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{
"title": "Student journalist arrested while covering protest at Dartmouth College",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-arrested-while-covering-protest-at-dartmouth-college/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-06T15:53:05.402066Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-10T19:08:00.005276Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-10T19:07:59.795030Z",
"date": "2024-05-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Hanover",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e2ma0\">Student journalist Alesandra Gonzales and a colleague at their college newspaper were arrested while reporting on a pro-Palestinian encampment at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on May 1, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"8g296\">The student newspaper, The Dartmouth, <a href=\"https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2024/05/campus-encampments-live-updates-police-start-taking-students-away\">reported</a> that a group of students planned to erect an encampment at 6:30 p.m. that day in solidarity with protests at universities across the country calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4fsu\">Gonzales, a reporter and photographer for The Dartmouth, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was on assignment to photograph the demonstration as protesters erected tents, and student and community members formed a barrier around them.</p><p data-block-key=\"858j0\">The Dartmouth reported that officers with multiple departments, including the New Hampshire State Police and Hanover Police Department, arrived on campus shortly after 8 p.m. They gave protesters a final warning to leave the area under threat of arrest, noting that physical force may be used, then began making arrests approximately 30 minutes later.</p><p data-block-key=\"9p24i\">“At least in my perspective, we were relatively clearly separated from the protesters themselves,” Gonzales said. “We were with a group of other journalists, both for The Dartmouth and other local organizations, as well as being with a representative from the college’s Office of Communications.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2oemt\">Gonzales said she had just finished filming the aggressive arrest of a history professor when two officers grabbed her.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ort5\">“I told them many times while I was being arrested that I was press, and even my arresting officer took a picture of my press credential,” Gonzales said. “So I think they were very aware that I was press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"39mel\">Her colleague, managing editor and reporter Charlotte Hampton, was standing next to her. “I called out to her,” Gonzales said, “both as another journalist and as a mentor, because I wasn’t sure entirely of what was going on.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f3jl6\">It wasn’t until they were loaded into the same van that Gonzales realized that <a href=\"/all-incidents/dartmouth-journalist-arrested-while-reporting-on-campus-protest/\">Hampton had been arrested</a> as well. According to The Dartmouth, they were detained at around 9:45 p.m. Gonzales told the Tracker that both were wearing press credentials issued by the newspaper, and that she was holding her professional camera while Hampton had her reporter’s notebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"3nr9t\">They were transported to the Lebanon Police Department seven miles away, Gonzales said, where they were booked on charges of criminal trespassing. The journalists were released on bail at 11:30 p.m., The Dartmouth reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"8de9n\">Gonzales told the Tracker that in addition to their $40 bonds, both student journalists are barred from multiple locations on campus as a condition of their bail.</p><p data-block-key=\"727qp\">“Because of that, we cannot walk across or on the green. We cannot enter the administrative building or Parkhurst Hall, which is where the president’s office is located as well as various other departments,” Gonzales said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6dcgj\">Both student journalists have initial appearance hearings scheduled for Aug. 5.</p><p data-block-key=\"6prjl\">In an <a href=\"https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2024/05/verbum-ultimum-drop-the-charges-against-charlotte-hampton-26-and-alesandra-gonzales-27\">editorial</a> published by The Dartmouth the following day, the newspaper condemned the arrests and said the college should be embarrassed.</p><p data-block-key=\"9629s\">“We are glad Hampton and Gonzales are back in the newsroom safely, but having to retrieve them from the station at all was a slap in the face,” the editorial board wrote. “If Dartmouth has any commitment to the freedom of the press, it must do everything in its power to get the relevant authorities to drop the charges against our reporters.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/20240501-vn-protest-jmp-1402_copy.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"k6a6x\">Alesandra Gonzales, a journalist with The Dartmouth student newspaper, center, was arrested while covering a pro-Palestinian protest on the Dartmouth College campus in Hanover, New Hampshire, on May 1, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Lebanon Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2024-05-01",
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"case_number": null,
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"state": {
"name": "New Hampshire",
"abbreviation": "NH"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-05-07 00:00:00+00:00) Trespassing charge dropped against Dartmouth student reporter"
],
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"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Alesandra Gonzales (The Dartmouth)"
],
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},
{
"title": "NYPD confines student reporter to building, threatens arrest as Columbia protests cleared",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nypd-confines-student-reporter-to-building-threatens-arrest-as-columbia-protests-cleared/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-07T14:42:01.613863Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-02T21:00:08.480136Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-02T21:00:08.391113Z",
"date": "2024-04-30",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j8y47\">Francesca Maria Lorenzini, a student reporter at the Columbia Journalism School, was among a group of student journalists forced into a campus building by New York City police and threatened with arrest on April 30, 2024, as officers retook another building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ircq\">Lorenzini had been <a href=\"https://citynewsroomcjs.com/author/florenzini/\">covering</a> the protests on Columbia University’s campus for City Newsroom, a news outlet staffed by journalism school students. Due to restrictions on outside press access to the campus, Lorenzini and other student reporters were the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-beb2c274c0960eee48c82485ca9b3f96\">only media allowed</a> there that day, when New York Police Department officers in riot gear <a href=\"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/columbia-university-protests-nypd-video-hamilton-hall/5371376/\">cleared</a> the occupied Hamilton Hall.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l8cu\">Lorenzini told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she and other student journalists were reporting outside Hamilton Hall around 9 p.m. when NYPD officers arrived at the campus. She said she was wearing a Columbia Journalism School press pass around her neck and a sign on her back that said “press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ga74\">She said that for a brief time, the reporters were able to remain in front of Hamilton, but then police began to progressively push them away from the building. That prevented the journalists from reporting on what was happening inside or taking videos of the operation, in which more than 100 protesters were <a href=\"https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/05/03/officer-fired-gun-during-hamilton-hall-sweep-nypd-confirms/\">arrested</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6fg62\">After about an hour, Lorenzini said, police began to clear a protest encampment on campus, and officers then told the reporters to go into the journalism school building.</p><p data-block-key=\"6g6f9\">“Shortly before they started clearing the encampment, they pushed us into Pulitzer Hall, which is the main building of the Columbia Journalism School, telling us not to go out, otherwise we would have been arrested,” she said, adding that there was no physical contact from the police.</p><p data-block-key=\"3f7bq\">She said one of the journalism school deans went out to talk to the NYPD, “telling them that we were press, we’re not just students.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ljc2\">Lorenzini said she remained in Pulitzer Hall for about an hour and a half before she was allowed to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kbbh\">“Nobody was there to document what was happening” during the police operation, Lorenzini noted, “So I feel like that night, freedom of the press was really severely limited.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8b7gm\">The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/17.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hcz14\">New York City Police Department officers stand guard at Columbia University, where a student reporter was forced into a campus building and threatened with arrest on April 30, 2024, during an NYPD operation to clear out pro-Palestinian protesters.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"detention_date": "2024-04-30",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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},
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"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
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"Francesca Maria Lorenzini (Columbia Journalism School)"
],
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},
{
"title": "TV reporter arrested at Northern California university protest; charges dropped",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-reporter-arrested-at-northern-california-university-protest-charges-dropped/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-01T21:06:37.867810Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-01T21:06:37.867810Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-01T21:04:53.592238Z",
"date": "2024-04-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Arcata",
"longitude": -124.08284,
"latitude": 40.86652,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"609na\">TV journalist Adelmi Ruiz was arrested in the early hours of April 30, 2024, while covering student protests at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, her outlet KRCR-TV reported. The charges have since been dropped against Ruiz, who is a reporter for the Redding station and its Arcata-Eureka bureau, KAEF-TV.</p><p data-block-key=\"40ttb\">In an <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Alh9T0dzVE\">interview</a> with KRCR-TV, Ruiz said she arrived shortly after 10 p.m. on April 29 to begin documenting the pro-Palestinian student encampment and protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"b3iu\">“I got b-roll, I was recording sound and I was trying to get interviews, but a lot of protesters were denying to be on camera,” Ruiz said. She told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was reporting from behind the students’ barricades when police moved in.</p><p data-block-key=\"dde3k\">At approximately 2:30 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Cal Poly Humboldt Police Department led an operation to clear and secure multiple campus buildings, utilizing law enforcement officers from across the state, KRCR-TV reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"1viaj\">In Ruiz’s <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/100063468133544/videos/941762844619848\">live recording</a> from the scene, lines of officers can be seen advancing onto campus. While what appears to be a final line of university police officers assembles near where Ruiz is reporting, one of the officers calls out to tell her to come behind the police line and out of the way. Ruiz complies and seconds later is placed in flex cuffs and told she’s being detained.</p><p data-block-key=\"1b1ki\">“Wait, I’m press,” Ruiz tells the officer, adding that she was there doing her job. The officer, who was from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, replies, “OK, well, find a different job if it causes you to break the law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lfs9\">Ruiz told the Tracker that she repeatedly identified herself as a journalist and showed the officers her press badge and jacket, but it didn’t make a difference.</p><p data-block-key=\"9hvl0\">Ruiz said a work-issued cellphone fell from her pocket and was lost when officers removed her backpack, and that the bag and her personal cellphone remained in the deputies’ custody on campus while she was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"74al6\">At the county jail, Ruiz said she received a thorough pat-down and had mug shots taken, but was not fingerprinted. According to the <a href=\"https://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/127969/20240430_BookingSheet\">daily booking sheet</a>, Ruiz was charged with trespassing, unlawful assembly, obstructing an officer and obstructing a business.</p><p data-block-key=\"aumtg\">Shortly after 5 a.m., Ruiz told the Tracker, Sheriff William Honsal pulled her aside to talk about how she had been caught up in the arrests. He apologized for what happened and said that he would finish processing her paperwork and that she’d be free to go.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebf2q\">Ruiz was released at 5:25 a.m., according to <a href=\"https://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/128007/20240501_Released\">law enforcement records</a>, under a California statute that allows officers to release an arrestee when they believe there are insufficient grounds for pursuing the charges. When reached by phone, the Humboldt County Superior Court confirmed that there are no pending charges against Ruiz.</p><p data-block-key=\"2p5ha\">Honsal drove her back to campus himself, Ruiz told the Tracker, and she was able to resume her reporting once her belongings were returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"6dk4n\">“I am extremely thankful to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department for William Honsal, who was able to get everything resolved as quickly as possible,” Ruiz said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Ruiz_arrest.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"0fltq\">Adelmi Ruiz, a reporter for KRCR-TV and KAEF-TV, filmed the police response to pro-Palestinian protests at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in the early hours of April 30, 2024. Moments later, she was arrested.</p>",
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{
"title": "NYPD orders student reporter into building, threatens arrest as Columbia protest cleared",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nypd-orders-student-reporter-into-building-threatens-arrest-as-columbia-protest-cleared/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-13T20:12:28.300749Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-13T20:12:28.300749Z",
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"date": "2024-04-30",
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"city": "New York",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tyxk6\">Student reporter Chris Mendell was confined to a building entryway and threatened with arrest while covering a New York City police operation to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University’s campus on April 30, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"3f5pm\">Mendell, a <a href=\"https://www.columbiaspectator.com/contributors/chris-mendell/\">staff writer</a> with the Columbia Daily Spectator, the student newspaper, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had been covering the <a href=\"https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/04/30/columbia-hamilton-hall-blockade/\">takeover</a> of the university’s Hamilton Hall by protesters in the early morning of April 30.</p><p data-block-key=\"5s90j\">After going home to get some sleep, Mendell tried to return to campus. But the university had restricted access at that point, and Columbia Public Safety officers would not allow him onto campus even though he showed them his Columbia ID and his Spectator press ID.</p><p data-block-key=\"d4nre\">To try to get a better view of the activity on campus, Mendell walked to a nearby block where student dorms and other university buildings were located. He said the New York City Police Department was setting up barriers, behind which members of the press, students and bystanders had gathered.</p><p data-block-key=\"bhcaf\">Mendell took photos and videos until around 8 p.m., when the NYPD ordered everyone off the sidewalk and into any of the nearby residence halls.</p><p data-block-key=\"2598e\">“Within seconds of the cop making that announcement, some officers started chasing people with batons, hitting them and shoving them into dorms,” he said, adding that he was not physically assaulted. “This is press and students, these are bystanders, these are people not involved. And it was really, really chaotic.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3rekv\">Mendell said he retreated into the entryway of Ruggles Hall dorm with about 15 other people. Two police officers were stationed at the door and did not allow people to leave. Because they were not residents of the building, they were stuck in the entryway.</p><p data-block-key=\"bv813\">Mendell said he opened the door at one point and asked officers if he could leave. “They said, ‘No. If I let you leave, we’re going to arrest you.’ I was wearing my press badge, so I was identified as press the whole time.”</p><p data-block-key=\"44kkg\">Later, he said he saw other Spectator reporters walking by. He reiterated that he was a member of the press and asked if he could go with them. An officer again denied his request and threatened to arrest him if he stepped out of the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6gm7\">Around 9 p.m., police in riot gear <a href=\"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/columbia-locks-down-all-but-one-entry-point-as-protesters-take-over-hamilton-hall/5367323/\">entered</a> the campus and Hamilton Hall at the request of Columbia’s administration, arresting protesters and clearing those who occupied the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"5p67s\">Mendell said that from his vantage point, he was able to see some protesters from Hamilton being led out of a campus exit, police entering the campus and police buses driving past. However, he was not able to view any of the police operations on campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"76dca\">At one point, Mendell was put in touch with NBC News and <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/columbia-student-says-police-threatened-arrest-if-they-leave-dorm-building-210015813936\">conducted a live interview</a> with the network from the entryway of Ruggles, describing his situation. In a video, a woman can be seen telling an officer guarding the door that people are stuck without their medications; the officer replies that she does not know when they will be able to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4lor\">Mendell told the Tracker that about 20 minutes after the NBC interview aired, the officers guarding the door were replaced and one of the new officers escorted all who did not live in Ruggles out into the street. Mendell said he was in Ruggles for about three hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"77dqu\">In a May 4 <a href=\"https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2024/05/04/letter-from-the-editors-columbia-enabled-the-nypd-to-suppress-free-press-as-it-brutalized-our-peers/\">letter from the editors</a>, Spectator Editor-in-Chief Isabella Ramírez and Managing Editor Esha Karam described numerous violations faced by the paper’s journalists as the NYPD entered the campus, including journalists being confined to buildings and threatened with arrest, threatened with arrest if they did not leave campus, mocked for being student press and pushed and grabbed by officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"3le32\">The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"r4qxv\">Columbia Daily Spectator’s Chris Mendell, right, speaks live with Gadi Schwartz of NBC News from a campus building in New York City on April 30, 2024, after police ordered Mendell inside and threatened him with arrest while officers cleared protesters.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
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},
{
"title": "Student journalist forced into building by NYPD during Columbia protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-forced-into-building-by-nypd-during-columbia-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-08T16:42:41.530501Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-08T16:42:41.530501Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-08T16:34:45.430220Z",
"date": "2024-04-30",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9lix5\">Columbia Journalism School student Iryna Humenyuk was among a group of student reporters that New York City police forced into a campus building and prevented from leaving for several hours on April 30, 2024, as officers retook another building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"doolq\">Due to restrictions on outside press access to the campus, Humenyuk and other student reporters were the only <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-beb2c274c0960eee48c82485ca9b3f96\">media allowed</a> there that day, when New York Police Department officers <a href=\"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/columbia-university-protests-nypd-video-hamilton-hall/5371376/\">cleared</a> Hamilton Hall, a building being occupied by protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"apdju\">Humenyuk and other student reporters were told by police to move away from Hamilton toward John Jay Hall, a nearby residence hall, at around 9 p.m., according to an account <a href=\"https://www.curbed.com/article/locked-out-columbia-campus-nypd-raid-student-press.html\">published</a> in Curbed by <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-reporter-driven-off-columbia-campus-kettled-by-nypd/\">Samaa Khullar</a>, a reporting fellow at the journalism school.</p><p data-block-key=\"4v74c\">“They used their batons to push us inside,” Humenyuk was quoted as saying in the article, whose details she confirmed in an email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"1opvv\">Humenyuk was crowded with about 50 others into a small entryway behind the doors of John Jay, Khullar wrote. NYPD officers locked the doors after the vestibule filled and then stood outside, guarding the entrance and blocking the view of Hamilton. Because the student journalists did not live in the building, they remained confined in the vestibule area.</p><p data-block-key=\"4sjpm\">“People were yelling at the police and they just wouldn’t acknowledge anyone or answer any questions,” Humenyuk was quoted as saying.</p><p data-block-key=\"djp81\">At midnight, Humenyuk was told that those inside could leave in groups of two, with escorts, Khullar wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"fos5e\">The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ya8u4\">New York police detain a pro-Palestinian protester at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. A Columbia Journalism School student was among a group of reporters that police forced into a campus building and confined for several hours during mass arrests.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
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{
"title": "Police shove journalist covering pro-Palestinian protest outside NYC campus",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-shove-journalist-covering-pro-palestinian-protest-outside-nyc-campus/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-02T15:36:20.046816Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-02T15:36:20.046816Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-02T15:36:19.863850Z",
"date": "2024-04-30",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mgsuv\">Independent journalist Katie Smith was shoved by police officers while covering a pro-Palestinian protest outside a New York City college campus on April 30, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"2tl24\">Smith, who <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit\">covers</a> protests and social movements in New York, was <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit/status/1785394440745423065\">documenting</a> a group of protesters visiting student encampments at five campuses around New York that day. When the protesters reached City College of New York in upper Manhattan, they were met by police at metal barricades and gates blocking access to the encampment, according to local news <a href=\"https://abc7ny.com/city-college-protests-nypd-officers-arrest-demonstrators-in-hamilton-heights-campus-operations-move-online-until-further-notice/14748471/\">reports</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit/status/1785452583588393235\">Smith’s</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit/status/1785458110166896696\">posts</a> on the social media platform X.</p><p data-block-key=\"67lik\">At one point, Smith <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit/status/1785458110166896696\">posted</a> that “the situation at CCNY has rapidly spiraled out of control,” adding, “Protesters tried to break through the barricades which led to absolute chaos breaking out. People thrown to the ground and journalists (including me) were hit and shoved by officers in the melee.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NOW: The situation at CCNY has rapidly spiraled out of control<br><br>Protesters tried to break through the barricades which led to absolute chaos breaking out<br><br>People thrown to the ground and journalists (including me) were hit and shoved by officers in the melee <a href=\"https://t.co/6CDVknzM8C\">pic.twitter.com/6CDVknzM8C</a></p>— katie smith (@probablyreadit) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit/status/1785458110166896696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mgsuv\">Smith detailed her encounter for the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, explaining that she was standing on the sidewalk outside the CCNY campus and filming with her phone when protesters started moving barricades that the police had set up.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddnkh\">“Officers began grabbing and pushing protesters near the barricades when a group of Community Affairs officers moved in behind me and grabbed a protester. At that point, I intentionally backed up so I was not directly in front,” she told the Tracker. “Then, a group of Community Affairs officers moved in from behind and grabbed and surrounded a protester, which is when one of the Community Affairs officers shoved me hard directly in the center of my chest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dirv7\">Smith said she was “wearing my NYC-issued press credential around my neck, clearly displayed.” She added, “I believe I was just caught up in the protest for the most part.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6aekn\">There were additional confrontations between police and campus protesters in New York that night, leading to several hundred arrests at CCNY and Columbia University, <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/columbia-university-protests-nypd-arrests/\">according</a> to news reports.</p><p data-block-key=\"ducin\">In response to a request for comment about the incident and any measures the department was taking to protect the safety of journalists covering the protests, the NYPD sent the Tracker a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/1785661500767752670\">video</a> of a news conference held May 1 by Mayor Eric Adams, Police Commissioner Edward Caban and other police officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"3kirf\">While the officials did not directly address Smith’s case, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard and Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said press access needed to go through the department so that the media didn’t interfere with police operations or get mistaken for students or protesters.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"va4vc\">A screenshot from video of New York Police Department officers pushing back pro-Palestinian protesters outside City College of New York on April 30, 2024. Independent journalist Katie Smith was shoved by an officer while filming the protest.</p>",
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{
"title": "Student reporter driven off Columbia campus, kettled by NYPD",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-reporter-driven-off-columbia-campus-kettled-by-nypd/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-03T19:01:49.182043Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-06T19:52:03.151784Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-06T19:52:03.048904Z",
"date": "2024-04-30",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hyoll\">Samaa Khullar, a reporting fellow with the Columbia Journalism School, was among a group of student reporters that New York City police drove off campus and detained in a kettle for more than an hour as officers rounded up protesters on April 30, 2024. </p><p data-block-key=\"7ic4l\">Due to restrictions on outside press access to the campus, Khullar and other student reporters were the only <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-beb2c274c0960eee48c82485ca9b3f96\">media allowed</a> there on April 30, when New York Police Department officers <a href=\"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/columbia-university-protests-nypd-video-hamilton-hall/5371376/\">cleared</a> Hamilton Hall, a building that had been occupied by protesters. </p><p data-block-key=\"cpfn3\">“It’s probably going to be the day I remember most out of my experience here. I was like, there’s no one here except us,” Khullar, who has been covering pro-Palestian demonstrations on the campus, <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/02/us/video/journalism-students-columbia-university-protests-digvid\">told CNN in an interview.</a> “Campus was on lockdown and no outside press was allowed in.” </p><p data-block-key=\"eq0s2\">In an <a href=\"https://www.curbed.com/article/locked-out-columbia-campus-nypd-raid-student-press.html\">article about her experience</a> published by Curbed, Khullar wrote that she was with other reporters from the graduate school and reporters with both the Columbia Spectator and campus radio station WKCR outside Hamilton Hall at around 9 p.m. when NYPD officers arrived.</p><p data-block-key=\"7fj43\">The officers “immediately told us to move away from the stairs” at the front entrance to Hamilton Hall and “began to kettle us,” Khullar recounts. </p><p data-block-key=\"9f8c8\">The officers then drove some of the reporters toward John Jay Hall, a residential building across from Hamilton, she said. </p><p data-block-key=\"e4mqq\">Other student reporters who were taking photographs of the encampment on Columbia’s main quad were ordered to disperse, Khullar wrote. Jelani Cobb, dean of Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer for the New Yorker, and journalism professor Sheila Coronel let those reporters into Pulitzer Hall, the home of the journalism school. Police told them to keep the reporters inside the building, Khullar wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"dceq5\">Khullar said that she avoided being driven into John Jay or Pulitzer, but “I found myself in the biggest group of student reporters and professors herded by police outside of campus” to 114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where they were surrounded by “dozens” of officers and confined to that location for more than an hour.</p><p data-block-key=\"d8451\">She told CNN, “They made us leave campus. We kept yelling, ‘we’re the press, we’re the press.’ It was not going through their heads.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8tp5g\">“We began to realize that there was no press left at Hamilton to document what was going on,” Khullar wrote. </p><p data-block-key=\"9ujkp\">Police said they arrested 109 people during the sweep on Hamilton, <a href=\"https://www.columbiaspectator.com/city-news/2024/05/01/nypd-confirms-arrest-of-109-individuals-following-sweep-of-occupied-hamilton-hall-and-gaza-solidarity-encampment/\">the Columbia Spectator reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"am13u\">“For many of the student reporters, it was our first time being completely shut out from reporting on an event that happened on campus,” Khullar wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"71fpa\">Khullar wrote that the reporters forced off campus weren’t allowed back in until after midnight after professors in the journalism building assisted in getting them escorted by police into Pulitzer Hall. </p><p data-block-key=\"6cn5j\">Khullar and the NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ceupx\">New York Police Department officers stand guard while others enter a Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters on April 30, 2024. A Columbia student reporter was detained in an off-campus kettle by the NYPD during the operation.</p>",
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{
"title": "Police block journalist from leaving Columbia building during arrest of protesters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-block-journalist-from-leaving-columbia-building-during-arrest-of-protesters/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-08T14:49:48.277310Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-08T14:49:48.277310Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g78hk\">New York City police officers blocked a reporter for independent newsroom THE CITY, along with other journalists, from leaving a building on Columbia University’s campus during mass arrests of pro-Palestinian protesters on April 30, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"be42q\">Journalist Gwynne Hogan, who said she was displaying her press credentials, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GwynneFitz/status/1785481107523223759\">posted</a> on social media platform X shortly before 9:30 p.m. that she and a group of fellow reporters and students were “pushed” into a building adjoining Hamilton Hall — which protesters had occupied and dubbed “Hind’s Hall” — as police descended on campus and began a sweep of the occupied building.</p><p data-block-key=\"3hti0\">“NYPD had fully cleared the area where students started camping out last night, rows of demonstrators linked arms around the entryway to ‘Hinds Hall’ are the only ones left outside,” Hogan wrote in the post. “I'm with a crowd of students and reporters pushed back into an adjoining building.”</p><p data-block-key=\"avo29\">Moments later, Hogan <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GwynneFitz/status/1785484291280957582\">posted video</a> and reported that she was being blocked in by police, adding, “They won't let me out despite showing many of them my NYPD press pass.” In the video, several officers in riot gear can be seen through the doors, barring the exits as other officers in the background lead away protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"chdgp\">Shortly after midnight, Hogan <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GwynneFitz/status/1785522275657130372/photo/1\">posted</a> “Made it out, NYPD and campus safety escorting groups of students out from buildings that were previously locked down.”</p><p data-block-key=\"97see\">In <a href=\"https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/05/01/campus-columbia-city-college-encampments/\">a May 1 article</a> for THE CITY detailing police crackdowns at Columbia and other New York City colleges, Hogan wrote of Columbia that “student journalists and a CITY reporter were forced into adjoining buildings and blocked in for several hours, unable to observe officers entering Hamilton Hall, or the arrests of students who’d linked arms to try and block the entryway to the hall.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dj07g\">Hogan did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4fosc\">A person waves a Palestinian flag from atop Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. When police retook the building from protesters on April 30, 2024, officers prevented reporter Gwynne Hogan from leaving a campus building to cover arrests.</p>",
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{
"title": "Student reporter confined to building during Columbia protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-reporter-confined-to-building-during-columbia-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-07T20:28:31.147600Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"otmxy\">Columbia Journalism School student Oishika Neogi was among a group of student reporters herded away from a pro-Palestinian protest, confined to a campus building and threatened with arrest by New York City police, who were retaking another building occupied by protesters on April 30, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"r033\">Neogi, an investigative journalism fellow and master’s student at the school, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had been reporting on the campus protests since mid-April, when protesters set up an encampment. Due to restrictions on outside press access to the campus, Neogi and other student reporters were the only <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-beb2c274c0960eee48c82485ca9b3f96\">media allowed</a> there that day, when New York Police Department officers in riot gear <a href=\"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/columbia-university-protests-nypd-video-hamilton-hall/5371376/\">cleared</a> the occupied Hamilton Hall.</p><p data-block-key=\"9cu4c\">Neogi told the Tracker that when the police entered the campus at around 9 p.m., she was stationed at the side of Hamilton Hall, while other student journalists were in front of the building or at the center of campus. “As soon as they came in, they started pushing us away from Hamilton,” she said. Police had batons and were yelling to “move back,” but did not hit any of the journalists, Neogi added.</p><p data-block-key=\"2gc8b\">She said she was wearing her Overseas Press Club ID around her neck and a student press sign on her back, and had her Columbia student press ID in her bag.</p><p data-block-key=\"eca37\">Neogi and other journalists standing with her were forced by the NYPD to move to an exterior staircase near Hamilton where she could not see the building or what was happening in front of it. She said she was in that location for about 45 minutes. During that time, “We just didn’t know what was happening at Hamilton, which was the biggest problem.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3c8cu\">Neogi then went back to Pulitzer Hall, where the journalism school is located and where she was keeping her equipment, and planned to go back out to report. She learned from a colleague, however, that police were outside, warning that people who tried to leave would be arrested. She then went with faculty members and the school’s dean to the gate of the building to speak with police, who told them, “Stay in, or you can get arrested.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1bddv\">“Basically, Pulitzer was on lockdown after that. All student journalists who were on campus who were covering this had to be inside Pulitzer Hall. And we couldn’t see anything,” Neogi said.</p><p data-block-key=\"36e8g\">She added that there was no official notification from the police about when they were allowed to exit the building. Neogi left around 1:30 a.m., but still could not go near Hamilton or other areas where there was police activity.</p><p data-block-key=\"cl2e9\">“We should have been in front of Hamilton. There was no other press from the outside,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lfpp\">The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZXH3Q_-_Reuters_-_Caitlin_Ochs.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bqnnc\">New York Police Department officers stand guard at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. During an NYPD operation to clear out pro-Palestinian protesters, a student reporter was confined to a campus building and threatened with arrest if she left.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2024-04-30",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist pushed, his phone charger stolen at UCLA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-pushed-his-phone-charger-stolen-at-ucla-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-02T20:33:42.796481Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-10T17:23:50.283835Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-10T17:23:50.173838Z",
"date": "2024-04-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6fn99\">Independent journalist Anthony Cabassa was pushed against a wall and his phone charger stolen while reporting on pro-Palestinian protests at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 30, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"15lna\">UCLA’s student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2024/04/25/ucla-community-organizes-encampment-in-response-to-national-call-for-escalation\">reported</a> that protesters had erected the encampment on campus April 25 to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war and demand that the UC system divest from companies that invest in weapons manufacturers for the Israeli military.</p><p data-block-key=\"f2i3b\">Shortly after 1 p.m. on the 30th, Cabassa <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AnthonyCabassa_/status/1785399887309508794\">reported on social media</a> that an individual had stolen his phone charger because he refused to stop filming in a public space. He noted that by the time he was able to speak to university police, the thief was long gone.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just had my phone charger stolen from me from a protestor because we refused to stop filming in a public area. I asked security to help retrieve my property and they said they don’t have authorization, “talk to admin”, I talked to admin they said tell school police, school police… <a href=\"https://t.co/oZxqXmt85H\">pic.twitter.com/oZxqXmt85H</a></p>— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AnthonyCabassa_/status/1785399887309508794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6fn99\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AnthonyCabassa_/status/1785437645616853225\">subsequent</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AnthonyCabassa_/status/1785448436030226933\">posts</a>, Cabassa also said that a group of protesters grabbed him and kept him pinned against a wall for approximately a minute in order to prevent him from entering or otherwise reporting on the encampment. In footage of the incident, Cabassa can be heard identifying himself as a credentialed journalist and stating that he has a right to be on public property.</p><p data-block-key=\"3o6t1\">Cabassa did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZV8SK.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b01q6\">Pro-Palestinian protesters gather at an encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles, campus on April 29, 2024. While covering protests there the following day, independent journalist Anthony Cabassa was pushed and had his phone charger stolen.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Anthony Cabassa (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Journalist pepper-sprayed, shoved while covering Oregon campus protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-pepper-sprayed-shoved-while-covering-oregon-campus-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-14T19:55:11.708535Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-16T18:05:46.896504Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-16T18:05:46.809691Z",
"date": "2024-04-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zw4ef\">Independent videographer Brandon Farley was shoved to the ground and sprayed with a chemical irritant by a group of assailants on April 29, 2024, while filming a pro-Palestinian protest on Portland State University’s campus in Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"f1soi\">Farley, who told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting this demonstration as a journalist, was recording protesters assembled around the university’s main library — which was <a href=\"https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/psu-portland-state-library-months-damage-pro-palestine-protests/283-1588d8e0-7a76-41fe-bf9b-1eeaa1b3fe4b\">occupied</a> by them for days — when the assault began. He <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TheRealFarley/status/1785125262570803437\">posted on the social network X</a> that a group of people came up on him from behind while he was filming.</p><p data-block-key=\"6m4d4\">“One of them grabbed my strap and started pulling as others began swarming me. I was then pushed to the ground and maced in the face while I was retreating,” Farley wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mh55\">Farley is heard in the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TheRealFarley/status/1785125262570803437\">video</a> telling the assailants that he is leaving the scene, while an assailant follows behind and calls him a “Nazi bitch.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Update: Still having blurry vision out of my right eye, but at least much of the burning has gone away.<br><br>I landed pretty hard on my right buttocks, so still feeling some discomfort from that.<br><br>All in all, it could have been a lot worse, given their hatred.<br><br>FUCK ANTIFA EXTREMISTS <a href=\"https://t.co/TKFWVoFvqn\">pic.twitter.com/TKFWVoFvqn</a></p>— Brandon M. Farley (Portland Video Journalist) (@TheRealFarley) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TheRealFarley/status/1785179106172350699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 30, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zw4ef\">In an email exchange with the Tracker, Farley said that in addition to the two assailants, one of whom he described as a “large man,” at least two other individuals approached him during the assault. He noted that he has been attacked in the past while filming protest movements in Portland.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ie40\">“They view me as a target who constantly needs to be dealt with, but often, they treat it as a joke, like yelling out a ‘Nazi’ or a ‘fascist’ in an attempt to get others to come after me with blind rage,” Farley told the Tracker. “I know many of their tactics by now, but sometimes I still get injured, as was the case on April 29th.”</p><p data-block-key=\"627d\">Farley said he did not report the April 29 incident to law enforcement, nor did he seek medical attention following the attack. “I've been accosted and physically attacked by them dozens of times with no recourse from law enforcement,” he added. “I stopped asking for their help in early 2020, after realizing what little they could do to mitigate my situation.”<br/><br/><i>Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect Brandon Farley’s self-identification as a journalist at the demonstration. For more on who the Tracker counts as a journalist, see our</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\"><i>frequently asked questions</i></a><i> page.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZXHYZ_-_Reuters_-_Jan_Sonnenma.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vaec4\">Portland State University’s library, above, was taken over by pro-Palestinian protestors in late April 2024. On April 29, assailants there knocked independent journalist Brandon Farley to the ground and pepper-sprayed him.</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,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Brandon Farley (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist harassed, phone knocked to ground at UCLA protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-harassed-phone-knocked-to-ground-at-ucla-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-10T17:31:50.912338Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-10T17:31:50.912338Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-10T17:31:25.611860Z",
"date": "2024-04-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3ztw7\">Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was repeatedly harassed and his phone knocked to the ground while reporting on a pro-Israeli counterprotest to the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 29, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jbhg\">UCLA’s student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2024/04/25/ucla-community-organizes-encampment-in-response-to-national-call-for-escalation\">reported</a> that protesters had erected the encampment on campus April 25 to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war and demand that the UC system divest from companies that invest in weapons manufacturers for the Israeli military.</p><p data-block-key=\"34t4b\">A large, pro-Israeli counterprotest was organized next to the encampment, with barricades erected to separate the groups, Reuters <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pro-palestinian-protests-keep-roiling-us-college-campuses-2024-04-28/\">reported</a>. Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-headbutted-shoved-at-ucla-counteprotest/\">headbutted and shoved</a> by a man while reporting on the clash between the two groups on April 28.</p><p data-block-key=\"28hs9\">Throughout his coverage the following evening, Beckner-Carmitchel said, multiple individuals targeted him for harassment and assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sb9o\">“At one point, one of the pro-Israel protesters stood in front of me and blared an air horn directly in my ear for like five minutes straight,” he said. “They also threw what I’m guessing was a wadded up sign at my head at one point.”</p><p data-block-key=\"72ce3\">In footage Beckner-Carmitchel <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6YiA3Drb7B/\">posted on Instagram</a>, an air horn can be heard resounding as he filmed counterprotesters attempting to break into the encampment. He added that at various points individuals called him slurs, knocked the phone from his hands and came up from behind him and blew a whistle in his ear.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZV7ER.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lb7z1\">Pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counterprotesters gather at the encampment on UCLA’s campus on April 29, 2024. Multiple individuals harassed and assaulted journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel while he was covering the demonstrations.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist headbutted, shoved at UCLA counterprotest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-headbutted-shoved-at-ucla-counterprotest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-10T17:15:30.350009Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-17T13:07:51.113132Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-17T13:07:51.022751Z",
"date": "2024-04-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6r33m\">Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was headbutted and pushed by a man while reporting on a pro-Israeli counterprotest to the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 28, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddchk\">UCLA’s student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2024/04/25/ucla-community-organizes-encampment-in-response-to-national-call-for-escalation\">reported</a> that protesters had erected the encampment on campus April 25 to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war and demand that the UC system divest from companies that invest in weapons manufacturers for the Israeli military.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1mio\">A large, pro-Israeli counterprotest was organized next to the encampment, with barricades erected to separate the groups, Reuters <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pro-palestinian-protests-keep-roiling-us-college-campuses-2024-04-28/\">reported</a>. Some demonstrators broke through the barrier, however, and individuals from both sides began pushing one another and shouting insults and chants.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ip62\">Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was reporting on the clash between the two protests when he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1784783261635629369\">captured photos</a> of a man who appeared to be a counterprotester. When the man noticed he had been photographed, he demanded that the journalist delete the images.</p><p data-block-key=\"6mfro\">“Generally my policy is, if someone asks me to delete a photo, I’m doing quite the opposite: I’m favoriting that, I’m sending it to a couple of people and it’s probably going to end up being published,” Beckner-Carmitchel said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At one point earlier during the pro-Palestine/pro-Israel protests at UCLA, a man wearing what appeared to be fascist symbolism on his shirt was attacking pro-Palestinian demonstrators.<br><br>At that point I took photos, he demanded I deleted them. I refused, and he attacked me. <a href=\"https://t.co/JAQ1wSVPKr\">pic.twitter.com/JAQ1wSVPKr</a></p>— acatwithnews (@ACatWithNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1784783261635629369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 29, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6r33m\">In footage of the incident, the man headbutts Beckner-Carmitchel before someone wearing a neon vest steps between them. When Beckner-Carmitchel moves to walk away, the man pursues him, asking repeatedly, “What are you doing?”</p><p data-block-key=\"6q70o\">“Just doing my job,” Beckner-Carmitchel responds.</p><p data-block-key=\"5qo87\">Beckner-Carmitchel told the Tracker that the man repeatedly told him to delete the picture, pushed him and attempted to grab the phone from his hands. He said that ultimately it appeared that individuals from both protests helped remove the man.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZTL9U.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"g6fq4\">Pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counterprotesters scuffle during demonstrations at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 28, 2024. A man headbutted and shoved journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel while he was covering the clash.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
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"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Broadcast reporter charged following investigation of protest arrest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-charged-following-investigation-of-protest-arrest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-01T21:49:19.430844Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-01T21:49:19.430844Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-01T21:49:19.128986Z",
"date": "2024-04-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ath38\">KTBC broadcast photographer Carlos Sanchez was charged on April 26, 2024, with the felony assault of a peace officer, the Austin American-Statesman <a href=\"https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2024/04/30/ut-austin-pro-palestinian-protest-fox-7-photojournalist-felony-charge-dropped/73515493007/\">reported</a>, two days after he was arrested filming a student protest at the University of Texas at Austin. The charge was downgraded to two misdemeanors on April 30.</p><p data-block-key=\"46ih6\">Sanchez said he was pushed into a state trooper as Texas Department of Public Safety officers drove back a pro-Palestinian protest line on campus, <a href=\"https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-photojournalist-faces-felony-charge-after-arrest-during-ut-protest-affidavit-says/\">NBC affiliate KXAN-TV reported</a>. Another officer immediately pulled him backward and threw him to the ground, arresting him. Sanchez was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-arrested-while-filming-pro-palestinian-protest-at-university-of-texas/\">initially charged</a> with criminal trespassing, but the charge was dismissed the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"9dcqn\">The American-Statesman reported that the law enforcement agency then launched a criminal investigation into the incident. A warrant for Sanchez’s arrest on the second-degree felony charge was issued on April 26, after additional witnesses — including the trooper who was said to have been hit — were identified and additional footage obtained.</p><p data-block-key=\"a1vr5\">E.G. “Gerry” Morris, an attorney representing Sanchez, told the American-Statesman that they learned the felony charge had been dropped when Sanchez arrived at the jail on April 30 to turn himself in.</p><p data-block-key=\"nrob\">KTBC <a href=\"https://www.fox7austin.com/news/fox-7-photographer-faces-2-misdemeanors-after-felony-charge-was-dropped\">reported</a> that the Texas Department of Public Safety detective investigating the incident acknowledged that the allegations did not rise to a felony offense. A new warrant for Sanchez’s arrest was issued later that day on two misdemeanor counts: assault against a peace officer and impeding a public servant.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt0n1\">Morris told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Sanchez turned himself into custody on May 1 and was released on his own recognizance after being booked.</p><p data-block-key=\"am2ge\">“Mr. Sanchez was performing an important news gathering function during a chaotic event when he inadvertently bumped into a police officer. He did not commit a crime,” Morris wrote the Tracker via email. “We look forward to someone taking a unbiased look at the evidence and exonerating Mr. Sanchez. That may ultimately occur with a jury.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6kh4t\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AshantiBlaize/status/1785487561978495436\">thread posted</a> on the social media platform X, Society of Professional Journalists President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins called the new misdemeanor charges “blatant retaliation and intimidation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2qer2\">“TX DPS is trying to make an example out this photographer to scare other journalists from covering these highly publicized protests on campuses across TX,” Blaize-Hopkins wrote. “What they are doing is unconstitutional and just plain vindictive.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZLLQY_-_REUTERS_-_Nuri_Vallbon.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mkskn\">Texas state troopers at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. A photographer with TV station KTBC was charged with a felony, downgraded to two misdemeanors, following his arrest while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Texas Department of Public Safety",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2024-05-01",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
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"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Carlos Sanchez (KTBC)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Breitbart reporter pushed out of UCLA encampment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pro-palestinian-protesters-push-breitbart-reporter-out-of-ucla-encampment/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-01T14:34:13.157458Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-03T12:44:44.454008Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-03T12:44:44.331649Z",
"date": "2024-04-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tn9ik\">Joel Pollak, a senior editor-at-large for Breitbart News, was obstructed from filming and pushed out of a pro-Palestinian protest encampment by several unidentified demonstrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 26, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffki7\">In a video <a href=\"https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/04/26/watch-activists-assault-breitbart-news-journalist-at-ucla-palestine-solidarity-encampment/\">published</a> by Breitbart, a conservative news outlet, Pollak — who is filming with his phone and is heard but not seen — arrives at a “media check-in” point at the edge of the encampment, which was set up the day before by students and was surrounded by plywood barriers erected by the protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"afrlr\">The students, part of a larger movement on campuses <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-palestine-04-29-24/index.html\">across the U.S.</a>, are calling for the university to divest from companies tied to the Israeli military and to cut ties with Israeli academic institutions, among other demands, the <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2024/04/25/ucla-community-organizes-encampment-in-response-to-national-call-for-escalation\">Daily Bruin reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bfube\">After identifying himself as a member of the media, Pollak is initially told by a protester that they are “not letting any media in today. … We had some chaos yesterday with media and counterprotesters and we’re just trying to keep it chill.” The journalist can be heard on the video responding, “It’s a public university, there’s a First Amendment right to freedom of the press. I’m going to walk through the encampment. You can arrest me if you want. But I’m entitled to be here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3h8s4\">Pollak, whose responses were provided to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via a spokesperson, said that he was wearing his Breitbart press credential around his neck. “I really was just looking to stroll thru and film for 2 minutes,” Pollak told the Tracker via email.</p><p data-block-key=\"fc2aa\">The video then shows Pollak entering the encampment after donning a mask at the request of another protester. A few seconds later, protesters ask him to stop filming, saying, “We need people to consent” and citing the encampment’s “community guidelines.” Protesters then hold up scarves, hands and other materials to block his view of the encampment.</p><p data-block-key=\"nups\">The journalist continues to walk around and attempt to film the encampment, but several protesters impede his progress. “I have the same right to be here that you do,” Pollak tells them.</p><p data-block-key=\"cufoa\">After around four minutes, several protesters say, “Link arms,” and the group appears to surround the reporter. Both Pollak and at least one protester say that they’re being touched and pushed by the other.</p><p data-block-key=\"fakgg\">Soon after, a protester is heard saying, “Push” and “Step forward.” The reporter responds, “You’re pushing me. I’m being assaulted by this group.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2c52k\">The group then appears to form a semicircle around Pollak and gradually push him out of the encampment, chanting, “One, two, three, again.” As they near the entrance, several other members of the media can be seen filming the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"2oa97\">Pollak told the Tracker via email that he was “pushed and shoved a lot.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e1aeb\">The Tracker contacted UCLA seeking clarification of the university’s policy toward students limiting press access to the encampment, but its media relations office did not respond directly to the inquiry.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZNMVR_-_Reuters_-_Mike_Blake.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"kbgmv\">Students gather at a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 25, 2024. The next day, protesters pushed Breitbart News editor Joel Pollak out of the encampment as he attempted to film.</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": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Joel Pollak (Breitbart News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Phone knocked from student journalist’s hands while reporting at Northwestern U",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/phone-knocked-from-student-journalists-hands-while-reporting-on-northwestern-u-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-04-29T15:55:11.189916Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-02T13:13:01.851335Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-02T13:13:01.672109Z",
"date": "2024-04-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Evanston",
"longitude": -87.69006,
"latitude": 42.04114,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"npqyv\">Logan Schiciano, the news director for the student-run broadcaster Northwestern News Network, had his phone knocked from his hands while reporting on a student protest on the university’s campus in Evanston, Illinois, on April 25, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"50s9p\">Students had erected tents on a central campus green that morning in support of Palestinians, <a href=\"https://dailynorthwestern.com/2024/04/22/campus/sjp-ejp-and-jvp-resolution-demands-nu-divest-from-companies-with-ties-to-israel-protect-student-speech/\">calling</a> on the university to divest and cut ties with companies and institutions connected to Israel, The Daily Northwestern <a href=\"https://dailynorthwestern.com/2024/04/25/campus/live-pro-palestinian-student-activists-set-up-encampment-on-deering-meadow/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4fr39\">Schiciano told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he arrived at the encampment about an hour and a half after students set up their tents. A few minutes later, he began filming with his phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"5poj8\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/loganschiciano/status/1783569410248020251\">video</a> Schiciano posted on social media, individuals can be seen erecting tents on a lawn when they notice Schiciano filming. Two individuals rush toward the student journalist, and one appears to lunge at Schiciano and knock the phone from his hand.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Unfortunately some protesters at Northwestern’s newly-formed encampment weren’t too thrilled with us reporting. <a href=\"https://t.co/kUXFWt9Kvd\">pic.twitter.com/kUXFWt9Kvd</a></p>— Logan Schiciano (@LoganSchiciano) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LoganSchiciano/status/1783569410248020251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 25, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"npqyv\">Schiciano said that his phone fell to the ground, but was undamaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vc0v\">“They tried to claim that I wasn’t allowed to film because they didn’t consent to having their faces shown. I tried to level with them and explain that press — or anyone really — can film in a public space on campus,” Schiciano told the Tracker. “It was a bit of an off-putting start to my coverage there, but thankfully since that incident I haven’t had anything like that and for the most part the organizers have been pretty receptive, understanding that there’s media there trying to cover their encampment.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/dji_fly_20240426_115250_630_17141.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dsuti\">Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on April 26, 2024. The day prior, a protester knocked a phone from the hands of student journalist Logan Schiciano while he reported on the encampment.</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": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Logan Schiciano (Northwestern News Network)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist violently arrested while documenting UT Austin protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-violently-arrested-while-documenting-ut-austin-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-06T19:48:20.765567Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-04T15:18:36.061095Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-04T15:18:35.937182Z",
"date": "2024-04-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"570jq\">Freelance photojournalist Joseph Rushmore was violently arrested on April 24, 2024, by Texas Department of Public Safety officers and charged with misdemeanor trespassing while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest on the University of Texas at Austin campus, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"2anah\">Rushmore arrived at the university’s South Lawn between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., he told the Tracker, and saw that law enforcement had cordoned off the lawn and formed a ring around it, surrounded by protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"9g1gt\">The protest generally seemed peaceful, Rushmore said, and for about an hour, law enforcement made periodic arrests of single protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"6pffn\">Then, he said, state troopers formed a line and started using their shields to push the crowd on one side of the lawn, where Rushmore was standing. He was pushed into an alcove on the side of a building and fell on top of protesters who had been pushed along with him.</p><p data-block-key=\"a78ba\">“Their shields are on my back,” Rushmore recounted. “I’m crushing three or four people under me. I’m yelling, ‘We’re crushed, we can’t move.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"460v3\">One of the state troopers pulled Rushmore back into the police line. “At first I thought they were trying to relieve the crush that was happening,” he said. Then a trooper put a knee on Rushmore’s back, shoved his face into the ground and zip-tied his hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"c8anh\">“I yell, ‘I’m press, I’m press, I’m press,’” Rushmore said. “No response. So I stop talking. I realize I’m getting arrested.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eab5k\">Rushmore was held for 30 minutes in a law enforcement van and then taken to Travis County Jail, where he was held overnight.</p><p data-block-key=\"86osq\">At 8 a.m. the following day, Rushmore said, “They come and get me and a group of four protesters; they say, ‘OK, your charges are dropped’; they give us our stuff back; and we’re out the doors.” His camera equipment, which the officers had confiscated overnight, did not appear to have been damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"62oie\">At least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-arrested-while-filming-pro-palestinian-protest-at-university-of-texas/\">one other journalist</a> was arrested that day on campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"154nv\">Rushmore said that he believes that law enforcement cracked down simply to prevent the protest from occurring.</p><p data-block-key=\"1rbb8\">“It felt like they were trying to make a point: if you come and do this, we will arrest you,” he said. “I was targeted not for being press but for being there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9oh3\">Rushmore told the Tracker that he had a large camera around his neck but had not been wearing any visible press identification at the time of his arrest, adding: “I feel like the same constitution that protects me as a journalist is also protecting the right to nonviolently protest — which is exactly what was happening. To see that level of nonantagonistic gathering assaulted in the way it was, was pretty astounding.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/042424_UTProtest_101.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"o2b5d\">Photojournalist Joseph Rushmore, pictured at center here, was violently arrested while covering clashes between law enforcement and pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Texas Department of Public Safety",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2024-04-25",
"detention_date": "2024-04-24",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Joseph Rushmore (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Student photojournalist knocked down by police at UT Austin protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-photojournalist-knocked-down-by-police-at-ut-austin-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-07T18:29:05.488529Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-07T18:29:05.488529Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-07T18:29:05.268607Z",
"date": "2024-04-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c3o8x\">Student photojournalist Manoo Sirivelu was pushed and knocked to the ground multiple times by law enforcement while covering a police crackdown on a pro-Palestinian protest April 24, 2024, on the University of Texas at Austin campus, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"863o4\">Sirivelu, the associate photo editor at UT Austin’s student newspaper The Daily Texan, told the Tracker he arrived at the protest at 1:15 p.m. and saw state troopers as well as officers from both the Austin Police Department and the UT Police Department.</p><p data-block-key=\"dv65e\">Sirivelu’s photo editor, who was also there, told him that she and another photographer had been pushed repeatedly by police on horses, so he said they were on “high alert.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9juv0\">Police deployed riot shields and batons and tackled protesters, pushing them off the school’s Main Mall lawn. Sirivelu was photographing arrests when a Texas Department of Public Safety officer accidentally hit him in the chest with his fists while wrapping his arms around a protester to arrest her.</p><p data-block-key=\"8mtg0\">Sirivelu was also pushed into chains that surround the lawn as the troopers advanced. “My legs were getting crushed against the chains,” he said. “I just fell on my butt. I said, ‘Stop, stop, the chains,’ they paused for a moment and I made my way out,” he recalled. The experience of being pushed into the chains was scary, Sirivelu said, so he took a break in a building near the lawn.</p><p data-block-key=\"a1bmk\">After returning, Sirivelu was standing nearby when UT Austin police officers tackled a protester to the ground. One of them then pushed him down.</p><p data-block-key=\"5rrl8\">“The guy right in front of me shoved my chest,” he said. “I fell. I was lying on the ground, police in front of me. I was pretty shocked when I fell on the floor. The shock came from being on the same level and space as the girl who was being arrested and zip-tied. I was looking her straight in the eyes. I sat up, made some space, found the gap between legs, and took that photo.” The image was <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/02/university-protests-gaza-student-pictures?mc_cid=c1dd4cb9bb&mc_eid=d54a865283\">later published by The Guardian</a>. </p><p data-block-key=\"4vrfm\">Sirivelu told the Tracker that he did not suffer any injuries and his camera was undamaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"angt5\">But he stayed farther away from law enforcement for the rest of the day. “I am definitely more situationally aware now,” he said. And after working that day with no press identification, he and his colleagues at The Daily Texan wore press tags the next time they went out to report.</p><p data-block-key=\"7itr9\">“If I had to do the same thing again, despite them having pushed me down, I would,” Sirivelu told the Tracker. “There’s no other way I would have gotten that picture.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZLLR0_-_Reuters_-_Nuri_Vallbon.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b1er5\">Law enforcement officers confront pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024. Student photojournalist Manoo Sirivelu was knocked down and pushed multiple times by law enforcement while covering the clashes.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Manoo Sirivelu (The Daily Texan)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer arrested while filming pro-Palestinian protest at University of Texas",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-arrested-while-filming-pro-palestinian-protest-at-university-of-texas/",
"first_published_at": "2024-04-25T21:05:06.683650Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-01T21:49:56.191988Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-01T21:49:56.048606Z",
"date": "2024-04-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"62iqk\">A photographer with television station KTBC in Austin was thrown to the ground and arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety officers on April 24, 2024, while filming a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas. The photographer, who was not named by the station, was charged with criminal trespassing and released the next day.</p><p data-block-key=\"9obt6\">As seen in <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/zDN8GEVSCxs?feature=shared&t=9334\">video footage</a> taken by the photographer, who was livestreaming the student protest, and in a <a href=\"https://www.fox7austin.com/news/ut-texas-protest-palestine-israel-gaza-rally-college-university-campus\">report</a> by KTBC, the journalist was filming members of law enforcement as they moved back the protest line when he was either pushed or fell into an officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi9b1\">The photographer was then <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Chris_Kuhlman00/status/1783246503907311936\">pulled backward onto the ground</a> by an officer, who can be heard shouting at him to “Get on the ground,” to which the journalist replied, “I was moving.” He was then placed in handcuffs and escorted to a police car outside the protest zone.</p><p data-block-key=\"6in5u\">His video camera continued to film the events, as it was picked up and carried by an unidentified person who walked alongside the photographer and the police until the livestream was cut off.</p><p data-block-key=\"84c1s\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RemadnaKXAN/status/1783245177668141167\">video</a> posted on the social platform X by Nabil Remadna, a reporter with Austin station KXAN-TV, the photographer identifies himself only as “Carlos” and says, “They were pushing me and they said I hit an officer. I didn’t hit an officer. They were pushing.” He added, “I told them I was the press.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This man says he is a member of the press. An officer said his camera hit an officer. The man claims it was not on purpose. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KXAN_News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@KXAN_News</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/mZUcTSNJuZ\">pic.twitter.com/mZUcTSNJuZ</a></p>— Nabil Brent Remadna KXAN (@RemadnaKXAN) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RemadnaKXAN/status/1783245177668141167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"62iqk\">KTBC <a href=\"https://www.fox7austin.com/news/ut-texas-protest-palestine-israel-gaza-rally-college-university-campus\">said</a> the photographer was booked at Travis County jail and charged with criminal trespassing. He was released the following morning, it <a href=\"https://www.fox7austin.com/news/ut-austin-palestine-rally-protesters-released-from-jail\">added</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eh3t3\">Nearly <a href=\"https://www.fox7austin.com/news/ut-texas-protest-palestine-israel-gaza-rally-college-university-campus\">60 people</a> were arrested during the April 24 protest, in which students walked out of classes to demand that the university divest from companies supplying weapons to Israel used in its war in Gaza.</p><p data-block-key=\"43khn\">In a statement on X, the Texas Department of Public Safety <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TxDPS/status/1783259674931769787\">said</a> it responded to the University of Texas campus in Austin “at the request of the University and at the direction of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in order to prevent any unlawful assembly and to support UT Police in maintaining the peace by arresting anyone engaging in any sort of criminal activity, including criminal trespass."</p><p data-block-key=\"c83ef\">The Texas Department of Public Safety and KTBC didn’t respond to requests for additional information about the incident, including the photographer’s full name and details of the charges.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Remadna_still.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"s9exd\">A screenshot from a video taken during the arrest of KTBC broadcast photographer Carlos Sanchez, who was arrested while filming a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas at Austin on April 24, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Texas Department of Public Safety",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2024-04-25",
"detention_date": "2024-04-24",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-04-25 00:00:00+00:00) Charge dropped against photographer arrested while filming University of Texas protest",
"(2024-04-26 15:31:00+00:00) Assault charges filed, quickly dropped against photographer arrested at Texas protest",
"(2024-04-30 11:02:00+00:00) Broadcast photographer faces two new misdemeanor charges following protest arrest"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Carlos Sanchez (KTBC)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist, camera struck by officer at NYC protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-camera-struck-by-officer-at-nyc-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-30T19:19:21.739324Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-30T19:19:21.739324Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-30T19:15:56.780438Z",
"date": "2024-04-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xxf7y\">Independent photojournalist Michael Nigro said a New York City police officer smacked his camera while he was documenting a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Brooklyn on April 23, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l15e\">The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/nyregion/schumer-seder-protest-brooklyn.html\">reported</a> that hundreds gathered in Grand Army Plaza, one block from the home of Sen. Chuck Schumer, to protest against a final congressional vote approving $26 billion in aid to Israel and to call for a cessation of military support amid the Israel-Gaza war.</p><p data-block-key=\"3s6li\">Nigro told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the demonstration was one of the most peaceful he has documented. But while photographing the protests, Nigro said he saw an officer pull out his baton and moved to follow him.</p><p data-block-key=\"cea1b\">“This officer came over and said, ‘Don’t follow my officers.’ I said, ‘I can be here, this is what this badge says I can do,’” he told the Tracker, referring to his visible press credential. “Then he just said, ‘Get away from me!’ and smacked my camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ddot0\">Nigro said that his equipment wasn’t damaged, but that officers have routinely obstructed photojournalists documenting pro-Palestinian protests over recent months.</p><p data-block-key=\"9e5u6\">“The tactic of late with the NYPD and the press is to block us from covering it,” Nigro said. “They’ll stand in front of your camera and put their hands in front of it or just push you back and back. Or, the newest tactic has been taking the press and detaining them, sometimes flexy-cuffing them, and then letting them go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"63ifs\">Nigro said such tactics are “extremely troubling” and that journalists covering New York City protests are banding together to watch each others’ backs and document police aggressions against them.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejn8k\">“The fact that some of these officers are getting all these complaints and — whether they’re allegations or substantiated — nothing seems to be happening except what I don’t even want to say is a slap on the wrist but more of a pat on the back,” Nigro said. “I feel that if you don’t hold them accountable it’s just going to get worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2nm1g\">The New York City Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZK1S8.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"cwdrj\">At a demonstration on April 23, 2024, New York City police detain protesters who had demanded that the U.S. government end military support for Israel. Independent photojournalist Michael Nigro was struck by police while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Michael Nigro (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck by officer attempting to knock phone from his hands",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-by-officer-attempting-to-knock-phone-from-his-hands/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-29T16:12:19.033366Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-05-29T16:12:19.033366Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-05-29T15:11:49.692621Z",
"date": "2024-04-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9wmlp\">Independent photojournalist Gabe Quinones was struck by a New York City police officer who attempted to knock the phone from his hands as he reported on a protest outside Columbia University on April 20, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ttm4\">Protesters at Columbia set up an encampment on campus on April 17 to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war and divestment from Israeli-owned companies, inspiring similar demonstrations at universities and colleges nationwide.</p><p data-block-key=\"cq8v5\">Quinones told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was wearing his press credentials and working alongside other members of the press when police instructed everyone to move back from the university gates. Quinones said he walked backward to continue filming as he complied with the orders and that an officer became fixated on him.</p><p data-block-key=\"99ljt\">In a clip Quinones <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6ByVDJO4Xw/\">shared on Instagram</a> with the audio removed, the officer appears to order Quinones to get back before attempting to grab the phone from his hands or knock it to the ground. As he returns to filming, the officer again appears to order him to get back while pushing Quinones and another member of the press away from the advancing police line.</p><p data-block-key=\"4l2cj\">“At Columbia University I witnessed and filmed police as they became aggressive with members of the press trying to document the action,” Quinones wrote. “I watched as they deliberately stood in front of cameras and denied legal observers the opportunity to document a situation where the officers stormed through the middle of the group of peaceful protestors.”</p><p data-block-key=\"db2kk\">The New York City Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZEAVB.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"z7crv\">Protesters gather outside Columbia University in New York City in solidarity with the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus on April 20, 2024. A police officer struck photojournalist Gabe Quinones that day when attempting to grab the phone from his hands.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Gabe Quinones (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalists pepper-sprayed, threatened and harassed at campus protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-pepper-sprayed-threatened-and-harassed-at-campus-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-05-20T19:50:22.632667Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-02T21:00:39.548576Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-02T21:00:39.418682Z",
"date": "2024-04-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Multiple",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><i>Following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s resulting monthslong war in Gaza, protests have erupted across the United States — and the globe — calling for a cease-fire. Some of the loudest voices have come from U.S. campuses. On April 17, 2024, protesters at Columbia University in New York City set up an encampment on campus, inspiring similar demonstrations nationwide, with students occupying campus buildings or erecting encampments to demand that administrations divest from weapons manufacturers and Israeli-owned companies. As professional and student journalists alike have worked to document these demonstrations, they have been exposed to chemical irritants, harassed by both protesters and counterprotesters, and subject to restrictions enacted by campus authorities or law enforcement. Below is a roundup of such incidents, grouped by campus. This collection will be updated as additional incidents are verified.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"fs69k\"><i>A full accounting of incidents in which members of the press were assaulted, arrested or had their equipment damaged while covering these protests can be found</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-04-17&date_upper=2024-05-10&tags=Israel-Gaza+war%2Cprotest\"><i>here</i></a><i>. To learn more about how the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/about/\"><i>https://pressfreedomtracker.us/about/</i></a><i>.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"17frc\"></p><p data-block-key=\"22o9h\"><b>Columbia University</b></p><p data-block-key=\"efs8d\"><i>April 20, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"9vehu\">Independent photographer <b>Madison Swart</b> told the Tracker that while documenting a rally outside campus, New York City police officers forced her and other members of the press further and further back from the university gates ahead of making arrests. She said the decision to do so seemed random, and that she had never seen officers push press photographers as far back as they did that night.</li></ul><p data-block-key=\"4q462\"><i>April 30, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"9b3pk\">The <b>Columbia Spectator</b>, the university’s student-run newspaper, published <a href=\"https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2024/05/04/letter-from-the-editors-columbia-enabled-the-nypd-to-suppress-free-press-as-it-brutalized-our-peers/\">a letter from the editors</a> detailing how its staff was denied access or harassed by law enforcement while they attempted to document the clearing of Hamilton Hall. Pro-Palestinian protesters had occupied the administrative building early that morning, following the April 18 <a href=\"https://columbianewsservice.com/2024/05/03/protest/\">sweep</a> of the campus encampment that resulted in the arrests of over 100 demonstrators. <b>Isabella Ramírez</b>, editor-in-chief and president, and <b>Esha Karam</b>, managing editor and vice president, wrote that when the campus first went under complete lockdown, they and countless other journalists were stuck outside. Ramírez, Karam and two other Spectator journalists were eventually allowed to return to campus after speaking to the university’s Office of Public Affairs. As New York City police officers advanced on Hamilton Hall, however, they reported that police pushed them further and further from the building. Once the journalists were approximately 400 feet away and near John Jay Hall, where they had left their belongings, officers prevented them from entering the building, instead forcing them off campus via the nearby exit at 114th Street near Amsterdam Avenue.<br/><br/> One block away, at 114th Street and Broadway, police argued with two other Spectator reporters about whether they were indeed journalists, with the officers reportedly “jeering at their makeshift press passes.” In the middle of the block, an officer grabbed another Spectator journalist by the shoulder to move her out of the way while ordering everyone off the street. Another student journalist in the same area was shoved twice, grabbed and pushed to the side by an NYPD officer.<br/><br/>Another group of Spectator journalists were standing on the bridge over Amsterdam Avenue near Columbia Law School when officers rushed at the crowd, threatening arrest. “Officers mocked our journalists and told them to run, swearing at them and laughing as students bolted away in panic,” the editors reported. The officers then chased the reporters until a university public safety officer intervened.<br/></li><li data-block-key=\"4f4hc\"><b>Şeyma Bayram</b>, a fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, <a href=\"https://x.com/SeymaBayram0/status/1785727176651796832\">reported on social media</a> that she was among the journalists prevented from covering the raid on Hamilton Hall and was removed from campus.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NYPD officers raided the Columbia University campus at the request of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik on Tuesday evening, April 30. The officers also forcibly removed journalists, myself included, who were covering the raid. Photos by me for <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AP</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/LW8J8tA9wO\">pic.twitter.com/LW8J8tA9wO</a></p>— Şeyma Bayram (@SeymaBayram0) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SeymaBayram0/status/1785727176651796832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><b>Olga Fedorova</b>, a freelance photojournalist, and other members of the press were <a href=\"https://x.com/olgafe_images/status/1786419065843523867\">ordered</a> to leave the area around Hamilton Hall under threat of arrest. At around 9:30 p.m., New York City police officers advanced on the building and began arresting the protesters outside. In footage Fedorova posted to social media a few days later, an officer can be heard telling the journalists, “Get out! Guys, I’m asking you to leave. Now. Now! Get off the stairs!” A second officer can also be heard threatening them with arrest if they don’t comply.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Prior to making arrests at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Columbia_University?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Columbia_University</a> NYPD cleared nearly all journalists from the area, then threatened me and other members of the press with arrest. <a href=\"https://t.co/fNFRh6wey7\">pic.twitter.com/fNFRh6wey7</a></p>— Olya Fedorova (@olgafe_images) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/olgafe_images/status/1786419065843523867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 3, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"i8jmd\"><b>Fordham University</b></p><p data-block-key=\"euje6\"><i>May 1, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"btpf8\">Independent reporter <b>Katie Smith</b> <a href=\"https://x.com/probablyreadit/status/1785794877474718150/history\">recorded</a> as university staff hung a tarp over the window of a campus building to block the press and the public’s view of a protest encampment as New York City police officers prepared to make arrests. New York Focus <a href=\"https://nysfocus.com/2024/05/09/fordham-university-encampment-arrest\">reported</a> that a few dozen students had erected the encampment inside the building earlier that morning and the tarp wasn’t big enough to block the entire window.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NOW: Staff at Fordham University hang a tarp over the window to block the view of the encampment as NYPD prepares to make arrests <br><br>Protesters then broke through police barricades are are now closed heading to the other entrance <a href=\"https://t.co/qOgruDGRHr\">pic.twitter.com/qOgruDGRHr</a></p>— katie smith (@probablyreadit) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/probablyreadit/status/1785794877474718150?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><b>Harvard University</b></p><p data-block-key=\"9gla\"><i>May 10, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"bkjt3\">A <b>student journalist</b> for The Harvard Crimson, the university’s student-run newspaper, <a href=\"https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/11/harvard-crimson-reporter-involuntary-leave-protest/\">was sent</a> an “involuntary leave of absence notice,” alongside 20 students whom the Harvard administration identified as having remained in the student encampment. The Crimson <a href=\"https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/10/harvard-palestine-encampment-involuntary-leave/\">reported</a> that the students who were issued notices would not be able to finish their exams or remain on campus, and were functionally trespassed from the campus. The Crimson’s leadership alerted Harvard College officials that they had issued a notice to a freshman reporter who had been on assignment covering the encampment and had not participated in the protest. The College retracted the notice and apologized for the error, but did not offer an explanation for how the mistake was made.</li></ul><p data-block-key=\"bcrq\"><b>New York University</b></p><p data-block-key=\"ahf7a\"><i>April 22, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"fokpo\"><b>Samson Tu</b>, a photojournalist for the student newspaper Washington Square News, was pepper-sprayed while reporting on student protests on NYU’s campus. “I was documenting the use of barricades to block police access when I was sprayed,” Tu said. “I did not intend nor did I interfere with police instructions.” He told the Tracker that he was not wearing his New York City press corps credential at the time, and didn’t think the New York police officers targeted him as a journalist. Tu noted that other student journalists from the News were pepper-sprayed as well, but did not identify them.<br/><br/>Tu told the Tracker in June that he filed a report with New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates police misconduct, specifically excessive use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy and offensive language. He said that, following his initial interview, he was told it might take months to investigate the incident.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">One of the people NYPD maced last night is a photojournalist for NYU’s student paper, Washington Square News.<br><br>Photo shared with me by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Gabe_Vascon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Gabe_Vascon</a>, a journalism student at NYU. <a href=\"https://t.co/ZBs4C7Ecam\">pic.twitter.com/ZBs4C7Ecam</a></p>— Talia Jane ❤️🔥 (@taliaotg) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1782719521364574630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 23, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><b>The City College of New York</b></p><p data-block-key=\"f3d1r\"><i>April 30, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"5odgr\"><b>An unidentified journalist</b> was pepper-sprayed while reporting on protests on the campus that day. In a video shared online, the journalist can be seen receiving treatment, with individuals instructing him to keep blinking while they pour water over his face. Another person, who appears to be holding a professional camera and wearing a press credential, can be seen supporting the man receiving treatment and heard thanking those providing aid. The Tracker was unable to identify the journalists. NYCity News Service, a student news service out of the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, <a href=\"https://www.nycitynewsservice.com/2024/05/04/pepper-spray-and-surging-crowds-videos-show-flashpoints-at-city-college/\">reported</a> that university public safety officers deployed a cloud of pepper spray against protesters at close range.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">🚨🇺🇸BREAKING: JOURNALIST PEPPER-SPRAYED AT CCNY<br><br>Police allegedly used pepper spray on a journalist during ongoing campus protests at City College. <br><br>Source: Quds News <a href=\"https://t.co/WdDA1Bc1b9\">https://t.co/WdDA1Bc1b9</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/Z6FiJxpOWe\">pic.twitter.com/Z6FiJxpOWe</a></p>— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/1785474358372397062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><b>University of California, Los Angeles</b></p><p data-block-key=\"b54r8\"><i>April 30, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"7quoo\"><b>Anna Dai-Liu</b>, a student journalist for UCLA’s student newspaper the Daily Bruin, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/yaxiins/status/1785880589700342026\">reported on social media</a> that she was “gassed” within minutes of entering Dickson Plaza, where pro-Palestinian protesters had erected an encampment at the heart of campus. A group of approximately 100 pro-Israeli counterprotesters attempted to storm the encampment that day, the Bruin <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/01/pro-israel-counter-protesters-attempt-to-storm-encampment-sparking-violence\">reported</a>, tearing down the barricades surrounding it, shooting fireworks inside and releasing chemical irritants.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As <a href=\"https://twitter.com/dailybruin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dailybruin</a> reporters return to Dickson Plaza for the second time in 24 hours, a look back on the violence that occurred last night toward students – including me, as I was gassed minutes after entering the plaza: <a href=\"https://t.co/5HOW6Vraej\">https://t.co/5HOW6Vraej</a></p>— Anna Dai-Liu (@yaxiins) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/yaxiins/status/1785880589700342026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><i>May 2, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"n1o7\"><b>Three Daily Bruin photographers</b> were <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/stonewall\">threatened with arrest</a> by California Highway Patrol officers while documenting the police sweep of the encampment early that morning. The officers ordered the photojournalists to leave, despite the fact they were carrying press passes signed by the university police, as well as letters from Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications Mary Osako granting them access to a building on campus to aid in their reporting.</li></ul><p data-block-key=\"d6jna\"><b>University of Southern California</b></p><p data-block-key=\"crtob\"><i>May 5, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"7v1qo\">Student journalists for <b>Annenberg Media</b> were prevented from covering the Los Angeles Police Department’s clearing and destruction of the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on campus early that morning. The student-led news platform <a href=\"https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2024/05/05/campus-reopens-after-lapd-clears-divest-from-death-encampment/\">reported</a> that officers established a “press staging area” outside an auditorium several hundred feet from the encampment.<br/><br/> <b>Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan</b>, an editor for Annenberg Media, told <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/usc-palestine-student-journalists-police/\">TheWrap</a> that officers pushed student journalists beyond the point where they could see what was happening. “We tried to set up, we tried to ask them multiple times, but they kept pushing media towards the back, towards the end, where we really couldn’t see anything,” Khan said. “We really had to sort of put ourselves at risk, actually, to sort of go towards the front so we could document.”<br/><br/>Annenberg Media reporter <b>Makayla Idelburg</b>, who was with Khan that night, <a href=\"https://x.com/IcebergMakayla/status/1787363243868180528\">recorded</a> as officers ordered her to return to the staging area or leave campus. One of the officers can be heard saying, “If you mouth off, we’re going to go ahead and treat you like the protesters. Act like the media.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Early this morning, myself and other student journalists were prevented from gaining appropriate access to cover the encampment clear-out. When I questioned the officer, I received aggressive responses and threats. <br><br>*this is my vid*<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/USC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#USC</a><a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/university_students?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#university_students</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/studentjournalism?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#studentjournalism</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/GtceHKiVlh\">pic.twitter.com/GtceHKiVlh</a></p>— Makayla Idelburg (@IcebergMakayla) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/IcebergMakayla/status/1787363243868180528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 6, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><b>Jeremy Lindenfeld</b>, a freelance reporter, was also among the members of the press <a href=\"https://x.com/jeremotographs/status/1787085353398223014\">ordered back</a> to a media staging area hundreds of feet away from the encampment. An officer can be heard telling him to go there “before you get hit by an officer.” Lindenfeld also filmed as USC Journalism professor Alan Mittelstaedt <a href=\"https://x.com/jeremotographs/status/1787078373468262754\">argued</a> with an officer about the staging area being hundreds of feet from the encampment as he and multiple other journalists were ordered to remain on the far side of the auditorium.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LAPD giving illegal orders moving media hundreds of feet away from the encampment. We are too far to see anything. <a href=\"https://t.co/eO43aM2vdJ\">pic.twitter.com/eO43aM2vdJ</a></p>— Jeremy Lindenfeld (@jeremotographs) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jeremotographs/status/1787085353398223014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"9zzgf\">Freelance journalist <b>Jon Peltz</b> was first directed out of view of the encampment and then off campus. In <a href=\"https://x.com/JonnyPeltz/status/1787091757395857802\">footage</a> he posted on social media, officers direct the crowd — which appears to consist of protesters, legal observers and members of the press — to “leave the area.” The crowd appears to be ushered through the gate of a wrought iron fence that is then closed behind them.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Got pushed out by a baton. <a href=\"https://t.co/j68vNSMJdM\">pic.twitter.com/j68vNSMJdM</a></p>— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonnyPeltz/status/1787091757395857802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9zzgf\"><b>University of Texas at Austin</b></p><p data-block-key=\"2ntgd\"><i>April 29, 2024</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"cf8nv\"><b>Maryam Ahmed</b>, a senior news reporter for the student newspaper The Daily Texan, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Maryamahm92/status/1785918524583522763\">posted on social media</a> that she was pepper-sprayed and had a flash-bang grenade “knock out” her eardrums while reporting on the protests on the UT Austin campus. In her <a href=\"https://thedailytexan.com/2024/04/29/ut-austin-pro-palestine-encampment-dismantled-by-law-enforcement-over-100-protesters-arrested/\">coverage</a> of law enforcement’s dismantling of the protest encampment on April 29, she wrote that university police officers issued their first dispersal order shortly after 1 p.m. Department of Public Safety officers arrived on campus shortly after, and law enforcement began making the first arrests at 1:45 p.m. Just under three hours later, Ahmed wrote, officers began pepper-spraying protesters and set off two flash-bang grenades.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In the last week I’ve been pepper sprayed; I’ve had flashbangs knock out my eardrums; I’ve seen protesters beaten, choked and arrested (footage from Monday’s protest 4/29 ⬇️ TW: violence). It’s been a hell of a week. <a href=\"https://t.co/9SaxlGN7xK\">pic.twitter.com/9SaxlGN7xK</a></p>— Maryam Ahmed (@Maryamahm92) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Maryamahm92/status/1785918524583522763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSZV3WP.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"v4o9g\">Columbia University students gather at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the New York City campus on April 29, 2024. Journalists reporting on similar encampments across the country faced chemical irritants, harassment, threats and restricted access.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"targeted_institutions": [
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist detained while documenting NYC protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-detained-while-documenting-nyc-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-04-18T18:41:50.952263Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-26T21:26:46.187989Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-26T21:26:46.047605Z",
"date": "2024-04-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v5n9v\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was repeatedly shoved and briefly detained by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on April 15, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"4j211\">Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was on assignment for FreedomNews.TV covering a protest that shut down the Brooklyn Bridge. The demonstration was part of a national campaign to block roads on Tax Day to disrupt economies and pressure leaders into advocating for a cease-fire, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/world/middleeast/ceasefire-palestine-gaza-protest.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3u7od\">Protesters and police were engaged in what Fedorova described as a game of cat and mouse, as officers attempted to prevent the demonstration from moving onto the bridge. Fedorova said officers repeatedly pushed her as she was filming while walking backward, nearly knocking her over.</p><p data-block-key=\"7kphh\">As a group of protesters made their way onto the bridge at around 3:30 p.m., blocking vehicular traffic, Fedorova told the Tracker she and fellow photojournalists <a href=\"/all-incidents/status-coup-photojournalist-briefly-detained-while-covering-nyc-protest/\">Jon Farina</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-at-pro-palestinian-protest-in-nyc/\">Neil Constantine</a> followed in order to continue their coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nqu2\">“The protesters were being chased by cops on bicycles, and a group of them climbed over to the pedestrian side in order to evade the bicycle unit,” Fedorova said.</p><p data-block-key=\"624ea\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/StatusCoup/status/1779966316100604000\">footage</a> captured by Farina, he and Fedorova can be heard identifying themselves as press. An officer responds that he understands but orders them to keep moving across the bridge.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">🚨NYPD officers temporarily detain Status Coup cameraman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonFarinaPhoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JonFarinaPhoto</a>, who has covered over 40 Ceasefire protests in NYC and D.C for Status Coup. "I can't climb over [the fence], I've got too much equipment on," Jon told officers. They eventually un-cuffed him/let him go... <a href=\"https://t.co/gSIzB5mWuc\">pic.twitter.com/gSIzB5mWuc</a></p>— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/StatusCoup/status/1779966316100604000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v5n9v\">After most of the protesters had climbed the fence or been arrested, Fedorova said she decided to climb over the fence as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"br17c\">“As I approached the fence and had my back turned to the cops — on my backpack I have a patch that says ‘PRESS’ — one of them grabbed me and pulled me by the hair backwards,” Fedorova said. “I identified myself as press and showed him my press badge, but they cuffed me and then cuffed Jon Farina.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dv5he\">Fedorova said both she and Farina identified as press multiple times, but were detained in zip-tie cuffs for approximately 10 minutes. The officers called the department’s Legal Bureau, she said, which advised them to release the journalists without charge.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkjjg\">“There’s a pattern of what seems to be ignorance or lack of understanding of what the press does or the rights of the press,” Fedorova said. “Sometimes it’s like some of the officers have never seen a press badge before or haven’t been educated as to what that is.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e9fp8\">She told the Tracker she plans to file a complaint with the deputy commissioner of public information. The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Fedorova_arrest.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"65gr4\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova, right, was briefly detained and handcuffed by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest that shut down the Brooklyn Bridge on April 15, 2024. She was released without charges.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"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,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name": "New York",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in NYC",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-at-pro-palestinian-protest-in-nyc/",
"first_published_at": "2024-04-18T19:29:20.681998Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-28T15:13:17.031269Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-28T15:05:15.047432Z",
"date": "2024-04-15",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7fq8e\">Neil Constantine, a photojournalist for the monthly newspaper The Indypendent, was arrested by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on April 15, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"41lbh\">Constantine told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived to document the protest as demonstrators gathered in front of the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan at around 2 p.m. Protesters then made their way toward City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. The demonstration was part of a national campaign to block roads on Tax Day to disrupt economies and pressure leaders into advocating for a cease-fire, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/world/middleeast/ceasefire-palestine-gaza-protest.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"b3o1f\">Police had blocked most entrances to the bridge, Constantine said, but a group of at least 100 protesters found a way onto the roadway at around 3:30 p.m., blocking vehicular traffic. Constantine said he followed the demonstrators to continue his coverage and was toward the back of the group.</p><p data-block-key=\"3rua1\">Bicycle officers with the Strategic Response Group followed the protesters as they marched across the bridge, and when protesters began running to evade arrest, Constantine said he remained behind.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ood8\">“Two officers on bikes pulled up and told me to stop and that I was under arrest,” Constantine said. “I wasn’t given an order to get off the bridge or disperse or anything, I was just arrested.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aumi5\">Constantine told the Tracker that he identified himself as a journalist to the officers and that both his city-issued and National Press Photographers Association credentials were visible. One of the officers told him that he didn’t care and that he was trespassing.</p><p data-block-key=\"9f3e0\">The photojournalist was placed in zip-tie cuffs and loaded into a van with eight demonstrators. Two other photojournalists, <a href=\"/all-incidents/status-coup-photojournalist-briefly-detained-while-covering-nyc-protest/\">Jon Farina</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-detained-while-documenting-nyc-protest/\">Olga Fedorova</a>, were briefly detained by police after the majority of protesters had been arrested or had successfully climbed over a fence to the bike lane.</p><p data-block-key=\"7964v\">Constantine said he was then taken to police headquarters in Manhattan for processing. Throughout his booking process, he identified himself as a member of the press, which he said seemed to surprise some of the officers, one of whom asked, “Wait, really? Was your pass visible?”</p><p data-block-key=\"b8u73\">“I ended up being let out first, or close to first, even though I wasn’t the first one in,” Constantine told the Tracker. “At the summons desk, when they were trying to get my paperwork in order, one of the officers told a higher-up, ‘Oh, he’s the one.’ And the other said, ‘He’s that one? He needs to go. You need to get him out of here now.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"21bih\">The photojournalist was released at approximately 7:30 p.m. with a summons for walking on the roadway. His initial appearance hearing is scheduled for May 3. Constantine said he was able to resume his coverage, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TheIndypendent/status/1780039621700636862\">filming</a> as demonstrators were released and began protesting again.</p><p data-block-key=\"49a7e\">Constantine told the Tracker that police aggression toward protests and the journalists covering them has ramped up in recent months.</p><p data-block-key=\"665k6\">“Since January, they’ve started cracking down on many aspects of protesting. They’ve started going after you if you don’t have a permit and start using a microphone and now also for being in the street,” Constantine told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"d2v19\">The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Constantine.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nkuaw\">Shortly after Neil Constantine, photojournalist for The Indypendent, captured this image of demonstrators marching across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on April 15, 2024, he was arrested and charged with walking in the roadway.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2024-04-15",
"detention_date": "2024-04-15",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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},
"updates": [
"(2024-06-20 00:00:00+00:00) Charge dropped against photojournalist arrested during New York City protest"
],
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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},
{
"title": "Status Coup photojournalist briefly detained while covering NYC protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/status-coup-photojournalist-briefly-detained-while-covering-nyc-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-04-18T19:13:42.934365Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-18T19:35:22.812948Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-18T19:35:22.681943Z",
"date": "2024-04-15",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nd69a\">Status Coup photojournalist Jon Farina was briefly detained by New York Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City on April 15, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"cn3pi\">Farina told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he documented the protest as demonstrators made their way from Wall Street in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge, shutting it down. The demonstration was part of a national campaign to block roads on Tax Day to disrupt economies and pressure leaders into advocating for a cease-fire, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/world/middleeast/ceasefire-palestine-gaza-protest.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"71nd\">Police had blocked most entrances to the bridge, Farina said, but a group of approximately 100 protesters found a way onto the roadway at around 3:30 p.m., blocking vehicular traffic. Farina said he and freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova followed the demonstrators to continue their coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"aonpn\">Bicycle officers with the Strategic Response Group followed the protesters as they marched across the bridge, then began to arrest them one by one.</p><p data-block-key=\"67tbl\">“I stayed behind with Olga to document as the rest of the protest continued forward,” Farina said. “The officers started telling us to move along, and they were in Olga’s face trying to prevent her from documenting the arrests.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ap9g2\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/StatusCoup/status/1779966316100604000\">footage</a> captured by Farina, he and Fedorova can be heard identifying themselves as press, and an officer responds that he understands but orders them to keep moving across the bridge. A few moments later, another officer orders Farina to climb over the fence to the pedestrian side.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">🚨NYPD officers temporarily detain Status Coup cameraman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonFarinaPhoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JonFarinaPhoto</a>, who has covered over 40 Ceasefire protests in NYC and D.C for Status Coup. "I can't climb over [the fence], I've got too much equipment on," Jon told officers. They eventually un-cuffed him/let him go... <a href=\"https://t.co/gSIzB5mWuc\">pic.twitter.com/gSIzB5mWuc</a></p>— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/StatusCoup/status/1779966316100604000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nd69a\">Farina said he responded that he had too much equipment and that he didn’t want to risk damaging it, so he told the officer that he’d walk to the end of the bridge. When Fedorova saw that he wasn’t climbing over she also stayed to walk with him, Farina told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"3mb9g\">As they neared the end of the bridge, officers boxed in <a href=\"/all-incidents/photojournalist-detained-while-documenting-nyc-protest/\">Fedorova</a> and handcuffed her, despite her protestations that she was a member of the press documenting the demonstration. Moments later, Farina was detained and cuffed with zip ties as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"d56sp\">“We’re in the street documenting because there’s action happening — officers are making arrests or protesters are marching. We’re not there for no reason,” Farina told the Tracker. “If we can’t be there to properly document the arrests, then people aren’t going to see the truth of what’s happening on the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c386t\">In an interview with the Tracker, Fedorova said the two of them were detained for approximately 10 minutes. The officers called the department’s Legal Bureau, she said, which advised them to release the journalists without charge.</p><p data-block-key=\"892ch\">Farina contended that the lack of charges shows that they shouldn’t have been detained in the first place and that such actions are part of a larger problem with the NYPD’s response to demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"e0ld1\">“This is an issue and it’s been growing each week, every protest. The police, the violence and the chaos they cause, and the assaulting of journalists and the detaining of journalists, it’s just been getting worse,” Farina said. “I’m hoping we can fight back against this because it’s getting out of control.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bnpe0\">Farina told the Tracker he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-by-police-twice-while-documenting-nyc-protest/\">assaulted</a> while covering a separate pro-Palestinian protest on March 28. The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Farina2x.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3t529\">In screenshots of footage captured by a bystander, New York Police Department officers detain Status Coup photojournalist Jon Farina while he was covering a pro-Palestinian protest. He was released without charges after approximately 10 minutes.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"name": "New York",
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]
