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{
"title": "German reporter shot at, threatened with arrest amid Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/german-reporter-shot-at-threatened-with-arrest-amid-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:59:31.799677Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:05:17.666269Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:05:17.571924Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mdnnk\">Police attacked dozens of journalists with rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray on May 30, 2020, during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</p><p data-block-key=\"7zfv7\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"ijqyj\">Minneapolis police fired projectiles at Deutsche Welle reporter Stefan Simons and his camera operator, according to a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1267119897806397442\">tweet</a> from the news agency.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A DW reporter and his camera operator have been shot at with projectiles by Minneapolis police and threatened with arrest while covering the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. <a href=\"https://t.co/SFKMv5SFW6\">pic.twitter.com/SFKMv5SFW6</a></p>— DW News (@dwnews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1267119897806397442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f0gpm\">“A DW reporter and his camera operator have been shot at with projectiles by Minneapolis police and threatened with arrest while covering the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd,” the network tweeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"wwzfa\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"he4id\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Stefan Simons (Deutsche Welle)"
],
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},
{
"title": "LAPD officer aims weapon at student reporter during protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/lapd-officer-aims-weapon-at-student-reporter-during-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-29T17:45:06.972021Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T17:54:20.177185Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T17:54:20.046593Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8cxjy\">Jintak Han, a photographer and reporter for the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper, was shot at by law enforcement while covering protests in Los Angeles, California, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"vokrj\">The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"erpwk\">Han told the Committee to Protect Journalists — a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — that he was wrapping up an afternoon reporting on the protests and trying to cross Beverly Boulevard to head back to his car around 7:15 p.m. when he found himself facing a police line that was clearing protesters block-by-block.</p><p data-block-key=\"u1820\">Han said he was readily identifiable as a journalist, wearing a press pass, as well as a white helmet and a vest emblazoned with “PRESS,” and carrying three cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"o26u5\">Despite this, he said, an officer aimed his weapon at him, prompting Han to raise both hands in the air. He moved into an opening, and soon was standing “some distance away” from a group of four protesters who were shielding themselves behind a mattress when officers opened fire. “The rubber bullets fell short and hit the ground near my feet before I hid behind the mattress,” he told CPJ.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/LAPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LAPD</a> fired rubber bullets at me despite me:<br>1. Wearing my press helmet<br>2. Wearing my press vest<br>3. Wearing my press pass<br>4. Telling them I’m press<br>Thankfully they missed. <a href=\"https://t.co/jyLRF1Wt81\">pic.twitter.com/jyLRF1Wt81</a></p>— Jintak Han (한진탁) (@jintakhan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jintakhan/status/1266918983598354432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0irhi\">LAPD did not respond to an email requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"w7351\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jintak Han (Daily Bruin)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Yellow Scene Magazine editor shot with pepper balls while covering Denver protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/yellow-scene-magazine-editor-shot-with-pepper-balls-while-covering-denver-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-07-29T15:55:30.825536Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T00:41:50.883853Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T00:41:50.790575Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Denver",
"longitude": -104.9847,
"latitude": 39.73915,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4le4b\">Johnathen Duran, content editor at Colorado-based Yellow Scene Magazine, said he was shot with pepper balls and hit with tear gas while livestreaming from a Black Lives Matter protest in Denver on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"1n8ex\">“I was shot in the arm and foot with pepper balls,” Duran, who writes under the name De La Vaca, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “This was at approximately 5:40-6 p.m.,” he said, adding that police officers used chemical agents including smoke bombs and pepper balls, as well as flash-bang grenades, on protesters in a dirt lot adjacent to the city’s Civic Center Station.</p><p data-block-key=\"j64x6\">“I was on the far sidewalk, taking photographs while wearing a press badge,” he said. “I was subsequently hit with tear gas twice, once on the Capitol lawn, and the second time of which forced me to leave the protest to recover.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vy7a0\">Duran shared images with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker of bruising on his arms, which he said were caused by the pepper balls.</p><p data-block-key=\"xgkws\">A Denver Police Force spokesperson said the department didn’t have a record of the incident. However, the spokesperson said the department had <a href=\"https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d25ae76545014a8f9cf3392b4946f682\">undertaken a review of its response</a> to the large-scale demonstrations in the city following the killing of George Floyd, some of which escalated into violence.</p><p data-block-key=\"chhrr\">The department reviewed the use and tracking of “less-than-lethal” munitions, the processes for documenting use of force during protests, the use of body cameras and improving dispersal orders, among other issues.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"case_number": "1:20-cv-01878",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-03-07 15:03:00+00:00) Journalist reaches settlement with city of Denver",
"(2020-07-23 00:00:00+00:00) Editor at Colorado’s Yellow Scene Magazine files lawsuit against cities of Denver, Aurora"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Johnathen Duran (Yellow Scene Magazine)"
],
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},
{
"title": "British reporter struck with crowd-control munitions amid Minneapolis protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/british-reporter-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-minneapolis-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:16:34.939808Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T17:56:30.350736Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T17:56:30.266043Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5p66g\">Andrew Buncombe, the chief U.S. correspondent for the British Independent newspaper, was struck by crowd-control munitions and caught in tear gas while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"gy3ce\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. An 8 p.m. curfew was put into effect on May 30.</p><p data-block-key=\"0dp4r\">At about 8:40 p.m., a group of Minnesota state police and National Guard officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a group of protesters, which also hit several journalists covering the demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"q9kt9\">Buncombe told the Committee to Protect Journalists — a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — that he and several other reporters were trying to retreat from the area where police were advancing on protesters when police fired a non-lethal round that hit his backpack, leaving a white powder behind. He posted <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AndrewBuncombe/status/1266911306889789440\">a photo</a> of the backpack to Twitter.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Independent’s backpack also hit despite holding press credential high in air <a href=\"https://t.co/f64VnT4eUs\">pic.twitter.com/f64VnT4eUs</a></p>— Andrew Buncombe (@AndrewBuncombe) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AndrewBuncombe/status/1266911306889789440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zvqx9\">After journalists separated themselves from the crowd, police released more tear gas in their direction, despite journalists repeatedly showing their press credentials and saying they were press, Buncombe said.</p><p data-block-key=\"iy18a\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"6dnsa\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
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"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Producer struck in the back with projectile while covering Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/producer-struck-in-the-back-with-projectile-while-covering-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:51:59.102810Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:04:16.661009Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:04:16.582616Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"i4hpu\">Vice News producer Roberto Daza was struck with a crowd-control munition while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"ref3r\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"s6yvi\">Daza told the Committee to Protect Journalists — a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — that in the early evening state troopers fired a less-lethal round that struck him in the back.</p><p data-block-key=\"jweif\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"zg7vt\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Dallas Morning News reporters targeted by state trooper with tear gas",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dallas-morning-news-reporters-targeted-by-state-trooper-with-tear-gas/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-28T19:26:01.667866Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T17:47:23.622647Z",
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"longitude": -96.80667,
"latitude": 32.78306,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"92dgp\">Two Dallas Morning News reporters said a Texas state trooper rolled a can of tear gas at them while they covered protests in downtown Dallas, Texas, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"1155o\">The protests were sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, for 8 minutes and 46 seconds during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"0m9y7\">On May 30th, Dallas Morning News reporters Corbett Smith and Jesus Jiménez were documenting police efforts to clear out protesters from outside of their newspaper’s office.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kcue\">Smith told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the incident happened just after 8 p.m., when a state trooper, who was standing 20 to 25 yards away, made eye contact with Smith as the pair stood on South Harwood Street near the The Dallas Morning News headquarters.</p><p data-block-key=\"2wtl7\">“There's a state trooper who turns and looks right at me,” Smith said, “and pulled the pin on the gas.” The trooper <a href=\"https://twitter.com/corbettsmithDMN/status/1266899262719303681\">rolled the canister</a> toward Smith and Jiménez, but the canister “kind of skittered off to the west underneath a car that was 10 feet away.” The pair was able to quickly retreat, avoiding being enveloped by the gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"c0mt2\">There was no one standing between the journalists and the trooper at the time he rolled the canister at them, Smith said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gnqh\">Both Smith and Jiménez said they were clearly identifiable as members of the media. The Tracker <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dallas-morning-news-reporters-targeted-by-law-enforcement-with-tear-gas/\">documented Jiménez's assault here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"nduua\">“It was very clear who I was and what I was doing,” Smith said. “I never thought that I would have an officer do something like that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"74ho0\">Smith identified the officer as a state trooper, part of the Texas Department of Public Safety, based on the shield he was carrying.</p><p data-block-key=\"xvduf\">In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson from the Texas DPS wrote in an email that the department “does not have a record of any of our personnel deploying a gas canister in the area of the Dallas Morning News offices in Dallas on the evening of May 30, 2020.”</p><p data-block-key=\"upen3\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"hy3f6\"><i>This article was updated to reflect comment from the Texas Department of Public Safety.</i></p></div>",
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{
"title": "Toledo Blade editor tear gassed, shot at with police projectiles during Ohio protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/toledo-blade-editor-tear-gassed-shot-at-with-police-projectiles-during-ohio-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-18T17:43:06.628988Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:10:36.447813Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:10:36.358093Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Toledo",
"longitude": -83.55521,
"latitude": 41.66394,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3l3wp\">Toledo Blade editor Nolan Rosenkrans said he was caught in tear gas and shot at with crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while covering protests in Toledo, Ohio, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"t4ux2\">The protest was held in response to a video showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for more than eight minutes during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The incident sparked anti-police brutality and Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"db219\">Nolan Cramer, a journalism student interning for the Toledo City Paper, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was photographing near the corner of East Woodruff and Franklin Avenues as Toledo Police Department officers worked to disperse protesters in the street at around 5:45 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"m6798\">Cramer said that an officer deliberately threw a tear gas canister at him and Toledo Blade editor Nolan Rosenkrans, who was standing next to them, despite both of them wearing visible press passes. Both journalists were caught in the cloud of tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"bzqeh\">Rosenkrans told the Tracker that he had not felt targeted with tear gas that day, but noted that he did not know what Nolan had experienced or seen.</p><p data-block-key=\"r2kqu\">“What police did do was shoot pepper spray balls when I crossed some arbitrary line toward them,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"izp9n\">Rosenkrans <a href=\"https://twitter.com/nolanrosenkrans/status/1266860898242658304\">tweeted</a> shortly after 6:30 p.m. that he had also been shot at with a “paintball gun” by an officer who knew he was a reporter.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just was shot at with a paintball gun by a cop who knows I’m a reporter. He’s wearing fatigues.</p>— Nolan_Rosenkrans⚔️ (@NolanRosenkrans) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NolanRosenkrans/status/1266860898242658304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 30, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ruo8p\">He told the Tracker that he had continued documenting the protest and speaking with protesters and police as the march continued down Franklin Avenue to where it becomes 17th Street.</p><p data-block-key=\"j8lpo\">“[The police] knew I was a journalist. The camo team was near me for several miles and I had been talking to them from the street for quite some time,” he said. “I can’t say I was targeted because I was a journalist, but I can’t say for sure.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rr8fa\">Lieutenant Kellie Lenhardt, who commands the Toledo Police Public Information Section, told the Tracker over email that the department did not receive complaints from Rosenkrans or other journalists that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"joi22\">Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said <a href=\"https://www.toledoblade.com/local/police-fire/2020/06/22/Police-banned-from-wearing-military-style-camouflage-city-plans-to-move-internal-affairs-by-August/stories/20200622099\">during a press conference</a> on June 22 that there was an investigation into officers’ conduct during the protests. Kapszukiewicz also announced that officers will no longer be permitted to wear military-style camouflage.</p><p data-block-key=\"qoi1w\">On July 22, Toledo police announced that three officers were <a href=\"https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/toledo-police-officers-riot-discipline/512-c4ac369d-3a86-4d62-893d-48f5e516b787\">disciplined</a> for misconduct during the May 30 protests. One officer received a written reprimand while the other two were suspended and given last chance warnings, meaning they could be fired following another infraction.</p><p data-block-key=\"grb0q\">“Police legitimacy cannot improve if departments fail at policing their own,” Police Chief George Kral said in a <a href=\"https://toledopolice.com/images/Press_Releases/News_Release_-_Officers_Disciplined_for_May_30_Riot_Actions.pdf\">press release</a> announcing the disciplinary measures. “I will ensure that officers are held accountable when their actions are found to violate department policies, and I will always support the hundreds of officers that positively represent Toledo Police.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jr9qe\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Ohio",
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"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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"Nolan Rosenkrans (The [Toledo] Blade)"
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{
"title": "Minneapolis news crew held at gunpoint, menaced with crowbar",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minneapolis-news-crew-held-at-gunpoint-menaced-with-crowbar/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-14T15:10:58.986068Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:06:47.269373Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:06:47.177964Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bvmy2\">In the span of two minutes on May 30, 2020, a news crew from NBC-affiliate KARE 11 that was covering protests and unrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was held up at gunpoint by one man, and threatened by another man wielding a crowbar.</p><p data-block-key=\"alf0o\">Protests that began in Minnesota on May 26 have spread across the country, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"mfu5t\">Photojournalist Devin Krinke and investigative journalist A.J. Lagoe had just driven into central Minneapolis from St. Paul after hearing that there might be "something going on" under the highway underpass of Interstate 35 West around 9 p.m., Lagoe told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. He said there were not many police in the vicinity and several people in the area expressed unhappiness at seeing reporters around.</p><p data-block-key=\"1q5hd\">A man in the crowd approached Lagoe and started asking him about the bulletproof vest he was wearing, Lagoe told the Tracker in an interview. “He kept saying he wanted it,” Lagoe said. Eventually, the man produced a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the vest.</p><p data-block-key=\"q41jf\">Lagoe was holding his cellphone on the tripod at the time and Krinke was standing a few feet away, holding his camera. “We clearly identified ourselves as press, but that didn’t help the situation at all, it only inflamed it,” Lagoe said.</p><p data-block-key=\"p2uzk\">As Lagoe tried to talk his way out of the situation, a man brandishing a crowbar approached him and Krinke, Lagoe recounted. The man, who was dressed in black body armor decorated with a red medic cross, menanced them with his crowbar while shouting, “Give us all your stuff,” before running off and swinging his crowbar at someone else in the area, Lagoe recounted.</p><p data-block-key=\"nwvoa\">This provided enough of a distraction to enable Lagoe and Krinke to back away from both men, and round the corner and quickly head back to their car, Lagoe said. They drove a few blocks away and set up to do a live shot, and the man with the crowbar drove by them, swearing at them through an open window.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddylc\">Afterward, Krinke tweeted about the experience:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/AJInvestigates?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AJInvestigates</a> and I were threatened at gun point at 2nd ave S and East Lake St. Young man even swung crow bar at AJ. He then swung at another photojournalist and destroyed his camera. Journalist friends please avoid this area. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/kare11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kare11</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WCCO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wcco</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FOX9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fox9</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/efrostee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@efrostee</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KSTP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@KSTP</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/HcnvevsINg\">pic.twitter.com/HcnvevsINg</a></p>— devinphoto (@devphotoK11) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/devphotoK11/status/1266927932989222917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f9kbo\">That same evening, the crowbar-wielding man struck the camera of Lucas Jackson, a Reuters photographer, breaking it. Lagoe later retweeted a video of the man striking Jackson’s camera:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is guy who swung crowbar at me & @devphotokare11 <a href=\"https://t.co/8DcxaRdZ2K\">https://t.co/8DcxaRdZ2K</a></p>— A.J. Lagoe (@AJInvestigates) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AJInvestigates/status/1266958187351158785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a94an\">That instance of equipment damage is catalogued <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/unidentified-man-attacks-reuters-photographer-crowbar-during-minneapolis-protests/\">here</a>, in a separate post on the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"ezomn\">Lagoe told the Tracker that they did not file a police report about either assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"1nqz1\">The Tracker emailed the Minneapolis Police Department for comment about whether anyone has been arrested in these incidents of alleged assault, or if police reports had been filed regarding these matters. The request was not answered as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"nvww8\">Mike Max, a reporter for WCCO, a CBS affiliate station based in the city, was <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxmqAkdoQ98\">reporting live</a> a few blocks from the Fifth Precinct police headquarters when he reported that a man wielding a crowbar or cane tried to assault WCCO cameraman Chris Cruz. Max also said the man assaulted another photographer, whom he didn’t identify. Neither Max nor WCCO responded to requests for comment as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"tqix7\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
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{
"title": "Broadcast correspondent shot at with crowd-control munitions during Minneapolis protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-correspondent-shot-at-with-crowd-control-munitions-during-minneapolis-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-22T14:45:07.104841Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:12:20.778659Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:12:20.680650Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4mp68\">CBS News correspondent Michael George and his news crew were shot at with crowd-control munitions while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"kd29j\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"il7ej\">Shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew began, police began shooting rubber bullets and other crowd-control munitions at the crew, according to<a href=\"https://twitter.com/MikeGeorgeCBS/status/1266919447970942986\"> tweets</a><a href=\"https://twitter.com/MikeGeorgeCBS/status/1266916104951214080\"> posted</a> by George.</p><p data-block-key=\"pyaq0\">Sound engineer John Marschitz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the news crew had retreated down the street and into the parking lot where the team's car was parked after police began deploying tear gas into the crowd. The protesters kept moving in the opposite direction, and were several hundred feet away when officers began shooting crowd-control munitions at the news crew.</p><p data-block-key=\"68z3d\">“We were not standing within 500 feet of any protesters at the time, and we had credentials displayed and cameras out,” George wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the moment Minneapolis Police fired on our CBS News crew with rubber bullets. As you can see, no protesters anywhere near us- we all were wearing credentials and had cameras out. Our sound engineer was hit in the arm. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbsnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#cbsnews</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/UAy7HYhGnL\">pic.twitter.com/UAy7HYhGnL</a></p>— Michael George (@MikeGeorgeCBS) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MikeGeorgeCBS/status/1266919447970942986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mwvpm\">George did not respond to a message requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"qzhr0\">One of the rounds <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbs-news-sound-engineer-struck-in-arm-by-rubber-bullet-while-covering-minneapolis-protests/\">struck Marschitz in the arm</a>; a second round <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-at-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-minneapolis-protest/\">struck a light</a> on RumJungle photojournalist Peter Norton’s camera, but did not damage the equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"bzgm5\">When asked whether he felt police targeted the crew, Marschitz said, "I don't think they cared, they just shot at us."</p><p data-block-key=\"bfbce\">More than three dozen journalists were<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\"> assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"bj5kc\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Michael George (CBS News)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Raleigh News & Observer, other newspaper offices damaged during protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/raleigh-news-observer-other-newspaper-offices-damaged-during-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-15T19:56:11.927054Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:09:46.841130Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:09:46.746806Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Raleigh",
"longitude": -78.63861,
"latitude": 35.7721,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"excsl\">The offices of The News & Observer, INDY Week and ABC11 in downtown Raleigh, N.C. were damaged during protests in the city on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"dd230\">Alternative weekly newspaper INDY Week reported extensive damage to its newsroom, while ABC11 and The News & Observer newspaper both had windows smashed as protests stretched late into the night.</p><p data-block-key=\"lucjt\">The protests in Raleigh echoed demonstrations across the country sparked by a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"gevbn\">The newsrooms in Raleigh were damaged late in the first major day of protesting in the city. Demonstrations had been peaceful through the day, but late in the evening, after police began using tear gas to disperse crowds, a small group of people began destroying property in the city’s downtown.</p><p data-block-key=\"qp3g4\">At The News & Observer, business reporter Aaron Sánchez-Guerra saw windows at the entrance to the offices being smashed by a small group of people who broke off from a larger group that had been destroying property and looting in the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"qmsmt\">Sánchez-Guerra told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he recognized one of the individuals as a protester whom he had interviewed a short time earlier. He said that he shouted at the group to stop, that they were journalists. The protester appeared to recognize him, and they left.</p><p data-block-key=\"uymkx\">The newspaper didn’t appear to be targeted, but was just one of many businesses that were impacted that night, according to members of the publication’s staff. Many nearby restaurants sustained damage and were looted, Sánchez-Guerra said. “We were just another open target.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8zg42\">Two windows at The News & Observer were damaged during the protest, according to Betsy Womble, executive assistant to the publisher and president of the paper. The damage was reported to police, but there have been no developments with the report, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"r1j5z\">The three offices were just some of many businesses damaged in the city. According to <a href=\"https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article243135136.html\">an article in the News & Observer</a>, “nearly every” business in Raleigh’s downtown area was damaged overnight.</p><p data-block-key=\"5igbh\">A spokesperson for the Raleigh Police Department said police were aware of damage to INDY Week and the News & Observer. There haven’t been any arrests related to the incidents, according to the department.</p><p data-block-key=\"w7t58\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "North Carolina",
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"The [Raleigh] News & Observer"
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"tags": [
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"protest"
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{
"title": "Live 5 News reporter in vehicle attacked during Charleston protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/live-5-news-reporter-in-vehicle-attacked-during-charleston-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-11T17:00:28.736927Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:25:48.316565Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:25:48.204659Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Charleston",
"longitude": -79.93092,
"latitude": 32.77657,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hm4y9\">A group of people hit and threw a rock into a stopped Live 5 News car carrying three journalists covering a demonstration against police violence in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"55kn8\">The protest was held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"5qp7d\">The car carrying reporter Rob Way, reporter <a href=\"/all-incidents/two-live-5-news-news-vehicles-damaged-one-night-charleston/\">Abbey O’Brien</a> and producer <a href=\"/all-incidents/live-5-news-producer-in-vehicle-attacked-during-charleston-protests/\">Allyson Cook</a> was driving through a crowd to get to safety because downtown Charleston was becoming violent, O’Brien said.</p><p data-block-key=\"fnhdv\">“We were in a Live 5 News car obviously designated as our station,” O’Brien told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “People started banging on our windows and flicking us off.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c0v04\">Demonstrations had started peacefully but turned violent as the night wore on, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"a2gtf\">“Once it got dark, it turned into rioting; that was definitely not as many people,” O’Brien said. “I truly believe that it was just two different groups of people.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ft12\">While they were stopped at an intersection, members of the crowd began to bang on the windows of the car and then a rock was thrown through the back window. No one was injured.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vnni\">At the time, the journalists weren’t sure whether it was a rock, tear-gas canister or an explosive, so once they got to safety, they all exited the car.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ap73\">“We all jumped out and realized it was just a brick,” O’Brien said. “So, no one was hurt, which is good, but it was really scary.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Now that we’re safe... here’s a look at what just happened to our <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Live5News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Live5News</a> car. Someone threw this large rock while we were driving down King St. Very scary <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/chsnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#chsnews</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/scnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#scnews</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/0r1Fq77nZ7\">pic.twitter.com/0r1Fq77nZ7</a></p>— Abbey O'Brien (@abbeyobrien) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/abbeyobrien/status/1266934403776864257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hm4y9\">They continued to report throughout the night and made sure they didn’t leave anything valuable in the car. O’Brien said that, in a separate incident, people smashed out the front, driver’s side window of a different, unoccupied Live 5 truck. Both the car and the truck were out of commission for a few days, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7avfs\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "South Carolina",
"abbreviation": "SC"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Rob Way (WCSC-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent photojournalist targeted with pepper spray amid Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-amid-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:57:33.025609Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:04:58.688263Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:04:58.607805Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yyhwx\">Police attacked dozens of journalists with rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray on May 30, 2020, during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</p><p data-block-key=\"8q1ku\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"4sl6t\">Half an hour after an 8 p.m. curfew began on the 30th, Minnesota state patrol officers fired pepper spray and rubber bullets at a group of at least 20 journalists including independent photographer Sait Serkan Gurbuz.</p><p data-block-key=\"jcdku\">Gurbuz told the Committee to Protect Journalists — a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — that he was covering the protests as a contributor to <a href=\"http://www.zumapress.com/index.html?cktst=1?cktst=1\">Zuma Press</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cb1og\">Gurbuz said police pepper sprayed him while he was holding his credentials and saying “journalist” as loudly as he could. Gurbuz said that he was wearing a respirator when police used pepper spray, but his hands and right ear burned for a day after the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"705iz\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"0und2\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sait Serkan Gurbuz (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Unicorn Riot reporter threatened, shoved by Minnesota State Police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/unicorn-riot-reporter-threatened-shoved-by-minnesota-state-police/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-29T15:05:16.847096Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T17:49:15.228186Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T17:49:15.118825Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hdopm\">Jenn Schreiter, a reporter for the nonprofit media collective Unicorn Riot, was threatened and shoved by a state patrol officer while covering the fourth night of protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the early hours of May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"zx8oz\">Protests in Minneapolis and across the nation were sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"tazhi\">Schreiter told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker over text that she and her colleague Niko Georgiades were interviewing a local businessman just after 3 a.m. on the 30th when Minnesota State Patrol officers in riot gear and carrying assault rifles approached them and shouted, “Get inside or go to jail!”</p><p data-block-key=\"giw69\">“We hurried into the restaurant and one officer shoved me with his baton then slammed the door,” Schreiter said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Clip from our stream earlier shows when Minnesota state police in riot gear & SWAT w assault rifles pushed UR off an empty street, threatening our reporters w arrest. At the time were were interviewing Louis Hunter about his restaurant, Trio Plant Based, which he's been guarding. <a href=\"https://t.co/bSnnks4Vxg\">pic.twitter.com/bSnnks4Vxg</a></p>— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1266652249650016257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 30, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5tquq\">Schrieter told the Tracker that both she and Georgiades have been reporting each night with their press badges visible and helmets branded with Unicorn Riot.</p><p data-block-key=\"17kxc\">The journalists remained inside the restaurant until the state patrol officers had left the intersection of Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue. The Minnesota State Patrol did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gfak\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jenn Schreiter (Unicorn Riot)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Vice News reporter pushed to the ground, pepper sprayed amid Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-reporter-pushed-to-the-ground-pepper-sprayed-amid-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:43:00.942438Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:00:32.330955Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:00:32.238636Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qfc3f\">Police attacked dozens of journalists with rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray on May 30, 2020, during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota.</p><p data-block-key=\"qv2py\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"plgnw\">At about 11 p.m., police pushed Vice News reporter Michael Anthony Adams to the ground and pepper-sprayed him while he was identifying himself as press and displaying his credentials, as seen in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MichaelAdams317/status/1266938990298574848\">series of videos</a> shot by Adams. Vice News producer Roberto Daza witnessed the incident and confirmed events to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police just raided the gas station we were sheltering at. After shouting press multiple times and raising my press card in the air, I was thrown to the ground. Then another cop came up and peppered sprayed me in the face while I was being held down. <a href=\"https://t.co/23EkZIMAFC\">pic.twitter.com/23EkZIMAFC</a></p>— Michael Anthony Adams (@MichaelAdams317) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MichaelAdams317/status/1266945268567678976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4bxh7\">The Vice News team, including Adams, Daza, co-producer Amel Guettatfi and cameraperson Daniel Vergara, were filming a report about police and state troopers storming a local business as its owners were trying to protect the property from looters, Daza told CPJ.</p><p data-block-key=\"9i8cn\">Daza said that, several hours earlier in the evening, state troopers fired a non-lethal round that struck him in the back.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ywf7\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"jjgi5\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Michael Anthony Adams (Vice News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Police tear gas, fire projectiles at journalist on assignment for New York Times",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-tear-gas-fire-projectiles-at-journalist-on-assignment-for-new-york-times/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-14T15:04:06.378956Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T00:06:29.612498Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T00:06:29.509570Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"48k9h\">Police officers shoved, threatened and shot projectiles at two freelance journalists while they reported for the New York Times on protests in Minneapolis on May 30, 2020, according to interviews with the journalists and videos of the incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"7euhf\">The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"xnqbf\">Journalists Katie G. Nelson and Mike Shum told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were reporting in the Fifth Precinct of Minneapolis for the Times as an 8 p.m. curfew came into effect.</p><p data-block-key=\"pclgp\">As seen in a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2882143978738897\">video</a> from local ABC affiliate KSTP, a line of state police formed to the south of the station on Nicollet Avenue. “Please disperse or you will be arrested,” a loudspeaker blares. Within seconds of the warning, the police appear to use flash bang grenades and tear gas. They then begin to advance.</p><p data-block-key=\"ab8bk\">The video shows a line of State Patrol troopers, in maroon pants and helmets, and what appear to be Department of Natural Resources conservation officers in green pants and helmets approaching a group of journalists huddled on the side of the street. As previously reported by the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-target-dozens-journalists-covering-protests-minneapolis-tear-gas-pepper-spray-rubber-bullets/\">Tracker</a>, State Patrol troopers pepper sprayed the group at close range as the journalists identified themselves as press.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mz1b\">Nelson and Shum had gas masks, but a third person working with them didn’t, Nelson said, so she escorted this person to safety as Shum stayed to film.</p><p data-block-key=\"5arc9\">Shum reunited with Nelson and they continued to report on the dispersal of protesters near the Fifth Precinct police station. About an hour later, the team was filming a couple of people approaching a police line with their hands up near a Kmart a few blocks from where Shum was shoved, Nelson said. A Minneapolis Police officer about fifty feet away pointed a projectile launcher at them, Nelson said.</p><p data-block-key=\"01zyg\">Nelson said she yelled that they were press, adding there was no question they looked like journalists given their large cameras, ballistic helmets and protective vests.</p><p data-block-key=\"r02ow\">In a video filmed shortly after that Nelson provided to the Tracker, Minneapolis police officers in a line start ordering people to move. Nelson can be heard warning Shum, “Mike, Mike, Mike, they’re gonna push us. Keep shooting Mike.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9ptrq\">Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder told the Tracker he couldn’t comment on the incident. He added that “every use of force by the MPD is under investigation internally.”</p><p data-block-key=\"mz2ow\">Late into the night, Nelson and Shum were driving a couple of blocks off Lake Street on their way to 38th and Chicago, where protesters had created a memorial on the site of Floyd’s killing.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pz11\">Nelson turned the car onto a road blocked by a police checkpoint, the journalists told the Tracker. Nelson said the police shined a bright light at them. Blinded, she slowed the car down. Nelson said she yelled that they were press through the open windows of the car.</p><p data-block-key=\"c666l\">Nelson said the police yelled “Go home” and “We don’t care” in response.</p><p data-block-key=\"iso19\">Nelson pulled a U-turn and drove away as the journalists heard the pinging of projectiles hitting her car. They said they believe the car was hit with pepper balls.</p><p data-block-key=\"kljyd\">“I start coughing and it’s really hard to see. My eyes are watering. It felt very close to tear gas,” Nelson said. “I was just like, we gotta get out of here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bm6o2\">At around the same time, unidentified law-enforcement officers fired projectiles at the car of a television crew for France’s TF1 and arrested them, the Tracker previously <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/french-television-correspondent-arrested-curfew-violation-minneapolis/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"gj5wc\">It isn’t clear which law enforcement agency fired the projectiles at Nelson’s car. Protesters, journalists and even law-enforcement officials have had difficulty at times identifying specific officers during the protests. More than a <a href=\"https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ooc/news-releases/Pages/multi-agency-command-center-report-on-civil-unrest.aspx\">dozen</a> different agencies joined the law-enforcement effort in Minnesota, often wearing similar looking uniforms.</p><p data-block-key=\"ij209\">Nelson’s car wasn’t damaged and the journalists were uninjured. However, Nelson told the Tracker on Aug. 13 that a doctor diagnosed recurring eye inflammation as a result of tear gas exposure.</p><p data-block-key=\"wp911\">DNR spokesman Chris Niskanen said the department respects the freedom of the press but “disagrees with [the Tracker’s] characterization of events.” He didn’t specify why. Niskanen added he couldn’t comment further on the incident because it “may be subject to ongoing litigation initiated against the state of Minnesota by multiple media members.”</p><p data-block-key=\"71lw8\">Nelson and Shum have joined a <a href=\"https://www.aclu-mn.org/en/press-releases/aclu-mn-sues-law-enforcement-over-attacks-journalists-covering-george-floyd-protests\">lawsuit</a> seeking class-action status filed by the ACLU of Minnesota against Minneapolis and state officials concerning the treatment of journalists covering the Floyd protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"69zud\">The Department of Public Safety, which oversees the State Patrol, didn’t respond to the Tracker’s emailed list of questions. In a May 31 <a href=\"https://youtu.be/DK-Ua2TlCHw?t=1240\">press conference</a>, the Chief of the State Patrol, Col. Matt Langer, praised the law-enforcement effort during a dangerous and unpredictable night while also saying: “We are never perfect.”</p><p data-block-key=\"n1nht\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7fyh4\">Nelson told the Tracker this Minneapolis police officer pointed a projectile launcher directly at her and her reporting partner, Mike Shum, on May 30, 2020.</p>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-02-08 00:00:00+00:00) Journalists get nearly $1M settlement over Minneapolis BLM protest attacks",
"(2022-02-08 11:57:00+00:00) Journalists reach settlement agreement with Minnesota State Patrol, rest of suit ongoing"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing",
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],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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},
{
"title": "CBS News sound engineer struck in arm by rubber bullet while covering Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbs-news-sound-engineer-struck-in-arm-by-rubber-bullet-while-covering-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:37:02.353206Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T17:58:13.782159Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T17:58:13.656653Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jk9m0\">A member of a CBS news crew was struck with a rubber bullet while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"lz76a\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"w160h\">Shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew began, police fired a rubber bullet that hit John Marschitz, a CBS sound engineer, in the arm, according to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MikeGeorgeCBS/status/1266919447970942986\">tweets</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MikeGeorgeCBS/status/1266916104951214080\">from</a> CBS correspondent Michael George.</p><p data-block-key=\"oqvpl\">“We were not standing within 500 feet of any protesters at the time, and we had credentials displayed and cameras out,” George wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the moment Minneapolis Police fired on our CBS News crew with rubber bullets. As you can see, no protesters anywhere near us- we all were wearing credentials and had cameras out. Our sound engineer was hit in the arm. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbsnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#cbsnews</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/UAy7HYhGnL\">pic.twitter.com/UAy7HYhGnL</a></p>— Michael George (@MikeGeorgeCBS) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MikeGeorgeCBS/status/1266919447970942986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gw6s0\">Marschitz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the news crew had retreated down the street and into the parking lot where the team's car was parked after police began deploying tear gas into the crowd. The protesters kept moving in the opposite direction, and were several hundred feet away when officers began shooting crowd-control munitions at the news crew.</p><p data-block-key=\"nqcyw\">"My colleagues and I were fired upon without warning and [were] clearly identifiable as journalists," Marschitz said. "We were no threat to law enforcement and in no way impeding them from doing their job. Then they just began firing rubber bullets at us."</p><p data-block-key=\"yofm4\">One of the rounds struck Marschitz in the arm; a second round struck a light on one of the team's cameras, but did not damage the equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"v1ny5\">When asked whether he felt police targeted the crew, Marschitz said, "I don't think they cared, they just shot at us."</p><p data-block-key=\"hm4j1\">Marschitz told the Tracker in November 2021 that his arm still hurts where he was struck more than 17 months later.</p><p data-block-key=\"sda4o\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"rcgmu\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"wtwfl\"><i>Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect comment from John Marschitz received via email on June 15, 2020, and via call on Nov. 8, 2021.</i></p></div>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
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"tags": [
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"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"Assault"
],
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{
"title": "Fox 13 photojournalists attacked, van damaged in Utah protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fox-13-photojournalists-attacked-van-damaged-utah-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-21T14:50:44.361452Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:23:07.086497Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:23:06.948129Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
"latitude": 40.76078,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pub0d\">A photojournalist for Fox 13 News was attacked while covering protests in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"as3q6\">Fox 13 correspondent Sydney Glenn <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SydneyGlennTV/status/1266893355423657986\">wrote</a> on Twitter that she, her unnamed colleague and a photojournalist from another station were assessing damage to the Fox 13 news vehicle when a crowd attacked the two photojournalists. She also shared an image of her colleague, who appeared to have abrasions on his right arm and calf.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This. Is. Unacceptable. Tonight a group of protestors attacked my co-worker.. a very talented photojournalist as we were assessing the damage to our <a href=\"https://twitter.com/fox13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fox13</a> news car after it was smashed. A kind photojournalist from another station was helping and attacked as well. <a href=\"https://t.co/ic3bDOOBle\">pic.twitter.com/ic3bDOOBle</a></p>— Sydney Glenn (@SydneyGlennTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SydneyGlennTV/status/1266893355423657986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"onmiy\">In the image posted by Glenn, the van appears to have a shattered windshield. It is unclear what, if any, injuries the second photojournalist sustained, which the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-attacked-during-protest-salt-lake-city/\">Tracker has documented here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"nwky5\">Glenn did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s calls or emails requesting comment. When emailed for comment, Fox 13 News Director Marc Sternfield said, “At the request of those involved, we are not releasing additional information about the incident.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cuvi1\">The Salt Lake Tribune <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/05/30/rally-protests-death/\">reported</a> that the group Utah Against Police Brutality had organized a car caravan protest, but individuals took to the streets when there were not enough vehicles to fit all the demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"q57iq\">Following looting and vandalism, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced an 8 p.m. curfew. Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) officers were joined by police from 13 cities and up to 200 National Guardsmen.</p><p data-block-key=\"ps0za\">Detective Greg Wilking of the Salt Lake City Police Department confirmed to the Tracker that the two photojournalists were “roughed up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c1mig\">“There were so many things happening that day that we didn’t even break the incident with the journalists down into a separate report,” he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"6le8z\">The SLCPD did not respond to the Tracker’s requests for additional information about the incident or whether arrests were made in connection with the assault or vehicle damage.</p><p data-block-key=\"r75j7\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find these incidents <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "vehicle"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Utah",
"abbreviation": "UT"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist attacked during protest in Salt Lake City",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-attacked-during-protest-salt-lake-city/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-21T14:44:53.903545Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:22:48.005723Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:22:47.917504Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
"latitude": 40.76078,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"l11dq\">A photojournalist was assaulted while assisting a Fox 13 News crew during protests in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"fy4em\">Fox 13 correspondent Sydney Glenn <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SydneyGlennTV/status/1266893355423657986\">wrote</a> on Twitter that she, her unnamed colleague and a photojournalist from another station were assessing damage to a Fox 13 news vehicle when a crowd attacked the two photojournalists. The Tracker has documented the assault of the Fox News 13 photojournalist and damage to the outlet’s vehicle <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fox-13-photojournalists-attacked-van-damaged-utah-protest/\">here</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This. Is. Unacceptable. Tonight a group of protestors attacked my co-worker.. a very talented photojournalist as we were assessing the damage to our <a href=\"https://twitter.com/fox13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fox13</a> news car after it was smashed. A kind photojournalist from another station was helping and attacked as well. <a href=\"https://t.co/ic3bDOOBle\">pic.twitter.com/ic3bDOOBle</a></p>— Sydney Glenn (@SydneyGlennTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SydneyGlennTV/status/1266893355423657986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"13dyu\">Glenn did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s calls or emails requesting comment. When emailed for comment, Fox 13 News Director Marc Sternfield said, “At the request of those involved, we are not releasing additional information about the incident.”</p><p data-block-key=\"paxyo\">The Salt Lake Tribune <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/05/30/rally-protests-death/\">reported</a> that the group Utah Against Police Brutality had organized a car caravan protest, but that individuals took to the streets when there were not enough vehicles to fit all the demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"z9a8z\">Following looting and vandalism, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced an 8 p.m. curfew. Salt Lake City Police Department officers were joined by police from 13 cities and up to 200 National Guardsmen.</p><p data-block-key=\"ijiju\">Detective Greg Wilking of the SLCPD confirmed to the Tracker that two photojournalists were “roughed up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"g7p3q\">“There were so many things happening that day that we didn’t even break the incident with the journalists down into a separate report,” he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"maymb\">The SLCPD did not respond to the Tracker’s requests for additional information about the incident or whether arrests were made in connection with the assault or vehicle damage.</p><p data-block-key=\"i2dd7\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find these incidents <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"tags": [
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{
"title": "Window of Indianapolis Star newsroom shattered during protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/window-indianapolis-star-newsroom-shattered-during-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-20T14:20:23.232922Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T18:00:39.594736Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T18:00:39.502536Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Indianapolis",
"longitude": -86.15804,
"latitude": 39.76838,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bie8j\">A window on the door of the Indianapolis Star was shattered during protests against police violence in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"i5e98\">At 10:23 p.m., Indianapolis Star investigative reporter Ryan Martin <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ryanmartin/status/1266918225029353472?s=20\">posted</a> on Twitter that the front door of the Star’s newsroom had been broken. The damage to the newspaper’s office in downtown Indianapolis came as violence and damage to other city businesses was reported.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://t.co/0tp6NHWF5S\">pic.twitter.com/0tp6NHWF5S</a></p>— Ryan Martin (@ryanmartin) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ryanmartin/status/1266920242569195520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"64yim\">The protests, sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis on May 25, had been peaceful during the day, but tension grew in the evening, <a href=\"https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2020/05/30/indianapolis-police-protests-chief-randal-taylor-speaks-tear-gas-arrests-downtown-unsafe/5297312002/\">the Star</a> reported. At around 9 p.m., police declared the remaining protest an unlawful assembly and told demonstrators to disperse. Soon after, the Star reported, police began using tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"qgb3p\">In a tweet at 9:49 p.m., Martin wrote that it was “getting really tense down here,” and mentioned broken glass and shouting.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tzqu\">Less than an hour later, he posted that the door window had been broken. “Chaotic stuff happening outside,” he wrote. A <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ryanmartin/status/1266920242569195520?s=20\">photo he shared on Twitter</a> showed that the pane of glass had been smashed, scattering shards throughout the entryway.</p><p data-block-key=\"cddrp\">Martin told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email that someone had spray-painted the wall outside near the damaged door. He didn’t know how the window had been broken.</p><p data-block-key=\"y94vx\">The intent of the damage was unclear. “To the average person, that door and wall could be mistaken for an entrance to Circle Centre Mall; not a newsroom entrance,” Martin wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ldyhx\">Indianapolis Star Senior News Director Ginger Rough didn’t respond to requests for additional comment. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department didn’t respond to an inquiry about the damage.</p><p data-block-key=\"y9nxg\">Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"bn2ih\">The Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering these protests across the country. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Swiss journalist shot at with crowd-control munitions amid Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/swiss-journalist-shot-at-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-14T15:23:11.681722Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:07:43.942669Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:07:43.865561Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mm7vb\">While covering the fifth night of protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, three Swiss journalists were shot at with crowd-control munitions shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew went into effect on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbpuk\">Journalists were specifically exempt from the curfew by Gov. Tim Walz’s order. The curfew followed protests in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"fr1fa\">Shortly after 8:30 p.m. in Minneapolis, officers fired foam rounds at the journalists after they held up their press passes and yelled that they were members of the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"wfpj4\">Massimiliano Herber, the Washington-based television correspondent for RSI (Radiotelevisione svizzera), an Italian-language channel of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, told the Tracker in an interview that he and videographer Jean-Pascal Azaïs had been reporting on protests downtown with Gaspard Kühn, a Washington-based correspondent for RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse), the public broadcaster’s French-language channel. Neither Azaïs nor Kühn could be reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"vhk1u\">Police had begun to throw tear gas and shoot foam rounds at protesters, according to Herber. Some of the tear gas wafted toward the Swiss journalists, stinging their eyes.</p><p data-block-key=\"z1p5m\">As the journalists attempted to reach their car, he said, they found police lines on either end of the block, preventing them from moving.</p><p data-block-key=\"8lsaq\">Standing in the middle of the road, the journalists held up their press passes issued by the U.S. Congress and shouted, “Media! Media! Press!” toward the police and asked if they could pass by to reach their car. Azaïs was holding a small video camera. They had taken a couple steps forward, Herber said, when the officers told them to “back up”. The officers then began to shoot at the journalists, firing off four or five foam rounds, all of which missed the journalists, Herber said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pb4q\">They were able to flee to the safety of a nearby parking lot, but when they tried to move, the officers again opened fire, firing two to three foam rounds, Herber said. Eventually, with the help of a local resident, they found a safe route back to their car.</p><p data-block-key=\"qnvaf\">The officers in the area were from the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol, Herber said, but he was not sure who fired the rounds.</p><p data-block-key=\"aupro\">The broadcaster filed a complaint about the matter with the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland on June 1, Herber said.</p><p data-block-key=\"qw6bs\">Requests for comment on these incidents sent to the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minneapolis Police Department were not returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"2bvcd\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
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"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Reuters photographer hit by pepper ball while covering protests in Minneapolis",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reuters-photographer-hit-pepper-ball-while-covering-protests-minneapolis/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-14T15:56:25.471812Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:22:10.849343Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:22:10.746636Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jbjlm\">Lucas Jackson, a staff photographer for Reuters at the time, was hit by law enforcement with a pepper ball while covering protests against police violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"i7o68\">Jackson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and other photojournalists had been documenting people throwing firecrackers at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fifth Precinct and breaking into nearby local businesses on the night of May 29 and into the morning of May 30. At roughly 1 a.m. on May 30, he said, officers began to fire tear gas at protesters who had gathered in the street outside a Wells Fargo bank on Nicollet Avenue.</p><p data-block-key=\"gcjym\">As the photographers were taking pictures of the crowd dispersing, Jackson said, officers started to fire less lethal weapons at their group. Jackson was hit with a large-caliber rubber bullet on the rear end, leaving a “massive” bruise, he said. Photographer Philip Montgomery was hit in the chest, Jackson said, as were other journalists in their group. Montgomery did not respond to emails seeking comment on the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"crx4l\">Jackson and the group left the scene and walked back to their cars, only to find that their tires had been punctured, an incident the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tires-slashed-officers-pierce-journalists-car-tires-in-minneapolis/\">Tracker has documented here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4b4q\">Spokespeople for both the Minneapolis Police Department and the City of Minneapolis declined to comment, telling the Tracker in separate emails that the “incident is part of ongoing litigation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7o6hv\">Jackson told the Tracker that he and his fellow photographers had been standing on the sidewalk, off to the side from the protesters, when the police started to fire the less lethal weapons. “We were all carrying cameras and wearing helmets, so it was fairly obvious we were not generic protesters,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7s04d\">In addition to his photographic equipment and helmet, Jackson said he was wearing his press credential and a gas mask, and that other journalists in the group were wearing vests that said “press” in big letters. “I don’t know if we were specifically targeted, but they knew that we weren’t protesters and they still shot at us,” Jackson said. “It’s the only place I’ve been where I’ve had the police specifically aim at me with their less lethal stuff.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rjm5n\">Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May. They were sparked by a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"fii0c\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering these protests across the country. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"Assault"
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},
{
"title": "NBC10 journalists attacked during live coverage of protests — earpiece stolen",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nbc10-journalists-attacked-during-live-coverage-of-protests-earpiece-stolen/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-12T18:41:05.582367Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:21:51.971921Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:21:51.871202Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Rochester",
"longitude": -77.61556,
"latitude": 43.15478,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ltjm8\">A TV reporter and photojournalist with the Rochester, New York, NBC affiliate were assaulted by unknown men while covering a protest on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"3kduv\">Reporter Andrew Hyman told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was covering the protests for News10NBC in Rochester alongside station photographer Jack Diamond when the incident occurred.</p><p data-block-key=\"m1jm8\">Hyman said that a man approached him, took out a phone and began recording while asking the reporter questions about his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.</p><p data-block-key=\"20g19\">Hyman said he declined to provide direct answers to the queries, which appeared to agitate the individual.</p><p data-block-key=\"wdxr1\">“I was just trying to be an unbiased journalist,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"63xyy\">At that point, several other individuals approached Hyman. One of the individuals grabbed an earpiece that Hyman had plugged into a smartphone to broadcast coverage of the demonstrations to Facebook Live, Hyman said. He said he didn’t get a good look at the person who took the earpiece.</p><p data-block-key=\"kl654\">Hyman said five or six men — all wearing masks — spotted the exchange and approached his location. A scuffle ensued. Hyman said the men pushed him a few times but he managed to flee the area without injury.</p><p data-block-key=\"mqvst\">The reporter said he looked back and noticed that Diamond was not with him. Diamond had been tackled to the ground. Other individuals at the scene helped the cameraman to his feet, Hyman said. The Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-tackled-colleague-assaulted-while-covering-protests-new-york/\">documented Diamond’s assault here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"xu3c0\">After regrouping with Diamond, the two NBC10 journalists continued coverage of the protest and broadcast their reporting to Facebook Live.</p><p data-block-key=\"mk1e0\">Neither sought medical attention. Hyman did not report the loss of his equipment to police. He said that police reached out to him after <a href=\"https://www.whec.com/news/news10nbc-reporter-photographer-attacked-during-protest/5745850/\">NBC10 posted video of the incident</a> online and told him they “wanted to look into” the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"mhc6t\">Hyman said he gave police raw footage that shows the person who made the initial contact with him, but he had not received any updates from authorities as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"8lf8p\">The Rochester Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on Hyman’s case.</p><p data-block-key=\"jyr0t\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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{
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}
],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist tackled, colleague assaulted, while covering protests in New York",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-tackled-colleague-assaulted-while-covering-protests-new-york/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-12T18:36:12.517442Z",
"last_published_at": "2020-10-12T18:42:28.408960Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2020-10-12T18:42:28.339490Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Rochester",
"longitude": -77.61556,
"latitude": 43.15478,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Unknown individuals physically assaulted two journalists covering protests on May 30, 2020 in Rochester, New York, allegedly tackling one of the correspondents to the ground.</p><p>Jack Diamond, a photojournalist for News10NBC in Rochester, was covering a demonstration alongside his colleague, reporter Andrew Hyman, at about 5 p.m. in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.</p><p>The rally attracted hundreds of attendees and was mostly peaceful, <a href=\"https://www.whec.com/news/news10nbc-reporter-photographer-attacked-during-protest/5745850/\">Hyman told News10NBC</a> for its report on the assault on him and Diamond.</p><p>A group of police at the scene began firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. Thereafter, Hyman said an individual approached him, asking him questions about his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, recording the exchange with a smartphone.</p><p>Hyman told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the inquisition attracted the attention of five or six men passing nearby. One of the men snatched Hyman’s earpiece, which was connected to a smartphone he was using to cover the demonstrations. Then the others began shoving him. The Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nbc10-journalists-attacked-during-live-coverage-of-protests-earpiece-stolen/\">documented Hyman’s assault and the damage to his equipment here</a>.</p><p>“I was just out of it,” Hyman told the Tracker, noting that his assailants were all wearing masks. “I couldn’t see their faces.”</p><p>As the reporter tried to flee from the scuffle, he looked back and saw that some individuals had tackled Diamond and took him off his feet.</p><p>But then two or three other individuals who were not involved with the tackle helped the photojournalist to his feet and he was able to escape without injuries or damage to his equipment, Hyman said.</p><p>“In the parking lot across from the Public Safety Building, News10NBC Photojournalist Jack Diamond and I were both grabbed by a group,” Hyman told News10NBC. “I had my earpiece taken, and Jack was tackled. We were not hurt, just shaken up.</p><p>Hyman told the Tracker that neither journalist sought medical attention following the attack. He said that the Rochester Police Department contacted him about the incident but as of his Aug. 18 interview with the Tracker he had not received additional information about possible charges against the assailants.</p><p>Diamond and the Rochester Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jack Diamond (WHEC-TV)"
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},
{
"title": "North Carolina reporter assaulted, knocked out while covering mall looting",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/north-carolina-reporter-assaulted-knocked-out-while-covering-mall-looting/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-08T14:49:57.353605Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:21:32.154312Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:21:32.055021Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fayetteville",
"longitude": -78.87836,
"latitude": 35.05266,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"upysy\">A reporter for the Fayetteville Observer said he was hit, knocked unconscious and kicked while he and a colleague livestreamed the looting of stores in a North Carolina shopping mall on the night of May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"f8kqf\">A group of people <a href=\"https://www.wral.com/looting-fires-vandalism-mark-protests-over-death-of-george-floyd-in-raleigh-fayetteville/19121290/\">broke into the Cross Creek Mall</a> about six miles west of downtown Fayetteville following protests earlier that day against police violence in the city’s downtown. Demonstrations had erupted nationwide days before, following the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, while he was in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.</p><p data-block-key=\"k6sve\">Paul Woolverton, a senior state reporter for the Observer, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he headed downtown to start reporting on the protests at around 7 p.m. This was shortly after people had <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/arrest-made-arson-fayetteville-s-historic-market-house\">set fire to the Market House</a>, a historic downtown Fayetteville building that was once the site of <a href=\"https://www.wral.com/protesters-break-into-set-fire-at-historic-building-in-fayetteville/19122012/\">a market for enslaved people</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"92p2i\">Woolverton said the Market House was still burning when he arrived downtown, where he saw people acting aggressively toward TV camera people nearby. He said he wore press credentials in full view on a lanyard around his neck, and that he was carrying a notebook, pens, cellphone and selfie stick. While downtown, he ran into colleague Melody Brown-Peyton, and the two decided to stick together. Downtown Fayetteville would later be closed to all traffic, so the pair drove in Brown-Peyton’s car to the Cross Creek Mall, where they heard that looting was taking place. They stopped at Woolverton’s home on the way to get his camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"37cnl\">Woolverton and Brown-Peyton parked across the street from the mall and walked over to it. They saw a group of white men with pickup trucks and long guns, and saw people running out of a J.C. Penney store with dresses and other merchandise.</p><p data-block-key=\"cuzln\">“It was kind of ‘Mad Max’<i>-</i>looking,” Woolverton said.</p><p data-block-key=\"sy16z\">Woolverton was struck and knocked unconscious just after 11 p.m.. by an unknown male assailant, <a href=\"https://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/2020/05/31/fayetteville-observer-reporter-assaulted-during-looting-at-cross-creek-mall/112306126/\">Brown-Peyton told</a> the Fayetteville Observer. He was livestreaming on Facebook at the time and <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2535999873377550&ref=watch_permalink\">video from the scene</a> cuts off a few seconds before he was hit. Woolverton said he was trying to be careful about raising the phone because he was aware that it would attract attention. He remembers hearing the man who attacked him say “Don’t be taking no pictures,” before he grabbed Woolverton’s selfie stick and phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"mvpmb\">“My memory is him grabbing at my cellphone, me yelling at him, struggling with him upright,” Woolverton said. “My next memory is waking up and a police officer next to me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cncuy\">Brown-Peyton told him the attacker got into a pickup truck and drove away. She also told Woolverton that he was lying down with his eyes rolling back.</p><p data-block-key=\"104up\">“I have no memory of the conversation,” Woolverton said. “I didn’t know my phone number, I didn't know why I was at the mall or how I got there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rwly8\">Brown-Peyton contacted Woolverton’s editor and his girlfriend, and they went to the hospital. Brown-Peyton told Woolverton the assailant was struggling to get hold of Woolverton’s camera, but he couldn’t because of the strap. The attacker also kicked Woolverton when he was unconscious on the ground. Woolverton’s camera bag was ripped and his camera was slightly scuffed.</p><p data-block-key=\"9svoy\">On the morning of May 31, 2020, Woolverton <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FO_Woolverton/status/1266993893406629892\">tweeted</a>: “Got a knot on my head, scrapes, bruises from head to foot and a concussion. The looters at Cross Creek Mall didn’t like that I was shooting video (see their activities on the<a href=\"https://twitter.com/fayobserver\"> @fayobserver</a> Facebook page). I am told I was kicked and punched but don’t remember that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"feqov\">Woolverton filed a police report after the incident, but police didn’t identify the suspect. The Fayetteville Police Department didn’t respond to a request for updates on the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"3lupw\">Woolverton said he didn’t know whether he had been targeted for being a journalist. “I think he just saw a guy with a camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"mt72d\">He told the Observer that this was the first time anyone had attacked him while he was doing his job in 30 years as a journalist, and that he felt lucky his colleague was by his side.</p><p data-block-key=\"sp7ed\">“I was trying to be situationally aware, but it came really fast out of the blue. A big lesson is don't go alone,” Woolverton said. “Thank God Melody was there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hfh4r\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering these protests across the country. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/IMG_2611_2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lxsk3\">In North Carolina, Fayetteville Observer senior reporter Paul Woolverton was knocked unconscious while livestreaming looters on May 30, 2020. He was treated for a concussion and other injuries.</p>",
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"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
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"Paul Woolverton (Fayetteville Observer)"
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},
{
"title": "Reporter struck with crowd-control munitions while covering Minneapolis protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-while-covering-minneapolis-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T16:49:26.361898Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:03:46.769093Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:03:46.569868Z",
"date": "2020-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"eyol5\">Los Angeles Times correspondent Molly Hennessy-Fiske was one of more than a dozen journalists fired at with crowd-control munitions and pepper spray while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"26oax\">Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"axu95\">Half an hour after the 8 p.m. curfew began, Minnesota state patrol officers fired pepper spray and rubber bullets at a group of at least 20 journalists including Hennessy-Fiske and LA Times photographer Carolyn Cole, according to Cole’s account of the incident <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-06-01/they-came-toward-us-firing-pepper-spray-and-rubber-bullets\">in the LA Times</a> and <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2882143978738897\">social media</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mollyhf/status/1268317400904208384\">posts</a> by the journalists.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You can hear me and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Cole?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Carolyn_Cole</a> attacked in this video; see me scaling a wall at the end. I stand corrected: <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MnDPS_MSP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MnDPS_MSP</a> did shout something at us: "Move!" Hence, I replied "Where do we go?" Thanks <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ryanraiche?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ryanraiche</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/MinneapolisUprising?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MinneapolisUprising</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Minneapolis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Minneapolis</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/1fT36u03kZ\">https://t.co/1fT36u03kZ</a></p>— Molly Hennessy-Fiske (@mollyhf) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mollyhf/status/1268317400904208384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 3, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mg49n\">Cole wrote that many of the journalists were wearing clearly marked press vests, and that Hennessy-Fiske loudly identified the group as journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"a1x8w\">More than three dozen journalists were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-30&date_upper=2020-05-30\">assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged</a> while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"gtzwg\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTS39IE1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mszyp\">Minnesota State Patrol troopers on guard following a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 29, 2020. Troopers shot Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske with a crowd-control munition at a protest the following day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "0:21-cv-01282",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-05-25 00:00:00+00:00) Los Angeles Times reporter sues Minnesota State Patrol following assault at protest",
"(2024-04-05 14:43:00+00:00) LA Times reporters reach $1.2 million settlement with Minnesota State Patrol"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Molly Hennessy-Fiske (Los Angeles Times)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
}
]
