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{
"title": "Owner and reporter for Texas weekly threatened, arrest warrant issued",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/owner-and-reporter-texas-weekly-threatened-arrest-warrant-issued/",
"first_published_at": "2019-10-08T20:37:56.915869Z",
"last_published_at": "2019-10-08T20:37:56.915869Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2019-10-08T20:37:56.686091Z",
"date": "2019-08-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Rio Grande City",
"longitude": -98.8203,
"latitude": 26.37979,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Dina Garcia-Peña, owner of the El Tejano newspaper, received a threatening message from a man on Aug. 1, 2019, the same day her outlet published a news item about his indictment.</p><p>Garcia-Peña told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the weekly newspaper often covers crime in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, publishing breaking news on the outlet’s Facebook page where it has an active social media following.</p><p>“One of the things that we do is we publish posts having to do with small crimes, and grand jury results have become quite popular,” Garcia-Peña said.</p><p>Garcia-Peña told the Tracker that shortly after El Tejano reported on a grand jury’s decision to indict Lazaro Orlando Banda Treviño on charges of indecency with a child, she received a threat through her personal Facebook account. Police later determined that it was sent from Banda Treviño’s Facebook account.</p><p>Garcia-Peña said the message was in unclear Spanish, but roughly translated to “You need to shut your trap or this will be you.”</p><p>Brenda Lee, law enforcement liaison for the Starr County Attorney’s Office, <a href=\"https://www.krgv.com/videos/arrest-warrant-issued-following-threat-to-valley-reporter/\">confirmed</a> to KRGV Channel 5 News that the message also said in part, “Be informed before moving, you sucker, because soon you will wake up like this. The world is small and I am everywhere.”</p><p>Attached to the message was a picture showing a severed head and a dismembered body, according to KRGV.</p><p>Garcia-Peña told the Tracker that she has received threats before, but this message had more substance and concerned her. She said she reached out to the local district attorney who advised her to contact the special crimes unit.</p><p>Law enforcement liaison Lee told KRGV that local police did not hesitate to take action. “We will not tolerate any news media or any news media outlet being threatened for doing their job,” Lee said.</p><p>Garcia-Peña said that police were able to identify Banda Treviño as the source of the message, but that they believe he left for Mexico sometime in 2018. Police have put out an active warrant for Banda Treviño’s arrest in addition to the indictment he is already facing.</p><p>Garcia-Peña said shortly after KRGV published about the threat she received, Banda Treviño responded with a long, vulgar comment on El Tejano’s Facebook page. Garcia-Peña told the Tracker that this comment did not have threats of violence, but claimed that some of the outlet’s reporting was incorrect.</p><p>The threat has strengthened her relationship with her readers, Garcia-Peña told the Tracker, and she plans to continue working as one of only two reporters covering local crime and politics.</p><p>“I think I’ve gotten more support from my community, more readers,” Garcia-Peña said. “And in terms of me reporting: It hasn’t made me quiet.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p>Texas weekly El Tejano on newsstands</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dina Garcia-Peña (El Tejano)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "America First Media Group founder ordered to comply with document, testimony requests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/america-first-media-group-founder-ordered-to-comply-with-document-testimony-requests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-16T02:03:39.780727Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-13T16:23:37.511575Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-13T16:23:37.395951Z",
"date": "2019-07-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hok2h\">In the early hours of July 10, 2016, Seth Rich, a 27-year-old staffer with the Democratic National Committee, was <a href=\"https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/man-shot-killed-in-northwest-dc/2074048/\">fatally shot</a> while walking to his home in Washington, D.C. His death, while unsolved, is believed to be the result of a <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/08/08/749392506/conspiracyland-debunks-theories-about-murder-of-dnc-staffer-seth-rich\">robbery gone wrong</a>. It quickly, however, became a <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-43727858\">flash point</a> for conspiracy theories: that Rich had been behind a DNC email dump to WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, and that he’d effectively been assassinated because of it. None of the claims have ever been substantiated.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tcvt\">On March 26, 2018, Rich’s brother, Aaron, <a href=\"https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/media/seth-rich-brother-sues-washington-times/index.html\">filed a defamation suit</a> in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against a slew of defendants — Texas businessman and then-frequent Fox News guest Ed Butowsky, the Washington Times, America First Media Group and its founder, Matt Couch — who he’d alleged had shown a “reckless disregard for the truth” and falsely linked both himself and his brother to the email leak.</p><p data-block-key=\"q28p7\">During the course of three years of litigation, attorneys for both sides collectively subpoenaed nearly a dozen news outlets and members of the press. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents all subpoena requests individually; Find a complete overview of the known subpoenas for this case in the blog post, “<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/nearly-a-dozen-journalists-outlets-and-third-parties-subpoenaed-in-defamation-suit/\">Nearly a dozen journalists, outlets and third parties subpoenaed in defamation suit</a>.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c6kjc\">In January 2021, both <a href=\"https://thedcpatriot.com/statement-from-matt-couch/\">Couch</a> and <a href=\"https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/i-never-had-physical-proof-to-back-up-any-such-statements-former-fox-news-guest-apologizes-to-seth-richs-brother-for-dnc-conspiracy-theory/\">Butowsky</a> publicly apologized and retracted prior claims made about the Rich brothers, though Butowsky deleted his statement of contrition almost immediately, according to Law & Crime. Couch and Rich reached a settlement agreement on Jan. 19; Butowsky and Rich reached an agreement on March 22. The lawsuit was terminated officially when District Judge Richard Leon granted Rich’s motions to dismiss the charges against the defendants on March 29. The details of the settlement agreements were not made public.</p><h4 data-block-key=\"z6kyv\"><b>Matt Couch | America First Media Group founder</b></h4><p data-block-key=\"bmlu4\">Couch published several conspiracy-driven stories about the Riches on AFM’s website and both his personal and the outlet’s social media platforms. He later identified Butowsky as the outlet’s only source for the information it reported.</p><ul><li data-block-key=\"n927g\"><b>April 23, 2019:</b> As part of the discovery process, Rich serves Couch and AFM with a “Request for Production of Documents,” including communications between Couch and AFM and others mentioned in the complaint, documents supporting or refuting Couch’s allegedly defamatory statements, telephonic records showing the conversations Couch or AFM had made or received relating to the allegations in the complaint, and detailed information about AFM’s corporate formation.</li><li data-block-key=\"yo3n2\"><b>June 3, 2019:</b> Rich serves his “First Set of Interrogatories” — a formal set of questions used to determine the facts presented as part of the case — to Couch and AFM.</li><li data-block-key=\"qzwlv\"><b>June 23, 2019:</b> Couch responds to the First Set of Interrogatories but not the documents request.</li><li data-block-key=\"puibh\"><b>July 8, 2019:</b> Rich sends a letter to Couch’s attorney detailing the deficiencies in the response to the interrogatories and requests that they be resolved by July 18.</li><li data-block-key=\"uinrk\"><b>July 15, 2019:</b> Couch sends a letter to Rich and the court stating that he and AFM had answered the interrogatories to the best of their ability and understanding. As a step toward settling the suit, Couch offers to issue Rich an apology.</li><li data-block-key=\"loz1i\"><b>July 23, 2019:</b> Rich files a motion to compel Couch and AFM to comply with their discovery obligations.</li><li data-block-key=\"8ydt0\"><b>July 31, 2019:</b> District Judge Richard Leon orders Couch and AFM to produce documents in response to the documents request.</li><li data-block-key=\"1blfi\"><b>Aug. 14, 2019:</b> Couch files a motion for the court to reconsider the motion to compel, arguing that the court ruled without allowing him sufficient time to respond to the motion.</li><li data-block-key=\"wefoi\"><b>Aug. 26, 2019:</b> Couch produces 50 documents, including a handful of emails between himself and Butowsky, whom he has identified as his primary source for his statements about Aaron Rich and WikiLeaks.</li><li data-block-key=\"smsoh\"><b>Oct. 25, 2019:</b> Couch invokes reporter’s privilege for the first time, informing Rich and the court that he intends to withhold “various items.”</li><li data-block-key=\"qjdoc\"><b>Nov. 21, 2019:</b> Couch formally asserts reporter’s privilege in his refusal to disclose communications with one particular source.</li><li data-block-key=\"fgt7r\"><b>Dec. 6, 2019:</b> Couch states that he refuses to turn over documents, including audio and video files, related to communications with Butowsky and at least three additional sources, citing reporter’s privilege.</li><li data-block-key=\"4g7lj\"><b>Dec. 12, 2019:</b> Couch appears for a deposition wherein he refuses to answer nearly 70 questions posed by Rich’s attorneys.</li><li data-block-key=\"pyrx5\"><b>Jan. 3, 2020:</b> Rich moves to enforce the court’s order requiring Couch to produce documents.</li><li data-block-key=\"7g3l5\"><b>Jan. 17, 2020:</b> Couch files a motion in opposition.</li><li data-block-key=\"nmuke\"><b>Jan. 24, 2020:</b> Judge Leon once again orders Couch to turn over documents — including those withheld on the basis of his claims of reporter’s privilege — by Jan. 31. Leon also orders Couch to choose between sitting for three and a half additional hours of deposition testimony or reaching an agreement with Rich about the issues raised but not answered during his prior deposition.</li><li data-block-key=\"rm04t\"><b>Jan. 31, 2020:</b> Couch files a motion for reconsideration of the court’s ruling that he turn over documents, arguing that they are protected by reporter’s privilege.</li><li data-block-key=\"hgcpp\"><b>Feb. 5, 2020:</b> Leon denies Couch’s motion for reconsideration and orders him to produce the relevant documents within 72 hours or possibly be held in contempt.</li><li data-block-key=\"9hjxb\"><b>Feb. 18, 2020:</b> Rich informs the court that Couch is continuing to withhold information that Leon had ordered him to produce.</li><li data-block-key=\"sj8kw\"><b>March 3, 2020:</b> Rich files another motion to compel Couch to produce relevant documents from Flock, “a multi-party messaging platform that he has used for communications relevant to this case.”</li><li data-block-key=\"rnkjm\"><b>March 4, 2020:</b> Leon rules that Couch’s assertion of reporter’s privilege is without merit, noting that even assuming Couch had not waived that qualified privilege by failing to assert it for months of discovery and had proved that it applies to him, it does not apply, as the information sought goes to the heart of Rich’s allegations and the defendants’ defenses. Leon rules that Couch must produce the withheld information within 48 hours; should he fail to do so, Leon warns that Couch will be held in contempt and fined $2,500 each day he fails to provide the information.</li><li data-block-key=\"hptso\"><b>April 23, 2020:</b> Leon rules that Rich is permitted to complete Couch’s second deposition.</li><li data-block-key=\"6a0ng\"><b>Jan. 14, 2021:</b> Couch posts an apology and retraction on his <a href=\"https://thedcpatriot.com/statement-from-matt-couch/\">website</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RealMattCouch/status/1349787715643047936\">social media</a>, writing, “Our reports about Aaron Rich were largely driven by information given to us by a single source, who we now believe provided us with false information and who, as of this date, has retracted his statements. Today, we retract and disavow our statements, and we offer our apology to Mr. Rich and his family.”</li><li data-block-key=\"1i3fm\"><b>Jan. 19, 2021</b>: Rich reaches a settlement with Couch and AFM and asks the court to dismiss the charges; Rich continues his case against Butowsky.</li></ul><p data-block-key=\"8voae\"><b>Status of Subpoena</b></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"vyhp7\">Carried out.</li></ul></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": 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,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Matt Couch (America First Media Group)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"carried out"
],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "BuzzFeed receives second subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-receives-second-subpoena-ongoing-unsworth-musk-defamation-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-10-01T18:25:41.176232Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-22T13:49:34.831981Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-22T13:49:34.638820Z",
"date": "2019-07-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vjaht\">BuzzFeed News was issued a second subpoena in the ongoing defamation case between caver Vernon Unsworth and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on July 29, 2019. In total, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?state=California&targeted_institutions=BuzzFeed+News&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">five subpoenas were issued for reporting material and testimony</a> from the digital news outlet and one of its reporters.</p><p data-block-key=\"vfhes\">Unsworth is suing Musk for defamation, alleging that the tech executive repeatedly labeled him a pedophile without evidence on Twitter and in communications with BuzzFeed senior tech journalist Ryan Mac, the latter of which were published by the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"gawr5\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the subpoena issued by counsel for Unsworth. The subpoena ordered BuzzFeed to produce all documents and communications produced in response to a previous subpoena by Musk’s counsel, as well as website traffic metrics on the dates articles concerning Musk’s dispute with Unsworth were published and data analytics for interactions with each article on BuzzFeed’s website and social media.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekx5y\">An email exchange between BuzzFeed attorney Kate Bolger and Unsworth attorney Taylor Wilson concerning the subpoena was documented in a subsequent motion. Bolger stated in the exchange, “BuzzFeed will produce the page views you requested provided you agree that no further response to the subpoena is required and that there will be no additional subpoenae.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7blz2\">Wilson agreed not to file additional discovery subpoenas, but reserved the right to seek trial testimony.</p><p data-block-key=\"ed1g0\">BuzzFeed filed formal objections to the subpoena demands on First and 14th Amendment grounds on Aug. 23. The outlet did agree to provide copies of documents prepared in response to the Musk subpoena and non-privileged website traffic and article metrics.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/MacBuzzFeed2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yv64q\">A portion of the second subpoena received by BuzzFeed as part of a defamation case between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the caver Vernon Unsworth.</p>",
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"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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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,
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"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": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2019-10-28 00:00:00+00:00) Court quashes subpoena for BuzzFeed documents in case against Elon Musk"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"BuzzFeed News"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"pending"
],
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},
{
"title": "Colorado TV news reporter assaulted while attempting to conduct an interview",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/colorado-tv-news-reporter-assaulted-while-attempting-to-conduct-an-interview/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-08T16:42:25.437882Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-08T19:41:08.458719Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-08T19:41:08.354852Z",
"date": "2019-07-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Colorado Springs",
"longitude": -104.82136,
"latitude": 38.83388,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c7mv4\">A KRDO News Channel 13 reporter was assaulted while attempting to conduct an interview in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on July 26, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"tey66\">Reporter Stephanie Sierra walked into Tri-Star Masonry with chief photojournalist Chappin Everett at approximately 12:30 p.m. looking to interview the owner, Michael Reeg, in connection with the station’s investigative reporting on illicit spas in Southern Colorado, KRDO <a href=\"https://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/krdo-confrontation-with-interview-subject/1100318696\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dj3g2\">In the <a href=\"https://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/krdo-confrontation-with-interview-subject/1100318696\">video</a> published by KRDO, Reeg initially agrees to answer Sierra’s questions. When her first question mentions the spa leasing property from Reeg, he cuts her off, tells them to leave and moves toward her.</p><p data-block-key=\"t8azm\">“Why don’t you guys get the hell out of here,” Reeg is heard saying. “I’m telling you to get the hell out of my place. And get that camera out of here.” Reeg can be seen moving past Sierra toward Everett, growing hostile as he attempts to swipe the camera away. A second unidentified man seems to attempt to prevent Reeg from hitting the camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"zl5rx\">According to the police report released to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, “[Sierra] said that [Reeg] then grabbed her wrist as they were walking to the door.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7wbbn\">“She also told me that Mr. Reeg was yelling obscenities at them as they were leaving,” Officer Tyler Koets wrote in the report. “I asked her if any of the interaction caused her pain and she said that it did not, but it was alarming.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3mte\">The video becomes shaky as the camera is jostled, and it appears that both Sierra and Everett were pushed out of the door. Once outside, Reeg again swipes at the camera and an object can be heard hitting the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"ou5c2\">In the <a href=\"https://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/krdo-confrontation-with-interview-subject/1100318696\">article</a> for KRDO, Sierra wrote, “Our team decided to file a police report today because of Mr. Reeg’s reaction to our questions after he agreed to answer them and because his actions occurred while we were in the process of leaving his business — as requested.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hlg2x\">Officers issued Reeg a citation for harassment.</p><p data-block-key=\"qkhl6\">Sierra declined to comment until the incident has been fully resolved.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/KRDO_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7s676\">Colorado-based television news reporter Stephanie Sierra, right, and chief photojournalist Chappin Everett, behind the camera, were assaulted while attempting an interview. The camera was also attacked.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"actor": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"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,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-11-20 00:00:00+00:00) Case likely sealed for business owner who pushed TV journalists"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Stephanie Sierra (KRDO-TV)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "KRDO News chief photojournalist assaulted, equipment attacked",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/krdo-news-chief-photojournalist-assaulted-equipment-attacked/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-21T16:36:49.515946Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-08T19:43:34.534066Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-08T19:43:34.338082Z",
"date": "2019-07-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Colorado Springs",
"longitude": -104.82136,
"latitude": 38.83388,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ubk4y\">A KRDO News Channel 13 photojournalist was attacked while attempting to conduct an interview in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on July 26, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"xrka2\">Chief photojournalist Chappin Everett walked into Tri-Star Masonry with reporter Stephanie Sierra at approximately 12:30 p.m. looking to interview the owner, Michael Reeg, in connection with the station’s investigative reporting on illicit spas in Southern Colorado, KRDO <a href=\"https://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/krdo-confrontation-with-interview-subject/1100318696\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"kpw75\">In the <a href=\"https://www.krdo.com/news/top-stories/krdo-confrontation-with-interview-subject/1100318696\">video</a> published by KRDO, Reeg initially agrees to answer Sierra’s questions. When her first question mentions the spa leasing property from Reeg, he cuts her off, tells them to leave and moves toward her.</p><p data-block-key=\"9wu0c\">“Why don’t you guys get the hell out of here,” Reeg is heard saying. “I’m telling you to get the hell out of my place. And get that camera out of here.” Reeg can be seen moving past Sierra toward Everett, growing hostile as he attempts to swipe the camera away. A second unidentified man seems to attempt to prevent Reeg from hitting the camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"emz1e\">The video becomes shaky as the camera is jostled, and it appears that both Sierra and Everett are pushed out of the door. Once outside, Reeg again swipes at the camera and an object can be heard hitting the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"mjkiu\">Everett can be heard saying, “That is pricey. I can’t wait for you to pay for my new camera.” Reeg responds, “You’re on private property, asshole.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1cy9w\">According to the police report released to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Everett told officers over the phone that a rubber eyepiece may have been knocked off the camera, but otherwise there was no damage to the equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"eviyz\">Officers issued Reeg a citation for harassment.</p><p data-block-key=\"t110q\">Everett told the Tracker that he would like to reserve comment until the incident has been fully resolved.</p></div>",
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"name": "Colorado",
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"(2023-11-20 00:00:00+00:00) Case likely sealed for business owner who pushed TV journalists"
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{
"title": "Little Rock recording ban reversed after outcry from media",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/little-rock-recording-ban-reversed-after-outcry-media/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-06T14:36:05.332446Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:51:02.865649Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:51:02.757474Z",
"date": "2019-07-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Little Rock",
"longitude": -92.28959,
"latitude": 34.74648,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3alfx\">Two days after the Little Rock Civil Service Commission signed off on a rule allowing the commission to bar anyone from recording the body’s public hearings, the ban was overturned amid outcry and threatened legal action from local media.</p><p data-block-key=\"y9wj6\">The ban was approved just days before the commission was set to hold an appeal hearing for former Little Rock Police Officer Charles Starks. Starks, who is white, was <a href=\"https://katv.com/news/local/little-rock-police-officer-fired-after-internal-investigation-of-deadly-shooting\">fired</a> from the force in May for fatally shooting Bradley Blackshire, a black man, during a February traffic stop. (In April, Pulaski County prosecutors <a href=\"https://katv.com/news/local/little-rock-police-officer-wont-face-charges-in-deadly-shooting\">announced</a> that they would not charge Starks with a crime in Blackshire’s death.)</p><p data-block-key=\"0esq5\">The new rule, which went into effect on July 24, 2019, gave the chairman of the Civil Service Commission discretion to bar all photography, video, and audio recording from the commission’s disciplinary appeal hearings. “The new language says the chairman ‘may’ allow broadcasting ‘provided that the participants will not be distracted, nor will the dignity of the proceedings be impaired,’” the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette <a href=\"https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jul/24/rule-allows-taping-ban-at-civil-service/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"15pah\">Arkansas has robust Freedom of Information and open meetings laws, but the civil service commission was arguing that it could block recording from this meeting because it was an appeal and thus qualified as a judicial proceeding.</p><p data-block-key=\"qtsgv\">Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the co-author of the state's Arkansas Freedom of Information Act textbook, disagreed with that interpretation of the civil service commission’s role in an <a href=\"https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jul/25/panel-s-new-ban-on-recording-hearings-r/?page=1\">interview</a> with the Democrat-Gazette. Steinbuch told the newspaper that, although the commission performs some quasi-judicial roles, it is not actually a judiciary body.</p><p data-block-key=\"93zop\">“There’s not one, there’s a series of attorney general opinions that say it is well within the citizen's right to record and videotape," Steinbuch told the newspaper. "This is not new. This is well-established. If it's not an executive session, if it's otherwise an open meeting, a public meeting, then you can record."</p><p data-block-key=\"9ay32\">On the morning of July 25, photographers and videographers were both ejected and barred from entering the hearing room at City Hall where the commission was meeting to consider Starks’ appeal. These included Rich Newman, a cameraman from KATV, Little Rock’s Sinclair-owned affiliate. Officers from the Little Rock Police Department also escorted two bloggers, Russ Racop of <a href=\"https://badgovernmentinarkansas.blogspot.com/\">Bad Government In Arkansas</a> and Ean Bordeaux of <a href=\"https://corruptionsucks.blogspot.com/\">Corruption Sucks</a>, out of the hearing room after they declined to stop recording, citing their rights under the state Freedom of Information law.</p><p data-block-key=\"zdg6t\">A reporter for the station, Marine Glisovic, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KATVMarine/status/1154380315751792640\">raised her objection</a> to the ban in the hearing. “As a media member for Channel Seven I’d like to make a statement on the record that this is in violation of the Freedom of Information Act,” Glisovic said. “I’d like to request that no business be conducted until our corporate attorney can challenge this in court.” Despite this objection, no recording was permitted in the room during the morning session.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">MORE: Starks’ attorney requested to ban all recordings of this appeal. While I objected on the record and on behalf of <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KATVNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@KATVNews</a> the commission is allowing it—violating Arkansas FOI laws. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/arnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#arnews</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arpx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Arpx</a> (photo taken prior to ban request) <a href=\"https://t.co/2PTQ3W6K74\">pic.twitter.com/2PTQ3W6K74</a></p>— Marine Glisovic KATV (@KATVMarine) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KATVMarine/status/1154380315751792640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q1jvx\">The Arkansas chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists issued a <a href=\"https://arkansasspj.org/2019/07/25/arkansas-spj-condemns-civil-service-commissions-broadcasting-ban/\">statement</a> decrying the recording ban. “The new rule is bad news for news media and the local community. It also runs afoul of the Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act, which guarantees citizens access to public meetings and public records,” the SPJ statement read.</p><p data-block-key=\"5rwlu\">After consulting with the station’s corporate legal team, KATV hired a local attorney to draft an injunction against the ban. “We let the city know that we planned to file that injunction in the early afternoon if they didn’t rescind that ruling and allow us to be in the hearing,” Nick Genty, KATV’s news director, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"28mkr\">But before KATV filed its injunction, City Attorney Tom Carpenter announced around 3 p.m. that the city had decided to set aside the new rule. "We recommend at this juncture [that] the ban be withdrawn by the commission," Carpenter said, <a href=\"https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jul/26/city-bans-then-oks-recording-20190726/?page=1\">according</a> to the Democrat-Gazette. The previously barred photographers and videographers quickly filed back into the room and began filming.</p><p data-block-key=\"3witp\">In an interview with the Tracker, Carpenter said while the rule was defensible under rules set out for trials by the Arkansas Supreme Court, it did not have the backing of city leadership. “Since the commission is appointed by the city, without the city’s approval it didn’t make sense to have the rule,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7kcf\">News Director Genty said he was glad the ban was lifted without KATV having to file the injunction. “We never want to be the story. We just want to cover the story, that’s all we were asking to do,” he said. “They were treating it as a court of law, but this wasn’t; this was a city civil service commission meeting.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"pebp4\">A man using a recording device is escorted from a Little Rock Civil Service Commission meeting after the commission instituted a ban on recording. The ban was lifted within days.</p>",
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"name": "Arkansas",
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"Local government: Legislature"
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"Ean Bordeaux (Independent)",
"Rich Newman (KATV)",
"Russ Racop (Independent)"
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{
"title": "Documentary filmmaker shot with 'crowd-control ammunition' while filming protests in Puerto Rico",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentary-filmmaker-shot-crowd-control-ammunition-while-filming-protests-puerto-rico/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-31T12:31:25.175284Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T17:51:17.462488Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T17:51:17.376684Z",
"date": "2019-07-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ncyli\">Documentary filmmaker Ricardo Olivero Lora was shot with a round of "crowd-control ammunition" while filming police officers dispersing protesters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the early morning of July 23, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"co7fx\">Olivero Lora told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was filming between 1 and 3 a.m., carrying his professional camera and clearly identified with credentials issued by the Puerto Rico Documentary Association.</p><p data-block-key=\"zbe11\">“I was clearly identified with that and I also had a big camera, so it would be difficult for someone to confuse me for a protester,” Olivero Lora said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2s5be\">In the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Fuertefuerte2/status/1154897988218740736\">video</a> Olivero Lora published via Fuertefuerte, an officer can be seen removing a canister from a riot gun and reloading before turning and firing in Olivero Lora’s direction. As Olivero Lora turns after being shot, there appears to be at least one person standing a short distance behind him.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Un policía dispara a uno de nuestros documentalistas. - Equipo Fuertefuerte (Viejo San Juan, madrugada del 23 de julio) <a href=\"https://t.co/K8KjbwClNC\">pic.twitter.com/K8KjbwClNC</a></p>— Fuertefuerte (@Fuertefuerte2) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Fuertefuerte2/status/1154897988218740736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qupus\">Olivero Lora told the Tracker that he did not know whether he had been directly targeted by the officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"g89tb\">“I was concentrated on the camera and getting the shot, so I cannot say whether there was someone next to me or close to me,” Olivero Lora said. “What I can tell you without a doubt is that he fired in my direction and it hit me, but mildly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"sutkh\">Olivero Lora told the Tracker that it felt as though he had been hit in the leg with a couple of marbles. He added that because of the distance from which he was filming, he was not bruised or otherwise injured.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqykw\">The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/us/puerto-rico-violence-protests.html\">reported</a> that Puerto Rican police were using shotguns that included rubber-coated metal pellets, but that they could also be loaded with rock salt, bore cleaners or noise rounds that cause less severe injuries.</p><p data-block-key=\"l1m1a\">When asked if he continued filming after the incident, Olivero Lora told the Tracker, “Of course, of course.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ima60\">Documentary filmmaker Ricardo Olivero Lora was hit with crowd-control ammunition while filming a protest calling for the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 23, 2019, police clash.</p>",
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"name": "Puerto Rico",
"abbreviation": "PR"
},
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"protest",
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck in the head by rubber bullet while covering Puerto Rico protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-head-rubber-bullet-while-covering-puerto-rico-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-26T17:12:59.073348Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:51:19.074903Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:51:18.980493Z",
"date": "2019-07-17",
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"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xh690\">Joe Raedle, a photojournalist for Getty Images, was hit by a rubber bullet while covering protests in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 17, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"3be78\">Raedle was covering protests outside La Fortaleza, the official residence of Governor Ricardo Rosselló, where demonstrators were gathered for the fifth night to demand the governor’s resignation.</p><p data-block-key=\"ghk4u\">Violent clashes between protesters and police began to break out during the evening protests, WAPA-TV broadcast reporter Orlando Rivera Martinez <a href=\"https://cpj.org/blog/2019/07/puerto-rico-journalist-safety-protests-rossello.php\">told the Committee to Protect Journalists</a>. Rivera himself <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-struck-rubber-bullet-rock-while-covering-puerto-rico-protests/\">was struck by a rubber bullet</a> while covering the protests on July 15.</p><p data-block-key=\"s03mb\">“During the nights, authorities have been shooting gas and rubber bullets at the protesters,” Rivera said. “And I—and a lot of journalists—have been close by, in the middle of it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tz783\">On July 17, some protesters were throwing firecrackers, beer, bottles of water and glowsticks at police surrounding Rosselló’s mansion. After issuing a warning to the crowd to disperse, officers shot rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"jj3ds\">Raedle was struck by a rubber bullet presumably fired by police at around 11 p.m., El Nuevo Día <a href=\"https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/regresanasuslaboreslosfotoperiodistasheridosdurantemanifestaciones-2506493/\">reported</a><b>.</b></p><p data-block-key=\"6s0jf\">A photo taken by El Nuevo Día photojournalist Xavier Araújo Berríos shows blood dripping down Raedle’s face. Fellow journalist Benjamín Torres Gotay tweeted the next day that Raedle’s wounds were the product of a rubber bullet.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Así terminó anoche, tras ser impactado por una bala de goma disparada por la Polcía, el fotógrafo Joe Readle, de la agencia fotográfica internacional Getty Images. Foto por <a href=\"https://twitter.com/photoxabo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@photoxabo</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/d7eMJZUnKv\">pic.twitter.com/d7eMJZUnKv</a></p>— Benjamín Torres Gotay 🇵🇷 (@TorresGotay) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TorresGotay/status/1151979641206431749?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5xl40\">Raedle was transported to a local hospital where his wounds were bandaged, a Getty Images spokesman <a href=\"https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/regresanasuslaboreslosfotoperiodistasheridosdurantemanifestaciones-2506493/\">told</a> El Nuevo Día. He was quickly released, the spokesman said, and returned to covering the demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"r0znk\">A second journalist, Telemundo cameraman Jorge Figueroa, was injured on the same night. Figueroa was recording amid the crowd when the police began to fire tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, El Nuevo Día reported. In the middle of the ensuing chaos, Figueroa was pushed by demonstrators and fell.</p><p data-block-key=\"czor6\">The cameraman was noticed by police officers who helped him up and transported him to the press center of La Fortaleza. In his <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2450854575198305&set=pb.100008213582728.-2207520000.1563479802.&type=3&theater\">Facebook post</a> about the incident, Figueroa wrote that he was well.</p><p data-block-key=\"grpv9\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker only counts incidents where a journalist affected by tear gas, pepper spray or other mass riot control agents if the individual suffers serious injury or appears to have been specifically targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"0sq1c\">On July 24, after multiple nights of protests, Gov. Rosselló announced he would step down on Aug. 2.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mv24b\">Police clash with demonstrators during the fifth day of protests calling for the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Several journalists were injured.</p>",
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"name": "Puerto Rico",
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Broadcast reporter struck by a rock while covering Puerto Rico protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-struck-by-a-rock-while-covering-puerto-rico-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-12T18:17:47.171522Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-11-12T18:17:47.171522Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-11-12T18:17:47.124316Z",
"date": "2019-07-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>NotiCentro WAPA-TV broadcast reporter Orlando Rivera Martinez was injured while covering protests in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 15, 2019.</p><p>Rivera was covering protests outside La Fortaleza, the official residence of Gov. Richardo Rosselló, where demonstrators were gathered for the third night to demand the governor’s resignation. </p><p>“During the nights, authorities have been shooting gas and rubber bullets at the protesters,” Rivera <a href=\"https://cpj.org/blog/2019/07/puerto-rico-journalist-safety-protests-rossello.php\">told the Committee to Protect Journalists</a>, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “And I — and a lot of journalists — have been close by, in the middle of it.”</p><p>It was under these conditions that Rivera said he and his photographer were shot at. Rivera told CPJ that he was struck by one, and the overwhelming pain caused him to fall. The Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-struck-rubber-bullet-rock-while-covering-puerto-rico-protests/\">here</a>.</p><p>Rivera continued documenting the protests that night, however, but sought safer ground on a third-story balcony to keep observing the protests.</p><p>“And then, a protester threw a rock at the police and I got hit in the abdomen,” Rivera told CPJ. </p><p>In a <a href=\"https://www.wapa.tv/noticias/locales/asi-transcurrieron-las-manifestaciones-la-noche-del-lunes_20131122456403.html\">video posted by WAPA-TV</a>, Rivera can be seen laying down on the floor, writhing in pain and tapping his right side where a bruise appears to be forming.</p><p>Security forces <a href=\"http://laestrella.com.pa/internacional/america/gobernador-puerto-rico-condena-manifestacion-10-heridos-3-detenidos/24130095\">told La Estrella de Panamá</a> that 10 people were injured that night, including several policemen and “a journalist, who was attacked with a stone.” </p><p>Rivera told CPJ that while no one had expected the scale of the protests, his station did provide him with a gas mask and a bulletproof vest. He also said that while some protesters were aggressive and did not want to be filmed, he and his photographer didn’t encounter much hostility. </p><p>When asked if he would continue documenting the protests moving forward, Rivera said, “Yes I will. And if it gets aggressive and violent, I will try to find a safe spot—though you never know.”</p><p>On July 24, after multiple nights of protests, Gov. Rosselló announced he would step down on Aug. 2.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This was the moment thousands of protesters, standing in front of the governors mansion, tonight, heard the governor say he is resigning <a href=\"https://t.co/PhmVDGpe4A\">pic.twitter.com/PhmVDGpe4A</a></p>— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1154261634833162240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>",
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{
"title": "Broadcast reporter struck by a rubber bullet while covering Puerto Rico protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-struck-rubber-bullet-rock-while-covering-puerto-rico-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-26T14:35:48.257691Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-07-30T02:49:27.078510Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-07-30T02:49:27.011694Z",
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"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4d5vi\">NotiCentro WAPA-TV broadcast reporter Orlando Rivera Martinez was injured while covering protests in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 15, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"u2yaw\">Rivera was covering protests outside La Fortaleza, the official residence of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, where demonstrators were gathered for the third night to demand the governor’s resignation.</p><p data-block-key=\"nahey\">“During the nights, authorities have been shooting gas and rubber bullets at the protesters,” Rivera <a href=\"https://cpj.org/blog/2019/07/puerto-rico-journalist-safety-protests-rossello.php\">told the Committee to Protect Journalists</a>, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “And I — and a lot of journalists — have been close by, in the middle of it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"j6xof\">It was under these conditions that Rivera said he and his photographer were shot at. Rivera told CPJ that he was struck by one, and the overwhelming pain caused him to fall.</p><p data-block-key=\"0xqrb\">Rivera continued documenting the protests that night, however, but sought safer ground on a third-story balcony to keep observing the protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"q05ek\">“And then, a protester threw a rock at the police and I got hit in the abdomen,” Rivera told CPJ. The Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-struck-by-a-rock-while-covering-puerto-rico-protests/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"k978h\">In a <a href=\"https://www.wapa.tv/noticias/locales/asi-transcurrieron-las-manifestaciones-la-noche-del-lunes_20131122456403.html\">video posted by WAPA-TV</a>, Rivera can be seen laying down on the floor, writhing in pain and tapping his right side where a bruise appears to be forming.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7tpw\">Security forces <a href=\"http://laestrella.com.pa/internacional/america/gobernador-puerto-rico-condena-manifestacion-10-heridos-3-detenidos/24130095\">told La Estrella de Panamá</a> that 10 people were injured that night, including several policemen and “a journalist, who was attacked with a stone.”</p><p data-block-key=\"27bdp\">Rivera told CPJ that while no one had expected the scale of the protests, his station did provide him with a gas mask and a bulletproof vest. He also said that while some protesters were aggressive and did not want to be filmed, he and his photographer didn’t encounter much hostility.</p><p data-block-key=\"1k9jq\">When asked if he would continue documenting the protests moving forward, Rivera said, “Yes I will. And if it gets aggressive and violent, I will try to find a safe spot—though you never know.”</p><p data-block-key=\"i7vbo\">On July 24, after multiple nights of protests, Gov. Rosselló announced he would step down on Aug. 2.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This was the moment thousands of protesters, standing in front of the governors mansion, tonight, heard the governor say he is resigning <a href=\"https://t.co/PhmVDGpe4A\">pic.twitter.com/PhmVDGpe4A</a></p>— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1154261634833162240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"10r46\">Demonstrators in San Juan, Puerto Rico, called for the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló for nearly two weeks in protests that left several injured.</p>",
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{
"title": "Toledo news van shot at, no injuries but damage to news vehicle",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/toledo-news-van-shot-at-no-injuries-but-damage-to-news-vehicle/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-21T16:54:34.797679Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-03-10T19:58:33.140666Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-03-10T19:58:33.083374Z",
"date": "2019-07-13",
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"city": "Toledo",
"longitude": -83.55521,
"latitude": 41.66394,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p29za\">While returning from a news event, a WTVG 13abc news crew van was shot at on July 13, 2019 in Toledo, Ohio.</p><p data-block-key=\"d60g4\">13abc <a href=\"https://www.13abc.com/content/news/Shot-fired-at-13abc-news-vehcile-512692591.html\">reported</a> that the member of the news crew was heading back to the station at around 8:30 p.m. following an event at the Toledo Museum of Art when multiple shots were fired at the station’s vehicle.</p><p data-block-key=\"jleqi\">Investigative reporter Shaun Hegarty posted a photo of the damage to the vehicle to Twitter following the incident. Hegarty later told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that there were two members of the WTVG 13abc news crew in the van.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shot fired at 13abc news vehicle. No members of our news team were injured <a href=\"https://t.co/XeXDwWa5Jx\">https://t.co/XeXDwWa5Jx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/13abc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#13abc</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/TicgZSkdoM\">pic.twitter.com/TicgZSkdoM</a></p>— Shaun Hegarty (@Shaun_Hegarty) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Shaun_Hegarty/status/1150230592841289729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 14, 2019</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yca0b\">The Toledo Blade, 13abc’s media partner, <a href=\"https://www.toledoblade.com/local/police-fire/2019/07/13/channel-13-vehicle-hit-gunfire-toledo-museum-of-art/stories/20190713154\">reported</a> that police at the scene collected multiple shell cases. No members of the 13abc team were injured.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgki8\">Hegarty later <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Shaun_Hegarty/status/1150248959769600001\">posted</a> to Twitter that the police believe they’ve identified the silver Ford Mustang involved in the shooting.</p><p data-block-key=\"0gpcz\">The Toledo police department was not immediately available for comment. The department’s investigation is ongoing.</p></div>",
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"name": "Ohio",
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"shot / shot at"
],
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],
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{
"title": "Two journalists assaulted while covering protest in Salt Lake City",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-assaulted-while-covering-protest-in-salt-lake-city/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-21T17:01:25.583132Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-09-21T20:54:41.689384Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-09-21T20:54:41.626408Z",
"date": "2019-07-13",
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"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
"latitude": 40.76078,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"eq3je\">Larry Curtis, a web editor for KUTV 2News was assaulted on July 9, 2019, while covering a protest in Salt Lake City, Utah.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqu08\">Matthew Michela, a photojournalist for KUTV filmed a verbal confrontation as it escalated into a physical scuffle. “It was my job to capture the good and the bad; that’s when the man approached me and put his hand on the lens,” Michela <a href=\"https://kutv.com/news/local/kutv-photographer-assaulted-during-protest-of-inland-port\">told KUTV</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"rw58d\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JeremyHarrisTV/status/1148758844270530560\">the video Michela captured</a>, the man is heard saying, “Stop fucking filming! Turn around!” Michela responds, “I have a right to be here, sir.” The man, holding his hand over the lens, responds, “Fuck you, no. No!”</p><p data-block-key=\"i1wpj\">Curtis <a href=\"https://kutv.com/news/local/kutv-photographer-assaulted-during-protest-of-inland-port\">wrote in an account</a> published by the outlet, that he “was also at the protest doing a live video on Facebook and rushed into the fray” when he saw Michela surrounded by protesters. In a photo taken by Harmon, Curtis can be seen inserting himself between Michela and some of the protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"i12e5\">Photos and video taken during the incident show a woman attempting to pull out the cord from the back of Michela’s camera and an arm reaching behind him to pull the camera off his shoulder.</p><p data-block-key=\"y8fyx\">Michela told the Tracker, “Larry came over and broke up the fight before it got too involved.” In the process, Curtis wrote in his account, his credentials were pulled off from around his neck and his shirt was ripped.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kazh\">According to the Tribune, <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/07/11/protesters-involved/\">eight people were ultimately arrested</a> over the course of the protest.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"9kacq\">Larry Curtis, a web editor for Salt Lake City’s KUTV 2News, attempts to protect his colleague, photojournalist Matthew Michela, during a protest near City Hall on July 9, 2019.</p>",
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"name": "Utah",
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"tags": [
"environmentalism",
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"categories": [
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],
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{
"title": "News crew shot at in Toledo, no injuries but damage to news van",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/news-crew-shot-at-in-toledo-no-injuries-but-damage-to-news-van/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-17T15:26:28.190954Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-27T21:32:13.304226Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-27T21:32:13.193769Z",
"date": "2019-07-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Toledo",
"longitude": -83.55521,
"latitude": 41.66394,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yfgft\">While returning from a news event, a WTVG 13abc news crew van was shot at on July 13, 2019 in Toledo, Ohio.</p><p data-block-key=\"z6jt8\">13abc <a href=\"https://www.13abc.com/content/news/Shot-fired-at-13abc-news-vehcile-512692591.html\">reported</a> that the crew member was heading back to the station at around 8:30 p.m. following an event at the Toledo Museum of Art when multiple shots were fired at the station’s vehicle.</p><p data-block-key=\"xhpyv\">Investigative reporter Shaun Hegarty posted a photo of the damage to the vehicle to Twitter following the incident. Hegarty later told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that there were two members of the WTVG 13abc news crew in the van.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Shot fired at 13abc news vehicle. No members of our news team were injured <a href=\"https://t.co/XeXDwWa5Jx\">https://t.co/XeXDwWa5Jx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/13abc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#13abc</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/TicgZSkdoM\">pic.twitter.com/TicgZSkdoM</a></p>— Shaun Hegarty (@Shaun_Hegarty) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Shaun_Hegarty/status/1150230592841289729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 14, 2019</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"30tez\">The Toledo Blade, 13abc’s media partner, <a href=\"https://www.toledoblade.com/local/police-fire/2019/07/13/channel-13-vehicle-hit-gunfire-toledo-museum-of-art/stories/20190713154\">reported</a> that police at the scene collected multiple shell cases. No members of the 13abc team were injured.</p><p data-block-key=\"8phkc\">Hegarty later <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Shaun_Hegarty/status/1150248959769600001\">posted</a> to Twitter that the police believe they’ve identified the silver Ford Mustang involved in the shooting.</p><p data-block-key=\"wei58\">The Toledo police department was not immediately available for comment. The department’s investigation is ongoing.</p></div>",
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{
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],
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"name": "Ohio",
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},
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"tags": [
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"categories": [
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"Equipment Damage"
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{
"title": "Two journalists assaulted while covering a protest in Salt Lake City",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-assaulted-while-covering-protest-salt-lake-city/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-15T18:18:45.084341Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-09-21T20:17:21.624567Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-09-21T20:17:21.560511Z",
"date": "2019-07-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
"latitude": 40.76078,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"run23\">Matthew Michela, a broadcast photojournalist for local KUTV 2News, was assaulted on July 9, 2019, while covering a protest in Salt Lake City, Utah.</p><p data-block-key=\"eh7po\">Michela told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and his team had been covering the protest over Utah’s planned inland port, a logistics and distribution hub, for a couple of hours when a man came up to protesters gathered outside City Hall and began antagonizing them.</p><p data-block-key=\"czn0n\">Jeremy Harmon, director of photography at the Salt Lake Tribune, told the Tracker that he had arrived at the protest right as the incident began. “There was some guy who had ridden up on his bike and he was shouting at some of the protesters who had just been pushed across the street,” Harmon said. “This guy just kept ratcheting up with more racism, more bile, more transphobia, so I started taking pictures of the interaction.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m48o3\">Michela also filmed the verbal confrontation as it escalated into a physical scuffle. “It was my job to capture the good and the bad; that’s when the man approached me and put his hand on the lens,” Michela <a href=\"https://kutv.com/news/local/kutv-photographer-assaulted-during-protest-of-inland-port\">told KUTV</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"64ve1\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JeremyHarrisTV/status/1148758844270530560\">the video Michela captured</a>, the man is heard saying, “Stop fucking filming! Turn around!” Michela responds, “I have a right to be here, sir.” The man, holding his hand over the lens, responds, “Fuck you, no. No!”</p><p data-block-key=\"jore8\">The man approached Michela from the blindspot on his right created by the camera equipment, and was the first of several people to attempt to prevent Michela from filming. Michela told the Tracker that he was jostled enough to cause the camera to zoom erratically and the recording to stop and start multiple times.</p><p data-block-key=\"qlj9y\">Photos and video taken during the incident show a woman attempting to pull out the cord from the back of Michela’s camera and an arm reaching behind him to pull the camera off his shoulder.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7648\">At one point, Michela said, he felt “the camera being thrown from my shoulder towards the ground. I was able to catch it and prevent it from hitting the ground. It felt like people were pulling at me and at the camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gcc8t\">The incident left him shaken, Michela told the Tracker. “At the time I certainly felt threatened and I told the officers that I’d press charges if they ever found the guy,” Michela said. “Normally, to most people, my height is a deterrence. I’ve done this job 10 years and I’ve never had someone lay hands on me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"etuko\">During the same incident, Harmon also had to maneuver around protesters who were attempting to block him from documenting the scene, though he told the Tracker that he was not harmed and did not feel threatened.</p><p data-block-key=\"1puce\">According to the Tribune, <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/07/11/protesters-involved/\">eight people were ultimately arrested</a> over the course of the protest.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ngvhd\">Larry Curtis, a web editor for Salt Lake City’s KUTV 2News, attempts to protect his colleague, photojournalist Matthew Michela, during a protest near City Hall on July 9, 2019.</p>",
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"name": "Utah",
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"tags": [
"environmentalism",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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},
{
"title": "Judge dismisses defamation suit against Kansas City Star",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-dismisses-defamation-suit-against-kansas-city-star/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-11T18:04:09.539317Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:51:45.923430Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:51:45.832208Z",
"date": "2019-07-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Johnson County",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"y11m4\">On July 2, 2019, a Kansas district judge threw out a defamation suit against The Kansas City Star brought by Kansas Sen. Majority Leader Jim Denning, which The Star had argued violated its First Amendment rights as a publisher.</p><p data-block-key=\"zxeix\">According to news reports, Denning and his lawyer failed to prove the “actual malice” threshold required for defamation set out by the Supreme Court in its landmark 1960 free speech case <a href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/376/254/\">New York Times vs. Sullivan</a>. Kansas also has an additional state law that further protects free speech on issues of public concern.</p><p data-block-key=\"47sji\">“Denning had not met the requirements of the Kansas Speech Protection Act, which is designed to end meritless lawsuits that target the exercise of free speech,” according to <a href=\"https://www.kcur.org/post/judge-throws-out-kansas-senator-s-defamation-suit-against-kansas-city-star#stream/0\">the local NPR news station, KCUR</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"nh724\">“With this decision, the judge affirmed that Sen. Denning’s claim against The Star was entirely without merit, and more importantly, he protected the First Amendment rights of The Star and all journalists,” Colleen McCain Nelson, The Star’s editorial page editor, told KCUR.</p><p data-block-key=\"nq649\">The judge also ordered Denning to pay the newspaper’s legal fees, which its lawyer estimated to be around $40,000.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ke7j\">The <a href=\"https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article225208765.html\">suit stems from an opinion page article</a> published in January regarding Medicaid expansion in the state. Steve Rose, the article’s author, was a contributing guest columnist and resigned shortly after the suits were filed.</p><p data-block-key=\"o7mny\">The judge in the case deferred ruling on the defamation suit against Rose as an individual.</p></div>",
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"name": "Kansas",
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"updates": [
"(2019-10-30 14:48:00+00:00) Judge sets amount of legal fees awarded to newspaper in dismissed defamation suit",
"(2019-07-30 16:19:00+00:00) Kansas judge dismisses defamation lawsuit against newspaper’s guest columnist"
],
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"The Kansas City Star"
],
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"Other Incident"
],
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"Steve Rose (The Kansas City Star)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Portland journalist attacked, equipment stolen at protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/portland-journalist-attacked-equipment-stolen-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-03T19:10:31.748194Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-27T21:32:33.056939Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-27T21:32:32.936006Z",
"date": "2019-06-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6tu58\">Andy Ngo, an independent photojournalist and editor for Quillette, was attacked and had his equipment stolen while documenting an antifa counterprotest in Portland, Oregon, on June 29, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"ndgpu\">Ngo is an out-spoken critic of antifa and has covered antifa demonstrations and protests since 2016, primarily publishing the videos taken on his GoPro to Twitter and YouTube. Ngo <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-files-assault-charges-following-may-day-protests/\">told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker</a> that he does not wear press identification or badges while covering protests, but openly films and identifies himself as media to those who ask. He also said that he has become well-known to the antifa community in Portland and has “come to expect” their hostility against him.</p><p data-block-key=\"wv8mv\">The far-right group The Proud Boys originally announced the Portland rally for June 29, almost exactly one year after the “Battle of Portland.” That event was marked with street fights and dueling protesters, and was ultimately classified as a riot by the Portland Police Department.</p><p data-block-key=\"re7g3\">In planning an opposition rally, local antifa demonstrators called the Proud Boy rally an “attack,” and published a ”call to defend” the city. The post mentioned Ngo in a section labeled “Violent and Racist Proud Boy Propaganda,” and described him as a “local far-right Islamophobic journalist.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zoq4d\">The day before the rally, Ngo tweeted out screenshots from the post, writing, “I am nervous about tomorrow’s Portland antifa rally. They’re promising ‘physical confrontation’ & have singled me out to be assaulted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hj8r2\">Ngo and the public relations firm he has contracted to handle his media requests following the incident did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4oxe8\">The Guardian <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/30/portland-police-cement-milkshake-leftwing-rightwing-protests\">reported</a> that early on the day of the protest and counterprotests, Ngo was filming when protesters dumped a milkshake on him. Later video taken by Oregonian journalist Jim Ryan showed Ngo being hit and sprayed with silly string by masked individuals who appeared to be antifa demonstrators at around 1:30 p.m.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">First skirmish I’ve seen. Didn’t see how this started, but <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MrAndyNgo</a> got roughed up. <a href=\"https://t.co/hDkfQchRhG\">pic.twitter.com/hDkfQchRhG</a></p>— Jim Ryan (@Jimryan015) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Jimryan015/status/1145067852375851008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 29, 2019</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=\"1u12x\">Ngo <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1145074992398290944\">tweeted</a> that he “was beat on face and head multiple times in downtown in middle of street with fists and weapons” and that he was taken to an emergency room. Ngo also posted photos of his facial abrasions.</p><p data-block-key=\"t8ty6\">In a Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-leftist-mob-attacked-me-in-portland-11562109768\">opinion piece</a>, Ngo said that he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.</p><p data-block-key=\"51bx0\">A <a href=\"https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/3/20677645/antifa-portland-andy-ngo-proud-boys\">Vox explainer article</a> outlines the history between Ngo, The Proud Boys and antifa, and how Ngo is considered by some to be more of a provocateur than journalist. Some have pointed out that Ngo was the only journalist targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"o7exm\">For the purposes of the Tracker, Ngo identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and was in the process of documenting when he was attacked. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p><p data-block-key=\"4tpts\">Portland protests have become a dangerous beat over the past year: the Tracker <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?categories=10&city=Portland\">has documented multiple journalists</a> covering the demonstrations and riots being injured by far-right and antifa protesters, as well as by Portland police.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"l65uf\">In a video opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Andy Ngo shows images and describes being beaten at a protest rally in Portland that involved both right-wing and antifa groups.</p>",
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"case_number": "20CV19618",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
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"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [
"(2020-06-04 13:20:00+00:00) Conservative writer sues for damages claiming targeted assault, intimidation campaign",
"(2023-08-21 16:58:00+00:00) Writer awarded $300,000 in lawsuit alleging assault, intimidation campaign"
],
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"tags": [
"anti-fascism",
"protest",
"robbery",
"white nationalism"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Andy Ngo (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent photographer stopped for secondary screening, devices seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photographer-stopped-secondary-screening-devices-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2019-12-19T21:22:08.320394Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-06T19:41:13.650974Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-06T19:41:13.535462Z",
"date": "2019-06-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Detroit",
"longitude": -83.04575,
"latitude": 42.33143,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"l3vls\">Independent photographer Tim Stegmaier was stopped for secondary screening and had his electronic devices confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 28, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"swc8l\">Stegmaier was flying in from Shanghai, China, to Detroit, Michigan, after a photojournalism trip to the Philippines when CBP officers pulled him aside for additional screening. In an account published by the ACLU of Ohio titled, <a href=\"https://www.acluohio.org/archives/blog-posts/photographs-and-the-first-amendment-my-harrowing-journey-through-u-s-customs\">“Photographs and the First Amendment. My Harrowing Journey Through U.S. Customs,”</a> Stegmaier wrote that the officers didn’t provide any explanation for why he was flagged.</p><p data-block-key=\"buqrh\">While detained, the officers asked Stegmaier for permission to search his computer.</p><p data-block-key=\"drmk9\">“It is possible that I could have avoided five months of psychological stress with three words: GET A WARRANT,” Stegmaier wrote. “But I was sleep-deprived, and innocent of any crime. So I let them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ldu63\">The officers took his phone and camera as well. Stegmaier wrote that he waited 4 ½ hours — causing him to miss his connecting flight to Cincinnati, Ohio — before an officer read him his Miranda rights. The officer proceeded to ask questions about why he was in the U.S., where he was planning on traveling next and whether he had had sex with children while abroad.</p><p data-block-key=\"rlgub\">The questions presumably stemmed from photos Stegmaier had taken on his reporting trip. In <a href=\"https://www.acluohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2019-09-03-Stegmaier-Petition-Final-wo-Attachments_Redacted.pdf\">a petition in support of Stegmaier</a> dated Sept. 3, the ACLU of Ohio wrote, “In Manila, he captured numerous images of abject poverty and desperate conditions. He observed and photographed children swimming in filthy water and industrial waste, surrounded by heaps of plastic garbage and fecal matter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bzfaz\">The ACLU went on to contextualize the photos: that the presence of unclothed children in public in the Philippines is “unremarkable” and images of such scenes routinely appear in journalistic and other publications.</p><p data-block-key=\"v601g\">When Stegmaier attempted to explain all of this to the CBP officers, he wrote, they were skeptical of his point-and-shoot camera and asserted that he should have “papers” showing that he is a “real” photographer. Stegmaier also wrote that the officers told him that he should consider himself lucky because the supervisory officer believed him enough not to arrest him.</p><p data-block-key=\"zb7mv\">At the end of his detention, Stegmaier wrote that the officers retained possession of his computer, camera and smartphone, along with the tens of thousands of photographs contained therein.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nhws\">“It ruined my trip, as I was forced to halt the planned work that I was going to do in the U.S.,” Stegmaier told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “I also felt that the seizure damaged my credibility with a couple people that I was in the process of delivering work to. It was debilitating to not have access to my equipment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"baet8\">A month later, Stegmaier received an official Notice of Seizure notifying him that his equipment had been seized because it contained “visual depictions of sexual exploitation of children.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fpv17\">In addition to the formal petition on Stegmaier’s behalf, a coalition of First Amendment organizations — including the National Press Photographers Association and National Coalition Against Censorship — wrote <a href=\"https://www.acluohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/NCAC-Letter-USDHS-August-13-Final.pdf\">a letter to CBP urging the return of his equipment</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"d5j23\">“The possible disregard by DHS of federal and state level constitutional protections granted to Mr. Stegmaier strike at the heart of the most vital rights we strive to defend,” the letter reads. “The seizure of Stegmaier’s laptop, camera, and iPhone has caused untold damage to his professional life, forcing him to halt all of his work activities.”</p><p data-block-key=\"inw8v\">Three months after his equipment was seized, Stegmaier wrote that CBP sent him a letter admitting that there was nothing illegal about his photos. The agency promised to return the equipment on the condition that Stegmaier sign a release waiving his right to sue for the wrongful detention and seizure, or else go through a formal hearing process that could take multiple months.</p><p data-block-key=\"zxpms\">Stegmaier arranged to pick up his equipment in Detroit, during which CBP stopped him again and asked to search his belongings.</p><p data-block-key=\"0r5kh\">“Luckily, I carry the ACLU’s petition letter with me, right next to CBP’s letter admitting I did nothing wrong,” Stegmaier wrote. “I showed these letters to them, and eventually they let me go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5q6my\">He wrote that when he left Detroit, he took his equipment and his pictures with him.</p><p data-block-key=\"d8puq\">“I don’t have a problem going to other countries to work,” Stegmaier told the Tracker. “I only have a problem returning home to a place where I am supposed to have civilian rights.”</p></div>",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "computer"
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
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"state": {
"name": "Michigan",
"abbreviation": "MI"
},
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"United States"
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"categories": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "An order limiting photography outside Arizona appellate courts gets scaled back after criticism",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/order-limiting-photography-outside-arizona-appellate-courts-gets-scaled-back-after-criticism/",
"first_published_at": "2019-11-19T20:40:14.759634Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:51:49.396098Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:51:49.328978Z",
"date": "2019-06-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Phoenix",
"longitude": -112.07404,
"latitude": 33.44838,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tmqde\">The court of appeals in Phoenix, Arizona, issued an order limiting recording and photography outside of the courthouse on June 28, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ps2r\">The <a href=\"https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/89/AOs/Administrative%20Order%202019-06.pdf?ver=2019-06-28-173353-557\">order</a> stipulated that, “All types of video recording, photography, including sharing video or live-streaming to social media sites, or other types of broadcasting… are prohibited in any facility during its use as for Court-connected purposes, including building entrances, exits, and adjacent restricted parking areas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"uvo0q\">It also added a provision by which individuals could receive permission to record in restricted areas by applying for approval two days in advance.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nsd2\">A few months later, on Oct. 16, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel <a href=\"https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/22/admorder/Orders19/2019-126.pdf?ver=2019-10-16-134312-287\">issued an almost identical order</a> that would apply to the appellate court buildings in both Phoenix and Tucson, The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/05d94f610bf7462c870bb78b73c9553e\">reported</a>. The order also expanded restrictions of photography and recording to include steps and stairways, patios, hallways and sidewalks, which were not in the original order.</p><p data-block-key=\"3u075\">Supreme Court spokesman Aaron Nash told the AP that the photography ban was intended to reduce disruptions and protect the privacy and security of individuals attending the court, not hinder journalists’ ability to do their jobs. The policy appears to have been issued to unify appellate court policies.</p><p data-block-key=\"p9zyk\">Brutinel’s order received backlash from reporters and attorneys, the Arizona Republic <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2019/11/07/arizona-supreme-court-scales-back-crackdown-photos-video-near-courthouses/4156891002/\">reported</a>, who claimed the broad rule would hamper the media and the public’s access to newsworthy cases.</p><p data-block-key=\"lq0l6\">National Press Photographers Association lawyer Mickey Osterreicher told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, “It goes far beyond what their authority, I believe, should be. It’s one thing to control what goes on inside the courtroom, but not necessarily what goes on in what is traditionally a public forum outside.”</p><p data-block-key=\"urnmi\">The court issued a <a href=\"https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/22/admorder/Orders19/2019-142.pdf?ver=2019-11-06-150639-460\">narrower order</a> on Nov. 6, maintaining the restrictions of recording and livestreaming, but limiting the scope to within the appellate court buildings. The Republic reported that the revised order also removed wording allowing court officials to demand individuals delete photos or videos taken of them without their permission.</p><p data-block-key=\"goa8t\">The order also revised stipulations from barring recording in outdoor areas to prohibiting “any activity that threatens any person, disrupts court operations, or compromises court security.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c6br6\">Maria Polletta, state government and politics reporter for The Republic, told the Tracker that reporters on the beat were taken aback by the first order, and they’re waiting to see how the scaled back version is implemented.</p><p data-block-key=\"8epn8\">“It’s obviously less sweeping than the first version,” Polletta said. “But as First Amendment attorneys have said, ‘disruptive’ is very subjective and it could still end up being applied to media while they’re just doing their jobs.”</p></div>",
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{
"title": "New Mexico settles lawsuit alleging violations of state’s public records law",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-mexico-settles-lawsuit-alleging-violations-of-states-public-records-law/",
"first_published_at": "2020-02-12T17:38:06.134148Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-07-13T22:35:37.671386Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-07-13T22:35:37.590545Z",
"date": "2019-06-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Santa Fe",
"longitude": -105.9378,
"latitude": 35.68698,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a6qa7\">The state of New Mexico agreed to a settlement with the weekly Santa Fe Reporter on June 27, 2019, following a lengthy lawsuit that accused a former governor of violating the state’s public records law and discriminating against the outlet in retaliation for its critical coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"694h5\">The Reporter had filed a lawsuit against then-Gov. Susana Martinez in 2013 over five requests for records related to pardons, emails and the governor’s calendar under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.</p><p data-block-key=\"r2dfh\">The complaint, which was reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, alleged that the governor failed to release documents within the mandated time frame and either did not conduct a comprehensive search for or did not provide all responsive documents. The Reporter asked the court for injunctive relief in the form of new policies and procedures for handling IPRA requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"xs4vw\">The Reporter suit included a separate claim alleging that the administration denied the newspaper access to information provided to other outlets, violating the state constitution’s Free Press Provision.</p><p data-block-key=\"yf091\">“The press must be free to report on public affairs and officials’ conduct without reprisal,” the complaint reads. “A free press and public access to information are undermined if the access of members of the press to facts relating to public business is limited because they present a certain viewpoint or perspective that the Governor does not like.”</p><p data-block-key=\"spcgq\">In December 2017, state District Judge Sarah Singleton ruled that, in regards to the denial of access, the governor had not violated the state constitution. Julie Ann Grimm, the Reporter’s editor and publisher, told the Tracker that Singleton’s ruling legitimized politicians giving outlets preferential treatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"g37ic\">“The judge in her ruling and in some things that she said in court really made it clear that she felt like it was OK for public officials to pick and choose and to only talk to friendly press,” Grimm said.</p><p data-block-key=\"tnrw8\">Singleton did find that Martinez violated the state’s open records act three times in its tardy or non-existent responses to public records requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"1bavq\">"It is the Court's opinion that if people create public documents on private email accounts, then when an IPRA request is made, the governmental body for whom those people are employed has an obligation to search or at least attempt to search those private accounts,” Singleton said, <a href=\"https://www.sfreporter.com/news/2017/12/14/judge-gov-martinez-violated-public-records-law-not-constitution/\">according to the Reporter</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"hjry1\">“To hold otherwise would make it too easy to hide from inspection the very types of public records which are most in need of disclosure," Singleton said.</p><p data-block-key=\"d28p0\">The Reporter was awarded attorneys fees totaling nearly $400,000 but no damages on the three counts. Grimm told the Tracker that no new IPRA policies or procedures were developed or implemented in response to the outlet’s request for an injunction.</p><p data-block-key=\"36t13\">Martinez’s attorney Paul Kennedy appealed the decision in 2018 on the grounds that the verdict was a split decision, <a href=\"https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/state-pays-sf-reporter-legal-fees/article_9198b3b4-3989-11ea-a1ba-438b5bd24f28.html\">according to the Santa Fe New Mexican</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9l0u4\">In a compromise to avoid further litigation after Martinez left office, her successor, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, agreed to drop the appeal and pay a $360,000 settlement in June 2019. The agreement became public in January 2020 after the expiration of the legally-mandated confidentiality period.</p><p data-block-key=\"gzji1\">Grimm told the Tracker that she was grateful the Reporter was able to fully litigate the case, in large part because its lawyers represented the newspaper on contingency, or accepting payment only in the case of a favorable result.</p><p data-block-key=\"icml4\">“It requires a great deal of energy to litigate, especially when you’re up against the highest office in the state,” Grimm said. Grimm added that the Reporter is still waiting on records from Martinez’s administration, and access to public records continues to be “an ongoing battle in New Mexico at every level of government.”</p><p data-block-key=\"z1n75\">The director of communications for Gov. Lujan Grisham, Tripp Stelnicki, told the Tracker that the governor’s administration has endeavored to communicate with the press without bias and to improve access to public information.</p><p data-block-key=\"p8kj4\">“We would not have been interested in continuing to defend the previous administration’s obstruction of information to that particular outlet,” Stelnicki said. “That’s not how the governor does things.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cg9t2\">Stelnicki added that the current administration’s approach is to disclose or provide everything that can be released.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"fvood\">A portion of the 2013 lawsuit filed on behalf of the Santa Fe Reporter against then-Gov. Susana Martinez</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Mexico",
"abbreviation": "NM"
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"Santa Fe Reporter"
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"public records"
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{
"title": "Newsday reporter threatened and ordered out of the locker room following Mets loss in Chicago",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/newsday-reporter-threatened-and-ordered-out-locker-room-following-mets-loss-chicago/",
"first_published_at": "2019-06-25T17:47:00.463235Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:52:18.009959Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:52:17.926610Z",
"date": "2019-06-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"b2nnv\">A New York Mets beat reporter was physically threatened by one of the team’s pitchers and ordered out of the briefing room by the team’s manager following a loss to the Chicago Cubs on June 23, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"fe8rr\">Newsday reporter Tim Healey was in the locker room in Chicago’s Wrigley Field for the after-game press conference alongside other journalists covering the game. Healey <a href=\"https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/newsday-mets-tim-healey-mickey-callaway-jason-vargas-1.32837155\">told Newsday</a> that when Manager Mickey Callaway came out of his office, “I thought he was leaving for the day, so I said, ‘See you tomorrow, Mickey.’” Callaway reportedly responded, “Don’t be a smart-ass.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h1vmv\">The New York Daily News <a href=\"https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-mets-mickey-callaway-jason-vargas-mother-clubhouse-20190623-nxvey55oavfdrgwg4lzls2s63i-story.html\">reported</a> that Callaway called Healey a “motherfucker” under his breath before walking into another room. When Callaway returned after a few minutes, he continued to confront the reporter about the comment, which Healey assured him wasn’t made maliciously.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ab6k\">“Shut the fuck up, get out of my face. Get out of here,” Callaway said in response, according to The Daily News. Callaway then told a team public relations official, “Get this motherfucker out of here, he’ll be here tomorrow.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rf4jt\">Newsday reported that this exchange caught the attention of pitcher Jason Vargas. When Healey noticed that Vargas had been staring at him, he asked if everything was OK or if there was something he wanted to say. In response, Vargas threatened him.</p><p data-block-key=\"15h5x\">“He said, ‘I’ll knock you out right here’ and then took a couple of steps toward me,” Healey told Newsday. “Some people said charged—charged is super-strong.”</p><p data-block-key=\"96tkl\">Mets media relations manager and several teammates got between Healey and Vargas and ensured that the pitcher remained at a distance. No punches were thrown, and Healey said at that moment he removed himself from the locker room.</p><p data-block-key=\"7teii\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/TimBritton/status/1142949594453729280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1142949594453729280&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthespun.com%2Fmore%2Ftop-stories%2Fnew-york-mets-release-statement-on-clubhouse-incident\">In a statement</a> released that evening, the Mets wrote that they “sincerely regret the incident that took place with one of our beat writers following today’s game in the clubhouse. We do not condone this type of behavior from any employee. The organization has reached out and apologized to this reporter and will have further discussions internally with all involved parties.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xz8j1\">Deadspin <a href=\"https://deadspin.com/mickey-callaway-and-jason-vargas-are-sorry-that-their-a-1835819995\">reported</a> that Callaway and Vargas were each fined $10,000 and had to give statements addressing the incident. In one of his statements, Callaway said that he had spoken privately with Healey and apologized.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1ynix\">New York Mets Manager Mickey Callaway, here at Wrigley Field, and pitcher Jason Vargas were each fined $10,000 after a heated interaction with Newsday reporter Tim Healey following a loss to the Chicago Cubs.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
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{
"title": "Photojournalist arrested while covering climate demonstration, equipment seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-while-covering-climate-demonstration-equipment-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2019-07-09T21:22:06.278720Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-02-21T18:27:14.380103Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-02-21T18:27:14.243204Z",
"date": "2019-06-22",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lc8w3\">On June 22, 2019, independent photojournalist Michael Nigro was arrested in New York City while covering a demonstration calling for aggressive action on climate change outside the headquarters of The New York Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"0jt7r\">Protesters from the group Extinction Rebellion had staged a direct action on 41st Street and Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, Nigro said, with some protesters blocking traffic on Eighth Avenue and others scaling the Times building to unfurl banners.</p><p data-block-key=\"6rqw9\">“I, as a journalist, was covering the action and was looking for a good vantage point,” he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"qq5zc\">Nigro went to the third floor of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a busy transit station located across the street from the Times building, to document the protest. Port Authority police officers responding to the protest then arrived and asked him to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"d72ps\">Nigro said that he was wearing two press badges around his neck — one from the National Press Photographers Association and one given to accredited journalists by the NYPD. He showed the badges to the officers and asserted his right to film the protest. After some back-and-forth discussion with the officers, he agreed to leave the area. Unexpectedly, the officers then arrested him for trespassing.</p><p data-block-key=\"e8saa\">“While we were leaving, their radio went off and they were told to arrest me,” he said. “They apologized.”</p><p data-block-key=\"kzehh\">Nigro was then taken to the Port Authority police station and handcuffed to a wall, and both his phone and camera were seized as evidence. He estimates that he was handcuffed to the wall for about two hours before Port Authority police officers escorted him to an interrogation room, where he was chained to a bench, read his Miranda rights, and questioned by detectives. Nigro said that he refused to answer any questions without his lawyer present. He was then fingerprinted and brought to a holding cell.</p><p data-block-key=\"ghi7d\">Nigro said that while he was detained in the holding cell, an officer from the NYPD’s media relations office — known as the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information, or DCPI — visited him in his cell to inform him that the NYPD was revoking his official press badge.</p><p data-block-key=\"46dcs\">Nigro was eventually issued a desk appearance ticket and released, but his arresting officer refused to return his camera and phone. The police returned his equipment and press badge to him a week later.</p><p data-block-key=\"db4um\">The desk appearance ticket lists a single charge against Nigro — <a href=\"https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-140-10.html\">criminal trespass in the third degree, a Class B misdemeanor</a> — and requires him to appear in New York City criminal court on Aug. 22.</p><p data-block-key=\"i310m\">CNN reported that more than <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/22/us/extinction-rebellion-new-york-times-arrests/index.html\">60 protesters were also arrested</a> during the demonstration and charged with disorderly conduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"p6t4o\">This is not the first time that Nigro has been arrested while working as a journalist. In 2018, he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-michael-nigro-arrested-while-covering-protest-missouri/\">arrested and charged with “failure to obey”</a> while covering a civil disobedience action in Jefferson City, Missouri. The charges were later dropped. Before that, in 2016, he was arrested while documenting an anti-Trump march in New York City.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5mndz\">Demonstrators calling for aggressive action on the climate gather in front of The New York Times building in Manhattan.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
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{
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"equipment": "camera"
},
{
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"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
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"equipment": "press identification"
}
],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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},
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"(2019-07-15 11:11:00+00:00) NYPD drops charges against journalist arrested while covering protest"
],
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"protest"
],
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"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
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},
{
"title": "New York Knicks fined $50,000 for barring NY Daily News from press event",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-knicks-fined-50000-barring-ny-daily-news-press-event/",
"first_published_at": "2019-06-26T17:29:11.757798Z",
"last_published_at": "2019-06-26T17:29:11.757798Z",
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"date": "2019-06-21",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>The National Basketball Association <a href=\"https://www.nba.com/article/2019/06/24/nba-fines-new-york-knicks-media-policy\">announced</a> that the New York Knicks have been fined $50,000 for denying the New York Daily News reporters access to a press conference on June 21, 2019.</p><p>By not allowing the Daily News access to the team’s post-draft press conference when all other credentialed media covering the team were permitted to attend, the NBA determined that the Knicks had violated the league’s rules regarding equal access for media.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">FWIW, The Daily News was not invited to this presser for <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RjBarrett6?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RjBarrett6</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/_iggy_braz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@_iggy_braz</a> but every other NYC outlet covering the team was. <br><br>Jim Dolan doesn't like the coverage and has effectively banned them from covering the team.</p>— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AdamZagoria/status/1142117912746086402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2019</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>“The actions of willful discrimination taken by the New York Knicks against reporters from the New York Daily News are an abridgment of the First Amendment and not befitting a team in the National Basketball Association,” Todd Adams, president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, said in a statement released on June 24.The NBA fined the team later that day.</p><p>The New York Post <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2019/02/01/knicks-need-to-quit-the-hide-from-the-press-game/\">reported</a> in February that the Knicks and the Daily News “have been feuding for more than a decade,” stemming from Knicks owner James Dolan’s <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/sports/james-dolan-knicks.html\">perception</a> of bias and “ill will” in the newspaper’s coverage of the team.</p><p>The team released a statement responding to the fine, acknowledging they failed to comply with the media policy, citing “an error in interpreting Friday’s announcement as an invite only event.” They pledged to adhere to the rules moving forward.</p><p>This incident is the only one to be acknowledged by the NBA with a fine for the organization. However, Daily News beat writer Stefan Bondy was banned from covering Knicks press conferences in December and January, according to <a href=\"https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-sports-raissman-knicks-barring-media-20181221-story.html\">the Daily News</a> and the <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2019/02/01/knicks-need-to-quit-the-hide-from-the-press-game/\">Post</a>, respectively.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p>R.J. Barrett, the No. 3 draft pick for the New York Knicks, was part of a press conference that pointedly excluded the New York Daily News, an outlet with a combative history with the team. The Knicks were fined $50,000 for the exclusion.</p>",
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{
"title": "New Yorker staff writer subpoenaed for testimony in civil rights lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-yorker-staff-writer-subpoenaed-testimony-civil-rights-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-11-08T18:22:34.962239Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T22:56:58.579288Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T22:56:58.471650Z",
"date": "2019-06-18",
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"city": "Chicago",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1271g\">In June, attorneys representing the city of Chicago subpoenaed New Yorker staff writer Nicholas Schmidle to testify about his sources for an article published in 2014. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., then quashed the subpoenas in October.</p><p data-block-key=\"i3z56\">A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-yorker-staff-writer-subpoenaed-all-documents-around-2014-article/\">separate subpoena for documents</a> was served to Schmidle in February.</p><p data-block-key=\"rfig4\">In 2014, Schmidle wrote a <a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/crime-fiction\">feature story for the New Yorker about Tyrone Hood</a>, who had been convicted of murder in 1996 and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Schmidle’s article included evidence strongly suggesting that Hood was innocent.</p><p data-block-key=\"y6swx\">In January 2015, outgoing Illinois governor Pat Quinn <a href=\"https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/01/13/quinn-commutes-sentence-of-man-convicted-of-lying-in-murder-case/\">commuted the prison sentences</a> of a number of prisoners, including Hood, on his last day in office. Because Hood received a commutation, not a pardon, he was let out of jail early but the murder conviction stayed on his record.</p><p data-block-key=\"hyp25\">At the time, a spokeswoman for Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez told CBS 2 Chicago that Alvarez was “deeply disappointed” with the governor’s decision to commute Hood’s sentence.</p><p data-block-key=\"os2ys\">Just a month later, though, Alvarez’s office announced that its Conviction Integrity Unit had completed a two-year investigation into Hood’s case, which concluded that Hood’s conviction should be vacated. Alvarez then <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-tyrone-hood-conviction-dismissed-met-0210-20150209-story.html\">asked a court to vacate Hood’s conviction</a>, which the court did. Hood was now out of prison and cleared of the murder conviction.</p><p data-block-key=\"egvyx\">In 2016, Hood filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Chicago and a number of Chicago police officers, accusing them of pressuring witnesses into falsely accusing him of murder.</p><p data-block-key=\"vbvq7\">On June 18, 2019, the reporter Schmidle was served with <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15957074/1/6/hood-v-city-of-chicago/\">a subpoena to testify in the case</a>. The subpoena ordered him to submit to a deposition at a “TBD” location on July 12. About a week later, a process server tried to drop off <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15957074/1/7/hood-v-city-of-chicago/\">a new copy of the subpoena</a> (which included the location of the deposition) but Schmidle refused to open his door.</p><p data-block-key=\"owzzq\">Attorneys for both Hood and Schmidle have opposed the subpoenas for the reporter, arguing that a journalist’s documents and testimony are not relevant to a case that concerns the alleged behavior of Chicago police officers in the early 1990s.</p><p data-block-key=\"5uogk\">Attorneys for the city of Chicago’s attorneys and the other defendants in Hood’s civil rights have argued that Schmidle’s testimony is essential, using a theory that puts Schmidle at the center of the action.</p><p data-block-key=\"24dyc\">The defendants’ attorneys have argued that Hood’s civil rights were not violated because he actually is guilty of murder and his murder conviction should not have been vacated. They argue that journalists like Schmidle were tricked into writing a false narrative, which in turn prompted Governor Quinn to commute Hood’s sentence and pressure the state attorney’s office to get Hood’s conviction thrown out.</p><p data-block-key=\"0arpa\">On July 23, Schmidle’s attorneys <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15957074/1/1/hood-v-city-of-chicago/\">asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C. to quash</a> the two deposition subpoenas, on the grounds that the subpoenas were improperly served, Schmidle’s testimony was unnecessary and Schmidle could not be forced to testify because he was a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"1lhbt\">The defendants’ attorneys defended their decision to subpoena Schmidle’s testimony, <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15957074/7/hood-v-city-of-chicago/\">filing a response to Schmidle’s motion to quash</a> that detailed their quasi-conspiratorial theory about Schmidle’s central role in getting Hood’s conviction tossed out.</p><p data-block-key=\"ty5b6\">“Defendants seek to take Schmidle’s deposition to explore his role in Hood’s coordinated media campaign, because that campaign was critical to Hood convincing Gov. Quinn to grant clemency,” the defendants’ attorneys wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"wsz01\">On Oct. 18, Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia District Court <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15957074/12/hood-v-city-of-chicago/\">ordered the two deposition subpoenas quashed</a>. Mehta found that, while the subpoenas had been properly served, the defendants had not shown that they had “exhausted every reasonable alternative source of information,” which they must do before forcing a journalist to testify. If the defendants wanted to learn about Schmidle’s communications with his sources, Mehta said, then they should subpoena those sources, rather than Schmidle.</p><p data-block-key=\"zmme9\">Through a New Yorker spokeswoman, Schmidle declined to comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dce9d\">A portion of the subpoena seeking testimony from reporter Nicholas Schmidle about a 2014 article published in The New Yorker</p>",
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"name": "Illinois",
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{
"title": "Man arrested for assaulting reporter outside of Trump’s reelection announcement rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-arrested-for-assaulting-reporter-outside-of-trumps-reelection-announcement-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2019-06-20T17:20:13.343856Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T00:12:53.450142Z",
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"date": "2019-06-18",
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"city": "Orlando",
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"latitude": 28.53834,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5l0po\">A Florida man was charged with battery after assaulting an Orlando Sentinel reporter on June 18, 2019, at the Amway Center in Orlando, where President Donald Trump was hosting a rally to launch his bid for re-election in 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"0x4jg\">Sentinel reporter Michael Williams <a href=\"https://twitter.com/michaeldamianw/status/1141139374467366912\">was filming</a> at least three individuals with his cellphone as they were removed from the building. One of the men, later identified as Daniel Kestner, appeared to be engaged in a dispute with a second man, but his ire turned to Williams when he noticed that the journalist was filming the altercation.</p><p data-block-key=\"jy381\">Kestner then began to approach Williams, hurling curses and demanding that he stop filming them. When Williams didn’t comply with his demands, Kestner can be heard saying, “I promise you I’ll kick you in the nuts.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aqevc\">The Sentinel <a href=\"https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-trump-orlando-aftermath-20190619-aearswhyxfa6tcehgi3uphicbm-story.html\">reported</a> that Williams retreated backward, but Kestner caught up to him and smacked his hand, attempting to knock the cellphone to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"nj0ko\">In the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/michaeldamianw/status/1141139374467366912\">video</a>, security officers can be seen immediately coming between Kestner and Williams, ordering Kestner to immediately leave the property.</p><p data-block-key=\"6xxwq\">Orange County Clerk <a href=\"https://myeclerk.myorangeclerk.com/CaseDetails?caseId=11021325&caseIdEnc=ULkln37Dii1jaLxB%2BRwyJpKoEODBfYyAtJU8jmm%2BgXD%2BuaU5McRZ9xk49P%2FZyF6ZTyfJe25xMizZ%2FxhEyzgNzAKIMWDCJ6a7HqFaP0wUTAg%3D\">records</a> obtained by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker show that Kestner was later arrested and charged with battery for “willingly striking” Williams. A first-degree misdemeanor, Kestner could face up to one year in jail if convicted.</p><p data-block-key=\"lzy3j\">According to a police report obtained by the Sentinel, Kestner was intoxicated during the altercation.</p><p data-block-key=\"2n0xp\">Julie Anderson, editor in chief of the Sentinel, <a href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/trump-supporter-arrested-assault-journalist-rally-1444834\">told Newsweek</a> that ahead of the rally the newsroom spoke with the reporters and photographers covering the event, “telling them to be careful and vigilant about their own personal safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"mcvev\">Anderson told the Tracker that her staff has faced intimidation, threats and name-calling at Trump rallies since 2016.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"v3qfg\">People chant “Fake News” as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign kickoff rally in Orlando, Florida.</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"(2019-09-16 12:09:00+00:00) Man arrested on battery charge of journalist agrees to probationary deal"
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"political rally"
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{
"title": "BuzzFeed receives first subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-receives-first-subpoena-ongoing-unsworth-musk-defamation-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-10-01T17:59:22.831625Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-22T13:59:23.966789Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-22T13:59:23.806580Z",
"date": "2019-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vklj3\">BuzzFeed News was issued its first subpoena in the unfolding case between caver Vernon Unsworth and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on June 14, 2019. The outlet and one of its reporters <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?state=California&targeted_institutions=BuzzFeed+News&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">subsequently received four additional subpoenas</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"segca\">Unsworth is suing Musk for defamation, alleging that the tech executive repeatedly labeled him a pedophile without evidence on Twitter and in communications with BuzzFeed senior tech journalist Ryan Mac, the latter of which were published by the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"hwoiq\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the subpoena, which was filed by counsel for Musk. The subpoena ordered BuzzFeed to produce copies of two articles published by the outlet in August and September 2018, BuzzFeed’s communications with Unsworth and Musk, and documentation of BuzzFeed’s policies concerning “off the record” or “on background” conversations.</p><p data-block-key=\"79457\">The subpoena also requested all documents concerning any payments, income, stipends, or gifts BuzzFeed received in exchange for the two articles containing Musk’s statements about Unsworth.</p><p data-block-key=\"knjg1\">Lawyers representing BuzzFeed filed objections to the demand for the outlet’s communications with Musk and Unsworth on July 1, citing both parties’ access to these documents and the public availability of BuzzFeed’s News Standards and Ethics Guide. They also wrote that, consistent with the ethics guidelines, the outlet does not accept any form of payment or gifts to publish articles and therefore no documents are responsive to that request.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5c02b\">A portion of the first subpoena BuzzFeed received as part of a defamation case between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the caver Vernon Unsworth.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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"updates": [
"(2019-10-28 00:00:00+00:00) Court quashes Elon Musk’s subpoena for BuzzFeed documents"
],
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