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{
"title": "BuzzFeed reporter receives second subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-reporter-receives-second-subpoena-ongoing-unsworth-musk-defamation-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-10-01T19:01:24.995200Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-15T16:03:12.843731Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-15T16:03:12.621277Z",
"date": "2019-09-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dvhsy\">Ryan Mac, a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News, was issued his second subpoena in the ongoing case between caver Vernon Unsworth and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Sept. 6, 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 Mac and the digital news outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"qvssu\">Unsworth is suing Musk for defamation, alleging that the tech executive repeatedly labeled him a pedophile without evidence on Twitter and in communications with Mac, the latter of which were published by the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"i2udh\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the <a href=\"/documents/14/e80f05e7-9605-4e47-b345-a678bbc1965f.pdf\">motion to quash</a> both subpoenas for Mac’s deposition. The filing said that Musk was the first to issue a subpoena, demanding that Mac appear at a Sept. 11 deposition. About a week later, Unsworth filed a deposition subpoena cross-noticing the subpoena from Musk, listing the same date and time.</p><p data-block-key=\"k8bu9\">Musk’s counsel had previously issued two subpoenas for information from the news organization.</p><p data-block-key=\"truf9\">Unsworth had promised not to file additional subpoenas for discovery after BuzzFeed complied with a previous subpoena for documents establishing how many people viewed BuzzFeed articles about Musk’s dispute with Unsworth.</p><p data-block-key=\"hgy62\">The filing said that Unsworth’s counsel was asked to voluntarily withdraw the subpoena. They declined.</p><p data-block-key=\"lej1w\">Mac’s attorneys filed the motion to quash both deposition subpoenas on Sept. 13, arguing that any information that could be gained legally is already available to the parties and everything else is protected under California’s reporter’s privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"1twno\">“The Deposition Subpoenas represent an attempt to harass and scapegoat BuzzFeed reporter Ryan Mac for publishing a news article about comments made by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk,” the filing said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bh6r0\">A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ze6at\">A portion of the second subpoena demanding testimony from BuzzFeed reporter Ryan Mac as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and caver Vernon Unsworth.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
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"updates": [
"(2019-10-28 00:00:00+00:00) Judge upholds one subpoena deposition in ongoing Musk-Unsworth case",
"(2019-12-06 00:00:00+00:00) BuzzFeed reporter not called to testify in Musk-Unsworth case"
],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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"Ryan Mac (BuzzFeed News)"
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"upheld"
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{
"title": "Vermont Judiciary sets new rules on recording in courtrooms, registering as media",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vermont-judiciary-sets-new-rules-recording-courtrooms-registering-media/",
"first_published_at": "2019-12-04T15:24:30.557961Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-21T16:48:29.094289Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-21T16:48:28.998227Z",
"date": "2019-09-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Montpelier",
"longitude": -72.57539,
"latitude": 44.26006,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yr52u\">The state court system of Vermont formalized rules on May 1, 2019, requiring members of the press to register in order to record or photograph in state courtrooms. According to <a href=\"https://vtdigger.org/2019/08/15/new-court-rules-set-recording-restrictions-for-media-and-public/\">VTDigger</a>, the new rules, which also established who qualifies as a member of the press, took effect on Sept. 3.</p><p data-block-key=\"r8v6x\">The Vermont Judiciary’s rules <a href=\"https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/sites/default/files/documents/Summary%20of%20Use%20of%20Recording%20and%20Transmitting%20Devices%20in%20Courthouse%20or%20Courtroom.pdf\">state</a> that members of the media, once registered or with a one-time waiver, can record audio, video or livestream within courtrooms, while trial participants can only record audio. The public is not allowed to record whatsoever.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ffgp\">Emily Wetherell, deputy clerk of the Vermont Supreme Court, told VTDigger that the new rules were made to modernize existing policies in the face of technological advances, particularly in regard to smartphones.</p><p data-block-key=\"bsrux\">“The registration for media members, too, is a response to the power that cellphones give citizens in the courtroom,” Wetherell said. “That old rule was really just about media, because most people didn’t have the capability or the technology to record. But now most people can … and so in order to identify who media is, the committee decided that a registration process would be the most useful way of doing it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"pntoa\">Mike Donoghue, executive director of the Vermont Press Association and vice president of the New England First Amendment Coalition, told VTDigger that while he understands the need to modernize the rules, he has concerns about how the judiciary will determine who is legitimately a member of the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"c5y03\">According to <a href=\"https://www.manchesterjournal.com/stories/draft-court-rules-would-ban-non-media-video-photos,530892\">The Manchester Journal</a>, when the proposed rules went to the Vermont Supreme Court in January 2018, media was defined as "any individual or organization engaging in news gathering or reporting to the public, including free-lance reporter, newspaper, radio or television station or network, news service, magazine, trade paper, in-house publication, professional journal, or other news reporting or news-gathering agency, and any individual employed by such an organization."</p><p data-block-key=\"p8ixx\">Retired state Supreme Court Justice John Dooley, who chaired the procedural rules committee, told the Journal that they worked to adopt a “pretty broad” definition to avoid improperly denying applications for media registration. The registration system also established an appeals process by which a denied applicant can seek an “expeditious review” by the Supreme Court.</p><p data-block-key=\"v1nci\">Shawn Cunningham, a reporter for The Chester Telegraph, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was reporting on a hearing at the Windsor Criminal Division court when he was pulled aside by one of the court officers. The officer told Cunningham that he couldn’t take pictures without being registered.</p><p data-block-key=\"yv1fq\">“Now, I had seen this up on the wall the previous time I had been to court, but it seemed as if they were talking about recording, video and audio recording. And they said no, it’s all,” Cunningham said.</p><p data-block-key=\"kys43\">Cunningham said he was directed to the court clerk to register, but because approval would take several days he was able to receive a one-day registration waiver. In a matter of days Cunningham received his media registration, which appears to authorize him to take photos and recordings in Vermont courts in perpetuity.</p><p data-block-key=\"sio0a\">“We have several things right now that affect our area that are going through the courts, and that’s both Vermont-run state courts and federal courts,” Cunningham told the Tracker. “So, I’m basically checking all the rules to make sure that whatever I’m going into at this point, that I’m good to go in there and do what I need to do.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1qvxu\">Above the entrance to the Vermont Supreme Court in Montpelier is the state's coat of arms. The Vermont Judiciary recently changed its rules for reporting in the courts.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Vermont",
"abbreviation": "VT"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
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"Judiciary: State Court"
],
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"Denial of Access"
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"Change in policy or practice"
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},
{
"title": "BBC journalist questioned by border official, passport reviewed",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bbc-journalist-questioned-border-official-passport-taken-away/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-16T15:25:52.077513Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:47:01.921747Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:47:01.839555Z",
"date": "2019-08-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Brownsville",
"longitude": -97.49748,
"latitude": 25.90175,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ph265\">Stephanie Hegarty, a population correspondent for BBC News, was invasively questioned about her reporting and had her passport briefly taken away while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on Aug. 29, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"gp927\">Hegarty told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was walking across the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge into Texas with a cameraman and reporter from BBC Mundo around 7:45 p.m. Her colleagues passed through immigration control without incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"prmxc\">When asked what she was doing in Mexico, Hegarty told the Customs and Border Protection officer that she was a reporter covering the situation at the border. That’s when it got very tense, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"w0guq\">“He said, ‘It would help you a lot if you told me exactly where you were, where you were filming and who you spoke to,’” Hegarty told the Tracker. “It was at that point that I thought, ‘Do I really have to tell you that?’”</p><p data-block-key=\"a1v1r\">Hegarty, who is from Ireland, told the CBP officer that she didn’t think that was necessary. The officer scanned her passport, commented, “Oh, interesting,” and asked her to wait in a room while he walked away with her passport. She told the Tracker that she was traveling on a journalist visa and was concerned by the officer’s actions.</p><p data-block-key=\"q9uhr\">“I kinda thought, ‘Is he putting me on some sort of list? What is he doing with my passport in that other room?” Hegarty said.</p><p data-block-key=\"o88mg\">A CBP officer returned with her passport approximately 10 minutes later—Hegarty said she wasn’t certain whether it was the same officer—and his entire attitude had shifted. He was friendly while returning her passport, Hegarty said, and told her she could go.</p><p data-block-key=\"ruw1q\">Unlike previous searches, however, Hegarty called the incident extremely disappointing and disturbing.</p><p data-block-key=\"krdlk\">“I used to work in Nigeria so I’m used to being intimidated by officials,” Hegarty said. “But when it happened in the U.S. I was shocked.”</p><p data-block-key=\"kqjmo\"><i>Editor's Note:</i> <i>A previous version of this article misidentified Hegarty's nationality.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ubo6v\">People wait on the Mexican side of the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge in 2018.</p>",
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"name": "Texas",
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{
"title": "Amid backlash, Department of Defense backs away from new press regulations at Guantánamo Bay",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/amid-backlash-department-of-defense-backs-away-from-new-press-regulations-at-guant%C3%A1namo-bay/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-09T20:31:37.164673Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:51:01.274290Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:51:01.201748Z",
"date": "2019-08-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Guantánamo Bay",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zcn0o\">New press rules issued at U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Aug. 28, 2019, would have curtailed journalists' ability to report freely at the detention camp where 40 detainees are still held.</p><p data-block-key=\"qbvk0\">The new policies, which military officials asked journalists to sign within 48 hours in order to report on military commission hearings in September, would require journalists to be constantly escorted while working at the naval station, and would give public affairs officers the right to review and approve interview recordings "prior to upload into any laptop." The rule also gives Naval Station personnel the ability to seize “all materials and equipment” in a journalist’s possession, including cellphones.</p><p data-block-key=\"qop1e\">“[Journalists] may not participate in any activity related to their work, including any news or information gathering activity, if they are not accompanied by a designated public affairs escort and have that escort’s explicit consent,” the policy reads,<a href=\"https://theintercept.com/2019/08/30/guantanamo-bay-press-restrictions/\"> according</a> to The Intercept. The policy also requires journalists to “submit all still imagery, video imagery, and audio recordings taken at [Naval Station Guantánamo Bay] to the appropriate security reviewer,” according to a letter written by a lawyer for The New York Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"wj7xp\">The Department of Defense's <a href=\"https://www.mc.mil/\">Office of Military Commissions</a> created a <a href=\"https://www.mc.mil/Portals/0/MILCOMMediaGroundRules.pdf\">separate policy</a> in 2010 that applied to journalists inside military commission facilities at the naval station. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay public affairs officer J. Overton told The Intercept that the new rules covered the naval station generally, but not reporters at the Office of Military Commissions. (Emails sent by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to the Navy for comment were not returned.)</p><p data-block-key=\"sttym\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/carolrosenberg/status/1167882751191605248?s=20\">tweet</a>, Guantánamo-based New York Times reporter Carol Rosenberg called the new rules “unprecedented.” “In all the years I’ve covered Guantanamo I have never been presented with these Navy base documents to sign. This week was the first time,” Rosenberg <a href=\"https://twitter.com/carolrosenberg/status/1167879954651992064?s=20\">wrote</a> in a separate tweet.</p><p data-block-key=\"uzvif\">Deputy General Counsel for The New York Times, David McCraw, sent a letter to Paul Ney, the general counsel of the Department of Defense, on behalf of a media coalition including the Times, The Associated Press, NPR and First Look Media, decrying the new rules. McCraw provided a copy of the letter to the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vwso\">“[T]he Naval Station is attempting to exercise a level of control over journalists and their newsgathering activities that has no apparent security justification and interferes with the First Amendment rights of the news media,” McCraw wrote. The existing OMC policy, McCraw wrote, has been effective, “striking a serviceable balance between the need for operational security, the protection of national security and the First Amendment rights of reporters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2acer\">On Sept. 6 the Department of Defense formally rescinded the new press regulations, after offering unofficial reassurance on Sept. 2 that the rules would not go into effect.</p><p data-block-key=\"nr6s7\">“It’s a good thing that they’re stepping back and looking at the issue on a more global basis,” said David Schulz, an attorney at Ballard Spahr who has been closely involved in the fight for press access at Guantanamo over the years. “The existing ground rules were the result of extensive discussions with all the relevant stakeholders in 2010.”</p><p data-block-key=\"olsxh\">McCraw wrote in an email to the Tracker that he was glad the Department of Defense took seriously the concerns he voiced in his letter. “Guantanamo remains a vital story, and reporters need the freedom to report fully on the proceedings there,” he wrote. “We look forward to working with the Department of Defense to make sure that the rules in place take into account the needs of our news organizations.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"imu73\">A soldier stands guard overlooking Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay naval base in 2009.</p>",
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{
"title": "Tech journalist subpoenaed in ongoing bitcoin lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tech-journalist-subpoenaed-ongoing-bitcoin-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-27T16:53:19.714292Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-15T20:27:55.654825Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-15T20:27:55.482231Z",
"date": "2019-08-27",
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"city": "Miami",
"longitude": -80.19366,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"diy91\">Brendan Sullivan, a journalist at Modern Consensus, received a subpoena for all documents and communications between him and Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and businessman who has claimed to be the creator of bitcoin.</p><p data-block-key=\"g9xnf\">Wright is currently the defendant in a lawsuit brought against him by the estate of David Kleiman, Wright’s late partner. David’s brother, Ira Kleiman, is the executor of the estate and claims Wright attempted to steal his brother’s bitcoin holdings, now worth approximately $10 billion.</p><p data-block-key=\"ujtdw\">Wright agreed to an interview with Sullivan, giving him a scoop on the case before the courts made an announcement of the judge's order. The next day, on Aug. 27, 2019, someone was waiting outside of Sullivan’s home to serve him the subpoena, according to his <a href=\"https://modernconsensus.com/cryptocurrencies/bitcoin/i-got-subpoenaed-in-the-craig-wright-ira-kleiman-6-billion-satoshi-nakamoto-case-and-im-not-giving-them-jack/\">article</a> outlining the events.</p><p data-block-key=\"i4tye\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the subpoena, which Sullivan posted with his article. It orders him to hand over any documents and communications between him and Wright since 2006 (before bitcoin was invented), listing out more than 110 items that count as “documents,” including their encrypted WhatsApp and Signal messages, every social media conversation, interview notes and transcripts, drafts of his article and any relevant documents protected by computer encryption.</p><p data-block-key=\"27i4c\">“I’m a journalist and the court has no right to any of my files, notes, thoughts or personal belongings. They are not getting anything from me,” Sullivan wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"t2ewq\">Sullivan told the Tracker that he refused to attend the deposition hearing scheduled for Sept. 10. His lawyer filed a motion to quash on Sept. 9, arguing that the breadth of documents requested suggests that the subpoena is a fishing expedition with no clear idea how, if at all, the documents are relevant to the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"qfz9x\">The filing also included an affidavit from Sullivan authenticating his article and stating that it truly and accurately reflects his interview with Wright. In addition to asking that the subpoena be quashed, they are asking for Kleiman to cover Sullivan’s legal fees.</p><p data-block-key=\"9edkk\">“I can fight this for years if I need to,” Sullivan told the Tracker. “What I really want is just to have my press freedom back.”</p><p data-block-key=\"znpu7\">On Sept. 20, a judge granted Kleiman’s attorney a 21-day extension to respond to the motion to quash the subpoena against Sullivan. In a joint filling from Wright and Kleiman they state, “The parties have been engaged in extensive settlement negotiations and have reached a non-binding agreement in principle to settle this matter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6i0rv\">If a settlement is reached, Sullivan told the Tracker, it is likely that the subpoena against him would be dropped.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h2ofc\">A portion of a subpoena received by journalist Brendan Sullivan on Aug. 27, 2019, for documents and testimony related to his interviews with Craig Wright, a computer scientist who claimed to be the creator of bitcoin.</p>",
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
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"state": {
"name": "Florida",
"abbreviation": "FL"
},
"updates": [
"(2020-11-13 00:00:00+00:00) Parties in crypto suit drop subpoena of journalist"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Brendan Sullivan (Modern Consensus)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"pending"
],
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},
{
"title": "Subpoenas seeking Illinois-based government watchdog’s communications and documents dropped",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoenas-seeking-illinois-based-government-watchdogs-communications-and-documents-dropped/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-18T17:07:40.585091Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-07-05T18:33:01.827019Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-07-05T18:33:01.716328Z",
"date": "2019-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Effingham County",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"x95o1\">Illinois-based government watchdog blog Edgar County Watchdogs and its co-founder and reporter, Kirk Allen, received subpoenas for communications and documents relating to articles involving an ambulance service operating in Effingham County, Illinois.</p><p data-block-key=\"pwnk9\">As part of a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Lakeside EMS, LLC, against the county, the two Aug. 27, 2019, subpoenas ordered Edgar County Watchdogs and Allen to produce communications or documents exchanged with Lakeside CEO Jerrod Estes, as well as with any “employee or agent” of Lakeside or the county. They also order the turnover of copies of articles written or generated relating to Effingham County, county Board Chairman Jim Niemann or Lakeside.</p><p data-block-key=\"80i3j\">“We wrote several articles about the process which the county used to award the contract to the current emergency service provider: it was done without putting it up for bid and board members have believed conflicts of interest because they have family members working there,” co-founder John Kraft told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “So, basically they’re asking for all of our sources and the information we gave back-and-forth.”</p><p data-block-key=\"48s41\">Allen, who wrote many of the articles, told the Tracker that the only documents he has that fall under the subpoena are ones he received from Effingham County through public records requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"0ejy0\">“They know exactly what I got from the county because I FOIA’ed it. So, why did they waste my time with a subpoena for records they already gave me?” Allen said. “It’s their way of trying to create a legal burden on us as well, because there’s no reason for that subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e69ba\">Allen also noted that Edgar County Watchdogs has been pursuing a Freedom of Information Act violation claim against the county for nearly two years, pressing for the release of documents related to the ambulance service investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"6atxr\">The subpoenas ordered the documents produced by Sept. 16, but Kraft told the Tracker that the group’s attorney, government transparency and media lawyer Matt Topic, filed for an extension of 30 days on compliance.</p><p data-block-key=\"4liu7\">The federal case was dismissed without prejudice on Sept. 11 by U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Illinois Nancy Rosenstengel, and as a result the subpoenas were dropped.</p><p data-block-key=\"os7ho\">Bryan Kibler, the state attorney representing Effingham County, told the Tracker that the case was dismissed pending the results of the state case involving the ambulance service and the county. Kibler said that he would not rule out refiling the subpoenas against the Edgar County Watchdogs and Allen if necessary in the future.</p><p data-block-key=\"5psik\">The Tracker has documented multiple other subpoenas against Edgar County Watchdogs in 2019, including a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-issued-illinois-based-government-watchdogs-communications/\">subpoena for their communications and documents</a> relating to the College of DuPage and a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-issued-contents-illinois-government-watchdogs-dropbox-account/\">subpoena for the group’s Dropbox contents</a>. A motion to quash the former is still pending and the latter was quashed on Feb. 11.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b6zu1\">A portion of a subpoena received by Edgar County Watchdogs for reporting materials</p>",
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Edgar County Watchdogs"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kirk Allen (Edgar County Watchdogs)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
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},
{
"title": "Media barred from public lead water crisis meeting in New Jersey",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/media-barred-public-lead-water-crisis-meeting-new-jersey/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-12T20:16:42.699416Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-21T16:50:24.622202Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-21T16:50:24.506250Z",
"date": "2019-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h3m8x\">The news media was barred from attending a public meeting on Newark, New Jersey’s ongoing lead contamination crisis on Aug. 27, 2019, by Mayor Ras Baraka’s communications team.</p><p data-block-key=\"oa1vf\">The meeting was called to “enlist members of the public as volunteers to canvas city homeowners for their participation in the planned replacement of lead-tainted service lines leading to individual properties,” NJTV News <a href=\"https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/in-closing-newark-meeting-baraka-administration-crosses-swords-with-media-again/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"l9yrv\">Though the mayor’s office had issued a press release in advance of the meeting, when media representatives arrived at Newark City Hall, they were told the press was not invited and were asked to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nnyx\">Mark Bonamo, editor of TAPinto Newark, told NJTV News, “When we showed up at the door, we were generally all shocked and surprised that we were not let in to what we believed was going to be a public meeting in the public’s house: City Hall.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vfq8z\">In a <a href=\"https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/in-closing-newark-meeting-baraka-administration-crosses-swords-with-media-again/\">statement</a>, Newark’s Director of Communications Frank Baraff said that the press was excluded in an effort to “encourag[e] an open dialogue with volunteers” and “so that residents will not shy away from helping us in these efforts.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xdk5k\">Media attorney and Rutgers law professor Bruce Rosen told NJTV News that the decision to exclude the press was unconstitutional: “Constitutionally, it’s a public forum. He invited the public and the media is part of the public. In fact, the media is a representative of the public.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lx8du\">On Aug. 28, Baraka’s administration announced that in the future it would not block the press from meetings about the lead water crisis, TAPinto <a href=\"https://www.tapinto.net/towns/newark/articles/baraka-administration-to-allow-press-access-to-lead-water-meetings\">reported</a>. The statement read, in part, “At future meetings, there will be media availability.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4ws1r\">As Rosen noted to TAPinto, uncertainty about the meaning of “media availability” remains.</p><p data-block-key=\"fm4ze\">The mayor’s office was not immediately available for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTR4FKNL.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"czahd\">Newark's mayor Ras Baraka addresses the media in this 2014 file photo.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Local government: Mayor"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "Man robs and briefly kidnaps NBC affiliate reporter at gunpoint",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-robs-and-briefly-kidnaps-nbc-affiliate-reporter-gunpoint/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-04T16:46:32.624419Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-14T16:02:19.994536Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-14T16:02:19.763972Z",
"date": "2019-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Kennewick",
"longitude": -119.13723,
"latitude": 46.21125,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pwwyp\">A reporter for NBC Right Now in Kennewick, Washington, was robbed and briefly kidnapped at gunpoint while covering a local teachers strike on Aug. 27, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"rnjji\">An undisclosed reporter had set up her video camera in the parking lot of the Kennewick School District ahead of a planned teachers strike, YakTriNews <a href=\"https://www.yaktrinews.com/news/kennewick-police-searching-for-robbery-suspect/1113799854\">reported</a>. At around 5:45 a.m., as she was sitting in her news vehicle waiting for the rally to begin, a man got into the backseat of her car, pointed a gun at her and told her to drive.</p><p data-block-key=\"gpqj0\">She complied, but after driving a few feet the man “got spooked,” NBC Right Now <a href=\"https://www.nbcrightnow.com/top_video/standoff-arrests-at-meadow-park-apartments/video_1c425658-c934-11e9-bfe1-33776c1ac0fc.html\">reported</a>. Kennewick Police Lt. Aaron Clem <a href=\"https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article234434252.html\">told</a> the Tri-City Herald that the man told her to stop the car, then got out of it and ran across the street and toward some apartments.</p><p data-block-key=\"h40ge\">YakTriNews <a href=\"https://www.yaktrinews.com/news/kennewick-police-searching-for-robbery-suspect/1113799854\">reported</a> that the man took the journalist’s microphone with him when he fled. NBC Right Now <a href=\"https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/police-arrest-suspect-in-monday-burglary-and-attempted-rape-tuesday/article_64de496a-c8ff-11e9-a74a-57115efb4f2a.html\">reported</a> that she was uninjured.</p><p data-block-key=\"mnuiv\">A 19-year-old identified as Karlo Medina was arrested in connection with the incident later that day, and has been charged with first-degree robbery and second degree kidnapping, in addition to burglary and attempted rape in an unrelated incident the day before.</p></div>",
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"status_of_seized_equipment": "unknown",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"links": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "vehicle"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Washington",
"abbreviation": "WA"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-07-07 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for kidnapping, robbing Washington state reporter"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified reporter 1 (KNDU)"
],
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},
{
"title": "BuzzFeed reporter receives subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-reporter-receives-subpoena-ongoing-unsworth-musk-defamation-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-10-01T18:55:36.546358Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-28T18:07:53.534849Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-28T18:07:53.423430Z",
"date": "2019-08-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"i2f5p\">Ryan Mac, a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News, was issued his first subpoena in the unfolding case between caver Vernon Unsworth and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Aug. 26, 2019. Mac subsequently received a second deposition subpoena, bringing the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?state=California&targeted_institutions=BuzzFeed+News&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">total number of subpoenas issued against the outlet and its reporter to five</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eck3b\">Unsworth is suing Musk for defamation, alleging that the tech executive repeatedly labeled him a pedophile without evidence on Twitter and in communications with Mac, the latter of which were published by the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"dwiwx\">Lawyers for Musk previously subpoenaed the outlet twice during the discovery phase, and lawyers for Unsworth did so once. BuzzFeed provided some of the requested documents while objecting to others on First Amendment and reporter’s privilege grounds. The judge sustained the outlet’s objections.</p><p data-block-key=\"48avg\">Musk was the first to file a subpoena demanding reporter Mac appear at a Sept. 11 deposition in San Francisco. About a week later, Unsworth’s counsel issued its own subpoena against Mac, effectively joining Musk’s. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the <a href=\"/documents/14/e80f05e7-9605-4e47-b345-a678bbc1965f.pdf\">motion to quash</a> both subpoenas for Mac’s deposition.</p><p data-block-key=\"uqd6j\">According to the filing, the cover letter on the subpoena stated, “Mr. Musk does not intend to seek testimony from you that would be protected by the United States or California Constitutions or any other reporter’s privilege.” The letter did not, however, state what information Musk did hope to obtain by questioning Mac.</p><p data-block-key=\"6r3ta\">Mac’s counsel argued that Musk’s attempt to depose the reporter was part of a campaign of harassment and intimidation.</p><p data-block-key=\"k4w7n\">“It is clear from Musk’s prior conduct that he would put Mac through the ordeal of a hostile deposition for no reason other than to retaliate against Mac for his critical reporting,” the filing said. “The deposition subpoenas must be quashed to avoid this oppressive outcome.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qe4d8\">The filing argued that Musk is trying to deflect blame for his comments about Unsworth onto Mac, claiming that because Musk wrote the phrase “off the record” in the unsolicited email he sent to Mac, he couldn’t reasonably foresee that the statements he made would be published and therefore cannot be held liable.</p><p data-block-key=\"pcpmq\">Mac’s attorneys argued that, as Mac never agreed to keep the emails off the record, their contents were fair game for publication.</p><p data-block-key=\"6je0z\">According to the filing, Musk’s attorneys were asked to voluntarily withdraw the subpoena, but they declined to do so.</p><p data-block-key=\"g43dv\">On Sept. 9, Michael Lifrak, an attorney representing Musk, emailed BuzzFeed Attorney Kate Bolger offering to withdraw the deposition subpoena if the outlet would agree to a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition, in which one or more individuals from an entity are questioned about set topics. The topics proposed by Lifrak included BuzzFeed’s guidelines on publishing off-the-record and on-background information, pre-publication review process and editorial process and procedures for predicting article popularity.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4deh\">Bolger responded over email, “This request calls for privileged matters related to BuzzFeed’s newsgathering materials and is, indeed, far broader than the request to Mr. Mac. It is not worth exploring.”</p><p data-block-key=\"33dv3\">Mac’s attorneys filed a motion to quash both deposition subpoenas on Sept. 13, arguing that any information that could be gained legally is already available to the parties and everything else is protected under California’s reporter’s privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"01ioe\">A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/MacBuzzFeed4.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"w9rry\">A portion of the first of two deposition subpoenas sent to BuzzFeed reporter Ryan Mac as part of a defamation suit between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and caver Vernon Unsworth.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "other testimony",
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2019-10-28 00:00:00+00:00) Judge quashes Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s deposition subpoena"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ryan Mac (BuzzFeed News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"quashed"
],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "New York Times reports that conservative operatives are compiling dossiers on journalists",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-times-reports-conservative-operatives-are-compiling-dossiers-journalists/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-28T13:14:38.705067Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-07-05T13:29:41.395065Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-07-05T13:29:41.295621Z",
"date": "2019-08-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p3sj9\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/us/politics/trump-allies-news-media.html\">New York Times article</a> published on Aug. 25, 2019, a “loose network of conservative operatives” supporting President Donald Trump have compiled dossiers containing potentially embarrassing information on journalists from outlets deemed “hostile” to the president.</p><p data-block-key=\"gu76d\">The Times said it spoke with four people familiar with the operation. According to these sources, operatives dig through the social media histories of personnel employed at top news outlets—regardless of their rank or actual influence—in order to publicize information that could discredit the outlet as a whole.</p><p data-block-key=\"y12r6\">“The operation has compiled social media posts from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and stored images of the posts that can be publicized even if the user deletes them, said the people familiar with the effort,” The Times wrote. “One claimed that the operation had unearthed potentially ‘fireable’ information on ‘several hundred’ people.”</p><p data-block-key=\"akxeg\">The Times credited this operation with releases about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The Times, writing that the information was publicized “in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his reelection prospects.”</p><p data-block-key=\"v65nm\">Sources pointed to Arthur Schwartz as a central player in the operation. Schwartz, a conservative consultant who is a friend and informal adviser to Donald Trump Jr., has previously tweeted <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1049363965858308096\">alluding to knowledge of</a> or <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1164592515464531971\">asserting involvement with</a> such dossiers on journalists.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I’m done bashing CNN for now. They should spend some time reflecting on the hypocrisy of their attacks on Trump admin folks — attacks that are usually based on old tweets & Facebook posts. I’m told that there are files on 35+ CNN reporters that will be deployed if they don’t.</p>— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1049363965858308096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 8, 2018</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=\"ah07k\">The Times acknowledged in its article that it is not possible to independently assess the claims about the quantity or potential significance of the dossiers, and that “some involved in the operation have histories of bluster and exaggeration.”</p><p data-block-key=\"s7i5q\">However, as The Times wrote, the release of information about the operation and its goals may itself be an effort to intimidate journalists or their employers.</p><p data-block-key=\"bkj32\">“Some reporters have been warned that they or their news organizations could be targets,” The Times wrote, “creating the impression that the campaign intended in part to deter them from aggressive coverage as well as to inflict punishment after an article has been published.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t95e7\">The White House press office told The Times that neither Trump nor anyone in the White House was involved in or aware of the operation, and that neither the White House nor the Republican National Committee was providing it funding.</p><p data-block-key=\"mlw4y\">Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said in a statement that using these techniques as a warning against and retribution for pursuing coverage critical of the president escalates the president’s campaign against a free press.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9p4w\">“They are seeking to harass and embarrass anyone affiliated with the leading news organizations that are asking tough questions and bringing uncomfortable truths to light,” Mr. Sulzberger said in The Times. “The goal of this campaign is clearly to intimidate journalists from doing their job… The Times will not be intimidated or silenced.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"pat7f\">A New York Times article says that conservative operatives are compiling dossiers on the social media history of some journalists in an effort to discredit them or their media organizations.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"The New York Times"
],
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"Chilling Statement"
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},
{
"title": "CBC National correspondent denied entry into United States",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbc-national-correspondent-denied-entry-into-united-states/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-09T21:18:09.033278Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-22T19:51:00.453537Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-22T19:51:00.389806Z",
"date": "2019-08-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fbmb3\">Carolyn Dunn, a national correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was denied entry into the United States on Aug. 25, 2019, according to her social media account.</p><p data-block-key=\"5xc0o\">The reporter was traveling to Washington, D.C., to fill in for a colleague when she was refused entry by a border agent, who cited her as “imported labor.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ty69j\">“Guys, I’ve been refused entry into US. Sections 212 (a) (7) (A) (i) (I). Me going to DC is ‘entry into the labor’ market and I’d be ‘imported labor.’ I’ve never been pulled aside at a US border let alone refused entry,” Dunn <a href=\"https://twitter.com/carolyndunncbc/status/1165717226500120576?s=21https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/imported-labor-canadian-journalist-for-cbc-refused-entry-to-us\">tweeted</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Guys, I’ve been refused entry into US. Sections 212 (a) (7) (A) (i) (I). Me going to DC is “entry into the labor” market and I’d be “imported labor”. I’ve never been pulled aside at a US border let alone refused entry.</p>— carolyn dunn (@carolyndunncbc) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/carolyndunncbc/status/1165717226500120576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 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>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"95oht\">Dunn also shared a screenshot on her feed of the Department of State’s website that read “Citizens for Canada and Bermuda do not generally require visas to enter the United States as members of the press or media working in the United States.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hbpu3\">Dunn was later allowed entry into the United States: She <a href=\"https://twitter.com/carolyndunncbc/status/1166079556480053250\">tweeted</a> the following day, “Second time’s the charm. Will board for a US bound flight soon.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7y4qq\">Dunn did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"xhbem\">Customs and Border Protection also did not respond to the Tracker’s request for comment as of press time, but a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement to the <a href=\"https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/imported-labor-canadian-journalist-for-cbc-refused-entry-to-us\">Washington Examiner</a> in Aug. 2019, “All travelers to the U.S. must possess valid travel documents. For foreign nationals this includes a current passport and the appropriate visa for their intended purpose of travel. For example, if a Canadian reporter is seeking to enter the U.S. to engage in that profession, that reporter must apply for and be granted an I visa.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lk8av\">The News Photographers Association of Canada expressed concern over the incident <a href=\"https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/news-photographers-association-of-canada-reacts-to-refusal-of-entry-for-canadian-journalist-868891123.html\">in a statement</a>. “It’s a disturbing trend,” NPAC vice president Ryan McLeod said. “The members of the Canadian press have always had a mostly cordial relationship across borders. It doesn’t matter if it’s television/print/web, freelance or staff; citizens of Canada should not and do not require visas to enter the United States. While Ms. Carolyn Dunn was eventually allowed to board a flight into the United States, it speaks volumes about the current climate.”</p></div>",
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"border_point": "Washington, D.C.",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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"Canada"
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{
"title": "CBP agent asks British journalist entering U.S. if he’s part of the ‘fake news media’",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbp-agent-asks-british-journalist-entering-us-if-hes-part-of-the-fake-news-media/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-23T21:08:10.525950Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-22T19:51:33.962075Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-22T19:51:33.889268Z",
"date": "2019-08-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ztkfm\">British journalist James Dyer said a Customs and Border Protection agent asked him if he was “part of the ‘fake news media’” as he passed through U.S. immigration in Los Angeles on Aug. 22, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"wnu46\">Dyer, the digital editor-in-chief at Empire Magazine and host of Pilot TV Podcast, <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/23/james-dyer-empire-cbp-agent-lax-fake-news/\">told The Washington Post</a> that he arrived at LAX from London in the afternoon en route to Anaheim, California, to cover Disney’s D23 Expo.</p><p data-block-key=\"uzybk\">In a long thread posted on Twitter shortly after the incident, Dyer said that the CBP agent at passport control saw that he was traveling on a journalist visa and began a tirade, questioning Dyer’s work history and legitimacy.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffmx9\">“Just went through LAX immigration,” Dyer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jamescdyer/status/1164647008931667971?s=21\">wrote</a>. “Presented my journalist visa and was stopped by the CBP agent and accused of being part of the ‘fake news media.’”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wow. Just... wow. Just went through LAX immigration. Presented my journalist visa and was stopped by the CBP agent and accused of being part of the ‘fake news media’.</p>— James Dyer (@jamescdyer) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jamescdyer/status/1164647008931667971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 22, 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=\"xwnei\">Dyer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jamescdyer/status/1164647011615989761\">continued</a>, “He wanted to know if I’d ever worked for CNN or MSNBC or other outlets that are ‘spreading lies to the American people.’ He aggressively told me that journalists are liars and are attacking their democracy.” Dyer noted that the entire exchange passed within a couple minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"00xme\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jamescdyer/status/1164662896141512704\">subsequent</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jamescdyer/status/1164687908529270784\">replies</a>, Dyer clarified that the agent did not attempt to detain him or send him to secondary screening, and that he did not feel that he had been “mistreated or detained in any way.” Dyer wrote that he did not get the agent’s name and had not filed a complaint.</p><p data-block-key=\"kj57z\">CBP Los Angeles <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CBPLosAngeles/status/1164739073900085248\">tweeted at Dyer</a> acknowledging that they were aware of the incident. “We strongly advise you to file a formal complaint,” the official account wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ssyrl\">In a statement to The Post, a CBP spokesperson said, “All CBP officers take an Oath of Office, a solemn pledge that conveys great responsibility and one that should be carried out at all times with the utmost professionalism.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ffjs3\">“Inappropriate comments or behavior are not tolerated, and do not reflect our values of vigilance, integrity and professionalism,” the statement said.</p><p data-block-key=\"fgydq\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-news-reporter-aggressively-questioned-about-reporting-passport-checkpoint/\">documented</a> a similar case in February 2019, involving Australian BuzzFeed reporter David Mack. Mack tweeted that at passport control at JFK airport, a CBP agent “grilled” him for 10 minutes about the outlet’s reporting on Rober Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s connections with Russia.</p><p data-block-key=\"yn1ug\">BuzzFeed <a href=\"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/customs-border-patrol-apology-buzzfeed-reporter-trump\">reported</a> that a few days after the incident, CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs, Andrew Meehan, apologize to Mack directly in a telephone call.</p><p data-block-key=\"9k8d6\">As of publication, Dyer had not responded to requests for comment from the Tracker.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"p6zh6\">While entering the U.S. through Los Angeles, California, from London, British journalist James Dyer said he was questioned whether he was part of ‘fake news.’</p>",
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"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": "no",
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"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
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"United Kingdom"
],
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],
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{
"title": "BuzzFeed receives third subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/buzzfeed-receives-third-subpoena-ongoing-unsworth-musk-defamation-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-10-01T18:43:57.296764Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-22T13:50:04.923754Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-22T13:50:04.759793Z",
"date": "2019-08-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"w87bt\">BuzzFeed News was issued a third subpoena in the ongoing case between caver Vernon Unsworth and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Aug. 21, 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=\"kzeo4\">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=\"bjvt3\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the subpoena, which was the second filed by counsel for Musk and the third it received overall. The subpoena ordered BuzzFeed to produce, in part, a copy of the version of the outlet’s Standards and Ethics Guide posted on buzzfeednews.com between August and September 2018. BuzzFeed, while maintaining its objections to the request, complied.</p><p data-block-key=\"rf3l6\">The subpoena also demanded all documents relating to the decisions around publishing the contents of Musk’s emails to senior technology reporter Ryan Mac and to amending the outlet’s ethics guide after the article was published. It also requested copies of all policies governing the publication of ‘off the record’ or ‘on background’ conversations.</p><p data-block-key=\"253cm\">BuzzFeed filed objections to the subpoena on Sept. 6 on the grounds that the requested documents were irrelevant, protected by various privileges (including the reporter’s privilege) and would be unduly burdensome to search for and review.</p><p data-block-key=\"xkcgm\">The outlet did, however, comply with Musk’s demand for copies of documents and communications produced in response to Unsworth’s subpoena.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"kuy9m\">A portion of the third subpoena received by BuzzFeed in August as part of the defamation case between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the caver Vernon Unsworth.</p>",
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2019-10-28 00:00:00+00:00) Court quashes Elon Musk’s second subpoena for BuzzFeed documents"
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"BuzzFeed News"
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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{
"title": "Subpoena for Iowa journalist’s reporting materials in lottery rigging case dropped",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-for-iowa-journalists-reporting-materials-in-lottery-rigging-case-dropped/",
"first_published_at": "2019-09-20T16:23:11.471374Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:51:16.778035Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:51:16.690963Z",
"date": "2019-08-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Iowa City",
"longitude": -91.53017,
"latitude": 41.66113,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7bnc8\">Iowa journalist Perry Beeman received a subpoena for unpublished work product in connection to his book, “The $80 Billion Gamble,” on Aug. 16, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"czt6k\">The books tells the story of lottery security contractor Eddie Tipton, who rigged number-drawing programs on computers to win jackpots for himself, friends and family in several states, The Associated Press <a href=\"https://www.apnews.com/8340a865ad4b4c13bbaa70380fe64ba1\">reported</a>. Larry Dawson, a jackpot winner, has sued the Iowa Lottery and Multi-State Lottery Association, arguing that Tipton’s scheme reduced his prize by millions.</p><p data-block-key=\"vetta\">As part of the lawsuit, attorneys representing Dawson ordered Beeman to turn over by Sept. 16 all of his correspondence with former Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich—with whom Beeman co-authored the book—since January 2018, including notes related to four interviews they conducted last year.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvwm5\">Beeman did not respond to the subpoena before it was withdrawn on Aug. 27, but he told the AP he likely would have fought it.</p><p data-block-key=\"jgi3n\">“I’m happy that he’s withdrawn the subpoena,” Beeman told the AP. “I think the information was privileged. The Iowa Supreme Court has been pretty clear that the type of information sought was off limits.”</p><p data-block-key=\"w5y53\">Blake Hanson, one of the attorneys representing Dawson, confirmed to the AP that the subpoena had been withdrawn, but offered no explanation for the decision. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in December.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"01qxq\">An Iowa Powerball drawing manager performs a test run of equipment in this 1998 file photo.</p>",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
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],
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"Perry Beeman (Independent)"
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"dropped"
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},
{
"title": "Oregon county official accuses local newspaper of criminal conduct",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-county-official-accuses-local-newspaper-criminal-conduct/",
"first_published_at": "2020-02-11T16:29:52.372473Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:47:55.544469Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:47:55.473348Z",
"date": "2019-08-14",
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"city": "Malheur County",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r4r6n\">An Oregon county official accused a local newspaper of criminal harassment and requested a formal investigation into what the newspaper defended as normal reporting practices.</p><p data-block-key=\"pb12b\">The Malheur Enterprise reported that it had spent months investigating State Rep. Greg Smith and his work as the contract director of the Malheur County Economic Development Department.</p><p data-block-key=\"0e6ug\">Enterprise Editor and Publisher Les Zaitz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Smith and his agency have been uncooperative with the newspaper’s attempts to report on its activities and projects for well over a year.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hd68\">Following the publication of <a href=\"https://www.malheurenterprise.com/posts/5981/malheur-county-lured-company-to-ontario-with-tax-break-promise-then-doesnt-deliver\">an article</a> on the department, a county attorney made a formal request to the local sheriff’s office to investigate the Enterprise reporters. In <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6270668-Important-Notice-Response-to-the-Malheur.html\">a statement</a> published on Aug. 14, 2019, Smith wrote that he and his staff had been “subjected to endless phone calls, hostile emails at all hours of the day and unwelcome visits,” and accused the Enterprise of pursuing a “vendetta” against him and his office.</p><p data-block-key=\"lcfen\">Sheriff Brian Wolfe confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a county official had asked him to investigate Smith’s allegations</p><p data-block-key=\"jt1zx\">Wolfe told an Enterprise reporter that the newspaper should examine the state crime of “telephonic harassment,” <a href=\"https://www.malheurenterprise.com/posts/5999/malheur-county-officials-ask-sheriff-to-assess-whether-enterprise-reporters-broke-laws\">according to the outlet</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"rwc46\"><a href=\"https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/166.090\">According to state law</a>, “a telephone caller commits the crime of telephonic harassment if the caller intentionally harasses or annoys another person” by repeatedly calling or leaving messages at a number they have been forbidden to use. Telephonic harassment is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum $2,500 fine.</p><p data-block-key=\"xi088\">In a statement <a href=\"https://www.malheurenterprise.com/posts/6498/from-the-publisher-enterprise-accused-of-criminal-conduct-again\">published</a> by the Enterprise, Zaitz defended the staff’s reporting activities as professional and customary. Zaitz also said the newspaper’s staff was alarmed by the prospect of a criminal investigation or search warrant on the Enterprise’s offices.</p><p data-block-key=\"i3qon\">“We are a small, independently owned news source trying to hold public officials accountable,” Zaitz said. “Rather than provide information and truth, local officials appear more interested in criminalizing a profession protected by the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qsufo\">The Enterprise reported that Smith’s staff had been instructed to turn over email correspondence with the newspaper to the sheriff’s office.</p><p data-block-key=\"j0p1g\">Sheriff Wolfe confirmed to the Tracker that his office did not open a formal investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"qm76f\">“We looked into the allegations and we did not open an investigation because there were no elements of a crime,” Wolfe said.</p><p data-block-key=\"d9ytb\">Smith did not respond to request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"vynuf\"><i>Editor's Note: This article and update have been edited to reflect comment from Malheur Editor and Publisher Les Zaitz.</i></p></div>",
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"name": "Oregon",
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"(2019-12-14 11:28:00+00:00) Oregon county official again accuses local newspaper of criminal conduct"
],
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{
"title": "Montgomery County Commission sued for ban on livestreaming chamber proceedings",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/montgomery-county-commission-sued-for-ban-on-livestreaming-chamber-proceedings/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-05T17:15:47.286707Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-21T16:51:06.774673Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-21T16:51:06.695010Z",
"date": "2019-08-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Clarksville",
"longitude": -87.35945,
"latitude": 36.52977,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a3uif\">On Aug. 12, 2019, the Montgomery County Commission in Clarksville, Tennessee, passed a <a href=\"https://tcog.info/files/2019/08/Montgomery-County-resolution-for-meeting-decorum-aug-12-2019.pdf\">resolution</a> banning live video streaming inside its chambers, stating: “No live broadcast from within the Commission Chambers of its proceedings in whole or in part is allowed. A simultaneous broadcast of the proceedings is available on the internet at ‘YouTube’ and the same is preserved there for an extended period.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qg9o3\">The resolution allowed livestreaming by news professionals, with the <a href=\"https://www.wkms.org/post/tennessee-commission-bans-public-livestreaming-meetings\">caveat that the media</a> gave prior notice and had approval from the Montgomery County government.</p><p data-block-key=\"ihkbl\">Two days after the resolution passed, commissioner Jason Knight, along with two co-plaintiffs, one “whose sole employment is livestreaming local government meetings, including county commission meetings in Montgomery County,” filed a <a href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/s/o9bmday7m8df8nr/001%20complaint.pdf?dl=0\">complaint</a> alleging the resolution was a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The complaint read, in part, that, “the government apparently believes . . . that operating an ‘official’ YouTube obviates the need for citizen live streamers. This is the modern equivalent of insisting that a State-run newspaper obviates the need for local press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8opvx\">“The lawsuit was initiated because seemingly the First Amendment rights and the Tennessee Open Meetings Act were violated,” Knight told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"czp5o\">On Sept. 10, Montgomery County filed a motion to dismiss, which the <a href=\"https://casetext.com/case/knight-v-montgomery-cnty-1?q=\">United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee denied</a> on Jun. 30, 2020, holding that Knight’s First Amendment claim was valid.</p><p data-block-key=\"c59dy\">On Jan. 4, 2021, the court held a discovery dispute conference with the parties involved. No further updates have been made publicly available.<br/></p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Tennessee",
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},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
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"Local government: Legislature"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
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},
{
"title": "Fast Company subpoenaed for identifying information on confidential source",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fast-company-subpoenaed-identifying-information-confidential-source/",
"first_published_at": "2019-12-18T18:26:55.842338Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T18:48:13.690325Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T18:48:13.603536Z",
"date": "2019-08-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9acu0\">Business magazine Fast Company was subpoenaed on Aug. 9, 2019, for communications and documents relating to a 2017 article concerning the arrest of a tech investor in London.</p><p data-block-key=\"7pjjc\">Venture capital investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist Shervin Pishevar was arrested in May 2017 in the United Kingdom on suspicion of sexual assault. According to a memorandum of law filed by Pishevar’s attorneys and obtained by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Pishevar was released on bail the following day. City of London Police confirmed that July that they would take no further action against him due to insufficient evidence.</p><p data-block-key=\"udhm1\">In June 2017, Pishevar, known for his investments in companies like Uber and AirBnB, obtained an injunction in England to prevent UK publication The Sun from publishing his name in any future articles about the incident, according to the memo.</p><p data-block-key=\"vanb2\">A confidential source reached out to Fast Company senior news editor Marcus Baram in New York, alleging that they possessed a copy of Pishevar’s arrest report. Baram met with the individual in Washington, D.C., in September 2017 and received a copy of the alleged police report.</p><p data-block-key=\"haag0\">Fast Company published an article containing a statement from Pishevar confirming his arrest, as well as details provided from the source and report in November. The police report was later proven to be fabricated.</p><p data-block-key=\"ym9fl\">In early August, lawyers representing Pishevar filed an application for discovery by a foreign party to serve Fast Company — through Mansueto, the legal entity controlling the magazine — with a subpoena to produce information. The memo stated the information was for use in “contemplated criminal and civil proceedings in England,” or possible future court cases.</p><p data-block-key=\"kbb5i\">The application was granted by a federal judge for the Southern District of New York on Aug. 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"ng5lt\">The subpoena, obtained by the Tracker, asked for all documents and communications relating to the forged police report, particularly any information that could be used to determine the identity of the forger and anyone who helped distribute the report. Fast Company largely complied with the subpoena, with lawyers for both parties exchanging emails in September and October.</p><p data-block-key=\"09kqw\">Fast Company did not, however, provide information that would have identified Baram’s confidential source, stating that Baram claimed reporter’s privilege under New York’s shield law. Lucas Bento, an attorney for Pishevar, acknowledged in an email to Fast Company’s general counsel Alison Anthoine that such identifying information was the central aim of the subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"qrkou\">“While we recognize the source’s name is not being redacted in any of the documents, can you please provide us further information about the individual who distributed the forged police report to Mr. Baram,” Bento wrote, “including his or her name or alias, contact information, Signal contact information (including screen name and number), or other identifying information (such as gender, race, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, glasses, or dress).”</p><p data-block-key=\"txj6h\">Bento also threatened to pursue a court-ordered deposition of Baram if Fast Company did not provide the identifying information voluntarily. In subsequent emails, Anthoine provided information about the individual whom the source said provided them the report, but not about the source.</p><p data-block-key=\"tr5dh\">Bento followed through on the threat to pursue testimony and documents from Baram, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tech-investor-attempts-compel-us-journalist-identify-confidential-source/\">filing an application for additional discovery</a> on Oct. 31, 2019. Attorneys for Baram filed a memo in opposition to the application on Dec. 4.</p><p data-block-key=\"hy9vs\"><i>Editor's Note: This article was updated to reflect that Shervin Pishevar confirmed his arrest to Fast Company.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qnft3\">A portion of the subpoena for documents from Fast Company on behalf of tech investor Shervin Pishevar</p>",
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{
"title": "Wisconsin think tank sues governor for leaving its news service off media advisory list",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wisconsin-think-tank-sues-governor-leaving-its-news-service-media-advisory-list/",
"first_published_at": "2020-01-31T20:03:32.499693Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-21T16:51:48.786549Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-21T16:51:48.688942Z",
"date": "2019-08-06",
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"city": "Madison",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pydxt\">The MacIver Institute for Public Policy, a Wisconsin-based think tank, sued Governor Tony Evers on Aug. 6, 2019, alleging that his office discriminated against MacIver’s News Service when excluding it from the administration’s media advisory list.</p><p data-block-key=\"50w1x\">According to the complaint, the MacIver News Service and its reporters are credentialed by the Wisconsin State Legislature to work as part of the Capitol press corps, and regularly interview state legislators and public officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"2nx2n\">The News Service was on the previous administration’s media list, the institute’s lawyer Daniel Suhr told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. When Evers took office, News Director Bill Osmulski and his former colleague Matt Kittle asked to be added to the new list. According to the complaint, they received no response and were never added to the list of approximately 1,000 local, state and national reporters and outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"l45yv\">The complaint also details the barring of MacIver reporters from a press briefing on Feb. 28, 2019, to which 26 members of the Capitol press corps had been invited. Kittle and Osmulski attempted to RSVP and arrived at the designated time, but were not permitted to attend as they were not on the invitee list.</p><p data-block-key=\"h5f0i\">Suhr told the Tracker that on April 4 he sent a letter to Evers’ office stating that the administration had violated the News Service’s First Amendment Rights and asking for the reasoning behind excluding the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"4xleh\">A few weeks later, the governor’s legal counsel responded that Evers’ communication’s office “invites some journalists to limited access events, such as exclusive interviews, on a case-by-case basis using neutral criteria, namely newspaper circulation, radio listenership, and TV viewership.”</p><p data-block-key=\"w9veg\">The News Service subsequently filed a public records request, Suhr said, seeking any documentation outlining the “neutral criteria” used by Evers’ staff. According to the complaint, Evers’ staff denied the request based on attorney-client privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hinw\">The MacIver Institute then filed their lawsuit against Governor Evers in August, alleging he violated its staffers’ constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of the press and equal access. The Institute also motioned for a preliminary injunction from the court that would force Evers’ office to add the News Service to the media advisory list before a ruling is reached in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"6wguq\">In its write-up of the suit, The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/98c5eb27e33248e78e3f8b62e4eb072a\">reported</a> that governors from both parties have held similar briefings in the past, and that such briefings have typically been open only to certain invited reporters, not the entire press corps.</p><p data-block-key=\"nx6t7\">The AP also published a statement by Evers’ spokeswoman, Melissa Baldauff, that Evers believes strongly in a “fair and unbiased press corps” and remains committed to openness and transparency.</p><p data-block-key=\"ogy1c\">In a brief in opposition to the injunction, Evers’ counsel argued that the existing media list is comprised of journalists and news organizations that “meet criteria which focus on whether the requestor is a bona fide press organization,” and that the MacIver News Service does not.</p><p data-block-key=\"n0oyd\">A memo dated June 26 from the governor’s Office of Legal Counsel was filed alongside the brief, outlining the criteria used to determine whether a journalist or outlet is “bona fide.” The factors listed are based on the standards used by the <a href=\"http://presscredentials.legis.wisconsin.gov/\">Wisconsin Capitol Correspondents Board</a> and the <a href=\"https://www.dailypress.senate.gov/?page_id=70\">US Congress</a>, and include in part:</p><ul><li data-block-key=\"6fmjj\">Is the petitioner employed by or affiliated with an organization whose principal business is news dissemination?</li><li data-block-key=\"ge0zl\">Is the petitioner a bona fide correspondent of repute in their profession, and do they and their employing organizations exhibit the following characteristics?</li><li data-block-key=\"5qs8l\">Both avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest;</li><li data-block-key=\"ywiij\">Both resist pressures from advertisers, donors, or any other special interests to influence coverage;</li><li data-block-key=\"lncit\">Is the petitioner or its employing organization engaged in any lobbying, paid advocacy, advertising, publicity or promotion work for any individual, political party, corporation or organization?</li></ul><p data-block-key=\"v0lk1\">The brief asserts that the Governor’s office concluded that the MacIver News Service does not meet these criteria.</p><p data-block-key=\"82d5w\">“The MacIver Institute is not principally a news organization. On its website, it characterizes itself as ‘a Wisconsin-based think tank that promotes free markets, individual freedom, personal responsibility and limited government,’” the brief reads. “The organization’s ‘news’ branch makes no effort to distinguish itself from the overall organization mission.”</p><p data-block-key=\"s1f95\">In response to these claims, Suhr told the Tracker that the MacIver Institute is a 501(c)3 and therefore legally barred from engaging in political activity, and the Institute is not registered as a political lobbyist. Suhr asserted that news with a perspective has become commonplace in the new media environment, and doesn’t inherently delegitimize the reporting such outlets produce.</p><p data-block-key=\"0hkqm\">“When government sets up criteria for media, it’s easy to default to this old-school, traditional criteria, to impose requirements like ‘broadcast to a certain number of households,’ or to require that you be a print news outlet,” Shur said, referencing <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nevada-judges-orders-online-journalist-reveal-sources-says-not-protected-shield-law/\">the case of Sam Toll</a> in Nevada. “To some extent what the governor’s office has done here is they defaulted to criteria that were designed for an old media age, and I think they did that to justify their decision after the fact to exclude my client.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dy8nj\">According to the complaint, if the governor’s office had adopted the criteria set by the state legislature, MacIver’s journalists would have qualified as they are already credentialed for the Capitol press corps.</p><p data-block-key=\"5v4ow\">“The new neutral criteria are no salvation: they were not developed openly, are not applied equally, do not permit an opportunity for journalists to show their bona fides, exclude legitimate news outlets besides MacIver, and violate the Constitution,” the complaint states.</p><p data-block-key=\"r4ufn\">The Governor’s office did not respond to the Tracker’s calls or emailed requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"55zfz\">First Amendment experts <a href=\"https://apnews.com/98c5eb27e33248e78e3f8b62e4eb072a\">told the AP</a> that MacIver appears to have a strong case, drawing a parallel between MacIver’s exclusion and President Donald Trump’s attempt to bar CNN reporter <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-cnn-reporter-jim-acostas-press-credentials-and-falsely-accuses-him-manhandling-intern/\">Jim Acosta</a>. Neither the attempt to ban Acosta in 2018 nor the White House’s attempt to suspend correspondent<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-correspondents-press-pass-reporter-alleges-retaliation/\">Brian Karem</a> in 2019 were upheld.</p><p data-block-key=\"2catp\">Robert Dreschel, a media law expert and journalism professor at UW-Madison, said it appears Evers’ office had no standards or guidance in place when MacIver was denied access. “That’s very troublesome,” Dreschel said.</p><p data-block-key=\"dpqik\">Shur told the Tracker that he and his clients are still awaiting a ruling on their motion for a preliminary injunction, and that a tentative trial date has been set for early 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"yossa\">“This case isn’t just important to MacIver, it’s not just important to journalists: it’s important to all of us in America because we all have a stake in a healthy First Amendment and we all have an interest in ensuring an active, vigilant press corps that insists on the transparency and accountability we need from our government to make sure that our democracy functions.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vaz0m\">Tony Evers speaks at a rally on the eve of his 2018 election as governor of Wisconsin. A think tank has sued the governor's office for leaving its news service off Evers' media advisory list.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Wisconsin",
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},
"updates": [
"(2021-12-10 12:11:00+00:00) Wisconsin think tank appeal denied by Supreme Court, keeping news service off Gov. media list",
"(2020-03-31 11:26:00+00:00) Federal judge rules Wisconsin gov can bar think tank’s news service"
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],
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},
{
"title": "White House suspends correspondent’s press pass, reporter alleges retaliation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-correspondents-press-pass-reporter-alleges-retaliation/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-08T16:20:40.033820Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T15:50:54.104336Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T15:50:53.951480Z",
"date": "2019-08-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r3fbn\">Brian Karem, a White House correspondent for Playboy and political analyst for CNN, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BrianKarem/status/1157430193788784645\">tweeted</a> that beginning on Aug. 5, 2019, his press pass would be suspended for 30 days.</p><p data-block-key=\"axtgb\">Karem received an email from White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham at around 5 p.m. the Friday before the suspension went into effect notifying him of the “preliminary decision,” citing his actions at President Donald Trump’s social media summit the previous month, The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/08/03/reporter-says-white-house-suspended-his-credentials-an-attempt-stifle-free-press/\">reported</a>. At a press event in the Rose Garden that day, Karem had a heated exchange with former White House aide and radio host Sebastian Gorka.</p><p data-block-key=\"0f9gq\">Gorka has had at least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-white-house-aide-seb-gorka-shoves-mediaite-reporter-cpac/\">one other altercation with the media</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"jn3iy\">Karem wrote in an <a href=\"https://www.playboy.com/read/don-t-rock-the-boat-or-you-will-lose-access-1\">article</a> for Playboy that the move to pull his press pass was actually in retaliation for him “rock[ing] the boat” and “ask[ing] hard questions” over the last several weeks.</p><p data-block-key=\"avu86\">“They’re claiming [the reason is] something that happened 21 days ago. I’m there every day. If this was an issue, it should’ve been brought to my attention long before now,” Karem told the Post.</p><p data-block-key=\"vne2l\">Playboy and Karem have retained First Amendment attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr., who successfully represented CNN and Jim Acosta when <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-cnn-reporter-jim-acostas-press-credentials-and-falsely-accuses-him-manhandling-intern/\">Acosta’s credentials were suspended</a> in November 2018.</p><p data-block-key=\"niwat\">In a <a href=\"https://www.gibsondunn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Karem-White-House-Letter.pdf\">response and appeal to Grisham</a> dated Aug. 5, Boutrous noted that in the letter to Karem, Grisham acknowledged that the White House had not issued any “explicit rules… to govern behavior by members of the press at White House press events.” Citing multiple instances where other attendees at the press event in July engaged in similar behavior to Karem’s but were not censured, Boutrous argued that the suspension was “arbitrary and unfair.”</p><p data-block-key=\"wj7p0\">Boutrous additionally highlighted that Karem had reached out to the press office multiple times to discuss the incident, but the first meeting was canceled and subsequent emails ended without a meeting scheduled.</p><p data-block-key=\"6913w\">“Hard passes are not meant to be weaponized as a means of penalizing reporters for coverage with which the administration disagrees based on amorphous and subjective standards,” Boutrous wrote. “Such actions unconstitutionally chill the free press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"l7lw4\">The White House Correspondents’ Association published a statement in support of Karem on Aug. 4.</p><p data-block-key=\"6fpic\">“We sincerely hope this White House does not again make the mistake of revoking a reporter’s hard pass,” WHCA President Jonathan Karl said in the statement. “The WHCA has stood up to violations of due process rights before and we stand ready to safeguard those rights for all reporters who work to hold our government accountable.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jn7ck\">Former White House staffer Sebastian Gorka walks away after yelling at Playboy writer and White House correspondent Brian Karem (center, in tie and blue suit) and members of the press corps during a summit in the Rose Garden.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"case_number": "1:19-cv-02514",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
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"updates": [
"(2019-08-20 00:00:00+00:00) Reporter sues after his White House press pass was revoked",
"(2020-06-05 13:17:00+00:00) Federal appeals court upholds ruling reinstating reporter’s White House press pass",
"(2019-09-03 11:32:00+00:00) Judge rules White House must restore hard pass for journalist Brian Karem",
"(2022-05-10 13:11:00+00:00) Playboy correspondent reaches settlement in lawsuit against the White House"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Federal government: White House"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Brian Karem (Playboy)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": [
"Press credential or media list"
]
},
{
"title": "Private security guard assaults journalist, confiscates camera during summit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/private-security-guard-assaults-journalist-confiscates-camera-during-summit/",
"first_published_at": "2019-08-13T15:53:10.647664Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-27T21:31:24.285492Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-27T21:31:24.178980Z",
"date": "2019-08-03",
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"city": "New Brunswick",
"longitude": -74.45182,
"latitude": 40.48622,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wc68e\">Charlie Kratovil, founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, filed a police report alleging assault by a private security guard after being forcibly removed from covering an event on Aug. 3, 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"098u5\">The NBT news team was invited to cover an education summit hosted by the non-profit Project Ready. Kratovil was covering the event on behalf of a reporter who could not, he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Charlie4Change/status/1158360810248384512\">tweeted</a>, and planned to record the gala ceremonies and post the video to the outlet’s YouTube channel without any editing. Kratovil said he was there for the keynote speech, given by White House correspondent and CNN analyst April Ryan.</p><p data-block-key=\"b04jq\">Kratovil told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that when he checked in and set up his camera at about 6:45 p.m., the public relations officials did not inform him that there would be any limitations or restrictions on filming the proceedings. Kratovil said that he was able to film the first hour and a half of the event without issue.</p><p data-block-key=\"qbgv0\">When Rep. Donald Payne took the stage to introduce Ryan at approximately 8:30 p.m., Kratovil <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Charlie4Change/status/1158360838580969472\">tweeted</a>, he was approached by a man who said he was “with the speaker,” and asked Kratovil to identify himself. He did so and said he had received approval to cover the event. The man left, Kratovil wrote, but returned and threatened to “take down” his camera if Kratovil did not do so himself.</p><p data-block-key=\"das8a\">Kratovil refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"u5z60\">Over the next several minutes, Kratovil debated with the man, later identified as Ryan’s private security guard Joel Morris, and several public relations officials who began to gather around his table, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Charlie4Change/status/1158360843911929856\">according to his account</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nkmd\">“I maintained a firm position re: video recording, saying I wouldn’t take action until I could get more info on the man who threatened to mess w/ my camera,” Kratovil <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Charlie4Change/status/1158360845300244480\">tweeted</a>. “I told them ‘If he doesn’t give me his name & tell me on the record why I can’t [video], I’m not turning off the camera.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"h6x7e\">In <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obZ9zZ8IBEg\">Kratovil’s video</a>, security guard Morris can be seen approaching Ryan onstage, who pauses her speaking, appears to look at Kratovil’s camera and nods. Ryan remains silent as Morris then walks towards Kratovil’s camera, grabs it and walks off.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8nn7\">In the <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obZ9zZ8IBEg\">video</a>, which keeps recording, Ryan resumes speaking as Morris grabs the camera and is heard trying to explain the interruption. “When I speak, I don’t have news covering my speech,” Ryan said, adding that she wanted to have an “unfettered conversation with you all.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tovyn\">However, New Brunswick-based reporter Chuck O’Donnell from TAPInto, a network of local news websites, was allowed to remain in the room.</p><p data-block-key=\"7yybv\">Kratovil told the Tracker that he quickly gathered up his belongings and followed after Morris.</p><p data-block-key=\"6f7b0\">According to a police report about the incident filed by Kratovil, Morris walked to the front lobby and turned over Kratovil’s camera to the security staff at the hotel’s front desk. The camera was shortly returned to Kratovil.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dz9i\">Kratovil shared with the Tracker <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Charlie4Change/videos/vb.252573682529/514171555999335/?type=2&theater\">a surveillance recording</a> from the lobby that shows Kratovil holding his camera and moving away from Morris. In the video, Kratovil can be heard saying, “This guy is chasing me.” Morris quickly moves around behind him, and appears to grab and twist Kratovil’s left arm behind his back while pushing him out of the frame.</p><p data-block-key=\"se56i\">The police report noted the injury.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2aqq\">“According to Kratovil,” Officer Ryan Daughton wrote in the police report, “the privately hired Security Guard utilized some kind of compliance hold and subsequently caused pain to Kratovil’s left wrist. I offered Kratovil medical attention and he refused the same.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h8l99\">Kratovil told the Tracker that he ended up seeking care at an urgent care a few days after the incident, where they advised him to treat his shoulder injury as a sprain. He said he plans to press charges.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4tz26\">While giving the keynote speech at an event in New Jersey, White House correspondent April Ryan is informed of video recording by a member of her private security (back to the camera). The camera was then confiscated.</p>",
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"actor": "private security",
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"assailant": "private security",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
"updates": [
"(2019-08-20 13:05:00+00:00) Ryan speaks out; Hearing delayed to no-show"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
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"Charlie Kratovil (New Brunswick Today)"
],
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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": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p>Texas weekly El Tejano on newsstands</p>",
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dina Garcia-Peña (El Tejano)"
],
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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>",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
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},
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"Matt Couch (America First Media)"
],
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"carried out"
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},
{
"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",
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"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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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": null,
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"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": [],
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"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": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"BuzzFeed News"
],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"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": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/KRDO_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"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>",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-11-20 00:00:00+00:00) Case likely sealed for business owner who pushed TV journalists"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
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"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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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
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"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-11-20 00:00:00+00:00) Case likely sealed for business owner who pushed TV journalists"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chappin Everett (KRDO-TV)"
],
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}
]
