c6z\">According to Burke, he and several journalists were loaded into a police van and detained for about 30 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"kfsjs\">“They never read us our rights, and it seemed like the police were trying to scare us,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"3txrl\">Burke said that he was eventually released after another photojournalist, Marcus DiPaola, was vouched for his identity. Burke also said that a police officer apologized to him after he was released.</p><p data-block-key=\"ewo0f\">Burke told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that the tactics used by the St. Louis police on September 17 seemed “pretty aggressive,” relative to previous protests that he has covered in other cities.</p><p data-block-key=\"dvxru\">“They felt like scare tactics, to make sure media doesn’t get in the way anymore,” he said.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7ego3\">Chris Burke</p>",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chris Burke (Fusion)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Filmmaker Jennifer Burbridge pepper sprayed and arrested by St. Louis police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-jennifer-burbridge-pepper-sprayed-arrested-st-louis-police/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-06T08:09:08.023026Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T22:35:38.127127Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T22:35:38.016710Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ocaj2\">Jennifer Burbridge was arrested while filming protests in St. Louis, Missouri on Sept. 17, 2017, according to a federal lawsuit that she and her husband, Drew, filed against the city. Both Jennifer and Drew are documentary filmmakers.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ckve\">The lawsuit was <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/filmmakers-sue-st-louis-police-for-arrest-in-kettle/article_7e3abf60-67e4-54c6-b7cd-a584eeded886.html\">filed</a> in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Sept. 26 and accuses St. Louis police officers (referred to as “John Does”) of violating their First Amendment rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"g15fk\">The <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/documents/2/Burbridge_complaint.pdf\">complaint</a> states that Jennifer and her husband were filming protests in downtown St. Louis on Sept. 17 when they — along with protesters and other journalists — were enclosed by police in a “kettle” at the intersection of Tucker Boulevard and Washington Ave.</p><p data-block-key=\"pbzzg\">The complaint describes what happened next to Jennifer Burbridge:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/documents/2/Burbridge_complaint.pdf\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"zzcg5\">Jennifer Burbridge was among those who were initially indirectly subjected to chemical spray by the police.</p><p data-block-key=\"cokur\">Jennifer Burbridge was forced to watch her husband and film partner Drew Burbridge being drug away by Defendants John Does #1, #2 and #3.</p><p data-block-key=\"u7cjr\">She was physically prevented from following or assisting her husband.</p><p data-block-key=\"jgjqr\">She observed the law enforcement assault and beating of her husband.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0obs\">At one point, while two officers were carrying Jennifer Burbridge away, one of the officers passed another male officer and stated, “Look who I have.” Such statements illustrated a clear intent on the part of the officers to target members of the media, like the Burbridges, who were attempting to document the protests and the SLMPD police response.</p><p data-block-key=\"hy0u2\">Another SLMPD officer made a point to walk up to Jennifer Burbridge after she had observed her husband pepper sprayed and assaulted and exclaim, “Did you like that? Come back tomorrow and we can do this again.” Another SLMPD officer stated, “What did you think was going to happen?”</p><p data-block-key=\"8kodu\">Like her husband, Jennifer Burbridge was taken into custody of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department who placed her in a van for transport to jail.</p><p data-block-key=\"tkpko\">On the way to the jail, a detainee in the van requested the name of the transporting officers, one of who responded, “I’m Father Time.”</p><p data-block-key=\"htts7\">Jennifer Burbridge was jailed for nearly 20-hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"ue03e\">Jennifer Burbridge was required to submit to a jail administered pregnancy test as a condition of being released.</p><p data-block-key=\"6zn6e\">Jennifer Burbridge was release with a municipal charge of “failure to disperse.”</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/documents/2/Burbridge_complaint.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"synvz\">Complaint for damages</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2017-10-06_at_4.33.55.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2017-09-18",
"detention_date": "2017-09-17",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:17-cv-02482",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-11-19 00:00:00+00:00) City of St. Louis agrees to pay deceased filmmaker $115k to settle lawsuit",
"(2019-04-15 00:00:00+00:00) Charges dropped against filmmaker Jennifer Burbridge"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jennifer Burbridge (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Filmmaker Drew Burbridge beaten, pepper sprayed and arrested by St. Louis police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-drew-burbridge-beaten-pepper-sprayed-and-arrested-st-louis-police/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-06T08:03:15.085973Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T23:47:03.589240Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T23:47:03.492473Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3wh26\">Drew Burbridge and his wife, Jennifer, were assaulted and arrested while filming protests in St. Louis, Missouri on Sept. 17, 2017, according to a federal lawsuit that the two of them filed against the city. Both Drew and Jennifer are documentary filmmakers.</p><p data-block-key=\"voppi\">The lawsuit was <a href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/filmmakers-sue-st-louis-police-for-arrest-in-kettle/article_7e3abf60-67e4-54c6-b7cd-a584eeded886.html\">filed</a> in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Sept. 26 and accuses St. Louis police officers (referred to as “John Does”) of violating their First Amendment rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"v55mt\">The <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/documents/2/Burbridge_complaint.pdf\">complaint</a> states that Drew and Jennifer Burbridge were filming protests in downtown St. Louis on Sept. 17 when they — along with protesters and other journalists — were enclosed by police in a “kettle” at the intersection of Tucker Boulevard and Washington Ave.</p><p data-block-key=\"f5784\">The complaint describes what happened next to Drew Burbridge:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/documents/2/Burbridge_complaint.pdf\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"xiaex\">After the initial deployment of chemical agents by the police, Drew Burbridge, who was sitting cross legged on the ground with his arms around his wife, was approached by two St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers, Defendants John Doe #1 and John Doe #2, in full riot gear.</p><p data-block-key=\"t525f\">One of the two officers (John Doe #1) stated “that’s him” and grabbed Drew Burbridge by each arm and roughly drug him away from his wife.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"ujpeh\">Drew Burbridge immediately identified himself to the Defendants as a journalist and specifically stated that he was not a protester, not resisting arrest, and was part of the media.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"02czd\">Defendants John Doe #1 and Defendant John Doe #2 then purposely deployed chemical spray into his mouth and eyes and ripped his camera from his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"gzna0\">At the time Defendants John Doe #1 and #2 purposely sprayed chemical spray into Drew Burbridges mouth and eyes, Drew Burbridge was not resisting and was willing and ready to comply with any order given by the Defendants.</p><p data-block-key=\"lprxy\">John Doe #1 and #2 threw Drew Burbridge to the pavement, face first, and twisted his arms behind his back, and repeatedly kicked Drew Burbridge in the back while restraining his arms behind his back with zip-ties. During this entire time, Plaintiff was submissive and complying with the officers.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"jf54h\">After Drew Burbridges hand were restrained behind his back and while on the ground, SLMPD officers Defendants John Does #1, 2, and 3, then proceeded to strike him on the ankles, legs, body, and head, with their feet, hands, and batons.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"boi7g\">While beating Drew Burbridge, one of the John Doe Defendants stated: “Do you want to take my picture now motherfucker? Do you want me to pose for you?”<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"hb2rb\">At no point during the illegal beating was Drew Burbridge resisting or in any other way failing to comply with the officers, and his hands were zip-tied behind his back during the beating.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"zbiuz\">Defendants continued to beat and pepper spray Drew Burbridge until he lost consciousness from the sustained beating. He awoke to an officer pulling his head up by his hair and spraying him with chemical agents in the face.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"w83ei\">Despite repeated requests by Drew Burbridge, none of the law enforcement officers would identify themselves. All of the law enforcement officers involved had removed their name identifications.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"pf5f0\">Drew Burbridge was transferred to the custody of a uniformed SLMPD officer who placed him in a van for transport to jail.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"xu29g\">Although he had been pepper-sprayed and beaten and could not see, the SLMPD officers did not allow or assist Drew Burbridge in rinsing the chemical agent from his eyes and would laugh as he stumbled and ran into objects as he tried to make his way into the van and jail.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"1mthi\">Drew Burbridge was jailed for nearly 20-hours.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"jbeir\">Drew Burbridge was released with a municipal charge of “failure to disperse.”</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/documents/2/Burbridge_complaint.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"8pypk\">Complaint for damages</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2017-10-06_at_4.31.03.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2017-09-18",
"detention_date": "2017-09-17",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:17-cv-02482",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2019-04-15 00:00:00+00:00) Charges dropped against filmmaker Drew Burbridge",
"(2021-11-19 00:00:00+00:00) City of St. Louis agrees to pay deceased filmmaker $115k to settle lawsuit"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Drew Burbridge (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "St. Louis police shoot University of Missouri student journalist with pepper balls",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/st-louis-police-shoot-university-missouri-student-journalist-pepper-balls/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-12T01:00:52.872925Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-20T20:16:59.044542Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-20T20:16:58.947192Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"k8ssy\">Davis Winborne — a photojournalism student at the University of Missouri — reported that he was hit by pepper spray balls, choked, handcuffed and loaded into a van by St. Louis Police while covering a protest in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sept. 17, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"fzwws\">The protest was a response to the acquittal in Sept. of of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"wo0p4\">The Columbia Missourian published <a href=\"https://www.columbiamissourian.com/from_the_newsroom/commentary-police-posed-a-greater-danger-to-journalists-than-demonstrators/article_27e06384-a063-11e7-b27b-77c18c5bce7d.html\">Winborne’s first-person account</a> of covering the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"k7bls\">Winborne writes that he was part of a larger group of photojournalists, many of whom were carrying professional equipment and wearing press badges, who were covering the protest march.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ffp0\">Winborne says that police officers chased the crowd of protesters and journalists and fired beanbag rounds at them. A different group of police officers then drove toward the crowd in an unmarked Jeep and indiscriminately pepper sprayed both protesters and journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"v35ty\">When the group of protesters and journalists reached the intersection of Tucker St. and Olive St., Winborne says, a SWAT truck pulled up next to the crowd and officers inside the truck fired pepper spray paintballs at the protesters and journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"jxb7h\">Winborne reported that he was hit twice by the pepper balls.</p><p data-block-key=\"aapge\">According to Winborne, a number of SWAT officers exited the SWAT vehicle and began grabbing journalists and protesters. Winborne writes that a SWAT officer grabbed him by the neck, pushed him into a brick wall and then zip-tied him. Winborne says that an officer removed his respirator and pulled back his helmet, which caused his helmet strap to choke him.</p><p data-block-key=\"unych\">Winborne writes that Chris Burke, a photographer, told the officer, “You need to take off his helmet, he’s choking.” According to Winborne, the officer just said, “I can’t hear you” and walked away.</p><p data-block-key=\"eqn8k\">Winborne says that when he asked one officer whether he was under arrest, the officer replied, “Shut up, motherfucker.” Winborne says that another officer told the group of journalists, “All of you dumbasses are going to jail tonight.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9qwyi\">Winborne says that the group of zip-tied journalists and demonstrators was loaded into the back of a police van and left there for about a half hour before being released.</p><p data-block-key=\"41aih\">Winborne said that he was later told that a freelance photographer persuaded the police to release the group on the grounds that they were journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sq1t\">Winborne sharply criticized the behavior of the St. Louis police.</p><p data-block-key=\"9m98m\">“When police ignore the people who are smashing windows and destroying property in order to focus on handcuffing and berating journalists, it impedes our ability to show the world what is happening,” he wrote in the Missourian.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/DavisWinborne.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"o42xr\">Davis Winborne</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Davis Winborne (Columbia Missourian)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent livestreamer Jon Ziegler pepper-sprayed and arrested in St. Louis",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-livestreamer-jon-ziegler-pepper-sprayed-and-arrested-st-louis/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-21T23:04:24.900549Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T20:58:13.970071Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T20:58:13.852242Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kn57n\">Jon Ziegler, an independent livestreamer also known as “Rebelutionary Z,” was pepper sprayed and arrested on Sept. 17, 2017, while covering a protest in St. Louis, Missouri.</p><p data-block-key=\"iel7x\">On Sunday night, hundreds of people gathered in downtown St. Louis to protest the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"pxtkb\">Around 11 p.m., large groups of St. Louis metropolitan police officers boxed in about a hundred people at the intersection of Washington Street and Tucker Boulevard and ordered them to get on the ground, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch <a href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.html\">reported</a>. Ziegler was among those caught in the kettle. At the time, he was carrying a camera and an iPhone on a tripod.</p><p data-block-key=\"xj65h\">Ziegler told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that police officers repeatedly doused him and other journalists and protesters in the kettle with pepper spray.</p><p data-block-key=\"xq2pp\">“I was drenched in spray” he said. “I remember my tripod looking like it had rained on it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6z60x\">He said that while he lay on the ground, one officer sprayed pepper spray directly at his mouth and others physically assaulted him.</p><p data-block-key=\"foyqx\">“I start feeling jabs in my back,” he said. “All of a sudden, I feel a foot or a knee on the back of my head just pushing it into the concrete and grinding it into the concrete.”</p><p data-block-key=\"020if\">Ziegler said that police officers celebrated after arresting everyone in the kettle, smoking cigars and mocking the journalists, protesters and legal observers who had been arrested. A bystander interviewed by NPR also claimed that officers smoked cigars and mocked protesters after making arrests. Post-Dispatch photojournalist David Carson <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDPJ/status/909678305640685568\">tweeted</a> a video on which officers can be heard chanting, “Whose Streets? Our Streets,” in mockery of protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"s189g\">Asked about the video, a police department spokeswoman told <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-missouri-crime/st-louis-police-probe-whether-officers-chanted-whose-streets-our-streets-idUSKCN1BT1YC\">Reuters</a>: “The Department is aware of the video circulating on social media, and is reviewing the footage. We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and any officer not meeting those standards will be held accountable.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6r07s\">Ziegler said that officers specifically alluded to and mocked his journalistic work while arresting him, repeatedly calling him “superstar” and taking selfies with him. He said that the officer who arrested him joked that he was his “biggest fan” and bragged that he watched all of his livestreams.</p><p data-block-key=\"er6wb\">“They were quoting back my tweets to me and quoting back parts of the stream,” he said. “That kind of joking and sarcastic behavior continued inside the precinct with some of the officers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"n064w\">Like others <a href=\"http://wxxinews.org/post/st-louis-edge-protesters-expected-gather-again\">arrested</a> in the kettle, Ziegler was taken to a nearby jail. He said that he was held for more than 12 hours, before finally being released on a $50 bond.</p><p data-block-key=\"i7h9g\">Ziegler’s <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlUX1HrV9p8&t=42m\">livestream</a> from Sept. 17 shows police officers surrounding the protesters from all sides and pepper spraying them.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/UlUX1HrV9p8?start=2520&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"mfiz0\">Jon Ziegler's livestream of the arrests</p>\n \n \n <p>Rebelutionary Z</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wfhto\">“They maced me for having my camera going,” Ziegler says on the livestream at one point. “We’re all just choking on mace now. We’re drowning in mace here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"logil\">Later in the stream, officers approach Ziegler to handcuff and arrest him. One person offscreen calls him “superstar.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1as22\">“You heard them call me superstar on camera, guys,” Ziegler says. “They’re putting on the cuffs real tight, real fucking right. They’re beating the shit out of me. They’re fucking beating the shit out of me! Stop pushing my head in the ground!”</p><p data-block-key=\"8nw9n\">“Shut up,” someone says offscreen.</p><p data-block-key=\"291t6\">“They’re pushing my head in the ground, real tight.” Ziegler says, just before screaming out in pain. “Fuck, they sprayed me again!”</p><p data-block-key=\"f05du\">As Ziegler is led away from the scene, an officer approaches his phone and shuts off the livestream.</p><p data-block-key=\"glwub\">A police department spokeswoman told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that no journalist has made a formal complaint of police misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"0h5z3\">"We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and any officer not meeting those standards will be held accountable," the spokeswoman said. "No members of the media have contacted the Internal Affairs Division to make a formal complaint. If anyone would like to make a complaint of officer misconduct, they should contact our Internal Affairs Division via our website (slmpd.org) phone (444-5652) or in person at Police Headquarters, 1915 Olive."</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2017-09-21_at_5.20.59.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"e74he\">Screengrab from Jon Ziegler's livestream shows a police officer pepper-spraying Ziegler before arresting him, in downtown St. Louis, on September 17, 2017.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:19-cv-02590",
"case_type": "CLASS_ACTION",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-08-03 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist gets part of $4.9 million class-action settlement",
"(2017-10-01 14:38:00+00:00) Charges against independent livestreamer dropped"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jon Ziegler (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter knocked to ground by police and arrested",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/st-louis-post-dispatch-reporter-knocked-ground-police-and-arrested/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-21T23:01:19.364836Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T23:59:46.981875Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T23:59:46.825096Z",
"date": "2017-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lnoaj\">St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk was arrested by police on Sept. 17, 2017, while covering a protest in St. Louis, Missouri.</p><p data-block-key=\"5n8og\">According to the Post-Dispatch, more than a thousand people gathered in downtown St. Louis on Sept. 17 to protest the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"d34rb\">Around 11 p.m., large groups of police officers <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.html\">boxed in</a> about a hundred people at the intersection of Washington Street and Tucker Boulevard. Faulk was among those caught in the kettle.</p><p data-block-key=\"c90b2\">The Post-Dispatch reported what happened next:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.html\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"ao4zx\">St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk was caught in the kettle Sunday night. A line of bike cops formed across Washington Avenue, east of Tucker Boulevard and police in helmets carrying shields and batons blocked the other three sides of the intersection at Tucker and Washington. Faulk heard the repeated police command, “Move back. Move back.” He had nowhere to go.</p><p data-block-key=\"g8e7w\">The police lines moved forward, trapping dozens of people — protesters, journalists, area residents and observers alike. Multiple officers knocked Faulk down, he said, and pinned his limbs to the ground. A firm foot pushed his head into the pavement. Once he was subdued, he recalled, an officer squirted pepper spray in his face.</p><p data-block-key=\"2i5t7\">Police loaded Faulk into a van holding about eight others and took him to the city jail on Tucker, a few blocks to the south. He arrived about midnight and was released about 1:30 p.m. Monday after posting a $50 bond. Faulk was charged with failure to disperse, a municipal charge.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/as-arrests-are-made-protesters-question-the-tactics-used-by/article_e58481b7-f7c2-541e-91d2-31a6379f272c.html\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"ymn3s\">The St. Louis Post-Dispatch</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rjcjd\">Joseph Martineau, an attorney for the Post-Dispatch, wrote a letter to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewton, Acting Police Chief Lawrence O'Toole, City Counselor Julian Bush and Deputy City Counselor Michael Garvin demanding the city drop all charges against Faulk. The letter details the police's treatment of him:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"http://www.stltoday.com/post-dispatch-letter-to-mayor-police-chief/pdf_6ad18a13-15ab-5e77-8b54-d1b4b56d6bc2.html\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"ogfhp\">When he was arrested, Mr. Faulk was standing on a sidewalk reporting on the protests. He was not impeding vehicular or pedestrian traffic. He was clearly identified and credentialed as a reporter for the Post-Dispatch and repeatedly advised several of the arresting officers of his status. Nonetheless, he was rounded up and restrained by police officers who surrounded a large group of people and prevented them from leaving the perimeter in a mechanism we understand is referred to as “kettling.” Independent of whether the “kettle” containment activity was proper under the circumstances (and as the Post-Dispatch has reported, there are serious questions about that), there was no reason why a credentialed reporter should have been arrested or restrained from doing his job of reporting the events. Once the reporter was clearly identified as such, he should have been released immediately and allowed to continue his newsgathering activity.</p><p data-block-key=\"xuzjj\">Moreover, as we understand the situation, Mr. Faulk was not merely restrained and arrested. While standing on the sidewalk and making no resistance , he was forcefully pushed to the ground by police officers and a police officer's boot was placed on his head. As a result of this unneeded and inappropriate force, Mr. Faulk suffered injury to both legs, his back and wrist. Even after being restrained with zip ties and totally subdued, a police officer deliberately sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, mace or some other stinging substance. At some point during the evening, an officer also took it upon himself to review the contents of the cellphone Mr. Faulk was using to communicate and photograph the events of the evening. A bike he was using during his news coverage has not been returned to him. He was held for over thirteen hours in jail, even though one of our editors was at the jail only two hours after the arrest to secure his release. That editor was lied to by jail personnel who told her that he was still in transport, even though he was already at the jail. Jail personnel denied his repeated requests for medical attention. </p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/post-dispatch-letter-to-mayor-police-chief/pdf_6ad18a13-15ab-5e77-8b54-d1b4b56d6bc2.html\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"29tpn\">Post-Dispatch letter to mayor, police chief</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fhpfn\">Faulk was held in jail for 13 hours and then released on a $50 bond on the afternoon of Sept. 18. Once released, he returned to the Post-Dispatch newsroom.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/Mike_Faulk\">@Mike_Faulk</a> returns to newsroom applause after more than 12 hours in jail for doing his job. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLVerdict?src=hash\">#STLVerdict</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/cPeKugmiEC\">pic.twitter.com/cPeKugmiEC</a></p>— Christopher Ave (@ChristopherAve) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChristopherAve/status/909863679788806144\">September 18, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3dli3\">“He returned to the newsroom limping, knees bloodied and pepper spray still on his skin,” the Post-Dispatch reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"3yveg\">Post-Dispatch editor Gilbert Bailon <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/post-dispatch-demands-charges-be-dropped-against-reporter-covering-protest/article_bb15e07a-7147-56b3-8629-3ff9ae8eec0d.html\">condemned</a> the police's treatment of Faulk.</p><p data-block-key=\"h16lc\">“St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalists and other credentialed news media provide critical information to the public,” he said in a statement. “When St. Louis police arrested Mike, after he fully identified himself while covering the protests, they violated basic tenets of our democracy. Additionally, the physical abuse he suffered during the arrest is abhorrent and must be investigated. The Post-Dispatch is calling for our city leaders to immediately implement policies that will prevent journalists from being arrested without cause.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xmtq9\">The <a href=\"https://newsguild.org/newsguild-condemns-arrest-of-reporter-michael-faulk/\">News Guild-CWA</a> and the St. Louis chapter of the <a href=\"https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/jason-stockley/society-of-professional-journalists-condemns-arrest-of-post-dispatch-reporter/63-477322145\">Society of Professional Journalists</a> also condemned the arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"59ju1\">“The NewsGuild denounces the arrest of Guild member Michael Faulk and demands that any pending charges against him be dismissed,” Bernie Lunzer, president of The News Guild-CWA, said in a statement. “Faulk was doing his job, informing the people. There is simply no justification for his arrest and mistreatment. There has been a noticeable uptick in assaults and arrests of reporters in recent months. This is a dangerous trend that impedes journalists’ right to report and the people’s right to know.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2drr4\">“Journalism is the only profession protected by name in the Constitution,” St. Louis SPJ chapter president Elizabeth Donald said in a statement. “The First Amendment is not a whimsical academic concept to be dismissed when it becomes inconvenient – or embarrassing to the police. The chilling effect of assaulting, arresting, jailing and charging a journalist in the course of his duties cannot be overstated.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xihwv\">Both The News Guild-CWA and Society of Professional Journalists are partner organizations of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"m8c57\">A spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that no journalists have filed formal complaints of police misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"tigak\">“We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and any officer not meeting those standards will be held accountable,” she said. “No members of the media have contacted the Internal Affairs Division to make a formal complaint. If anyone would like to make a complaint of officer misconduct, they should contact our Internal Affairs Division via our website (slmpd.org) phone (444-5652) or in person at Police Headquarters, 1915 Olive.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/U438av3O.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ac7dc\">St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk is arrested while covering a protest in downtown St. Louis on September 17, 2017.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2017-09-18",
"detention_date": "2017-09-17",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:19-cv-02590",
"case_type": "CLASS_ACTION",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in part",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "law enforcement",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "bicycle"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2018-09-17 00:00:00+00:00) Charges dropped against St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter arrested in September 2017",
"(2023-08-21 13:26:00+00:00) Former journalist gets part of $4.9 million class-action settlement",
"(2018-02-23 12:00:00+00:00) Mike Faulk sues St. Louis police"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mike Faulk (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist, graduate student stopped again for secondary screening",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-graduate-student-stopped-again-secondary-screening/",
"first_published_at": "2019-11-08T17:34:13.141128Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T20:04:09.611447Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T20:04:09.526397Z",
"date": "2017-09-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Orlando",
"longitude": -81.37924,
"latitude": 28.53834,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j0dk0\">Zainab Merchant, a graduate student at Harvard University and founder of online publication Zainab Rights, was stopped for secondary screening by Customs and Border Protection officers in Orlando, Florida, on Sept. 16, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"ldael\">The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a <a href=\"https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/zainab-merchant-administrative-complaint-department-homeland-security\">complaint</a> with the Department of Homeland Security on Merchant’s behalf. <a href=\"https://www.aclu.org/cases/zainab-merchant\">According to the organizations</a>, Merchant was returning from a personal trip to Morocco with her husband when they were both redirected to secondary screening.</p><p data-block-key=\"fx0cd\">As was the case with Merchant’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-graduate-student-stopped-secondary-screening-electronic-devices-searched/\">previous stop catalogued by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker</a>, the officer who questioned her asked about her article on her experience crossing the border in 2016 and asked what she aimed to accomplish by writing it. According to the complaint, the officer also said, “Please don’t write anything bad about us.”</p><p data-block-key=\"km916\">The complaint also details that a CBP officer overheard Merchant speaking with another woman about their experiences while waiting in the screening area and reportedly said to them that when you fly, you sign off all your rights. “Do what you want, get a lawyer, get the courts involved, and do the redress, but you’ll never be able to get off,” the officer is quoted as saying.</p><p data-block-key=\"990er\">Merchant and her husband were held in secondary screening for approximately three hours before being released.</p><p data-block-key=\"vzj3b\">Merchant did not respond to the Tracker’s requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"t7q3u\">The complaint states that three months after the incident, Merchant received a voicemail from a DHS officer who identified himself as Agent Newcomb. He said, in regards to her security experiences every time she travels, that he “would like to come up with a solution that could make everyone happy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dg3qw\">Merchant later met with Agent Newcomb and another officer who identified himself as Agent Jerome. The officers asked if she knew anyone who had been “radicalized,” hinting that if she provided them information they could resolve her travel issues. She declined to meet with them again.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ks52\">The complaint states that the years of heightened security screenings has had a severe impact on Merchant. “She avoids flying if possible and experiences extreme frustration, anxiety, and humiliation when she does fly,” the complaint says.</p><p data-block-key=\"xjmzx\">In a 2018 opinion article in The Washington Post, Merchant <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-may-have-to-quit-harvard--because-the-tsa-wont-stop-searching-me/2018/08/14/0dbdbb72-9a55-11e8-b55e-5002300ef004_story.html\">wrote that her experiences</a> being targeted for prolonged secondary screenings exposed the shifting values in America: “Its greatest qualities of freedom, liberty and opportunity have undoubtedly shaped the person I am today. But these values are slowly diminishing, and those liberties are being taken away from us little by little. I fear one day we will be unable to recognize it as the place we called home.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:17-cv-11730",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": "Orlando International Airport",
"target_us_citizenship_status": "U.S. citizen",
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": true,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": "no",
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": "yes",
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Florida",
"abbreviation": "FL"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-06-28 00:00:00+00:00) Supreme Court declines to hear case on warrantless electronic device searches at border",
"(2019-11-12 12:40:00+00:00) Federal court finds warrantless searches of devices violates Fourth Amendment of travelers"
],
"case_statuses": [
"dismissed"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [
"United States"
],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Border Stop"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Zainab Merchant (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Protesters threaten, throw water on KTVI reporter covering protest in St. Louis",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/protesters-threaten-throw-water-ktvi-reporter-covering-protest-st-louis/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-26T20:03:22.452198Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T19:01:56.678572Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T19:01:56.563507Z",
"date": "2017-09-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Louis",
"longitude": -90.19789,
"latitude": 38.62727,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3a977\">While covering a protest in St. Louis on Sept. 15, 2017, KTVI reporter Dan Gray was hit with water bottles and pressured to leave the area by protesters, he said in an on-air segment on KTVI.</p><p data-block-key=\"nwhja\">The protests followed the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former St. Louis police officer who in 2011 fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, a black man.</p><p data-block-key=\"777ud\">“One agitator in particular had been taunting us for most of the day, and then continued to taunt us, and other people had heard what he was saying,” Gray said <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/online/media/stltodaymobile/ktvi-reporter-surrounded-confronted-during-stockley-protests/youtube_297329fa-4d6d-583a-9a6b-6ae785c7a674.html\">on KTVI</a>. “He was complaining about the media, complaining about me in particular. He singled me out for some reason. I guess he knew that I had been in St. Louis a long time because he said, ‘You’ve been reporting on this for 30 years. You’ve been reporting black-on-black crime, black people shooting black people, for 30 years, and didn’t do anything.’ So their anger and frustration turned and focused on us at that point. I became surrounded by a group of people. Some of the folks came to protect us as you can see.”</p><p data-block-key=\"w6gg4\">Gray reported that he was <a href=\"https://fox2now.com/news/scary-moments-for-a-fox-2-reporter-during-a-stockley-protest/\">hit by three water bottles</a>, one in the back of the head, and concluded the segment saying, “Again, I understand these people’s frustration. I understand their anger. Perhaps they needed someone to vent it to. Perhaps they needed somebody to go after and criticize. We’re ok. We’re fine. But it just shows how fast things can turn.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2qiht\">Gray tweeted a video of the event describing it as the “scariest moment in my career.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3vwmo\">A video filmed by St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist Denise Hollinshed shows a man following Gray and his camerawoman, Tauna Price, as they attempt to leave the protest.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/akVKfm1gNc4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"1bqsc\">KTVI reporter Dan Gray is followed and threatened by protesters while reporting in St. Louis.</p>\n \n \n <p>St. Louis Post-Dispatch</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0swbi\">As Dan and Tauna attempt to extricate themselves from the protesters, a women can be seen several feet behind Gray, attempting to separate him from the protesters, saying “Go faster. Go faster.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fjswu\">Then, a male protester moves toward Gray shouting, “You shouldn’t be over here man. You motherfuckers shouldn’t even be over here. Why the fuck would you come over? Why the fuck would you come over here though? You know you shouldn’t be over here. You should get your ass somewhere where you belong. Why the fuck are you trying to fuck my movement? Get your ass away and find you something better to do. Get the fuck out of my movement, motherfucker. And I’m saying it in your motherfucking face.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lqg4o\">At that point the man steps directly in the path of Gray who steps backward, briefly surrounded by commotion, before he’s pulled forward by the crew filming and several friendly protesters. One protester appears to throw water at him.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qjmp\">As Gray and Price continue to move up Market Street, the crowd diminishes and Hollinshed asks Gray how he’s doing.</p><p data-block-key=\"cad9k\">“Shaken,” he says. “I’m shaken and a bit scared as the mob kind of surrounded me and my photographer. We got water thrown at us. We got yelled and shoved and pushed. I understand people’s frustrations with the judge’s decision, but they seem to be taking it out on the news media.. My boss said if there were any confrontation, any threat of violence, we’re leaving. So we’re leaving.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Scariest moment in my career. Protesters upset about not guilty verdict for an officer accused of killing a suspect, turn on me and media. <a href=\"https://t.co/iZyvg3gX0p\">pic.twitter.com/iZyvg3gX0p</a></p>— Dan Gray KTVI Fox 2 (@DanGrayTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DanGrayTV/status/908836675446497280\">September 15, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"udd1u\">A screengrab from a video shows protesters pouring water on KTVI reporter Dan Gray.</p>",
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"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"court verdict",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dan Gray (KTVI)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Second subpoena issued for independent journalist’s phone records",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/second-subpoena-issued-for-independent-journalists-phone-records/",
"first_published_at": "2023-06-26T18:34:48.969438Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-10T19:40:26.296424Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-10T19:40:26.117038Z",
"date": "2017-09-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Laredo",
"longitude": -99.50754,
"latitude": 27.50641,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oyi8b\">Police in Laredo, Texas, subpoenaed the phone records of independent journalist Priscilla Villarreal for the second time on Sept. 14, 2017, as part of an investigation into a confidential source, according to filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Her communication records have been subpoenaed at least four times.</p><p data-block-key=\"bd6g3\">Villarreal — known by her pen name “La Gordiloca” — published the name of a Border Patrol agent who died by suicide on her Facebook page in April, before the Laredo Police Department’s official release about the incident. The LPD opened an investigation to identify who leaked Villarreal the name.</p><p data-block-key=\"5e7o9\">According to an arrest warrant approval form, an LPD officer <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/prosecutors-subpoenaed-citizen-journalist-cell-phone-during-investigation/\">first subpoenaed</a> the call log records for the cellphones of Villarreal and her suspected source on July 27. On Sept. 14, the officer sent a second subpoena seeking call logs from Jan. 1 through Sept. 13 for the phone numbers belonging to both Villarreal and her suspected source. It was not immediately clear when AT&T provided the requested records, but references to phone records provided by the telecommunication company indicate that the records were turned over.</p><p data-block-key=\"fuin6\">Two additional subpoenas for Villarreal’s text messages were filed on <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/third-subpoena-issued-for-independent-journalists-phone-records/\">Sept. 28</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fourth-subpoena-issued-for-independent-journalists-phone-records/\">Oct. 6</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2jn06\">Villarreal was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/citizen-journalist-arrested-after-publishing-information-local-police/\">arrested in December</a> and charged with two third-degree felonies for “misuse of official information.” An attorney representing Villarreal filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the constitutionality of the charges in February 2018.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0isp\">“Today, in the State of Texas, it is illegal to simply ask a public servant for information if the information sought happens to be described in an obscure list of information categories that are subject to discretionary disclosure — rather than mandatory,” attorney Oscar Peña wrote. “The only thing keeping journalists from being prosecuted for this every day is the mercy of the police, the prosecutors and the political cost attendant. This too is alarming.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bq4du\">A Texas state judge ruled in favor of Villarreal in March 2018 and dismissed the charges, finding that the statute the journalist was charged under was unconstitutionally vague.</p><p data-block-key=\"1g4p5\">In April 2019, Villarreal <a href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/405495470/Priscilla-Villarreal-Complaint-SDTX\">filed a civil lawsuit</a> against the city of Laredo, Webb County and 10 law enforcement officials. The case was initially dismissed by a U.S. magistrate judge in May 2020, but a federal court of appeals <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/citizen-journalist-arrested-after-publishing-information-local-police/\">reversed the decision</a> in November 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9kgq\">In August 2022, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a substitute decision with the addition of a dissenting opinion from Chief Judge Priscilla Richman and a concurring opinion from Judge James C. Ho.</p><p data-block-key=\"26ic0\">JT Morris, a senior attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression who is representing Villarreal’s appeal, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the appellate court decided to rehear the case “en banc,” meaning that the entire bench of active judges for the court reheard the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"fn7d6\">Arguments before the judges were held in January 2023, Morris said, and the court’s ruling is now pending.</p></div>",
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"case_number": "5:19-cv-00048",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"name_of_business": "AT&T",
"third_party_business": "telecom company",
"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-01-23 12:02:00+00:00) Divided federal appeals court won’t revive Texas journalist’s lawsuit",
"(2025-04-08 00:00:00+00:00) Appeals court again dismisses Texas journalist’s arrest-related lawsuit",
"(2024-10-15 17:12:00+00:00) U.S. Supreme Court revives Texas journalist’s lawsuit related to her arrest"
],
"case_statuses": [
"dismissed"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Priscilla Villarreal (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "White House press secretary says tweets criticizing Trump are ‘a fireable offense’",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-press-secretary-says-tweets-criticizing-trump-are-fireable-offense/",
"first_published_at": "2017-11-07T00:03:46.492044Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T19:10:46.544194Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T19:10:46.458523Z",
"date": "2017-09-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e5tm5\">At a White House press briefing on Sept. 13, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that it should be a “fireable offense” for ESPN sports journalist Jemele Hill to criticize President Trump on Twitter.</p><p data-block-key=\"xb17l\">On Sept. 11, Hill tweeted that Trump was “a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.</p>— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/907391978194849793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o6s0q\">During the Sept. 13 briefing, a reporter asked Sanders whether the president was aware of Hill’s tweet.</p><p data-block-key=\"xxncr\">“I’m not sure if he’s aware, but I think that’s one of the more outrageous comments that anyone could make and certainly something that is a fireable offense by ESPN,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"usbyv\">Later that day, Hill tweeted a public apology.</p><p data-block-key=\"nvqdu\">“My comments on Twitter reflected my personal beliefs,” she said. “My regret is that my comments and the public way I made them painted ESPN in an unfair light. My respect for the company and my colleagues remains unconditional.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8spn8\">Shortly after, ESPN <a href=\"https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/13/media/jemele-hill-espn-white-house/index.html\">released</a> its own statement, distancing itself from Hill’s comments.</p><p data-block-key=\"21jpv\">“Jemele has a right to her personal opinions, but not to publicly share them on a platform that implies that she was in any way speaking on behalf of ESPN,” the statement said. “She has acknowledged that her tweets crossed that line and has apologized for doing so. We accept her apology.”</p><p data-block-key=\"26y8n\">A Super PAC named The Democratic Coalition has filed an ethics complaint with the Office of Government Ethics against Sanders. Coalition Chairman Jon Cooper <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/sarah-huckabee-sanders-hit-with-ethics-complaint/\">told TheWrap</a>, “When Sarah Huckabee Sanders called for Jemele Hill to be fired by ESPN, she crossed the line and put herself in dubious legal territory.” </p><p data-block-key=\"iinea\">On Sept. 15, Trump criticized ESPN on Twitter.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">ESPN is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming). People are dumping it in RECORD numbers. Apologize for untruth!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/908651641943003136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 15, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5a2kg\">On Oct. 9, ESPN announced that it had suspended Hill for two weeks in response to a tweet about a potential boycott of companies advertising with the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager of the Cowboys, is reportedly close to Trump and received praise from the president after he <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/jones-mandating-players-stand-for-national-anthem-to-remove-debate-away-from-politics/\">threatened</a> NFL players who refused to stand during the national anthem.</p><p data-block-key=\"1aolq\">“Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for a second violation of our social media guidelines,” the network said in a statement. “She previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive tweet. In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fsjgv\">On Oct. 10, President Trump once again criticized ESPN and Hill on Twitter.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With Jemele Hill at the mike, it is no wonder ESPN ratings have "tanked," in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/917701841466593280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 10, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX3FXM6.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6a21c\">White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 12, 2017.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jemele Hill (ESPN)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Missouri reporter assaulted at his home after reporting on sexual misconduct allegations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/missouri-reporter-assaulted-his-home-after-reporting-sexual-misconduct-allegations/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-22T18:23:55.179375Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-08-22T20:13:36.996819Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-08-22T20:08:31.705143Z",
"date": "2017-09-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Joplin",
"longitude": -94.51328,
"latitude": 37.08423,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j6671\">Randy Turner, a former newspaper reporter who now runs a blog called The Turner Report, was <a href=\"https://rturner229.blogspot.com/2017/09/links-provided-for-top-turner_16.html\">punched</a> in the face at his home in Joplin, Missouri, on Sept. 11, 2017, after a man knocked on his door and asked, "Are you Mr. Turner?”</p><p data-block-key=\"3ewum\">After confirming his name, the man punched Turner in the nose, causing him to fall to the floor, and then walked away. Turner, who saw a doctor following the attack, suffered bruises on his face, a black eye and injured knee, <a href=\"https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2017/09/12/blogger-says-man-knocked-his-door-then-punched-him-face/657729001/\">according to the Springfield News-Leader</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"vyqhr\">Turner told the Freedom of the Press Foundation, “I consider myself fortunate that all that happened was me being punched. The man could have had a gun or he could have kept on punching me. I am 61 years old and had triple bypass heart surgery a few months ago and I have a pacemaker.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jcrhd\">Turner believes that his assailant was Christopher Alred, a former supervisor at a local Sonic restaurant.</p><p data-block-key=\"hpt7r\">Turner had published articles on his blog about Alred on Sept. 10 and 11, the day before and the day of the attack. The articles reported on allegations of sexual misconduct against Alred. According to Missouri court records, Alred has been charged with one count of “statutory sodomy” in the second degree. (Alred's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)</p><p data-block-key=\"8vbfe\">On Sept. 13, Joplin Police <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/JoplinPD/photos/pb.185456884943352.-2207520000.1505350289./907393606083006/\">announced</a>: “We are seeking the arrest of Christopher Alred, 31, for the assault of local blogger Randy Turner. We know he frequents the area along with the Springfield area. Our detectives developed probable cause to arrest him yesterday afternoon and he hasn't been located.”</p><p data-block-key=\"wcv1f\">Following the attack at his home, Turner told the Springfield News-Leader, “I mainly want to show people that this is not going to stop me from doing what I'm doing and what I have been doing for the last 40 years.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2018-11-08 15:55:00+00:00) Man who punched Missouri reporter is sentenced for the assault"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Randy Turner (The Turner Report)"
],
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"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist detained at US-Canadian border ordered to delete images on camera",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-detained-us-canadian-border-ordered-delete-images-camera/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-20T17:46:57.847045Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-10T14:38:53.145074Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-10T14:38:53.024353Z",
"date": "2017-09-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Highgate",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ajlkr\">Terry J. Allen, a senior editor for In These Times magazine, was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection while attempting to cross the U.S.-Canadian border on Sept. 4, 2017 and ordered to delete images she had taken of the border crossing.</p><p data-block-key=\"9lh1j\">Allen, who has reported for the Guardian, Boston Globe, Harper’s, and Salon, told Freedom of the Press Foundation that she took photos of buildings and vehicle congestion near the Highgate Springs–St. Armand/Philipsburg Border Crossing connecting Quebec and Vermont. She was traveling with a friend at the time and she stepped out of the car to take photos while stuck in traffic, according to an account she wrote about her experience for the online news site VTDigger.</p><p data-block-key=\"3v8gn\">When Allen arrived at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint approximately thirty minutes later, a CBP agent asked Allen if she had been photographing the area. She responded that she had and that she was a journalist who often photographed border patrol stations.</p><p data-block-key=\"5pcqh\">Allen told Freedom of the Press Foundation that the agent, whose name she did not specify, then demanded her phone to delete the images she had taken. She refused to hand over the phone and told the agent that the images were on a camera, not her phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"ep23p\">Allen <a href=\"https://vtdigger.org/2017/09/17/first-person-how-a-reporters-photos-were-deleted-at-the-vermont-border/\">wrote in VTDigger</a> that she eventually deleted the images from her camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"9n6pt\">“Look you don’t have the right to demand this, but, here, I’ll delete the SD card in my camera,” she told the agent.</p><p data-block-key=\"bhf37\">After checking the display of her camera to confirm that the images had been deleted, the CBP agent continued to demand Allen’s phone and after she again refused, he instructed the two of them to park and enter a nearby building.</p><p data-block-key=\"58558\">Allen and her companion were then questioned by a second CBP agent, Supervisor Mayo, who showed the journalist a copy of a provision in the <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/code-conduct\">Department of Homeland Security’s Code of Conduct</a> in response to her question about which regulations prohibit photography.</p><p data-block-key=\"9crjm\">According to the provision, people need permission to photograph space occupied by a federal agency. The text of the provision, however, permits photographs of building entrances and lobbies for news purposes:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/41/102-74.420\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"l6i31\">Except where security regulations, rules, orders, or directives apply or a Federal court order or rule prohibits it, persons entering in or on Federal property may take photographs of--</p><p data-block-key=\"hcbp5\">(a) Space occupied by a tenant agency for non-commercial purposes only with the permission of the occupying agency concerned;</p><p data-block-key=\"0rii5\">(b) Space occupied by a tenant agency for commercial purposes only with written permission of an authorized official of the occupying agency concerned; and</p><p data-block-key=\"6b8k9\">(c) Building entrances, lobbies, foyers, corridors, or auditoriums for news purposes.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/41/102-74.420\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"pzqd6\">41 CFR 102-74.420</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xkd8q\">After showing Supervisor Mayo her camera to prove the photos of the border stop had been deleted, he returned both passports, and Allen and her friend were permitted to depart.</p><p data-block-key=\"wl52n\">Stephanie Malin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told Freedom of the Press Foundation in an email:</p><p data-block-key=\"wk6or\">“CBP Privacy policy prohibits us from discussing the details of a specific individual's inspection however while photography of federal facilities from outside is not prohibited for news purposes, all CBP federal inspection stations lend travelers a certain level of privacy protection under U.S. law and we must seek passenger permission to take photos of them if the photos show enough detail to identify someone or their property (vehicle, etc.). Additionally our officers are cognizant of the security risks that can accompany individuals taking photos of the ports, for example to be used to identify smuggling opportunities or to accomplish other nefarious activity. While we understand that was not the intent in this case, these are reasons why our officers may ask individuals not to take photos or ask to see the photos that have been taken.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "Terry J. Allen, a senior editor for In These Times magazine, was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection while attempting to cross the US-Canadian border on Sept. 4, 2017.",
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"name": "Vermont",
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{
"title": "Local newspaper editor shot by police officer in Ohio",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/local-newspaper-editor-shot-police-officer-ohio/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-06T20:28:23.781264Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T23:59:09.970418Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T23:59:09.883216Z",
"date": "2017-09-04",
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"city": "New Carlisle",
"longitude": -84.02549,
"latitude": 39.93617,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vt0bt\">Andy Grimm, a news editor and photographer for The New Carlisle News, was shot while setting up his camera to photograph a traffic stop during a lightning storm, according to a statement from the Clark County Sheriff's Office. At around 10:15 pm on Sept. 4th, Grimm was holding his camera when Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jack Shaw <a href=\"https://www.newcarlislenews.net/index.php/public-records/sheriff-reports-6/3290-deputy-shoots-new-carlisle-news-photographer\">shot</a> him twice without warning.</p><p data-block-key=\"i8bxh\">According to WGCT Fox 45, one of the bullets struck him in the side and another grazed his shoulder. Grimm was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was <a href=\"https://www.whio.com/news/news-photographer-released-from-hospital-deputy-who-shot-him/pi4FBjcUjnfMIfILJoOj1O/\">released</a> the next day. He’s expected to recover. </p><p data-block-key=\"tpmzq\">Grimm told Fox 45 that he and Shaw knew one another before the shooting. He said that after he was shot, he said, “What the [bleep] Jake Shaw, you shot me, dude” and Shaw responded, “Oh my God, Andy,” and repeatedly said, “I thought it was a gun.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9p8ip\">According to WHIO-TV 7, Shaw was placed on administrative leave and will attend a “critical incident debriefing.” At the request of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the Attorney General of Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation will conduct the investigation into the shooting.</p><p data-block-key=\"0xlgj\">“We’re still investigating to determine what exactly occurred,” a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said in a statement. </p><p data-block-key=\"lorox\">Grimm is confident in the investigation and <a href=\"https://dayton247now.com/news/local/officer-involved-shooting-reported-in-new-carlisle\">told WRGT Fox 45</a> that he is not upset with Shaw. </p><p data-block-key=\"0damr\">“There’s so much animosity toward police officers,” he said. “He was just doing his job. I think he made a bad decision. He shot somebody, an unarmed civilian. Realistically there's going to be consequences.”</p><p data-block-key=\"p4ez8\">“Our hearts and prayers are with Mr. Grimm as he recovers and with Deputy Jake Shaw and we ask the community to keep both of them in your hearts and prayers as well,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"name": "Ohio",
"abbreviation": "OH"
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"updates": [
"(2019-05-23 00:00:00+00:00) Ohio county agrees to pay $260,000 to settle lawsuit brought by photojournalist shot by sheriff’s deputy"
],
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"settled"
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"shot / shot at"
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"Andy Grimm (New Carlisle News)"
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{
"title": "University of Texas journalist attacked at immigrant rights protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/university-texas-journalist-attacked-immigrant-rights-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-22T19:45:47.991151Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-21T22:08:43.441080Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-21T22:08:43.333213Z",
"date": "2017-09-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yqsyl\">Chase Karacostas — a reporter for The Daily Texan, the newspaper of the University of Texas, Austin — was attacked by a protester while covering a demonstration about immigrant rights on campus on Sept. 1, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"41r5q\">In an interview with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Karacostas said he had been covering the protest, a demonstration in response to a bill banning sanctuary cities in Texas, for about 20 minutes before he was attacked. He said that a protester knocked his phone into his head while he was conducting an interview. The phone cut his face and forced him to receive treatment at an urgent care clinic.</p><p data-block-key=\"w6k2u\">“I was holding my phone out in front of me while recording, and my assailant came up to me and knocked my phone directly into my face,” Karacostas said.</p><p data-block-key=\"t5p1b\">The Student Press Law Center <a href=\"http://www.splc.org/article/2017/09/uta-student-journalist-assaulted\">published</a> audio of the incident and immediate aftermath.</p><p data-block-key=\"2hz2k\">While his attacker re-joined the protest, Karacostas finished his interview and addressed his injury.</p><p data-block-key=\"38xdx\">“At first I thought it was just a bruise, but then I noticed blood,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"n1oww\">London Gibson, a campus reporter for The Daily Texan who also <a href=\"https://thedailytexan.com/2017/09/01/senate-bill-4-protest-sends-one-student-to-hospital-one-arrested/\">covered</a> the demonstration, told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that she was interviewing another bystander when the altercation occurred.</p><p data-block-key=\"lvdq8\">“When I turned around, Chase’s face was covered in blood,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6cvi\">Karacostas said that he walked with his editor, Ellie Breed, to an urgent care center several blocks away, where he received six stitches near his eyebrow.</p><p data-block-key=\"kp853\">Karacostas identified the assailant as Eric Nava-Perez, a member of Sanctuary UT, one of the groups that organized the protest. Nava-Perez was arrested by the Austin Police Department and charged with assault. According to the Student Press Law Center, Nava-Perez was held for 12 hours at Travis County Jail and has been banned from entering UT Austin’s campus without permission from the dean.</p><p data-block-key=\"ui2c1\">Nava-Perez did not respond to a request for comment, but Charles Holm, an organizer with Sanctuary UT, criticized Nava-Perez’s arrest. In an interview with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Holm said that the university’s tactics of policing had contributed to an unsafe atmosphere at the protest and that Nava-Perez felt harassed and defensive due to the presence of police and right-wing bystanders. Jennifer Campbell, another organizer with Sanctuary UT, said that there were multiple police departments present at the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ywtg\">Holm said there was confusion at the protest as to who was a reporter, since multiple bystanders were documenting the demonstration and because the student journalists did not yet have their press badges for the semester. He said that Nava-Perez may have thought that Karacostas was a right wing heckler.</p><p data-block-key=\"3lrxt\">Holm said that, while the altercation was an unfortunate event in which a reporter was regrettably injured, he does not believe it was symbolic of an attack on press freedom.</p><p data-block-key=\"qwvsl\">“There was a general atmosphere of tension that created a chaotic situation,” Holm said.</p><p data-block-key=\"qd2v2\">Karacostas said that, although he was interviewing a bystander who disagreed with the message of the protest, there was no reason to believe he was with the alt-right. Even if he were sympathetic to the alt-right, he added, “it’s still not okay to knock phones into people’s faces and injure them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2h9zz\">Karacostas was surprised by the randomness of the attack, and in contrast to Holm’s account, both he and Gibson described the atmosphere of the protest leading up to the altercation as relatively calm. Karacostas said that he remains committed to his work as a reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"brfdx\">“A lot of blood wasn’t going to stop me from recording,” he said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [
"(2018-08-02 00:00:00+00:00) Protester gets probation after attack on student reporter in Texas"
],
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chase Karacostas (The [University of Texas at Austin] Daily Texan)"
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist covering pipeline protest arrested, camera seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-covering-pipeline-protest-arrested-camera-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2019-11-14T16:44:01.092832Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-27T20:30:26.094734Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-27T20:30:25.994302Z",
"date": "2017-08-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Douglas County",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rr2kk\">Independent journalist Leana Hosea was arrested while filming a protest at a pipeline construction site in rural Douglas County, Minnesota, on Aug. 29, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"c6ozc\">Protesters had gathered at a construction site for Enbridge Energy’s Line 3, where one activist had chained himself to an excavator. Two other activists were standing atop that piece of machinery.</p><p data-block-key=\"2duzz\">The protesters Hosea was documenting were trying to halt the replacement of an aging segment of the pipeline constructed in the 1960s. Around 390,000 barrels of oil per day flow through Enbridge's Line 3, originating at the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, then stretching across northern Minnesota to the company’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, <a href=\"https://www.wpr.org/6-arrested-trespassing-enbridge-pipeline-construction-site\">according</a> to Wisconsin Public Radio.</p><p data-block-key=\"unc72\">Hosea was filming from a public road as well as from the side of the road where the excavator was located. When a Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy asked her to move off the side of the road, she complied. “In under 10 seconds I had obeyed their orders,” Hosea told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"t27g1\">Footage from the protest is included in Hosea’s 2019 film about clean water, “Thirst for Justice.” The incident in question can be seen at the 2:49 to 3:12 minute mark on the film’s <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ThirstForJusticeDocumentary/videos/490055155118367/\">trailer</a>. “You're under arrest, too,” one of the deputies tells her.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs420\">Deputies arrested Hosea along with the activists, and even though she informed them she was a journalist, she was still searched and detained. “I was just not recognized as a journalist,” Hosea told the Tracker. “There were five activists and there was me, we were all being lumped together.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5imry\">Hosea was charged with one count of disorderly conduct and trespass to land. Two activists faced the same charges, and three others were charged with resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and trespass to land. Hosea posted bond and was released, but her video camera was not returned to her for another two months, rendering her unable to continue work on her film.</p><p data-block-key=\"xn0ml\">On Feb. 12, 2018, Hosea pleaded no contest to the trespass charge and received a $358 fine, according to court records <a href=\"https://www.superiortelegram.com/news/4413400-public-record\">published</a> by the Superior Telegram. The disorderly conduct charge was dismissed. First Amendment lawyer Henry Kaufman represented her on a pro bono basis.</p><p data-block-key=\"honr3\">In order to start a journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan’s School of Environment and Sustainability, Hosea, a British citizen, had to leave the country to renew her U.S. visa while the charges were still pending. Due to the charges, she was called into a special interview at the U.S. Embassy. “I was very lucky I got my visa,” she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"f6qkx\">Hosea said that the arrest was a “complete overreaction” and the legal process left her feeling intimidated. “As a foreign journalist it made me very nervous,” Hosea said. “I am going to be much more cautious working in America. My status as a journalist didn't mean anything; it was shocking.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j9vk3\">While filming protesters at this pipeline construction site in Minnesota for her documentary, journalist Leana Hosea was arrested and her video camera was seized for two months.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Douglas County Sheriff’s Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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{
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}
],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
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},
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"tags": [
"environmentalism",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Leana Hosea (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist Dave Minsky beaten and attacked with pipe by protesters in Berkeley",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-dave-minsky-beaten-and-attacked-pipe-protesters-berkeley/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-25T20:19:54.224957Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T19:53:06.645940Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T19:53:06.525756Z",
"date": "2017-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Berkeley",
"longitude": -122.27275,
"latitude": 37.87159,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yj8mh\">Dave Minsky — an independent journalist and photographer who freelances for Reuters, Vice, the Miami New Times and the Santa Barbara News-Press — was beaten by masked protesters on Aug. 27, 2017, while covering an anti-fascist protest in Berkeley, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"08jmg\">Minsky told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that he was in Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park to cover an aborted white nationalist protest in Berkeley, which turned into an anti-fascist demonstration.</p><p data-block-key=\"l1w0i\">He said that he was carrying two iPhones, a reporter’s notebook in the back pocket and a DSLR camera with a zoom lens around his neck. He was using the iPhone in his left hand to livestream the anti-fascist protest on Instagram, while using the iPhone in his right-hand to take pictures of police officers in riot gear and anti-fascist protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"vb72v\">According to Minsky, he was taking photographs of the scene when a masked protester approached him and tried to grab his phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg42w\">“This individual came up to me and tried to swat the phone out of my right hand,” he said. “You know, I moved my hand out of the way as he did that that and apparently that enraged him and so he started kind of like coming after me, and that’s when I started backing up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"u3hxx\">Minsky said that another protester tried to trip him as he moved backward towards the edge of the park, which caused him to lose his balance and fall down. Once he was on the ground, he said, a group of protesters began to beat him. </p><p data-block-key=\"n5pjg\">“Two, three people started tried to grab my phones out of my hands, grab the [camera] off my neck,” he said. “They were hitting me in the face and kicking me in the face and the torso, in the ribs and more people joined in — you know, I think at this point there were four, five, maybe six people.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/S8qG-DyNxQs?start=9&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"d936u\">Masked protesters beat independent journalist Dave Minsky, in this video recorded by Nathan Hope. One of the protesters then knocks the phone out of Hope’s hands to prevent him from filming the beating.</p>\n \n \n <p>Nathan Hope</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"n4hf0\">Minsky said that he tried to flee the scene, but a group of protesters chased him down. One of the masked protesters swung a pipe at him.</p><p data-block-key=\"8yd9g\">“She came up to me, and she cracked me in the ribs with a pipe … then that’s when two other people kind of tackled me and started hitting me in the head and trying to take my phone and my DSLR, and at one point someone ripped the lens right off my camera.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/hpnyHtjGCyQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"tyc7v\">Masked protesters chase independent journalist Dave Minsky, before hitting him with a pipe and tackling him to the ground.</p>\n \n \n <p>Berkeleyside/Chris Polydoroff</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7dfum\">Eventually, two Oakland police officers approached Minsky and escorted him away from the protesters. His shirt was ripped in half and he was missing one of his two iPhones, his camera’s 70-200mm zoom lens and his reporter’s notebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ccvx\">Minsky said that he was examined by EMTs and put in ambulance, but that he refused to go to the hospital because he did not have health insurance.</p><p data-block-key=\"gfd8a\">“I refused medical attention,” he said. “I don’t have medical insurance. … After the police brought me to the sidewalk and the EMTs looked at me, I was put in the back of the ambulance. I continually told them, you know, ‘I don’t want medical attention, please leave me here, it’s fine.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"fhxe6\">After being let out of the ambulance, Minsky said, he bought a new shirt at Walgreens and then returned to the park to continue covering the protest, only to find that it had already ended.</p><p data-block-key=\"7cd2n\">Minsky later noticed a sharp pain in his chest and had difficulty breathing — a possible sign of a bruised or broken rib. </p><p data-block-key=\"e9m4n\">“I didn’t realize I was hit on the ribs until after I started driving home,” he said. “It became very apparent that it was hard to breathe and there was a sharp pain in my right rib cage and at one particular spot. I was touching it, and it felt really tender and hurt really bad. You know, it was difficult to breathe and it still kind of hurts.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ts8u2\">Minsky said that the pain in his ribs lasted about a week and that he still finds it difficult to breathe, especially when he is lying down or trying to sleep. He said that his wife, a physician’s assistant, believes that his rib is broken, but that he does not know for sure because he has not had a chest X-ray.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-video\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://t.co/DItm9Zkx0J\">https://t.co/DItm9Zkx0J</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/2vCMu40lNE\">pic.twitter.com/2vCMu40lNE</a></p>— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/nbcbayarea/status/901975197976289280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"g2ln2\">A masked demonstrator strikes photographer Dave Minsky with a pipe in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, in Berkeley, California, on August 27, 2017.</p>",
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{
"quantity": 1,
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},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "work product"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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"anti-fascism",
"protest",
"white nationalism"
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{
"title": "Protesters in Berkeley steal local TV reporter's phone and dunk it in water",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/protesters-berkeley-steal-local-tv-reporters-phone-and-dunk-it-water/",
"first_published_at": "2017-10-12T00:26:27.957864Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T19:53:50.175591Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T19:53:50.074817Z",
"date": "2017-08-27",
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"city": "Berkeley",
"longitude": -122.27275,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ia8td\">Thom Jensen, a freelance reporter for NBC affiliate KNTV, had his phone taken by protesters while covering an anti-fascist demonstration on Aug. 27, 2017, in Berkeley, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahjm4\">Lizzie Johnson, a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, tweeted a video that shows protesters chasing Jensen and yelling, “Take his camera, take his phone!”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">"Take his camera, take his phone," they are shouting at a journalist. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/berkeley?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#berkeley</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/hvsQ5eXalE\">pic.twitter.com/hvsQ5eXalE</a></p>— Lizzie Johnson (@lizziejohnsonnn) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lizziejohnsonnn/status/901918372438220800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 27, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uk8ml\">Thomas Hawk, an independent photojournalist who also covered the rally, told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that he saw Jensen arguing with a group of protesters after they took his phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"keqt1\">Jensen later <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ThomNBCBayArea/status/902056981279551488\">tweeted</a> that the protesters who took his phone submerged it in a water-filled barricade. He said that he got the phone back and it continued to work.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My phone was taken & submerged in one of the water-filled barricades. Thankfully it had a waterproof case & find my iPhone works under water <a href=\"https://t.co/rOTfQmbeyK\">https://t.co/rOTfQmbeyK</a></p>— Thom Jensen (@ThomNBCBayArea) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ThomNBCBayArea/status/902056981279551488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2017</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/4I7A7883.dng.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"zg1x4\">Thom Jensen, a freelance journalist for KNTV, argues with protesters after they steal his phone, in Berkeley, California, on Aug. 27, 2017.</p>",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"links": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"anti-fascism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Thom Jensen (KNTV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "KTVU reporter assaulted while covering protest in Berkeley",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ktvu-reporter-assaulted-while-covering-protest-berkeley/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-15T23:37:35.608578Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T19:56:23.734722Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T19:56:23.639886Z",
"date": "2017-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Berkeley",
"longitude": -122.27275,
"latitude": 37.87159,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8rxys\">Leigh Martinez, a freelance reporter for KTVU, was covering an anti-fascist <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bay-area-protests-updates-htmlstory.html#police-identify-13-people-arrested-in-berkeley-demonstrations\">protest</a> in Berkeley, California, on Aug. 27, 2017, when a protester knocked her phone out of her hand.</p><p data-block-key=\"fwfba\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KTVU/status/901914750954618880\">video</a> of the altercation shared by KTVU on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, one protester is shown attempting to block Martinez’s ability to film the march with a poster. A second protester approaches Martinez, saying, “Hey, can you not film this right now?” The protester then knocks Martinez’s phone out of her hand. The protester was later arrested on suspicion of battery.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/15p1i8USJs8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"9lwda\">KTVU’s Leigh Martinez had her phone hit out of her hand during a confrontation at Berkeley's protests. She was not injured.</p>\n \n \n <p>KTVU</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2uogt\">Martinez could not be reached for comment, but KTVU wrote on Facebook that Martinez says “the incident happened after an altercation with her photographer.”</p><p data-block-key=\"19uut\">In a response to KTVU photojournalist Randee Deason on Twitter, Martinez <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LeighMartinezTV/status/901916110781419521\">tweeted</a>, “Yes, I’m okay. She hit my wrist. I was able to continue working.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ixv0c\">Screengrab from KTVU video showing protesters trying to block Leigh Martinez</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"anti-fascism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Leigh Martinez (KTVU)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Documentary production assistant has phone knocked out of hands by protesters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentary-production-assistant-has-phone-knocked-out-hands-protesters/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-12T17:49:38.481835Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T19:58:09.108387Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T19:58:08.990999Z",
"date": "2017-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Berkeley",
"longitude": -122.27275,
"latitude": 37.87159,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bakot\">An unidentified protester ordered freelance production assistant Nathan Hope to stop filming and knocked a phone out of his hands during protests in Berkeley, California, on Aug. 27, 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"vtarv\">Hope, who was assisting a production crew that day for a documentary about the alt right, said that it was one of a series of threats and intimidation that the crew experienced that day at the hands of people whom he described as anti-fascist or black bloc protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"wmmf4\">The black bloc protesters arrived at a largely peaceful protest in Berkeley’s Civic Center Park. The protest was part of a “Rally Against Hate” in response to a much smaller group of right-wing protesters, according to press reports.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vjdt\">Hope told Alex Ellerbeck, a reporter with the Committee to Protect Journalists, that he was filming a group of protesters assaulting an unidentified man at the time that the incident occurred. </p><p data-block-key=\"q6p9q\">Hope said that one protester, wearing a bandana to disguise their identity, ordered him to stop filming and then knocked his phone of his hands. Hope said that the phone was not damaged after being knocked to the ground, but the video was interrupted. He stopped filming shortly afterwards.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/S8qG-DyNxQs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"tb2nl\">While filming a protest in Berkeley on August 27, 2017, production assistant Nathan Hope had his camera knocked out of his hands by a masked protester.</p>\n \n \n <p>Nathan Hope</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3mtnb\">Two other journalists working on the documentary project said that they also received threats while filming on that day. </p><p data-block-key=\"2rimc\">Leighton Woodhouse, an independent documentary filmmaker, said that anti-fascist protesters approached him and told to stop filming. </p><p data-block-key=\"u8joj\">“The only reason we didn’t get administered a beat down is because when we were ordered (not asked) to point our cameras elsewhere, we only pushed our right to film them so far,” Woodhouse wrote in a blog post on his website L@W.</p><p data-block-key=\"3lnty\">“Nobody threatened us directly, but there was an implicit threat of violence because as it happened, people were being beaten up,” Woodhouse told Ellerbeck. </p><p data-block-key=\"a2148\">He said that fear of violence affected how he reported on the protest and that there were times when they stopped filming or filmed from farther away. He said that there were three or four confrontations in which he was ordered to stop filming and that protesters would block the cameras with shields and would sometimes escort reporters away from the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"znzvc\">Armando Aparicio, Woodhouse’s partner on the documentary project, told Ellerbeck that one protester put a shield in his face and followed him everyone that he went. He said that protesters were screaming that they did not want to be in his video. Aparicio said that he put a cap on his lens and stepped back after being threatened.</p><p data-block-key=\"plyp5\">Both Woodhouse and Aparicio said that the protesters seemed to have a conflicted relationship with the media. The protest took place in a public sphere and banners and signs seemed designed to be captured by the press, but at the same time protesters seemed to be afraid of having their identities captured on camera. </p><p data-block-key=\"1w3x8\">“There is a fear of doxing [having identities publicly revealed] both by the alt right and law enforcement,” said Aparicio.</p><p data-block-key=\"32uod\">“We were in a public park,” Woodhouse wrote on his blog. “It was a big news event, where everybody knew there would be media. Activists in the Black Bloc were concealed by sunglasses and ski masks to protect their identity for exactly this reason. They carried flags and banners, to make themselves a spectacle. Yet for their personal security, many of them decided that it was their right to command photographers not to take their pictures, to physically block them from doing so, and if they persisted, to smash their equipment and assault them.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qdk5g\">A screengrab from a video shot by Nathan Hope shows a protester trying to block him from filming an assault.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"anti-fascism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Nathan Hope (Independent)"
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{
"title": "Reporter Mike Kessler's camera is smashed in Berkeley",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-mike-kesslers-camera-smashed-berkeley/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-05T20:43:53.897109Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T19:59:36.544024Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T19:59:36.407261Z",
"date": "2017-08-27",
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"city": "Berkeley",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5fno1\">Mike Kessler was covering a demonstration on Aug. 27, 2017, in Berkeley, California, when a group of protesters stole his camera and phone and attempted to break them. His phone was not damaged, but his camera was completely destroyed.</p><p data-block-key=\"rg3ae\">In an <a href=\"https://newrepublic.com/article/144659/antifa-broke-camera\">essay for The New Republic</a>, Kessler described what happened:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://newrepublic.com/article/144659/antifa-broke-camera\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"gytji\">Suddenly, from behind, someone knocked my camera out of my right hand, then did the same to my phone, which was in my left. I turned around to see a black leather boot stomping my phone (it survived—thanks, Otter case!), while another antifa picked up my camera, hurled it into the air, and got in my face. “No fucking pictures!”</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://newrepublic.com/article/144659/antifa-broke-camera\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"vbgfi\">The New Republic</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rmiyp\">Kessler said in an interview with the Freedom of the Press Foundation that his camera, a Canon G12, was complete destroyed. He also said that he saw three people trying to extract the memory card from his camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"77vyu\">“After the crowd thinned out and police came, I saw three people attempting to get the SD card out of my camera,” he said. “The camera itself was totally mangled. The guts of the camera were hanging out. I saw the battery on the ground later. They had smashed the body of the camera in such a way that prevented the SD card from being removed.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yvgei\">Thomas Hawk, an independent photojournalist who witnessed the incident, <a href=\"https://petapixel.com/2017/08/29/photographers-beware-violent-antifa-protestors/\">confirmed</a> Kessler’s account of what happened.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yavtc\">A protester swings Mike Kessler's camera before smashing it on the ground, on Aug. 27, 2017, in Berkeley, California.</p>",
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"name": "California",
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{
"title": "Protesters attack independent livestreamer in San Francisco, steal his phone",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/protesters-attack-independent-livestreamer-san-francisco-steal-his-phone/",
"first_published_at": "2017-09-08T18:39:00.533633Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T20:02:40.869008Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T20:02:40.737545Z",
"date": "2017-08-26",
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"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"19rne\">Nathan Stolpman, an independent journalist who runs the YouTube channel Lift the Veil Too, was attacked and had his phone stolen while filming an anti-fascist protest on Aug. 26, 2017, in San Francisco, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"a47qt\">In an interview with the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Stolpman said that he was <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl7OoKfxC6U&t=2325s\">livestreaming</a> the protest to his YouTube channel when several protesters attempted to block his camera with an umbrella. Stolpman continued his livestream, telling the protesters, “I’m just a journalist, I have a YouTube channel.”</p><p data-block-key=\"sglum\">The livestream posted on the Lift the Veil Too YouTube channel shows one person present at the protest asking Stolpman why he was wearing a polo shirt, stating that “polos are on the other side.” Stolpman asked protesters why they did not want coverage of the event, and a larger group of protesters began to chant “Nazi, go home.”</p><p data-block-key=\"r2uyx\">As Stolpman continued to livestream, the group of protesters — holding a large black banner with “Fascist Scum You Are Done” written on it — followed him and wrapped him in the banner, restricting his ability to move.</p><p data-block-key=\"hzzs8\">Ruptly, a livestreaming service owned by Russian broadcaster RT, captured footage of Stolpman’s encounter with the protesters. The video published by Ruptly shows a masked protester quickly approach Stolpman, who is largely covered by the black banner, and then grab Stolpman’s phone and run off.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/uX3x2wh-6ys?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"gd3pf\">Video of protesters stealing Nathan Stolpman's phone</p>\n \n \n <p>Ruptly</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ivegx\">After the altercation, Stolpman was interviewed about what happened by several outlets. As he answered a question, one protester wearing a red nose stroked his hair, while other protesters off camera yelled and denounced the media outlets interviewing him for “giving the fascist a camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"0mo0f\">A video filmed by Brian Neumann, a student journalist at San Francisco State University, shows Stolpman arguing with protesters and asking for his phone back.</p><p data-block-key=\"jh2bh\">Stolpman told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that he believes he was targeted because he was livestreaming and because of his clothing. He said that his phone was never returned to him.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"tgc2b\">A screenshot from Ruptly's livestream shows anti-fascist protesters wrapping independent livestreamer Nathan Stolpman in a banner after stealing his phone.</p>",
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{
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"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"anti-fascism",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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{
"title": "President Trump tells supporters that journalists ‘don't like our country’",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/president-trump-tells-supporters-journalists-dont-our-country/",
"first_published_at": "2017-08-25T18:53:29.405404Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-16T20:07:30.323742Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-16T20:07:30.234485Z",
"date": "2017-08-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Phoenix",
"longitude": -112.07404,
"latitude": 33.44838,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pfzzr\">During a combative speech delivered in Phoenix, Arizona on Aug. 22, 2017, President Trump blamed the media for fomenting division in the country and told his supporters that journalists dislike the United States.</p><p data-block-key=\"p48v1\">“You’re taxpaying Americans who love our nation, obey our laws, and care for our people,” President Trump <a href=\"http://time.com/4912055/donald-trump-phoenix-arizona-transcript/\">told</a> his supporters. “It’s time to expose the crooked media deceptions, and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting divisions. And yes, by the way — and yes, by the way, they are trying to take away our history and our heritage. You see that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cr937\">“These are truly dishonest people,” Trump said later in the speech, referring to the journalists who report on his administration. “And not all of them. Not all of them. You have some very good reporters. You have some very fair journalists. But for the most part, honestly, these are really, really dishonest people, and they’re bad people. And I really think they don’t like our country. I really believe that. And I don’t believe they’re going to change, and that’s why I do this.”</p><p data-block-key=\"uywll\">Trump then falsely suggested that CNN and other cable networks had turned off their cameras to avoid broadcasting his speech. In fact, CNN continued to air the speech live.</p><p data-block-key=\"uis1k\">“You would think — you would think they’d want to make our country great again, and I honestly believe they don’t,” he said. “I honestly believe it. If you want to discover the source of the division in our country, look no further than the fake news and the crooked media...”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"i0zto\">President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 22, 2017.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Arizona",
"abbreviation": "AZ"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
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"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
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}
]