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{
"title": "Man threatens to blow up Dallas magazine for publishing controversial columnist",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-threatens-blow-dallas-magazine-publishing-controversial-columnist/",
"first_published_at": "2019-03-07T21:21:41.702593Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:31:14.976219Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:31:14.885053Z",
"date": "2018-11-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Dallas",
"longitude": -96.80667,
"latitude": 32.78306,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g0fkf\">On Nov. 13, 2018, the Facebook account “Wesley Taylor Jr.” posted a bomb threat on the Facebook page of D Magazine, a magazine based in Dallas, Texas. The Facebook post warned that the magazine’s offices could be blown up if the magazine continued to publish columns written by controversial freelance writer Barrett Brown.</p><p data-block-key=\"zb4t5\">Brown told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Tim Rogers, his editor at D Magazine, first reached out to him the day the bomb threat was posted to tell him about it and ask him whether he knew Taylor. According to Brown, Rogers also said that the Dallas police and the FBI had advised him not to report on the existence of the threat and asked Brown not to publicize it.</p><p data-block-key=\"kensc\">Brown was concerned that the police had not contacted him about the threat and suspected that they were trying to cover it up. He <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BarrettBrown_/status/1062498395644944384\">tweeted about the threat</a> — without specifying which publication had been targeted — and then asked Philip Kingston, a Dallas city councilman, to try to get more information from the Dallas police department.</p><p data-block-key=\"8yfvp\">On Nov. 18, Dallas Assistant Police Chief Lonzo Anderson emailed Kingston an update on the investigation:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" >\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"9a7h8\">On November 13, 2018, a subject made a veil threat [sic] on social media Facebook to the Dallas Public Library located at 1515 Young Street. The Facebook post reads as follows: “If you Democrats don’t stop this conspiracy shit I’m gonna blow your fucking library up”. Intelligence detectives were immediately notified and also the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Dallas Police Fusion monitored the subject’s social media accounts for intelligence. Dallas Police Explosive Ordinance [sic] and Dallas Security conducted a search on the library and no bomb was located.</p><p data-block-key=\"kp81\">In addition to the library, the subject made a similar threat to an employee at the D Magazine office. The D Magazine Office received a bomb threat via Facebook. The message stated that if they continued to publish Barrett Brown that he was going to blow up their office. A Terroristic Threat F/3 Charge will be filed for the Dallas City Library and a Misdemeanor class A charge will be filed for the threat made against an employee of D Magazine. A DPD CAD Bolo was entered on the suspect for situational awareness. An information bulletin was also disseminated by Fusion to all DPD officers. On November 15, 2018, DPD took the subject in custody for a DPD alias warrant. The subject was interviewed at headquarters. The investigation is on-going. I will contact Intelligence for any further updates.</p></div>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0knne\">Although Anderson’s email, which the councilman forwarded to Brown, stated that charges would be filed against Taylor, no charges were ever filed.</p><p data-block-key=\"h7nwt\">On Nov. 26, shortly after Brown <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BarrettBrown_/status/1067138293895229440\">tweeted out excerpts</a> of Anderson’s email, D Magazine <a href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20181127024137/https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2018/11/bomb-threat-made-against-d-magazine-and-j-erik-jonsson-library/\">published a post</a> about the bomb threat. A few days later, the post was abruptly deleted without any explanation. Rogers told the Tracker that he could not comment on what had happened.</p><p data-block-key=\"3txtp\">For months, Brown continued to try to get more information about the police investigation. On Dec. 5, he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BarrettBrown_/status/1070352725651660803\">spoke at a city council meeting</a> and asked the mayor to explain why he had never been notified about the bomb threat. On Feb. 24, 2019, he sent assistant police chief Anderson copies of more evidence he had dug up on Taylor — screenshots of Facebook messages that Taylor had sent to Brown’s girlfriend asking about him, and photos from Taylor’s Instagram page that shows him posing with a gun. He also <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BarrettBrown_/status/1099472077994844163\">posted the photos and screenshots</a> on Facebook and Twitter. In response, a former DPD officer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BarrettBrown_/status/1099622048094134273\">left a comment</a> saying that Brown “has a smug, punchable face.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2smd1\">On Feb. 26, Brown spoke with Sheldon Smith, a DPD sergeant overseeing the investigation, about the current status of the case. In the conversation, which Brown recorded, Smith told Brown that the DPD investigated the bomb threats against the Dallas library and D Magazine, but ultimately determined that there was not enough evidence to charge Taylor.</p><p data-block-key=\"m0a8h\">“Initially, we believed that we would have enough information to file those charges on the individual that we’re talking about, just based on the preliminary information,” Smith told Brown, according to a recording of the conversation. “But after we conducted a thorough investigation, we didn't have the elements needed in order to actually file the offense for that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cm4lx\">Smith offered two explanations for why charges could not be brought against Taylor. First, he said, Taylor had never said that he would personally blow up D Magazine’s building, just that “someone” could.</p><p data-block-key=\"y1m60\">“He didn’t say that he would,” Smith said, according to the recording. “And the element we needed was if he had said, ‘I’m going to blow the building up.’ But when he said ‘someone,’ that’s why we couldn’t physically charge him.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vsl1t\">Brown pointed out that this explanation couldn’t account for the decision not to charge him for the bomb threat against the Dallas library, which contains the explicit statement, “I’m gonna blow your fucking library up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"evqmy\">To that, Smith offered a second explanation for not charging Taylor. The problem, he said, was that the police could not be sure that Taylor was actually responsible for the threat posted from his Facebook account.</p><p data-block-key=\"0bmml\">“We did extensive research on his Facebook account and we could not confirm that it was actually him that said that,” Smith said, according to the recording. “It may have been him, but we weren’t 100 percent sure that it was him. It would be as if you left your phone sitting on the counter and someone’s gonna send messages from your number.”</p><p data-block-key=\"z5qgz\">Brown is an independent journalist, essayist, and media critic who is best known for his close association with the online movement Anonymous. Although Brown is not a computer hacker, he embedded himself as a journalist with a hacker collective tied to Anonymous. In 2012, as federal authorities stepped up operations against the hacking group, the FBI raided Brown’s house and his mother’s house.</p><p data-block-key=\"lkli1\">Later that year, <a href=\"https://www.wired.com/2012/09/barret-brown-raid/\">Brown was arrested</a> for allegedly threatening one of the FBI agents who had raided his mother’s house. In 2013, a federal grand jury indicted Brown on a number of charges related to trafficking in stolen information, for allegedly linking to information that hackers had already stolen. Most of the federal charges <a href=\"https://www.wired.com/2014/03/barrett-brown-motion-to-dismiss/\">were later dropped</a>, and Brown ultimately <a href=\"https://www.wired.com/2014/04/barrett-brown-plea-agreement/\">accepted a plea deal</a> and was <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/22/barrett-brown-trial-warns-dangerous-precedent-hacking-sentencing\">sentenced to five years in prison</a>. While incarcerated, he wrote a <a href=\"https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2016/02/barrett-brown-wins-a-national-magazine-award-from-behind-bars/\">National Magazine Award-winning column</a> on prison life. After being released from prison in late 2016, he briefly <a href=\"https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/01/how-to-leave-your-halfway-house-and-get-to-work-riding-dart/\">covered Dallas city council meetings</a> for D Magazine while living in a halfway house, and he has continued to freelance for the magazine.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3pp5w\">Barrett Brown, left, is interviewed for the news site Vice at D Magazine offices in Dallas, Texas. A bomb threat was directed at the magazine for running Brown's work late last year.<br/></p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"D"
],
"tags": [
"bomb / bomb threat"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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},
{
"title": "Protesters threaten Fox News host Tucker Carlson during demonstration outside his house",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/protesters-threaten-fox-news-host-tucker-carlson-during-demonstration-outside-his-house/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-09T01:15:18.985131Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-20T20:09:51.554443Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-20T20:09:51.395703Z",
"date": "2018-11-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xw0rf\">On the evening of Nov. 7, 2018, a group of anti-fascist protesters staged a demonstration outside the Washington, D.C., home of Tucker Carlson, a controversial Fox News host whose talk show has been accused of normalizing white nationalist ideas.</p><p data-block-key=\"if0kj\">Carlson was not home at the time of the demonstration, which began around 8 p.m., but his wife was. The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/08/they-were-threatening-me-my-family-tucker-carlsons-home-targeted-by-protesters/?utm_term=.4b24fed3846b\">reports</a> that the protesters repeatedly banged on the Carlsons' door, prompting Carlson's wife to fear for her safety. After locking herself in a pantry, she <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/media/tucker-carlson-protestors/index.html\">called the police</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"mqisn\">An anti-fascist group called "Smash Racism D.C." took credit for the protest and shared videos of the demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. The social media sites later took down the videos, and Twitter suspended the group's Twitter account.</p><p data-block-key=\"smgag\">Protesters affiliated with the group have previously confronted politicians and public figures — including Carlson — in public spaces, but this is the first time that the group has staged a demonstration outside Carlson's private home.</p><p data-block-key=\"5s1wx\">In one of the now-deleted videos posted by Smash Racism DC, a protester can be heard over a bullhorn saying, "Tucker Carlson, we are outside your home." The protester goes on to accuse Carlson of "promoting an ideology that has led to thousands of people dying at the hands of the police [and] trans women being murdered in the streets."</p><p data-block-key=\"8fge5\">The protesters then break out into a chant: "Tucker Carlson, we will fight! We know where you sleep at night!"</p><p data-block-key=\"iodx4\">The Post reports that during the demonstration, one of the protesters mentioned that she wanted to bring a "pipe bomb" to Carlson — a reference to Cesar Sayoc, the Trump supporter who sent pipe bombs to prominent critics of the president.</p><p data-block-key=\"y0nz1\">The Post also reports that Smash Racism DC tweeted out Carlson's home address and published a Facebook post encouraging people to go to his home and confront him.</p><p data-block-key=\"blv3m\">"It wasn’t a protest," Carlson told the Post. "It was a threat. They weren’t protesting anything specific that I had said. They weren’t asking me to change anything. They weren’t protesting a policy or advocating for legislation. ... They were threatening me and my family and telling me to leave my own neighborhood in the city that I grew up in."</p><p data-block-key=\"5926h\">Carlson said that he was especially concerned about the protester's reference to pipe bombs.</p><p data-block-key=\"38i8o\">"If they’re talking about pipe bombs ... how do you live like that?" he said. "I probably won’t open another package sent to our house from now on."</p><p data-block-key=\"tavgl\">Carlson also told the Post that one protester threw himself into the door, breaking it — an accusation that the protesters deny.</p><p data-block-key=\"lr10z\">Alex Rubinstein, an independent journalist who contributes to RT and Sputnik, tweeted a photo of the door, which one of the protesters sent to him. He also tweeted a statement from the protesters defending the action against Carlson.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=none data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Tucker Carlson has said that activists put a crack in his front door. Organizers sent me this photo as evidence they did not damage his door. <br><br>The black box covers Tucker Carlson's home address. <a href=\"https://t.co/YE3QJkm3Lb\">pic.twitter.com/YE3QJkm3Lb</a></p>— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RealAlexRubi/status/1060608279259369472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here is a statement sent to me from one of the Smash Racism DC organizers involved in the protest at Tucker Carlson's home last night <a href=\"https://t.co/SDkWCiSQjF\">pic.twitter.com/SDkWCiSQjF</a></p>— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RealAlexRubi/status/1060610527385280512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</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=\"n5bkj\">The Associated Press <a href=\"https://www.apnews.com/5aa41068747f4e41b39947f761462f96\">reports</a> that D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department is treating the incident as a "suspected hate crime" motivated by "anti-political" bias. The District of Columbia <a href=\"https://mpdc.dc.gov/hatecrimes\">defines</a> a hate crime as a crime "that demonstrates an accused’s prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibility, homelessness, physical disability, matriculation, or political affiliation of a victim.”</p><p data-block-key=\"pgr0h\">According to the AP, the officers who responded the incident did not arrest any protesters but did confiscate a number of signs. An MPD police report on the incident does not mention any damage to Carlson's door but does note that protesters vandalized his property by spray-painting an anarchist symbol on his driveway.</p><p data-block-key=\"u0nh3\">In a statement sent to multiple media organizations, MPD said that it had <a href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/police-open-criminal-investigation-tucker-carlson-house-protest-1159672\">opened a criminal investigation</a> into the incident:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" >\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"4f3wt\">We welcome those who come here to exercise their First Amendment rights in a safe and peaceful manner. However, we prohibit them from breaking the law. Last night, a group of protestors broke the law by defacing private property at a Northwest DC residence. MPD takes these violations seriously, and we will work to hold those accountable for their unlawful actions. There is currently an open criminal investigation regarding this matter.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"86f6e\">MPD statement</p>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"exs6m\">In a joint statement, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and president Jay Wallace condemned the protesters' "violent threats and intimidation tactics."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://twitter.com/JasonSchwartz/status/1060608710559629312\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"9y0e5\">The incident that took place at Tucker's home last night was reprehensible. The violent threats and intimidation tactics toward him and his family are completely unacceptable. We as a nation have become far too intolerant of different points of view. Recent events across our country clearly highlight the need for a more civil, respectful, and inclusive national conversation. Those of us in the media and in politics bear a special obligation to all Americans, to find common ground.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://twitter.com/JasonSchwartz/status/1060608710559629312\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"7nz7r\">Statement from Fox News</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "Police are investigating the incident as a \"suspected hate crime\" motivated by \"anti-political\" bias",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"tags": [
"anti-fascism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tucker Carlson (Fox News)"
],
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},
{
"title": "White House suspends CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials and falsely accuses him of manhandling intern",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-cnn-reporter-jim-acostas-press-credentials-and-falsely-accuses-him-manhandling-intern/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-08T17:31:51.317799Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-26T18:16:17.854658Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-26T18:16:17.691407Z",
"date": "2018-11-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ihrcu\">On Nov. 7, 2018, the White House <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/07/media/trump-cnn-press-conference/index.html\">suspended</a> CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press pass, banning him from setting foot on the White House grounds indefinitely. </p><p data-block-key=\"1zqlp\">The unprecedented move came a few hours after a <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/07/donald-trump-media-press-conference-shoot-the-messenger\">tense presidential press conference</a>, during which Trump repeatedly insulted Acosta (and other members of the White House press corps) and a White House intern tried to <a href=\"https://apnews.com/acb35d90ddd740d49cf639d9d48080e4\">physically remove Acosta's microphone</a> out of his hand. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later tried to justify the decision to suspend Acosta's press pass by false claiming that Acosta had inappropriately "placed his hands" on the White House intern. The press secretary also tweeted a video of the altercation that had been <a href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/jim-acosta-video-white-house-appears-from-infowars-2018-11\">doctored</a> to make it appear that Acosta had <a href=\"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/charliewarzel/acosta-video-trump-cnn-aide-sarah-sanders\">hit</a> the White House intern.</p><p data-block-key=\"s62un\">On the morning of Nov. 7, the day after the 2018 midterm elections, Trump held a contentious press conference in the East Room of the White House. CNN's Jim Acosta, a member of the White House press corps who often verbally spars the president during press conferences, asked Trump about why he had stoked fears of a migrant "invasion" of the United States. After a bit of back-and-forth, Acosta tried to ask Trump a second question, about the Russia investigation.</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/zdFe-LmFRV8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"e7nfp\">President Donald Trump defended his characterization of the migrant caravan as an "invasion" before attacking CNN's Jim Acosta, calling him a "rude, terrible person," during a White House press conference on Nov. 7, 2018.</p>\n \n \n <p>CNN</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4nxu8\">As Trump tried to cut Acosta off and call on NBC News' Peter Alexander, a young woman — later identified as a White House intern — approached Acosta and tried to take the microphone out of his hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"4oguz\">"Pardon me, ma'am," he told her. "I'm trying..."</p><p data-block-key=\"b982y\">"That's enough!" Trump said, cutting him off.</p><p data-block-key=\"404fg\">The intern grabbed the microphone that Acosta was holding, but Acosta would not let go of it, so the intern eventually gave up and sat back down.</p><p data-block-key=\"3p6ew\">Acosta continued to ask Trump about the Russia investigation, and Trump finally gave a cursory answer — "I'm not worried about the Russia investigation because it's a hoax" — and told Acosta to sit down.</p><p data-block-key=\"rv9ny\">"That's enough," Trump said, as Acosta tried to ask yet another follow-up question. "Put down the mic."</p><p data-block-key=\"zj7tq\">Trump started to walk away from the lectern, suggesting that he might end the press conference if Acosta did not stop asking questions. Acosta reluctantly let the White House intern take the microphone and then sat down. Trump returned to the lectern and the intern brought the microphone to Peter Alexander of NBC News. But before Alexander could ask a question, Trump went off on a rant about Acosta.</p><p data-block-key=\"zgyuc\">"I'll tell you what, CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them," the president said, pointing at Acosta. "You are a rude, terrible person. You shouldn't be working for CNN. ... You're a very rude person. The way you treat [press secretary] Sarah Huckabee is horrible, and the way you treat other people are horrible. You shouldn't treat other people that way."</p><p data-block-key=\"uz4eb\">Alexander stood up for Acosta.</p><p data-block-key=\"zk15k\">"In Jim's defense, I've traveled with him and watched him," he said. "He's a diligent reporter."</p><p data-block-key=\"39dox\">"Well, I'm not a big fan of yours either, to be honest," Trump deadpanned, prompting scattered laughter.</p><p data-block-key=\"wxxgn\">Acosta stood back up and called out the president for continuing to demonize journalists as the "enemy of the American people," even after a Trump supporter had sent pipe bombs to the network.</p><p data-block-key=\"03i5n\">"When you report fake news, which CNN does a lot, you are the enemy of the people," Trump response.</p><p data-block-key=\"w0oyz\">CNN condemned the president's response.</p><p data-block-key=\"y7dvq\">"This President’s ongoing attacks on the press have gone too far," the network said in a statement. "They are not only dangerous, they are disturbingly un-American. While President Trump has made it clear he does not respect a free press, he has a sworn obligation to protect it. A free press is vital to democracy, and we stand behind Jim Acosta and his fellow journalists everywhere."</p><p data-block-key=\"tkpgm\">Even as mainstream journalists came to Acosta's defense, far-right media and political figures began to adopt a different narrative — that Acosta had been violent toward the intern who tried to grab his microphone.</p><p data-block-key=\"jjk1o\">Paul Joseph Watson, an editor at far-right conspiracy news site Infowars, tweeted an altered video of the altercation between Acosta and the White House intern that appeared to show Acosta striking the intern, which did not actually happen. (In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Watson claimed that he did not deliberately alter the video.)</p><p data-block-key=\"bbshd\">Although this narrative began on the far-right conspiratorial fringe, it soon moved into the mainstream.</p><p data-block-key=\"1larh\">At 7:46 p.m., Acosta tweeted that he had been denied access to the White House grounds and ordered to give up his permanent White House press pass, known as a "hard pass."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I’ve just been denied entrance to the WH. Secret Service just informed me I cannot enter the WH grounds for my 8pm hit</p>— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1060332691143491584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The US Secret Service just asked for my credential to enter the WH. As I told the officer, I don’t blame him. I know he’s just doing his job. (Sorry this video is not rightside up) <a href=\"https://t.co/juQeuj3B9R\">pic.twitter.com/juQeuj3B9R</a></p>— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1060334166083059712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</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=\"h1v5t\">Minutes later, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Twitter that the White House had decided to indefinitely suspend Acosta's White House press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"kovy5\">To justify the suspension of Acosta's press credentials, Sanders falsely accused him of "placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1060333176252448768\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"pub8y\">President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern.This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporter’s colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.</p><p data-block-key=\"1kwu9\">Contrary to CNN’s assertions there is no greater demonstration of the President’s support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters over the course of 1.5 hours including several from the reporter in question. The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it‘s an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this Administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"rhatp\">As a result of today’s incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1060333176252448768\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"vgtdr\">Sarah Huckabee Sanders statement on Jim Acosta</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=\"8yq6g\">"This is a lie," Acosta tweeted in response.</p><p data-block-key=\"guhmi\">In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Acosta described what happened at the press conference.</p><p data-block-key=\"43zsf\">"This intern came up to me — they're describing her as an intern, I don't really know who she is — and attempted to take the microphone away from me," he said. "All I can say at that point is I was trying to hang on to the microphone, so I could continue to ask the president questions. Obviously, you know, I didn't put my hands on her or touch her as they're alleging, and it's just unfortunate that the White House is saying this. You know, we all try to be professionals over there, and I think I handled myself professionally."</p><p data-block-key=\"ygelw\">CNN released a statement reiterating its support for Acosta.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/1060350746703597568\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"yi5nl\">The White House announced tonight that it has revoked the press pass of CNN's Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. It was done in retaliation for his challenging questions at today's press conference. In an explanation, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders lied. She provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a thread to our democracy and the country deserves better. Jim Acosta has our full support.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://twitter.com/CNNPR/status/1060350746703597568\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"vxvno\">CNN statement</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=\"jec2u\">Oliver Knox, the president of the White House Correspondents' Association, also released a statement criticizing the White House's decision.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://twitter.com/whca/status/1060357341487480832\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"trkp2\">The White House Correspondents' Association strongly objects to the Trump Administration's decision to use US Secret Service security credentials as a tool to punish a reporter with whom it has a difficult relationship. Revoking access to the White House complex is a reaction out of line to the purported offense and is unacceptable.</p><p data-block-key=\"as3nh\">Journalists may use a range of approaches to carry out their jobs and the WHCA does not police the tone or frequency of the questions its members ask of powerful senior government officials, including the President. Such interactions, however uncomfortable they may appear to be, help define the strength of our national institutions.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ajzr\">We urge the White House to immediately reverse this weak and misguided action.</p><p data-block-key=\"zqjvb\">We encourage anyone with doubts that this reaction was disproportionate to the perceived offense to view the video of the events from earlier today.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://twitter.com/whca/status/1060357341487480832\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"zrjmd\">White House Correspondents' Association statement</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=\"8fcuk\">Later that night, Sanders <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/media/sarah-sanders-jim-acosta-infowars-video/index.html\">tweeted out</a> a copy of the doctored video that had previously been shared by Infowars. Journalists immediately pointed out that the video had been doctored, and CNN spokesman Matt Dornic Sanders of sharing "actual fake news."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. <a href=\"https://t.co/T8X1Ng912y\">pic.twitter.com/T8X1Ng912y</a></p>— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1060374680991883265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">this is literally edited and came from Infowars; here’s a quick clip from CSPAN’s own video: <a href=\"https://t.co/rGgywCbfqy\">https://t.co/rGgywCbfqy</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/8JqUHCAV82\">https://t.co/8JqUHCAV82</a></p>— Claudia Koerner (@ClaudiaKoerner) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ClaudiaKoerner/status/1060382831812108290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is a video that Infowars made. They sped it up so that it seems more violent than it is. <a href=\"https://t.co/FH1tsGSSaU\">https://t.co/FH1tsGSSaU</a></p>— Nicole Goodkind (@NicoleGoodkind) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NicoleGoodkind/status/1060392145562017792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Absolutely shameful, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PressSec</a>. You released a doctored video - actual fake news. History will not be kind to you. <a href=\"https://t.co/v1w9Lj9TlK\">https://t.co/v1w9Lj9TlK</a></p>— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mdornic/status/1060500212307910661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"rqnuz\">A White House intern reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions U.S. President Donald Trump during a news conference at the White House on November 7, 2018.</p>",
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"(2018-11-19 17:44:00+00:00) CNN ends lawsuit as White House restores Acosta's credentials",
"(2018-11-13 18:00:00+00:00) CNN sues Trump administration",
"(2018-11-16 10:00:00+00:00) Judge orders Acosta's press pass reinstated"
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
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},
{
"title": "Arkansas man arrested after threatening to kill CNN anchor Don Lemon",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/arkansas-man-arrested-after-threatening-kill-cnn-anchor-don-lemon/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-27T21:13:07.863476Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-20T20:52:17.775513Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-20T20:52:17.671730Z",
"date": "2018-11-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Mountain Home",
"longitude": -92.38516,
"latitude": 36.33534,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"55nwe\">On Nov. 6, 2018, the Baxter County Sheriff's Office in Arkansas <a href=\"https://www.baxtercountysheriff.com/press_view.php?id=1967\">arrested</a> 39-year-old Benjamin Craig Matthews for allegedly making "terroristic threats" toward CNN employees. According to a police report, Matthews is suspected of making more than 40 threatening phone calls to CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, 2018.</p><p data-block-key=\"2hgpk\">In an affidavit, Sgt. Brad Hurst of the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office wrote that many of Matthews threats targeted CNN anchor Don Lemon, who is referred to as "DL" in the affidavit. In one phone call, Matthews allegedly said, "could I be directed to DL's dead body hanging from a tree?" In another call, he allegedly asked, "is DL dead yet, can you help me kill that [redacted]?"</p><p data-block-key=\"0zcu8\">According to Hurst, CNN was not Matthews’ only target.</p><p data-block-key=\"sidey\">"He has made calls to MSNBC, US Representative Maxine Waters, US Senator Chuck Schumer, Attorney Michael Avenatti, Washington Speakers Bureau, and Planned Parenthood, suggesting a pattern of harassment towards certain political affiliations," Hurst wrote in the affidavit.</p><p data-block-key=\"sq9v8\">On Nov. 10, 2018, Matthews was released on $15,000 bail. He faces 18 counts of terroristic threatening and harassing communications, including five Class D felonies, each of which are punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.</p><p data-block-key=\"c7oj4\">On Nov. 15, Matthews <a href=\"https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/nov/16/man-suspected-in-cnn-threats-released-o/\">pleaded not guilty</a> to the charges.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Arkansas",
"abbreviation": "AR"
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"targeted_institutions": [
"CNN",
"MSNBC"
],
"tags": [],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Iowa congressman Steve King denies at least four journalists access to election party",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/iowa-congressman-steve-king-denies-des-moines-register-access-election-party/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-06T20:19:01.228563Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-07T14:25:30.014908Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-07T14:25:29.910614Z",
"date": "2018-11-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Sioux City",
"longitude": -96.40031,
"latitude": 42.49999,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jkhck\">Iowa congressman Steve King banned <a href=\"https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/steve-king-bans-several-outlets-from-election-night-party\">several media outlets</a> from covering his election night party on Nov. 6, 2018, refusing to allow at least four reporters to attend—Adam Rubenstein from The Weekly Standard, Tom Cullen from the Storm Lake Times, Christopher Mathias from HuffPost, and Tony Leys from The Des Moines Register.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sk4a\">On Nov. 5, the Register — the largest newspaper in Iowa — <a href=\"https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/06/iowa-congressman-steve-king-bars-des-moines-register-election-event-results-2018-4th-district-vote/1903588002/\">emailed</a> the King campaign to request press credentials. The campaign refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"p2m10\">“We are not granting credentials to the Des Moines Register or any other leftist propaganda media outlet with no concern for reporting the truth,” the congressman’s son Jeff wrote in an email to the Register.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8hxo\">In a statement, Register executive editor Carol Hunter condemned the denial of access.</p><p data-block-key=\"krwrz\">“The Des Moines Register will continue doing everything in its power to cover Rep. King fairly,” she said. “This decision is unfortunate because it not only shuts out the Des Moines Register reporter, but also the people of Iowa.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yblp8\">Other reporters, like Chris Mathias of HuffPost, did not receive a response to an email request for press credentials. On the night of the election, Mathias went to King’s party to cover it.</p><p data-block-key=\"n76xo\">“When Jeff King spotted me, he told me to leave," he told Freedom of the Press Foundation. "When I asked why, he told me to check my email, and just minutes before I had just received an email saying that I wasn’t allowed in and that I should refer to the statement given to The Des Moines Register about not letting leftist propaganda outlets in."</p><p data-block-key=\"zhywx\">The reporters banned from covering the election night party had a history of reporting critically on King’s campaign. Mathias has written numerous pieces about King’s nationalist and racist messaging during his campaign, and has argued that King is a white supremacist.</p><p data-block-key=\"8jfef\">The Weekly Standard's Rubenstein has written about instances in which King has made apparently derogatory comments about Mexicans and Mexican Americans.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah4xz\">Rubenstein later reported that Jeff King had called the editor in chief at The Weekly Standard and demanded the piece be pulled. After the Standard went ahead and published it, Jeff King — who had previously told Rubenstein that he could cover the election-night event — pulled Rubenstein's press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"zgbmc\">Rubenstein wrote in a <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/opinion/steve-king-gop-junk-yard-dog.html\">Nov. 13 editorial</a> for the New York Times that it was his critical reporting that got him banned from the party.</p><p data-block-key=\"vodvj\">“Mr. King will insist that his opposition to the press is political — as in, the press is all left-wing propaganda,” he wrote. “In fact, it’s part of his calculated assault on truth and the ability to determine it. His idea of how the press is supposed to function would be right at home in the Gaza Strip, Iran or Turkey. Favorable coverage gets you open access. Dare to criticize and you are denied.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rwnpc\">HuffPost's Mathias is concerned about the precedent of retaliatory denial of access that King is setting for other representatives. </p><p data-block-key=\"4su67\">“People like Steve King are picking up on Trump’s messaging about the press being the enemy of the people, and King has decided to part in it," he said. "It’s a worrying trend if more representatives start to embrace the fake news smear."</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Adam Rubenstein (The Weekly Standard)",
"Christopher Mathias (HuffPost)",
"Tom Cullen (Storm Lake Times Pilot)",
"Tony Leys (The Des Moines Register)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "BuzzFeed News journalist arrested in Seattle while asking for comment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-news-journalist-arrested-seattle-while-asking-comment/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-15T22:40:51.655220Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-20T20:59:45.271687Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-20T20:59:45.145033Z",
"date": "2018-11-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Seattle",
"longitude": -122.33207,
"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q2py0\">On Nov. 4, 2018, BuzzFeed News reporter Blake Montgomery was arrested in Seattle on suspicion of trespassing.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g0q8\">The Stranger, a Seattle alt-weekly, <a href=\"https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/11/15/35582039/buzzfeed-slapped-with-outrageous-restraining-order-and-a-night-in-jail-for-reporting-on-noodles-and-beef\">reports</a> that Montgomery was arrested while in the process of reporting out a story about Tank Hapertefen, a man who died after injecting silicone into his genitals. When Montgomery went to the Seattle home of Tank's former partner, Dylan Hapertefen, to ask him for comment, the occupants of the home called the police. The police arrested Montgomery and took him to jail. After spending almost 24 hours in jail, he was released on $1,000 bail on the evening of Nov. 5.</p><p data-block-key=\"eytbv\">Dylan and another man living with him, Daniel Balderas Hapertefen, also filed for temporary restraining orders. On Nov. 6, a judge granted both Dylan and Daniel temporary restraining orders against Montgomery.</p><p data-block-key=\"1v74r\">On Nov. 15, BuzzFeed News published <a href=\"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/silicone-genital-injection-death-tank-hafertepen\">an article about Tank's death</a>. The article — co-written by Montgomery and his BuzzFeed News colleague Katie Notopoulos — mentions Montgomery's arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"xnff2\">"Dylan and the four pups who lived with Tank in Seattle until his death initially did not answer multiple requests for comment via emails, calls, and texts," Montgomery wrote in an article about Tank, published on Nov. 15. "When a BuzzFeed News reporter attempted to reach them in person, they called the police. That reporter was arrested and jailed. The following week, Dylan and a pup, Daniel Balderas Hapertefen, filed restraining orders against the same reporter. A week later, Dylan responded to an email from BuzzFeed News, answering a series of questions."</p><p data-block-key=\"1vanp\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedPR/status/1063179402559848448\">statement</a>, BuzzFeed News criticized the Seattle police department.</p><p data-block-key=\"h3rh4\">"This was an outrageous and disproportionate response to a reporter doing his job," the statement reads. "We strongly dispute the Seattle Police Department's account of what transpired, and look forward to reviewing all the available evidence — including camera footage — to understand what warranted the jailing of a reporter for nearly 24 hours."</p><p data-block-key=\"ejzas\">The Seattle district attorney's office ultimately declined to bring trespassing charges against Montgomery.</p></div>",
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"arresting_authority": "Seattle Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
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"state": {
"name": "Washington",
"abbreviation": "WA"
},
"updates": [
"(2018-11-19 17:51:00+00:00) Restraining orders dismissed"
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},
{
"title": "Trump blames reporters for ‘creating violence by not writing the truth’",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-blames-reporters-creating-violence-not-writing-truth/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-03T01:13:33.059595Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T19:42:05.821617Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T19:42:05.745490Z",
"date": "2018-11-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6tgmm\">On Nov. 2, 2018, President Trump blamed ABC News’ Karen Travers, and other journalists, for “creating violence” by asking him tough questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"mg1yh\">As Trump walked to a helicopter on the White House lawn, Travers <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/02/trump-points-media-youre-blame-encouraging-violence/\">asked</a> him about a recent <a href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/half-trump-encourages-political-violence-media-poll/story?id=58924536\">ABC News/Washington Post poll</a>, which found that 49% of respondents believed that Trump had encouraged politically-motivated violence.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Asked about new <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ABC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ABC</a> News/WaPo poll finding 49% believe he encourages politically motivated violence with the way he speaks, Pres. Trump tells <a href=\"https://twitter.com/karentravers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@karentravers</a>, "You're creating violence by your question...A lot of the reporters are creating violence by not writing the truth." <a href=\"https://t.co/pm4YI4VTao\">pic.twitter.com/pm4YI4VTao</a></p>— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1058437134682488832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 2, 2018</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=\"abi99\">“Half of Americans think you’re encouraging politically-motivated violence through the way you speak,” Travers said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nyz5\">“No, no, you’re creating violence by your question!” Trump replied, pointing at Travers. “You are creating — you — and also, a lot of the reporters are creating violence by not writing the truth. The fake news is creating violence.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yi8ex\">“And you know what, the people that support Trump, and the people that support us, which is a lot of people, most people, many people, those people know when a story is true and they know when a story is false,” he added. “And I’ll tell you what, if the media would write correctly, and write accurately, and write fairly, you’d have a lot less violence in the country.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "Trump blamed the \"fake news\" for \"creating violence\"",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2018-11-06_at_2.39.38.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Karen Travers (ABC News)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Local TV station's news van set on fire",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/local-tv-stations-news-van-set-fire/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-21T23:20:11.971518Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-01-05T16:25:15.182072Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-01-05T16:25:15.099672Z",
"date": "2018-10-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salinas",
"longitude": -121.6555,
"latitude": 36.67774,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tw62h\">A KSBW TV Action News 8 production van was set on fire in the station’s parking lot on Oct. 26, 2018, in Salinas, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"ui9it\">The van was set on fire sometime between 9 and 10 pm on Friday night while the van was parked on Front Street. Firefighters are investigating the incident as arson, and some staff at KSBW are concerned that this could be part of the country-wide increase of attacks on the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"4oibp\">KSBW <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du8h4QRCTks\">covered</a> the incident on air, showing footage of the van, with a badly burnt door and passenger side.</p><p data-block-key=\"b3gwa\">“They know it's arson but nothing more than that, so we can't draw the conclusion but certainly makes you think today that it was an intentional act based on something we've reported,” KSBW President and General Manager Joseph W. Heston said on Oct. 29.</p><p data-block-key=\"77v41\">Heston told Freedom of the Press Foundation that there were no witnesses of the incident, and that the Salinas police department had closed the case without identifying any suspects.</p><p data-block-key=\"luztn\"><i>This article was re-categorized with the creation of a specific</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/equipment-damage/\"><i>Equipment Damage</i></a><i> category.</i></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/du8h4QRCTks?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n \n <p>KSBW</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
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{
"quantity": 1,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"KSBW"
],
"tags": [
"arson"
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"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
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{
"title": "CNN's New York headquarters evacuated after pipe bomb found in mailroom",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cnns-new-york-headquarters-evacuated-after-pipe-bomb-found-mailroom/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-24T21:04:55.634876Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-22T20:17:44.459051Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-22T20:17:44.270136Z",
"date": "2018-10-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9w4k8\">On Oct. 24, 2018, CNN’s New York bureau was evacuated after a pipe bomb was found in the mailroom of the Time Warner Center, which houses CNN’s New York offices.</p><p data-block-key=\"zqvv3\">The package containing the bomb, which also contained an unknown white powder that authorities later determined was part of the bomb, was addressed to “John Brenan, Time Warner Center (CNN).” John Brennan, the former CIA director, is now a paid commentator on MSNBC but has previously appeared as a guest on CNN.</p><p data-block-key=\"crrzb\">Authorities said that the bomb sent to CNN was similar to explosive devices sent to former president Barack Obama, former vice president Joe Biden, former attorney general Eric Holder, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters, and major Democratic donor George Soros.</p><p data-block-key=\"9yujt\">Shortly after 10 a.m. on Oct. 24, as CNN’s Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow were anchoring a live segment about the suspicious packages mailed to the Obamas and Clinton, a fire alarm went off inside the CNN newsroom.</p><p data-block-key=\"mzrmq\">“There’s a fire alarm, you might have heard it in the background, we’re going to find out what the latest is here at CNN, and we’re going to be right back,” Sciutto said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Time Warner Center – where CNN's New York offices are located – was just evacuated. The alarm went off as <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jimsciutto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jimsciutto</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PoppyHarlowCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PoppyHarlowCNN</a> were on air reporting the packages sent to the Clintons and Obamas. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShimonPro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ShimonPro</a> reporting it was over "a suspicious package." <a href=\"https://t.co/EYBsytil0o\">pic.twitter.com/EYBsytil0o</a></p>— 💀andrew👻kaczynski🎃 (@KFILE) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1055102161661636608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 24, 2018</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=\"ut4xv\">As CNN’s New York bureau <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/24/media/cnn-coverage-of-evacuation/index.html\">evacuated</a>, the network switched its broadcast to the Washington bureau. But Poppy, Harlow, and other CNN reporters in New York were soon back on the air, using cellphones to offer live reports from the street outside the Time Warner Center.</p><p data-block-key=\"6egyh\">The NYPD bomb squad removed the device from the Time Warner Center mailroom shortly before noon, but CNN employees were not allowed to re-enter the building until the NYPD had finished sweeping every floor in the building for the white powder. Finally, CNN employees were able to return to their desks around 3:30 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"z1bjp\">President Trump criticized the pipe bomb attacks in very broad terms during an unrelated bill-signing ceremony at the White House on Oct. 24.</p><p data-block-key=\"438ji\">“We have to unify,” he said. “We have to come together. Acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America. This egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear. We’re extremely angry, upset, unhappy about what we witnessed this morning and we will get to the bottom of it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"u1vxw\">The president did not mention CNN or any of the other bomb targets by name.</p><p data-block-key=\"u0c8q\">“There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media,” CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker said in a statement released a few hours later. “The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/poppy_sciutto_anchor_outside.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lepw5\">When a pipe bomb forced the evacuation of CNN's New York bureau, anchors Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto used cellphones to report on the situation from a street corner outside CNN's offices.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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},
"updates": [
"(2018-10-25 11:51:00+00:00) Trump criticizes media after attempted bombing",
"(2019-08-05 12:50:00+00:00) Man who mailed explosive devices to CNN, others sentenced to 20 years in jail",
"(2018-10-29 13:00:00+00:00) Second pipe bomb sent to CNN"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"CNN"
],
"tags": [
"bomb / bomb threat"
],
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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},
{
"title": "Man shot after breaking into lobby of local TV station in Washington, D.C.",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-shot-after-breaking-lobby-local-tv-station-washington-dc/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-25T17:12:58.313311Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-04T22:27:03.367944Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-04T22:27:03.166627Z",
"date": "2018-10-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sd0xy\">On Oct. 22, 2018, an unarmed man was <a href=\"http://www.fox5dc.com/news/fox-5-security-shoots-man-attempting-to-break-into-building\">shot</a> while attempting to break into the WTTG Fox 5 building in Washington, D.C.</p><p data-block-key=\"0zw7b\">The man was recorded by building surveillance cameras kicking and breaking two glass doors leading to the Fox 5 lobby. After entering the lobby, he was shot once by an armed security guard.</p><p data-block-key=\"kvpgq\">Reporters working in the Fox 5 building tweeted that everyone in the newsroom was safe. </p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">VIDEO: Surveillance footage shows man kicking down glass door to get into FOX 5 building before he was shot by armed security guard <a href=\"https://t.co/HkgXJJmBRH\">https://t.co/HkgXJJmBRH</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/fox5dc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#fox5dc</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/7AuxNB70Hw\">pic.twitter.com/7AuxNB70Hw</a></p>— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/fox5dc/status/1054475717117992966?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 22, 2018</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0kgf2\">Fox 5 reports that the man had leveled threats against police and Fox 5 executives in the past. </p><p data-block-key=\"rbahk\">Police said that the man survived the shooting and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment. He has been charged with second degree burglary.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"k6spd\">A screengrab from a surveillance video shows a man smashing glass doors to break in to the lobby of the local TV station Fox 5, in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22, 2018. </p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"actor": "private individual",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "building"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2019-07-02 00:00:00+00:00) Man who broke into Washington, D.C. TV station sentenced to probation"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"WTTG"
],
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"Equipment Damage"
],
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},
{
"title": "Filmmaker arrested while covering West Virginia pipeline protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-arrested-while-covering-west-virginia-pipeline-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-24T20:29:08.567135Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-24T20:29:08.567135Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-24T20:08:39.646737Z",
"date": "2018-10-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Beckley",
"longitude": -81.18816,
"latitude": 37.77817,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f4joy\">Independent filmmaker Laura Saunders was arrested on Oct. 21, 2018, while reporting on a pipeline construction protest in Beckley, West Virginia. Trespassing and obstruction charges against her were later dropped.</p><p data-block-key=\"1mrk0\">Saunders told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was one of several reporters and local TV stations on the scene, filming demonstrators as they held up signs, blocked the entrance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline pipe yard and spoke with private security.</p><p data-block-key=\"47r60\">When officers with the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office arrived, Saunders said, they negotiated with protesters about where people could be on the property. She said that officers also began writing down the license plates of cars that weren’t parked on the pipeline property, and she questioned them about it.</p><p data-block-key=\"bc45v\">“I have a suspicion that this was what put me on their radar, but I felt that this was an important question to ask — especially on camera,” Saunders told the Tracker. She said they refused to answer.</p><p data-block-key=\"cb395\">The scene quieted down until a group of demonstrators walked into the middle of the road to stop a pipe truck from moving, with some locking themselves to the truck.</p><p data-block-key=\"b5o8n\">Saunders told the Tracker she had been moving back and forth to film from different angles, but went to record the truck lockdown. Law enforcement quickly began corralling people, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7s45c\">“I was filming from a distance when the arrests began happening,” she said. “There were some violent arrests. One woman was basically carried by her arms and legs out of sight from everyone. When a group of people crossed the road to get a line of sight on her, I did that too.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ev8t4\">While she was filming that scene, Saunders said sheriff’s deputies pointed at her and said, “You’re coming in.” She said they also pulled out another woman who had been taking photographs.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ifsk\">“I didn’t get read my rights,” Saunders said. “I was put in the back of a police car with handcuffs on really tight and then taken in to be booked.”</p><p data-block-key=\"530fn\">According to Saunders, one officer, who was not her arresting officer, instructed the processing officer to “give them all the same charges.” Saunders told the Tracker that the person processed before her had been charged with battery. But she persuaded the officer to wait for her paperwork to come in before processing her charges and was eventually moved to a cell.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gegm\">Later that evening, she was released on charges of trespassing and obstruction after she paid a $2,000 bond, according to court records reviewed by the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"aub4h\">Saunders said that she had been filming protests of the construction of the pipeline since April, but until that day had only received one warning. She added that she didn’t return to covering the pipeline protests at first, because she was nervous about risking future interaction with law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"clbta\">“There’s the psychological stress and monetary concerns and the risk of having multiple charges against me,” she told the Tracker. “I thought I had a sense of things until this happened.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3d42q\">According to court records, the charges against Saunders were dropped on March 19, 2019, a few days before she was scheduled to go to trial, and the case was closed three days later. Saunders told the Tracker she then resumed covering the protests.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2019-10-09T100250Z_1112176916_RC1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dyspz\">A landowner’s sign denouncing the Mountain Valley Pipeline near Elliston, Virginia, in September 2019. Independent filmmaker Laura Saunders was arrested while covering protests against the pipeline in October 2018.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2018-10-21",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "West Virginia",
"abbreviation": "WV"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"environmentalism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Laura Saunders (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Trump fondly recalls how congressman Greg Gianforte body-slammed a journalist",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-fondly-recalls-how-congressman-greg-gianforte-assaulted-journalist/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-19T18:30:36.454788Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-26T14:42:21.845871Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-26T14:42:21.695049Z",
"date": "2018-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Missoula",
"longitude": -113.994,
"latitude": 46.87215,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"anlcx\">During a rally in Montana on October 18, 2018, President Donald Trump <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/18/trump-greg-gianforte-assault-guardian-ben-jacobs\">praised</a> Republican congressman Greg Gianforte for physically assaulting a journalist in May 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"i4egv\">On May 24, the day before a special election for Montana’s open congressional seat, then-candidate <a href=\"/all-incidents/gop-congressional-candidate-assaults-guardian-us-reporter/\">Gianforte physically assaulted Guardian U.S. reporter Ben Jacobs</a>, after Jacobs tried to ask him a question about a Republican healthcare proposal. Jacobs suffered minor injuries and the police were called. Although Gianforte <a href=\"https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/crime/details-of-gianforte-investigation-released-to-public/article_67894be6-d1e6-5ad6-a8c9-45fa44306b04.html\">reportedly lied</a> to the police about the circumstances of the assault, eyewitnesses confirmed that Gianforte had instigated it and he was charged with misdemeanor assault. A Fox News reporter who witnessed the assault later <a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/greg-gianforte-fox-news-team-witnesses-gop-house-candidate-body-slam-reporter\">described</a> it:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/greg-gianforte-fox-news-team-witnesses-gop-house-candidate-body-slam-reporter\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"c8r0k\">At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!"</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/politics/greg-gianforte-fox-news-team-witnesses-gop-house-candidate-body-slam-reporter\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"xb4fb\">Fox News report</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=\"rynev\">The day after assaulting Jacobs, Gianforte won the special election. He was sworn into Congress on June 21, 2018. Gianforte ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to community service. He never served any jail time. As part of a civil settlement with Jacobs, Gianforte also agreed to issue a public apology and to sit for an interview with Jacobs (which he never did, according to Jacobs). He also agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which the organization earmarked to fund the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"iy8gu\">On Oct. 18, Gianforte introduced Trump at a rally in Montana. Trump thanked Gianforte for the introduction and then <a href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/montana-rally-president-trump-praises-greg-gianforte-body/story?id=58596529\">fondly recalled</a> the congressman's assault on Jacobs.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At Montana rally, Pres. Trump praises Greg Gianforte, who made national headlines during the GOP primaries for assaulting a reporter.<br><br>"Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!" Trump said to cheers. <a href=\"https://t.co/pej6aXuf6b\">https://t.co/pej6aXuf6b</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/ejaSSairnK\">pic.twitter.com/ejaSSairnK</a></p>— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1053129811898462209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 19, 2018</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=\"8ptky\">“Greg is smart, and by the way, never wrestle him,” Trump said as the crowd laughed and cheered. “You understand that?”</p><p data-block-key=\"r6lhq\">“Any guy that can do a body-slam, he’s my kind of guy,” Trump continued, as he mimed picking someone up and throwing them on the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"sydq4\">Trump went on to describe how he reacted after learning that Gianforte, whom he had endorsed in the Montana special election, had assaulted a reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"lxfvl\">“I shouldn’t say this, but there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Trump said. “So I was in Rome with a lot of the leaders from other countries, talking about all sorts of things. And I heard about it — and we endorsed Greg very early — but I heard he had body-slammed a reporter!”</p><p data-block-key=\"85a24\">At this point, Trump pointed his finger at the journalists in the press pen covering his rally.</p><p data-block-key=\"aaeg3\">“And he was way up,” Trump continued, referring to polls that showed Gianforte was the front-runner. “And he was way up, and I said — this was like the day of the election or just before — and I said, ‘Oh, this is terrible, he’s going to lose the election.’ Then I said, ‘Well, wait a minute, I know Montana very well. I think it might help him!’ And it did.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vji4s\"><a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/19/trump-greg-gianforte-guardian-reporter-assault\">Along with other journalists and press freedom advocates</a>, Guardian US editor John Mulholland condemned Trump’s remarks.</p><p data-block-key=\"vz1ko\">“The president of the United States tonight applauded the assault on an American journalist who works for the Guardian,” he said in a statement. “To celebrate an attack on a journalist who was simply doing his job is an attack on the first amendment by someone who has taken an oath to defend it. In the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats. We hope decent people will denounce these comments and that the president will see fit to apologize for them.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_2.20.41.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vfu59\">Trump mimes throwing someone to the ground during a rally in Missoula, Montana, on October 18, 2018. The president fondly recalled how Greg Gianforte, Montana's Republican congressman, had body-slammed a journalist.</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,
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"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Montana",
"abbreviation": "MT"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ben Jacobs (The Guardian)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "California orders reporters not to write about sealed search warrant",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/california-orders-reporters-not-write-about-sealed-search-warrant/",
"first_published_at": "2018-12-07T19:20:31.864499Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:56:00.125136Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:56:00.051000Z",
"date": "2018-10-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Orange County",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bomi8\">On Oct. 17, 2018, Orange County Superior Court judge Gregory Jones ordered members of the media not to report on a sealed search warrant that had previously been made available to the public—an unconstitutional prior restraint. Four days later, he rescinded the order and unsealed the search warrant materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"tmxfe\">The search warrant was executed in January 2018 against Grant Robicheaux, a prominent surgeon suspected of sexually assaulting multiple women. Like most search warrants in California, it was initially filed under seal but was automatically unsealed and made available to the public shortly after it was carried out.</p><p data-block-key=\"ds16b\">Eight months later, in September 2018, police arrested Robicheaux and his girlfriend, Cerissa Riley, and the Orange County district attorney Tony Rackauckas charged them with sexually assaulting two women. After the arrests were announced, a number of journalists found the January search warrant materials (which were now available to the public) and reported on their contents. In response, both prosecutors and Robicheaux’s defense team asked a judge to re-seal the search warrant materials, which he did.</p><p data-block-key=\"8n03f\">The next month, as The Associated Press reported, Rackauckas announced that five more women had accused Robicheaux and Riley of sexual assault. At a <a href=\"https://www.ocregister.com/2018/10/17/newport-beach-surgeon-and-girlfriend-plea-not-guilty-to-drugging-and-raping-women-while-7-more-charges-added/\">court hearing</a> on Oct. 17, Rackauckas’ office formally filed <a href=\"https://www.apnews.com/e9be6cf93cf64ef894e3ce36840bc92c\">additional charges</a> against Robicheaux and Riley, who pleaded not guilty.</p><p data-block-key=\"jayfz\">According to the OC Register, outside the hearing, Orange County supervisor Todd Spitzer — who is challenging Rackauckas in the election for Orange County district attorney — held a press conference to criticize Rackauckas for taking so long to arrest Robicheaux and Riley. Speaking to a group of reporters, Spitzer said Rackauckas should have had Robicheaux and Riley arrested back in January 2018, right after the search warrant was executed. To prove his point, Spitzer and his assistant handed out copies of the January 2018 search warrant materials to reporters.</p><p data-block-key=\"8aeja\">Rackauckas objected to Spitzer’s stunt, since the search warrant materials were supposed to be sealed from the public, and the district attorney’s office asked judge Jones do something about it. (Jones was not the judge who originally ordered the search warrant sealed, but he was the judge presiding over the hearing.)</p><p data-block-key=\"mk3gc\">Jones called reporters back into the courtroom and told them to return the copies of the search warrants that they had received. He then told them to remind their news organizations that the search warrant was sealed and they should not publish it.</p><p data-block-key=\"nf8xb\">The Orange County Register and the AP challenged Jones’ order, arguing that it amounted to an unconstitutional prior restraint on the press. On Oct. 21, Jones <a href=\"https://apnews.com/4dbedcca07414ee1b2ed98de2e2a0c24\">unsealed</a> the search warrant, <a href=\"https://www.ocregister.com/2018/10/23/judge-reverses-order-that-limited-medias-reporting-on-case-involving-newport-beach-surgeons-alleged-sex-assaults/\">finding</a> that it could not be re-sealed once it had already been made available to the public.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/judge-gavel-1461291406zfK.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"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": 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": "dropped",
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"public records"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "ICE subpoenas law journal editor who published copy of leaked ICE memo",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ice-subpoenas-law-journal-editor-who-published-copy-leaked-ice-memo/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-29T20:50:30.706755Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T20:04:12.914244Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T20:04:12.810234Z",
"date": "2018-10-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fairfax",
"longitude": -77.30637,
"latitude": 38.84622,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4ritl\">The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed the editor of an immigration law journal in an attempt to identify the source of a leaked internal memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"p9tkv\">Daniel Kowalski is a Colorado-based immigration attorney and the editor of “Bender’s Immigration Bulletin,” an immigration law journal published on LexisNexis. In July 2018, Kowalski published a leaked copy of an internal ICE memo about changes to the government's approach toward asylum claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"jfmhb\">On Oct. 16, 2018, Kowalski <a href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/ICE-subpoenas-immigration-lawyer-in-leak-hunt-13314928.php\">received a subpoena</a> from the Department of Homeland Security ordering him to produce:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5023914-DHS-summons-to-Daniel-Kowalski.html\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"ldfc7\">all information related to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memorandum with the subject title of “Litigating Domestic Violence-Based Persecution Claims Following Matter of a A-B-“ dated July 11, 2018; including, but not limited to: (1) date of receipt, (2) method of receipt, (3) source of document, and (4) contact information for the source of the document.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5023914-DHS-summons-to-Daniel-Kowalski.html\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"lsid8\">DHS summons to Daniel Kowalski</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=\"0xs06\">The subpoena also includes a gag provision, which states: “You are requested not to disclose the existence of this summons for an indefinite period of time. Any such disclosure will impede this investigation and thereby interfere with the enforcement of federal law.</p><p data-block-key=\"65q6b\">The subpoena orders Kowalski to produce the requested material by Oct. 30, 2018, to a special agent in ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility, suggesting that there is an active internal investigation into the source of the leaked memo. </p><p data-block-key=\"wm84r\">Kowalski told Freedom of the Press Foundation that he intends to ignore the subpoena, which he believes was not properly served on him.</p><p data-block-key=\"xxmhm\">“I’m planning on ignoring it,” he said. “They also haven’t served me in person; they just faxed and emailed it, so technically they’d need to physically find me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a2r7c\">If Kowalski does not comply with the subpoena, ICE can try to get a federal judge to compel him to provide information about the source of the memo. But Kowalski is confident that no judge would compel him to comply with the subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"ianor\">Unlike subpoenas issued by federal courts, the subpoena to Kowalski was a summons issued directly by DHS, in accordance with a federal law (<a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/19/1509\">19 U.S.C. § 1509</a>) that allows DHS to issue summons in connection with investigations concerning the importation of merchandise.</p><p data-block-key=\"wo16n\">ICE’s sister agency, Customs & Border Protection, previously cited the same law to issue a summons to Twitter last year. The summons, which <a href=\"https://theintercept.com/2017/04/06/the-u-s-government-is-trying-to-unmask-an-anonymous-anti-trump-twitter-account/\">demanded</a> that Twitter reveal the user behind an alt-government account, was later withdrawn, and the DHS Office of Inspector General <a href=\"https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/Mga/2017/oig-18-18-nov17.pdf\">chastised</a> CBP for misusing the statute.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2018-10-29_at_4.48.47.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"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": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Virginia",
"abbreviation": "VA"
},
"updates": [
"(2020-02-20 10:24:00+00:00) ICE subpoena for law journal editor who published copy of leaked memo dropped"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"ICE",
"immigration"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Daniel Kowalski (Bender's Immigration Bulletin)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Treasury employee charged with leaking details of Manafort's suspicious bank transactions to BuzzFeed News",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/treasury-employee-charged-leaking-details-manaforts-suspicious-bank-transactions-buzzfeed-news/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-18T18:14:05.188636Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-01-18T18:59:04.132469Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-01-18T18:59:04.008488Z",
"date": "2018-10-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ybbgp\">Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, an official in the U.S. Treasury’s financial crimes division (FinCEN), was arrested on Oct. 16, 2018, and charged with giving details about suspicious banking transactions to a reporter at BuzzFeed News.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ej6v\">From October 2017 through October 2018, BuzzFeed News has published a series of investigations into suspicious banking transactions made by Russian diplomats and by Trump associates, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. These BuzzFeed News investigations were largely based on so-called “Suspicious Activity Reports” — confidential reports that financial institutions are required to file to alert FinCEN of potential money laundering and other suspicious banking transactions.</p><p data-block-key=\"t1pri\">Although SARs are not classified, it is illegal to disclose them without authorization:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/1020.320\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"v5m8h\">A Federal, State, local, territorial, or Tribal government authority, or any director, officer, employee, or agent of any of the foregoing, shall not disclose a SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, except as necessary to fulfill official duties consistent with Title II of the Bank Secrecy Act.</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/31/1020.320\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"35w0u\">31 CFR § 1020.320(e)(2)</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=\"4fsei\">On Oct. 16, 2018, Edwards was <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/17/politics/treasury-official-charged-with-leaking-docs-related-to-russia-manafort/index.html\">arrested</a> and <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/senior-treasury-employee-charged-with-leaking-documents-related-to-russia-probe/2018/10/17/74f67faa-d226-11e8-83d6-291fcead2ab1_story.html\">charged</a> with one count of unauthorized disclosures of SARs and one count of conspiracy to make unauthorized disclosures of SARs. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.</p><p data-block-key=\"e1pek\">The <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5005579-Complaint.html\">criminal complaint</a> against Edwards details the FBI’s investigation of her communications with Jason Leopold, an investigative reporter at BuzzFeed News. Although the complaint does not explicitly name Leopold or BuzzFeed, it specifically references articles written by him, making clear that Leopold is the journalist identified in the complaint as "Reporter-1."</p><p data-block-key=\"au0az\">According to the complaint, federal investigators used search warrants to obtain access to both Edwards’ personal email account, which allegedly revealed emails between her and Leopold, and her cellphone records, which allegedly revealed calls and text messages sent between her and Leopold. The complaint also states that federal investigators were able to determine that she and Leopold communicated over an encrypted messaging app, though it is not clear how they were able to do so.</p><p data-block-key=\"6usr2\">FBI agents finally seized Edwards' phone and placed her under arrest after questioning her on October 16 about her communications with Leopold. Once they seized her phone, investigators were able to read some of the encrypted messages that she had exchanged with Leopold.</p><p data-block-key=\"bwu5u\">The FBI investigation of Edwards may also have exposed another one of Leopold's sources. This second source is referred to in the complaint as “CC-1” and identified as Edwards’ supervisor at FinCEN. According to the complaint, federal investigators seized this person’s phone records and found that they had also exchanged text messages, phone calls, and encrypted messages with the journalist. Unlike Edwards, this second source does not currently face any criminal charges.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2018-10-17 17:00:00+00:00) Edwards released on bond",
"(2021-06-03 10:26:00+00:00) Former Treasury official sentenced to six months in prison for leaking records to BuzzFeed reporter",
"(2022-01-24 13:10:00+00:00) Former Treasury official who leaked records to BuzzFeed reporter released from prison",
"(2020-01-13 16:08:00+00:00) Former Treasury employee pleads guilty to leaking information to a journalist"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [
"Jason Leopold (BuzzFeed News)"
],
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"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Leak Case"
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{
"title": "Judge orders LA Times not to publish descriptions of defendant in murder trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-orders-la-times-not-publish-descriptions-defendant-murder-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2019-01-18T17:56:28.253421Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:33:12.594303Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:33:12.516814Z",
"date": "2018-10-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"d5l8f\">On Oct. 10, 2018, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gustavo N. Sztraicher ordered The Los Angeles Times not to publish “descriptors” of a defendant charged with murder — even though journalists watched his proceedings in an open courtroom.</p><p data-block-key=\"hrbev\"><a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-wright-descriptor-hearing-20181013-story.html\">According to The Times</a>, an attorney for Dejone Wright, the defendant charged with the July shooting of anti-gang activist Garry Dorton, objected during a pre-trial hearing to a media request issued by The Times to photograph or describe his client to the public. Wright’s attorney argued that any information about his client’s appearance, if published, “would affect the outcome of a jury trial."</p><p data-block-key=\"ykmco\">Court documents state Sztraicher agreed with the lawyer’s request and ordered “no descriptors” of Wright be published, citing an “identification issue.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5pv4e\">A sworn declaration by Times reporter Cindy Chang, who was present for the hearing, states no further elaboration of the order was given and that the order was not mentioned in the hearing’s official minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"gcz5i\">“My understanding is that the Court has prohibited me from publishing any information that visually describes Mr. Wright or Mr. Dixon that I obtained from observing them in open court,” Chang wrote. “However, given the brief exchange in court on Oct. 10 and the lack of any reference to it in the Minute Order, I am uncertain and confused about what the ruling requires.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vasl7\">On Oct. 12, Dan Laidman, an attorney for The Times, challenged the order, requesting clarification and that the order be vacated as an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6sxf\">“The Times respectfully requests that this Court clarify the scope of the Order, particularly whether it restricts the publication of any information,” Laidman wrote. “If the Order prohibits The Times from publishing information about Defendants that is obtained through a journalist’s observations in open court (or any lawful source), then it is an unconstitutional prior restraint.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eqk18\">Laidman also challenged the order on the grounds it was unconstitutionally vague.</p><p data-block-key=\"v0aiz\">“Without further clarification from this Court, the media will be required to steer wide of describing Defendants, who were lawfully observed in open court, and the Oct. 10 Order therefore imposes an unconstitutionally vague prior restraint,” he argued.</p><p data-block-key=\"uko95\">Laidman went on to note that Wright’s name and birthdate were released by the Los Angeles Police Department on Oct. 3, and no California court has ever upheld a prior restraint “on publication of lawfully obtained information about criminal court proceedings.”</p><p data-block-key=\"th6qw\">Sztraicher reversed his ruling on Oct. 12 after acknowledging even he did not fully comprehend the scope of order, according to The Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lu4u\">“Any observations made by a reporter who is lawfully in court… may be reported and disseminated,” Sztraicher said in his reversal.</p><p data-block-key=\"jsye0\">In September, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/los-angeles-county-judge-orders-reporters-not-publish-courtroom-photographs/\">Sztraicher also prohibited reporters</a> from The Times and other outlets from publishing information in a criminal court proceeding over an “identification issue.” That ruling was also reversed.</p><p data-block-key=\"j0sdh\">On Oct. 16 The Times Editorial Board <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-prior-restraint-20181016-story.html\">responded</a> to the ruling and its reversal:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-prior-restraint-20181016-story.html\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"4iexu\">It is a settled principle of 1st Amendment law that judges can't bar journalists (or anyone else) from reporting what they see and hear in open court. So it's astounding that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Wednesday ordered The Times not to publish information as basic as the physical description of a criminal defendant who was appearing in his courtroom.</p><p data-block-key=\"mj8j5\">A few weeks earlier, the same judge granted permission to photograph another defendant — but then tried to block The Times from publishing the photos. Both gag orders were impermissible and deeply disturbing prior restraints on speech.</p><p data-block-key=\"wn7hn\">Judge Gustavo N. Sztraicher reversed himself in both cases after The Times objected, so one might be tempted to conclude, "No harm, no foul."</p><p data-block-key=\"2wl9l\">But there is indeed serious harm every time a judge disregards or misunderstands the 1st Amendment and the strict limitation it places on the government’s power to prevent a person or news outlet from repeating or reporting what goes on in open court.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-prior-restraint-20181016-story.html\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"k07k7\">Editorial: Note to Judge Sztraicher: ‘Open court’ means open for journalists to report freely</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=\"d2ltk\"><i>Editor's Note: This article was updated to reflect the correct spelling of Times reporter Cindy Chang</i>'s<i> name</i>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2019-01-17_at_5.47.02.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"stopped_previously": false,
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"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"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": "dropped",
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Los Angeles Times"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "New York Post reporter punched while interviewing homeless man",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-post-reporter-punched-while-interviewing-homeless-man/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-22T00:29:37.096823Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-03-06T15:24:18.900909Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-03-06T15:24:18.769901Z",
"date": "2018-10-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o4aah\">On Oct. 10, 2018, New York Post reporter Dean Balsamini was punched in the head by a homeless man he was trying to interview, local newspaper the Villager <a href=\"http://thevillager.com/2018/10/18/crackdown-on-crusties-after-postie-is-punched/\">reports</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"onm07\">Balsamini mentioned the assault in an Oct. 13 article for the Post, titled “Post reporter investigating vagrants gets punched in the head.” Balsamini identifies the man who attacked him as “Zeke,” one of a number of young homeless people who congregate near a fenced-off vacant lot in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. In the article, Balsamini derisively refers to Zeke as a 25-year-old “traveler” from Kansas with “farm-animal musk” and “Charles Manson eyes.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lkf3b\">According to Balsamini, Zeke willingly answered a few of the reporter’s questions but then became upset after seeing Balsamini write his name down in a notebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"swwlb\">“He screamed that he ‘wanted his name back,’” Balsamini wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"0esjy\">Balsamini reported that John O’Connell, the commanding officer of the NYPD’s ninth precinct, personally called him after the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"2xdnc\">On Oct. 16, O'Connell spoke about the attack at a community council meeting. According to the Villager, O’Connell said that other homeless people in the area regarded Zeke as “emotionally disturbed” and did not want to be associated with him. O’Connell also said that Balsamini did not require medical attention after the attack and did not press charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"vwfcu\">After Balsamini <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2018/10/13/post-reporter-investigating-vagrants-gets-punched-in-the-head/\">wrote about the attack</a> for the Post, police sweeps and crackdowns on homeless encampments in the East Village increased. The NYPD also installed a light tower next to the vacant lot where Balsamini was attacked.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"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": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dean Balsamini (New York Post)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Reporter Zachary Siegel held in contempt of court and arrested after recording trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-zachary-siegel-held-contempt-court-and-arrested-after-recording-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-02T21:24:55.666819Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-12T19:49:17.293987Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-12T19:49:17.185197Z",
"date": "2018-10-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ppdu8\">Freelance journalist Zachary Siegel was held in criminal contempt of court and arrested on Oct. 2, 2018, while covering a high-profile murder trial in Chicago, Illinois. The judge overseeing the trial said that Siegel had recorded part of the trial, in violation of the judge's <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5030059-Judge-Vincent-Gaughan-s-courtroom-decorum-orders.html\">decorum order</a>, and ordered him held in jail on a $100 bond.</p><p data-block-key=\"kj53l\">On Oct. 2, Siegel was one of a number of journalists in attendance for the <a href=\"https://abc7chicago.com/watch-live-jason-van-dyke-trial-defense-testimony-resumes/4390218/\">murder trial of Jason Van Dyke</a>, a former Chicago police officer charged with murder in connection with the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager. Siegel, a freelance science journalist, was on assignment for Undark, an online magazine about science journalism funded through the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT. Siegel was working on a feature story about Laurence Miller, a police psychologist who often testifies as an expert witness for the defense in trials involving police use of force.</p><p data-block-key=\"zimdr\">Shortly after Miller's testimony began, Judge Vincent Gaughan spotted Siegel recording the testimony and stopped the trial. After questioning Siegel, Judge Gaughan ordered that he be held in "direct criminal contempt" for violating the judge's earlier decorum order. Gaughan's decorum order allowed a defined media pool to record the trial proceedings and then share the footage with other journalists, but prohibited individual journalists (like Siegel) from recording parts of the trial on their own. Siegel was removed from court and taken to jail.</p><p data-block-key=\"gno0t\">Video recorded by ABC 7 (which was allowed to film the proceedings) shows Gaughan questioning Siegel.</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/1uWk7i-T-9o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n <p data-block-key=\"75i32\">Freelance journalist Zach Siegel is taken into custody after Judge Gaughan said he was recording the proceedings, in violation of the judge's decorum order.</p>\n \n \n <p>ABC 7</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mdk2t\">"Take your hands out of your pocket," Gaughan scolds Siegel. "All right, state your name. Get up here!"</p><p data-block-key=\"pdmlu\">Gaughan asks Siegel if he was recording testimony (Siegel says he was) and if he knew that recording testimony was a violation of the decorum order (Siegel says he did not).</p><p data-block-key=\"hdkfg\">Gaughan then orders that the person sitting next to Siegel be brought up to the front of the court.</p><p data-block-key=\"2y265\">"Before I ask him whether he was sitting next to you when the decorum order was read, I want you to think about your answer, all right?" Gaughan tells Siegel. "Did you see and hear my deputy read my decorum order in this courtroom?"</p><p data-block-key=\"x664m\">"Yes," Siegel says.</p><p data-block-key=\"qrlut\">"All right, take him into custody," Gaughan says. "I find you in direct contempt of court."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h5vst\">Later, Siegel was brought back before Judge Gaughan for a brief hearing on the criminal contempt charge.</p><p data-block-key=\"ycip2\">Gaughan told Siegel to appear at a sentencing hearing on Oct. 31 and ordered him held on a $1,000 D-bond. A D-bond requires that a defendant raise 10% of its amount (in this case, $100) in order to make bail.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Zachary Siegel, the reporter who was held in contempt after recording earlier today, is being held on $1,000 bond.<br><br>"I don't want you to stay over there long," Gaughan said, adding "it's bad that you did that."</p>— Matt Masterson (@ByMattMasterson) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ByMattMasterson/status/1047184206844051456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2018</a></blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Zachary Siegel, a freelancer, is in front of Judge Gaughan on his contempt of court charge. He's got a $1000 D-bond, so he'll have to post $100 to get out. We took up a collection in the press aisle.</p>— Andy Grimm (@agrimm34) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/agrimm34/status/1047184505944064001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2018</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=\"vl4wa\">Siegel was released from jail after other journalists covering the trial took up a collection to raise $100 for his bail.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was arrested and charged with contempt of court for recording when I wasn't supposed to. I want to thank all the journalists who put up $ for my bond, keeping me out of jail. (If you did put up $, please DM so I can venmo you). I also want to thank <a href=\"https://twitter.com/undarkmag?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@undarkmag</a> for standing w/ me</p>— Zachary Siegel (@ZachWritesStuff) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZachWritesStuff/status/1047247927373168640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 2018</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=\"l64x2\">Tom Zeller, Jr., the editor in chief of Undark magazine, told Freedom of the Press Foundation that the judge's decision to hold Siegel in contempt of court was inappropriate.</p><p data-block-key=\"azfo6\">"Whatever the overall nature or purpose of the judge's 'decorum order,' the decision to arrest a reporter for recording testimony during a highly publicized trial — and one in which other members of the press were permitted to record freely — would seem both absurd and arbitrary on its face," he said. "If the judge's goal was to intimidate other working journalists, it will not work."</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"v3kz2\">Zachary Siegel is taken into custody after being found in direct criminal contempt of court for recording part of a murder trial in Chicago.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [
"(2018-10-31 14:36:00+00:00) Motion to reconsider",
"(2018-12-14 12:44:00+00:00) Three months of \"non-reported\" supervision for contempt"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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"Zachary Siegel (Undark)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist subpoenaed in legal feud over boxing match",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-in-legal-feud-over-boxing-match/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-02T18:13:17.137741Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-02T18:44:54.674383Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-02T18:44:54.579466Z",
"date": "2018-09-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vghl0\">Journalist Lance Pugmire was subpoenaed on September 28, 2018, as part of a lawsuit around a major boxing match he covered in 2015 while a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"ck613\">It was the first of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?targeted_journalists=Lance+Pugmire&legal_order_type=SUBPOENA&legal_order_target=JOURNALIST&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">a total of five subpoenas</a> Pugmire received between 2018 and 2023, in a plaintiff’s long-running lawsuit around finder’s fees for a 2015 boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. The match broke pay-per-view records at more than $400 million in sales, as Pugmire himself <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-mayweather-pacquiao-ppv-record-20150512-story.html\">reported</a> for the Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"150r9\">The plaintiff in the suit claims that Showtime, which televised the fight, as well as Pacquiao and his trainer, Frederick Roach, promised him a finder’s fee for helping to negotiate the fight.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ij1a\">In the fall of 2018, the plaintiff subpoenaed Pugmire for testimony to have him confirm that quotations from Roach in Pugmire’s articles about the fight were accurately attributed. Pugmire objected to the subpoena and refused to testify. The plaintiff filed a motion to compel his testimony, which was denied on March 5, 2019, on the grounds that it was filed too late after Pugmire’s objections.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Los Angeles County judge orders reporters not to publish courtroom photographs",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/los-angeles-county-judge-orders-reporters-not-publish-courtroom-photographs/",
"first_published_at": "2019-01-15T16:54:13.677429Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:33:33.397071Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:33:33.323410Z",
"date": "2018-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o1qnc\">On Sept. 26, 2018, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gustavo N. Sztraicher ordered journalists not to publish images taken during the arraignment hearing of Ramon Escobar, who was charged with the murders of multiple homeless people in Southern California.</p><p data-block-key=\"o55qx\">According to court documents, Sztraicher gave permission to journalists from The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press and a television news station to document the proceedings after hearing no objections. However, once reporters began taking photographs, an attorney for Escobar raised an objection, citing an “identification issue.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h315m\">Although photographs of Escobar had already been released and published by media outlets, the objection was sustained by Sztraicher, who then ordered reporters to stop taking photos and video. He also ordered a sketch artist to stop drawing.</p><p data-block-key=\"j965g\">Dan Laidman, an attorney representing The Times and the AP, provided documents that show the journalists were unsure if the court had simply halted further photography or had prohibited publishing images already taken. Journalists, including Times reporters Gina Ferazzi and James Queally, asked the judge for further instruction.</p><p data-block-key=\"ydtzw\">“When journalists pressed for clarification, the judge ruled that the publication of any images, videos or sketches of Escobar from the court hearing would be considered a violation of a court order,” <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-escobar-photo-20180926-story.html\">The Times reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"22eus\">At a hearing the following day, Laidman argued the order was “flatly unconstitutional” and asked that it be vacated, noting the Supreme Court has never upheld a prior restraint.</p><p data-block-key=\"lp8wh\">“The Times understands that this Court issued its prior restraint because of concerns about an unspecified ‘identification’ issue concerning Defendant, and out of concern for his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. But these interests simply do not justify a prior restraint here,” Laidman wrote in the court brief. “The September 26 Order is at odds with the basic purpose of the First Amendment - namely, to prevent the government from imposing prior restraints against the press. […] The Times, therefore, respectfully requests that the Court vacate the Order immediately.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8k5v8\">Escobar’s attorney argued that because Sztraicher’s permission was granted verbally and not through written order, the photographs were obtained unlawfully.</p><p data-block-key=\"ghdi7\">Sztraicher denied this argument, acknowledging journalists had obtained prior verbal approval, and vacated his order.</p><p data-block-key=\"84nwy\">“Defense attorneys often argue that publishing their client’s image before trial could improperly sway witnesses, … Once photographs have been taken legally, however, a judgeccccccjfk typically can’t bar news outlets from publishing them,” <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-escobar-photo-hearing-20180927-story.html\">The Times reported</a> following the hearing.</p><p data-block-key=\"vfcr7\">The AP also published on the successful free speech defense.</p><p data-block-key=\"8r19a\">“The order should never have been issued in the first place,” David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/564a8911b89d4f3d819aee6846c896bb\">told the AP</a>. “I’m glad the court saw the light of day.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tyi68\">In a statement emailed to the Freedom of the Press Foundation about the decision, The Times’ Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine noted how the judge’s courtroom ruling put the news outlet in a difficult position.</p><p data-block-key=\"q7qor\">“It is distressing that once again the Los Angeles Times needs to resort to litigation to preserve our rights under the 1st Amendment,” Pearlstine said.</p><p data-block-key=\"t8q7g\">Earlier in the year, The Times filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals to rescind a restraining order against publishing information made public in the criminal case of former narcotics detective John Balian. That <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-orders-los-angeles-times-remove-certain-facts-published-article/\">order was also reversed</a> after a day.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"fyjdf\">The Ex Parte application to vacate prior restraint<br/></p>",
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{
"title": "Journalist Karen Savage arrested for second time while covering anti-pipeline protest in Louisiana",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-karen-savage-arrested-second-time-while-covering-anti-pipeline-protest-louisiana/",
"first_published_at": "2018-10-26T21:32:22.072826Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-03T16:39:17.813133Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-03T16:39:17.690843Z",
"date": "2018-09-18",
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"city": "St. Martin Parish",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q1kf6\">On Sept. 18, 2018, freelance investigative reporter Karen Savage was arrested and charged with trespassing, while <a href=\"https://theappeal.org/louisiana-police-arrest-bayou-bridge-pipeline-protesters/\">reporting</a> on protests against the construction of the Bayou Bridge oil pipeline in Louisiana.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahgz2\">Savage was embedded with a camp of protesters, known as water protectors, who were aiming to defend a piece of land in Louisiana’s Atchafalaya River Basin, a wetlands area co-owned by hundreds of people.</p><p data-block-key=\"egpbj\">Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, is trying to build its new Bayou Bridge oil pipeline through the area. Although some of the co-owners of the Atchafalaya River Basin property have given the company permission to build the pipeline, hundreds of others have <a href=\"https://www.nola.com/landowners-sue-bayou-bridge-claiming-pipeline-company-improperly-seized-private-land/article_ad04db97-1a9e-5965-a145-f9619b7fed21.html\">refused</a> to do so. Despite this, the company had already begun making alterations to the land, including removing trees and digging a ditch. It has also asked the state of Louisiana to use eminent domain to seize the land from the co-owners who object to the pipeline.</p><p data-block-key=\"sadag\">Savage told Freedom of the Press Foundation that one of the co-owners of the Atchafalaya Basin land who is resisting the pipeline had given her permission to be on the property.</p><p data-block-key=\"i2c3u\">“Some were actively resisting, and I had a letter from a landowner saying we were welcome to be on the property," she said. "For people to visit the property, you only need permission from one landowner.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ruvgo\">Savage had previously been <a href=\"https://theintercept.com/2018/08/22/recent-arrests-under-new-anti-protest-law-spotlight-risks-that-off-duty-cops-pose-to-pipeline-opponents/\">arrested for trespassing</a> while reporting on the pipeline protests on Aug. 18. Once she was released on bail, she returned to the resistance camp at the Atchafalaya River Basin to continue covering the protest movement.</p><p data-block-key=\"d12vn\">Savage said that on September 3 and 4, she witnessed law enforcement officers treated protesters badly.</p><p data-block-key=\"w37ft\">“They chased them, tackled them, and allowed pipeline security employees to put their hands on protesters,” she said. “It was heavily violence and I got some pictures of law enforcement chasing them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"pgxyn\">She said that a few weeks later, on Sept. 17, she was riding in a vehicle that was pulled over in a different parish in Louisiana. The officers ran the ID’s of everyone in the car, but everything came back fine and they were allowed to proceed after receiving a citation.</p><p data-block-key=\"bevbg\">The next day, sheriff’s deputies claimed that Savage had an outstanding warrant dating from Sept. 3.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nxd7\">Savage said that on September 18, she was tipped off by protesters to come to a particular part of the swamp, and when she pulled up in her boat to the ramp, she saw sheriff’s department officers present. As Savage began photographing the scene, the officers came to her and arrested her, allegedly on an outstanding warrant.</p><p data-block-key=\"b9c08\">“They said they were arresting me for an outstanding warrant,” she said. “But I knew there was nothing out for me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vo602\">Savage said that an individual who witnessed the arrest called the sheriff’s department to inquire why she was arrested and learned that there was no warrant out for her.</p><p data-block-key=\"y2y8v\">Savage was arrested under <a href=\"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bayou-bridge-activists-anti-protest-law-is-anti-american_us_5ba53c4ce4b0181540dcd246\">Louisiana's newly-enacted state law</a> against “unauthorized entry of a critical infrastructure project.” The Louisiana state law — which only went into effect on Aug. 1 — makes trespassing on a “critical infrastructure project” like an oil pipeline a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.</p><p data-block-key=\"7urh5\">She had previously been arrested under the same law on Aug. 18.</p><p data-block-key=\"thd4f\">Savage contrasted her treatment by the sheriff’s department to her previous arrest while covering the protest in August. Then, she said, the arrest wasn’t violent. But this time, she said the officers grabbed her roughly and pulled her hands back.</p><p data-block-key=\"o5cjn\">“They really hurt me arms, shoulders, and wrists,” she said. “It was really unnecessary.”</p><p data-block-key=\"86tks\">She said that the officers put her in the back of a police car and then drove her around for about an hour, which she found suspicious.</p><p data-block-key=\"aeufc\">“It’s a 20 minute drive to the station,” she said. “But they kept driving around through sugar cane fields, and I had no idea where he was taking me. I thought maybe it was intimidation because they didn’t actually have a warrant.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bj0h6\">The St. Martin’s Sheriff Department did not respond to request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"5luzi\">Savage said that, despite her two arrests, the local district attorney has not brought any criminal charges against her.</p><p data-block-key=\"l4nmx\">“I’m doubtful that they ever will,” she said. “It was a very clear intimidation tactic to stop me from covering the story.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aql2v\">“I will go back,” she added. “I’m not going to let them intimidate me. It’s our job to hold these officials accountable.”</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Louisiana",
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"updates": [
"(2024-03-28 00:00:00+00:00) Judge dismisses journalist’s First Amendment claims stemming from Louisiana arrests",
"(2021-07-13 00:00:00+00:00) Charges dropped against investigative journalist who sued following arrests in Louisiana",
"(2024-04-22 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist appeals dismissal of First Amendment claims",
"(2025-06-20 16:38:00+00:00) Appeals court dismisses First Amendment claims in pipeline protest reporting case"
],
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"tags": [
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "UMass-Boston student newspaper editor sued for defamation, emotional distress",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/umass-boston-student-newspaper-editor-sued-defamation-emotional-distress/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-07T16:48:05.975398Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:56:27.471787Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:56:27.384417Z",
"date": "2018-09-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Boston",
"longitude": -71.05977,
"latitude": 42.35843,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"chvrv\">Cady Vishniac, former news editor for the student newspaper at the University of Massachusetts Boston, is the only remaining defendant in an ongoing legal case stemming from an article published in 2013.</p><p data-block-key=\"2xall\">Mass Media, the university’s independent student newspaper, routinely published information straight from the weekly police blotter, The Boston Globe <a href=\"https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/07/26/student-newspaper-case-could-upend-journalism-protections/cQjQafMXlhxDiG8LEm5EaK/story.html?et_rid=1767780551&s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter\">reported</a>. In March 2013, Mass Media published an entry about an unidentified individual allegedly taking pictures of women on campus without their knowledge or consent under the headline, “Have You Seen This Man?”</p><p data-block-key=\"aomo2\">The UMass-Boston police released to the newspaper a photo of a man later identified as Jon Butcher. Eventually, after speaking with Butcher and searching his phone images, police closed their investigation into him without filing any charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"9okja\">Butcher, a former security engineer in the university’s information technology department, <a href=\"http://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/display_docket.php?src=party&dno=2017-P-0161\">filed a lawsuit</a> against the university, members of the newspaper’s staff and others in January 2014. He argued that the story was defamatory, deliberately hurtful and damaged his relationship with his boss, forcing him to eventually leave his position at the university. Vishniac was the only student editor Butcher was able to serve with court documents, the Globe reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"zx3kx\">Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins dismissed all of Butcher’s claims in May 2015, which Butcher appealed in 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"q3qs8\">A Massachusetts Appeals Court revived only the claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Vishniac on Sept. 17, 2018. The three-judge panel concluded that because police never issued a warrant or made an arrest, the information in the police blotter was not protected by fair report privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"i43kf\"><a href=\"http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-report-privilege\">According to the Digital Media Law Project</a>, fair report privilege provides blanket protections allowing media outlets to report official statements and actions without taking on liability for accusations or charges made therein.</p><p data-block-key=\"ru0f0\">Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is representing Vishniac in her appeal before the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, the Globe <a href=\"https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/07/26/student-newspaper-case-could-upend-journalism-protections/cQjQafMXlhxDiG8LEm5EaK/story.html?et_rid=1767780551&s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter\">reported</a>, having deemed the case to be in the public’s interest. The case will likely be heard in the fall of 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"cl5y7\">In <a href=\"http://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/?pdf=SJC-12698_03_Appellee_Vishniac_Brief.pdf\">a court brief</a> submitted on behalf of Vishniac on July 1, 2019, Deputy State Solicitor David Kravitz argued that police incident logs are crucial for reporters, serving their communities by informing them about possible crimes and the activities of local law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"m8p9s\">The decisions of the appeals court are “significant errors of law,” Kravitz wrote, “that threaten not only to impose unwarranted litigation costs and perhaps liability on the one remaining individual defendant in this case, but also to chill the press from carrying out its crucial, and constitutionally protected, function.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2ub4u\">If the state’s high court upholds the lower court decision, the defamation case against Vishniac will go to trial.</p><p data-block-key=\"fwcvo\">“I am sure that there are greater issues at stake here,” Vishniac told the Globe. “I just don’t for the life of me understand how it got this far.”</p></div>",
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"name": "Massachusetts",
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"updates": [
"(2019-12-31 11:24:00+00:00) Libel suit against former student editor dismissed by Massachusetts Supreme Court"
],
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},
{
"title": "AP video journalist punched in face and called 'fake news'",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-video-journalist-punched-face-and-called-fake-news/",
"first_published_at": "2018-11-02T20:47:34.027254Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-22T20:58:31.695492Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-22T20:58:31.609493Z",
"date": "2018-09-16",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Bladen County",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fxlas\">In September 2018, Associated Press video journalist Josh Replogle was reporting on <a href=\"https://www.apnews.com/b798778c3c764519a954ce810eb29d39\">flooding</a> in rural North Carolina caused by Hurricane Florence when a man punched him in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"zciyj\">An AP article published on Oct. 29, 2018, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/0f7dea73808b4171b9d0c86f99894e1f\">described</a> the assault on Replogle:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-blockquote\">\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote\" cite=\"https://apnews.com/0f7dea73808b4171b9d0c86f99894e1f\">\n\t<div class=\"rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"cfq9a\">Video journalist Joshua Replogle of The Associated Press was filming flooding from Hurricane Florence in North Carolina’s rural Bladen County when a nearby man knocked over his camera and began punching him in the face. His friends muttered, “fake news.” So far no charges have been filed, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"4xgrt\">“The ironic part is my video would have helped him,” Replogle said. “It would have brought attention to a small town” where there was flooding, he said.</p></div>\n\t\n\t\t<cite class=\"blockquote__citation\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"blockquote__link text-link\" href=\"https://apnews.com/0f7dea73808b4171b9d0c86f99894e1f\">\n\t\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"tcinj\">Anger toward media spreads into local communities (AP)</p>\n\t\t\t</a>\n\t\t</cite>\n\t\n</blockquote>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"environmentalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Josh Replogle (The Associated Press)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist arrested while filming in New Mexico; sues police officer",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-arrested-while-filming-in-new-mexico-sues-police-officer/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-15T16:04:56.014242Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T22:57:13.816493Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T22:57:13.719380Z",
"date": "2018-09-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Artesia",
"longitude": -104.4033,
"latitude": 32.84233,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5l6t2\">Independent journalist Albert Bustillos was arrested in Artesia, New Mexico, on Sept. 11, 2018, while attempting to gather footage to report on an oil refinery. Although the subsequent conviction was later dismissed, Bustillos ultimately sued over the arrest on First Amendment and other grounds and won an appeals court ruling in the ongoing case in April 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"1q027\">Bustillos, who lives in nearby Carlsbad and runs a YouTube channel under the name “Stray Dog the Exposer,” told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was filming outside of the Navajo Refinery, owned by HF Sinclair Corporation, to make a video about the local oil industry.</p><p data-block-key=\"15ea2\">He said he was careful to stay outside of the refinery’s property line and explained what he was doing to an approaching security guard. He continued <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77o2nPZruqA\">livestreaming</a> for his protection, in case his phone was confiscated and video deleted, Bustillos told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4kfe\">The security guard then made a suspicious person report to the police, according to court documents reviewed by the Tracker. Two police officers approached and asked Bustillos for identification. He refused, explaining while continuing to film that he was on public property, had not broken any laws and was an independent journalist gathering content for stories.</p><p data-block-key=\"1irfv\">Officer David Bailey then arrested Bustillos on a charge of concealing his identity. He was transported to the Artesia Police Department’s Holding Facility and then to the Eddy County Detention Center, where he was held for 48 hours, he told the Tracker. He was convicted by Eddy County Magistrate Court in December and sentenced to 182 days of supervised probation and $73 in fees.</p><p data-block-key=\"9eg1i\">Bustillos then appealed to the Eddy County District Court, which found him not guilty in April 2020 after a bench trial and remanded the case to the magistrate court to be dismissed.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nvne\">In September 2020, Bustillos <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNSBdIGkVVs\">sued</a> the city of Artesia and Bailey in Eddy County District Court for violating his First and Fourth amendment rights, arguing that the arrest had been in retaliation for his refusal to identify himself and for questioning its basis. The case was transferred to the U.S. District Court in New Mexico a month later.</p><p data-block-key=\"4s7s4\">Bustillos’ attorney Joseph P. Kennedy told the Tracker that the defendants offered to settle with Bustillos after he filed his case, but that he refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"77lnq\">In March 2022, the court denied the defendants’ attempt to dismiss Bustillos’ claims of constitutional rights violations, ruling that Bailey lacked reasonable suspicion for arresting Bustillos and therefore lacked qualified immunity. The defendants appealed.</p><p data-block-key=\"29vgg\">On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed the denial. The underlying case remains ongoing in federal court.</p><p data-block-key=\"das1d\">“We are very happy with the decision. Police may not demand identification from any person standing on a public sidewalk, obeying all laws,” Kennedy told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"89nh3\">“I applaud Albert’s courage to turn down a monetary settlement so that his arrest can stand as a valuable precedent for freedom of an independent press,” Kennedy added. “His actions and the decision will result in less harassment and more freedom for news gatherers.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Bustillos_screenshot.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bhol2\">A still from the livestream by independent journalist Albert Bustillos showing his arrest. He was charged with concealing his identity while filming on public land outside of the Navajo Refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, on Sept. 11, 2018.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Artesia Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2018-09-13",
"detention_date": "2018-09-11",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "2:20-cv-01060",
"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,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New Mexico",
"abbreviation": "NM"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-08-01 00:00:00+00:00) New Mexico journalist settles with arresting officer, city"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"environmentalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Albert Bustillos (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Trump tells DOJ to investigate author of anonymous op-ed criticizing him",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-tells-doj-investigate-author-anonymous-op-ed-criticizing-him/",
"first_published_at": "2018-09-07T21:05:37.997528Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:49:32.419252Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:49:32.335033Z",
"date": "2018-09-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"s169n\">President Donald Trump called for the Department of Justice to investigate the author of an anonymous op-ed within his administration, and said he was considering taking action against the New York Times for publishing it.</p><p data-block-key=\"nfhj8\">On Sept. 5, 2018, the Times published <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html\">an opinion column</a> titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” The anonymous author claimed in the op-ed that he was part of a group of administration staffers who tried to “resist” Trump’s impulsive decisions.</p><p data-block-key=\"etrg9\">In an editor’s note, the paper said that the person who wrote the op-ed was a “senior administration official” whose identity was known to the Times but who had wished to remain anonymous.</p><p data-block-key=\"hbkfp\">Shortly after the op-ed was published, Trump said on Twitter that the newspaper should reveal the author’s identity to the government.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1037485664433070080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 5, 2018</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=\"chlwu\">On Sept. 7, Trump <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/us/politics/trump-investigation-times-op-ed.html\">told</a> <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-justice-department-should-investigate-anonymous-op-ed-author/2018/09/07/b1eecd80-b2ba-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html\">reporters</a> aboard Air Force One that he wanted Attorney General Jeff Sessions to direct the DOJ to unmask the identity of the author. Trump said that this was a national security imperative.</p><p data-block-key=\"sne8p\">“I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was, because I really believe it’s national security,” Trump said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ocjtq\">"For somebody to do this is very low, and I think, journalistically and from many different standpoints, and maybe even from the standpoint of national security, we'll find out about that," he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"83yru\">In a statement, the Times said that any such investigation by the DOJ would be a “blatant abuse of government power.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xghd7\">“We’re confident that the Department of Justice understands that the First Amendment protects all American citizens and that it would not participate in such a blatant abuse of government power,” the paper said. “The president’s threats both underscore why we must safeguard the identity of the writer of this Op-Ed and serve as a reminder of the importance of a free and independent press to American democracy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1tkna\">Trump also said that he is looking into potentially taking legal action against the Times for publishing the op-ed, according to reports from multiple news outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"tmhfv\">Trump has frequently vowed to take legal action against news organizations whose coverage he finds unfavorable, but he has not followed through on the vast majority of these threats.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "\"I would say [Attorney General Jeff Sessions] should be investigating who the author of that piece was,\" Trump told reporters on Air Force One.",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screen_Shot_2018-09-07_at_5.02.56.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"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": 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": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
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}
]
