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{
"title": "Journalist assaulted while covering meeting of Oregon group",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-assaulted-while-covering-meeting-oregon-group/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-01T18:59:49.387257Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-04-28T15:25:02.587594Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-04-28T15:25:02.503489Z",
"date": "2020-10-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Grants Pass",
"longitude": -123.33067,
"latitude": 42.43933,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q22ml\">An Oregon journalist was attacked on Oct. 4, 2020, in a public park by attendees of what he believed to be a meeting of a local militia group.</p><p data-block-key=\"0620p\">Chris Bristol, city editor for the Grants Pass Daily Courier, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was tipped off to what was described to him as a meeting of a local militia group that was being held at Reinhart Volunteer Park in Grants Pass. Bristol referred to the group as the JoCo militia, a reference to Josephine County, Oregon, of which Grants Pass is the county seat.</p><p data-block-key=\"kbm41\">Bristol had previously covered a Sept. 6 meeting of the group, which he said was organizing for major civil unrest following the presidential elections. Bristol spoke with Joseph Rice, whom he described as a member and purported leader in the group.</p><p data-block-key=\"rvqbn\">"I do have concerns about civil unrest," Rice told Bristol at the time. "Look at what's been happening in Portland for 100 days now. I wouldn't have believed that before."</p><p data-block-key=\"1rfph\">Since the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, Portland has been the site of near-nightly civil unrest. The Tracker has captured press freedom violations in that city <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Portland\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ued75\">In an interview with the Tracker, Rice denied having a leadership role in the JoCo group. He said the real leaders of the group asked him to facilitate the Sept. 6 meeting, as well as act as spokesman.</p><p data-block-key=\"0ei51\">Bristol told the Tracker that he received a tip that the JoCo group was meeting again on Oct. 4 to “hand out assignments.” Bristol arrived at the meeting with colleague Shuan Hall and said “things quickly began to devolve.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zhq9g\">Rice told the Tracker that the meeting of about 15 people held that day in a park pavilion was not affiliated with the JoCo militia — it was a “support group” unaffiliated with the militia group.</p><p data-block-key=\"b6q9e\">Rice said that the JoCo militia was coincidentally holding an unrelated gathering of about 30 people in another part of Reinhart Volunteer Park at the same time.</p><p data-block-key=\"2d21b\">“He made the assumption that it was a ‘quote-unquote’ militia meeting,” Rice said of Bristol. “It was not.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4c3r1\">Rice said he had no knowledge of the larger gathering on the other end of the park. He declined to disclose what the group he was with was meeting for, citing privacy concerns for those in attendance.</p><p data-block-key=\"hxmux\">Bristol said some of the attendees to the park meeting did not like his previous coverage and threatened to assault him if he tried to take videos or photos. At that point, Bristol <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEeT8Tv2acw&feature=youtu.be\">began to take video</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"amwza\">“You’re the problem, not us,” one man said to Bristol, insisting that the group was meeting for a class reunion, according to Bristol’s video.</p><p data-block-key=\"ua3qz\">Bristol said that Rice, who was captured in the video, then called over other members of the group. One man, later identified in both a Oct. 8 column in the Daily Courier and on KOBI-TV NBC5 as Jim Thalhamer, then lunged toward Bristol and began shouting.</p><p data-block-key=\"hw946\">“Don’t be taking my fucking picture, cocksucker,” Thalhamer yelled at Bristol, inching close to his face. The journalist, who was also holding a bicycle, said he tried to push Thalhamer away but other individuals grabbed and twisted his arms, causing him to drop his phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"4b26x\">“They were beginning to mob me when one of them charged into me (I was standing stationary the entire time, holding my bike), getting spittle all over my face as he swore at me,” Bristol told the Tracker in an email. “Just as I realized that I wasn't wearing a mask, the old guy charged into me again. I pushed him away from me, and they all went nuts, accusing me of assaulting the man, grabbing and twisting my arms, knocking my phone out of my hand, and kicking me and my bike.”</p><p data-block-key=\"szy7c\">Rice said that Bristol’s push caused Thalhamer to fall to the ground and hit his head. Hall, who had picked up the phone for his colleague, pointed it back toward the scuffle showing Thalhamer on his feet and again facing Bristol.</p><p data-block-key=\"zl7ev\">Both Hall and an individual at the meeting called the police, Bristol and Rice said. Paramedics arrived at the scene and examined Thalhamer but did not transport him from the scene. No arrests were made and Bristol said his phone was not damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3mbi\">The Grants Pass Department of Public Safety confirmed to the Tracker that the matter has been referred to the Josephine County District Attorney’s office. The DA’s office did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"militia"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chris Bristol (Grants Pass Daily Courier)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist says she was deliberately sprayed with chemical irritant by police during Seattle protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-says-she-was-deliberately-sprayed-with-chemical-irritant-by-police-during-seattle-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-13T15:45:16.805773Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:11:15.271525Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:11:15.181967Z",
"date": "2020-10-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Seattle",
"longitude": -122.33207,
"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zj77a\">Independent videographer Melissa Lewis said she was hit with a chemical irritant sprayed by a police officer while covering a Seattle protest on Oct. 3, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"mn36s\">The Portland-based journalist was covering one of the many protests held in Seattle since late May in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"duzb0\">The Oct. 3 protest began at night around 7 p.m. in Cal Anderson Park, in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Demonstrators marched on Broadway, with some protesters vandalizing buildings with graffiti. In response, Seattle Police officers used pepper spray and arrested 16 people, <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-police-arrests-16-at-capitol-hill-protest-on-saturday/\">according to the Seattle Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"g0rmx\">Lewis told the Tracker the incident occurred after the protesters returned to Cal Anderson Park. “We were told repeatedly as press that we had to disperse, that we had no right to be there and no right to film, which is bananas, and despite how many times we IDed as press and showed credentials,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"mitoi\">Lewis told the Tracker she believes they were deliberately targeted by the officer. “I got mace on my camera and on my gimbal,” she said. “I was able to wash it off. But I don’t love getting mace on my equipment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bqdb6\">The Seattle Police Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Washington",
"abbreviation": "WA"
},
"updates": [],
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"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": [
"Melissa “Claudio” Lewis (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist sprayed with chemical irritant while covering Seattle protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalists-sprayed-with-chemical-irritant-while-covering-seattle-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-03T16:23:31.709481Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:10:58.944324Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:10:58.862083Z",
"date": "2020-10-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Seattle",
"longitude": -122.33207,
"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uoayy\">Independent videographer Scott Keeler wrote on social media that he was hit with a chemical irritant sprayed by a police officer while covering a Seattle protest on Oct. 3, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"2tjek\">The Portland-based journalist was covering one of the many protests held in Seattle since late May in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"ckhqf\">The Oct. 3 protest began at night around 7 p.m. in Cal Anderson Park, in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Demonstrators marched on Broadway, with some protesters vandalizing buildings with graffiti. In response, Seattle Police officers used pepper spray and arrested 16 people, <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-police-arrests-16-at-capitol-hill-protest-on-saturday/\">according to the Seattle Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"vfodw\">At 9:27 p.m., Keeler <a href=\"https://twitter.com/_WhatRiot/status/1312610355047100418\">tweeted</a> a photo of a camera covered in a substance, writing that he and Lewis had taken “a direct hit of mace while filming an arrest.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.@PhrenologyPhun and I just took a direct hit of mace while filming an arrest <a href=\"https://t.co/4MV09FT35c\">pic.twitter.com/4MV09FT35c</a></p>— Soundtrack to the End (@_WhatRiot) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/_WhatRiot/status/1312610355047100418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 4, 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=\"5m23j\">Keeler, who did not respond to a request for comment, posted a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/_WhatRiot/status/1312624840524800000\">video</a> of the incident on Twitter about an hour later, showing Seattle police in riot gear arresting a number of people on East Denny Way, on the north end of Cal Anderson Park. About 10 seconds in, a police officer is seen firing pepper spray at a group of people, and the spray hits Keeler’s phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"7u8di\">The Seattle Police Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Washington",
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},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Scott Keeler (Freelance)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Video journalist threatened, shoved during Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/video-journalist-threatened-shoved-during-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-03-07T20:39:16.527006Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-31T18:22:25.592308Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-31T18:22:25.440376Z",
"date": "2020-10-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"slay6\">Independent video journalist Mason Lake is pressing charges after he said he was threatened and shoved by a Portland, Oregon, police officer on Oct. 2, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bsnb\">According to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.177047/gov.uscourts.ord.177047.1.1.pdf\">court documents</a>, Lake also alleges that after the assault, some of the officer’s pepper spray hit him.</p><p data-block-key=\"3fnmd\">Lake filed the lawsuit in June 2022 against the City of Portland and two police officers, identified as John Doe 1 and 2. In the complaint, Lake alleges that while covering protests in 2020 and 2021, Portland police in seven separate incidents shoved, pepper-sprayed, threatened, pinned, grabbed and punched him, and damaged his equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7v6m\">He is seeking $200,000 in compensatory damages. For jurisdictional reasons, an amended complaint was moved from state to federal court on Dec. 12, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"hdej\">The alleged assault took place against a backdrop of social justice protests around the country in the summer of 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd that May. In Portland, protests brought <a href=\"https://www.opb.org/article/2023/12/20/new-lawsuit-against-federal-government-over-2020-response-to-portland-protests/\">thousands to the streets continuously</a> throughout that period.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbpve\">Lake says that by pressing charges, he hopes to set a legal precedent for press freedom cases in the future. “I was really just trying to report what I saw, record it, and share as much as I could,” he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in a March 2024 interview. “I didn’t break any laws. I never contributed to anything (illegal), like breaking windows or anything like that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"967g2\">When contacted, the Portland Police Bureau said it could not comment on ongoing litigation but referred the Tracker to the city attorney, Robert L. Taylor. Taylor did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/OR_Police1002_Lake_assault_10-202.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7lycp\">A police officer pointing at journalist Mason Lake moments after the independent videographer was shoved and threatened at an Oct. 2, 2020, protest in Portland, Oregon.</p>",
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"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
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"updates": [
"(2024-05-22 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist’s claims dismissed over assault by Portland, Oregon, police"
],
"case_statuses": [
"dismissed"
],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mason Lake (Independent)"
],
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{
"title": "Trump supporter assaults, knocks phone out of journalist’s hands",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-supporters-assaults-knocks-phone-out-of-journalists-hands/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-20T20:11:45.577956Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T17:11:00.929209Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T17:11:00.780412Z",
"date": "2020-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Duluth",
"longitude": -92.10658,
"latitude": 46.78327,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8v4zw\">WCCO photojournalist Dymanh Chhoun was assaulted ahead of a rally held by President Donald Trump on Sept. 30, 2020, following a confrontation between a Trump supporter and supporters of Democratic nominee Joe Biden.</p><p data-block-key=\"45klu\">The outlet <a href=\"https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/10/01/trump-supporter-attacks-wcco-photojournalist-in-duluth-you-want-to-be-violent-come-to-me/\">reported</a> that Chhoun was on assignment to get reactions in advance of the president’s rally in Duluth, Minnesota. While gathering footage, Chhoun noticed a Trump supporter confronting a group of counterprotesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"7qd64\"><a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/southern-minnesota-man-charged-with-misdemeanor-assault-of-wcco-journalist-near-trump-rally-in-duluth/572682392/\">According to the Star Tribune</a>, the Trump supporter — identified as 70-year-old Duane Waldriff — said he was driving near the airport a few hours before the president was scheduled to arrive when a group of Biden supporters started pushing his truck, which had multiple pro-Trump stickers and signs visible.</p><p data-block-key=\"ost05\">Waldriff said he got out of his vehicle to confront the protesters and tell them to stop hitting the truck.</p><p data-block-key=\"gmqt3\">In the <a href=\"https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/10/01/trump-supporter-attacks-wcco-photojournalist-in-duluth-you-want-to-be-violent-come-to-me/\">cellphone footage</a> captured by Chhoun, Waldriff can be heard telling the protesters, “You guys want to be peaceful? Be peaceful. You want to be violent? Come to me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zaqs9\">He then seems to notice Chhoun and punches at him, knocking the phone out of Chhoun’s hands. Chhoun was not injured and his phone was undamaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"tiow8\">“I was scared,” Chhoun told the Tribune. “I’m used to people verbally attacking me but not physically. I was just doing my job.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f483a\">Chhoun was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-hit-less-lethal-rounds-during-second-day-minnesota-protests/\">caught in tear gas</a> at the end of May while covering a protest against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death during an arrest in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4o5u\">Waldriff told the Tribune that he did not realize until after the altercation that Chhoun was a journalist. Chhoun said he was wearing a press badge and a WCCO jacket, according to the Tribune.</p><p data-block-key=\"8zp70\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/mplstvguy/status/1311649968357244935\">Multiple</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/esmemurphy/status/1311505896309231618\">journalists</a> at WCCO spoke out online condemning the attack and in support of Chhoun and his professionalism.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I am outraged by this violent attack on my <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WCCO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wcco</a> colleague,friend &photojournalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Dymanh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Dymanh</a> in Duluth- I am so thankful he was not hurt. The venom must stop, our photojournalists are our truest storytellers &this video tells an important,sad & terrifying one. Thx Dymanh <a href=\"https://t.co/9caREau3HS\">pic.twitter.com/9caREau3HS</a></p>— esme murphy (@esmemurphy) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/esmemurphy/status/1311505896309231618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 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=\"iy7wo\">The Duluth News Tribune <a href=\"https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/crime-and-courts/6709168-Duluth-prosecutors-cite-man-who-knocked-phone-out-of-a-reporters-hand-at-counter-rally\">reported</a> that Chhoun filed a police report and planned to press charges. Waldriff has since been issued a citation for misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct. If convicted, he faces up to 90 days in jail, fines totaling $1,000 or both.</p></div>",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Chhoun.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2oefp\">While documenting reactions in advance of a rally held by President Donald Trump in Duluth, Minnesota, WCCO photojournalist Dymanh Chhoun filmed a Trump supporter striking at him and knocking his phone to the ground.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
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"(2021-05-28 13:44:00+00:00) Trump supporter pleads guilty after assaulting, knocking phone out of journalist’s hands"
],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"political rally"
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"targeted_journalists": [
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{
"title": "Social media journalist arrested while covering protests in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/social-media-journalist-arrested-while-covering-protests-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-12T19:56:05.347852Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:11:34.567671Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:11:34.466247Z",
"date": "2020-09-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v15od\">Social media journalist Chris Khatami was arrested while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 28, 2020. The journalist was held for several hours and charged with interfering with a peace officer and disorderly conduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8uuh\">That night, protesters gathered outside the Portland Police Union building in North Portland as part of ongoing demonstrations against racial injustice and police violence. Khatami hosts an entertainment show on the platform Twitch and has been documenting and livestreaming the city’s protests on social media for several months. He told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was on North Lombard Street filming on his phone what had been a “very uneventful night.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I am almost at the Portland Police Association for tonight’s BLM protest. I will be covering it here and on Facebook. This is my twitter thread. (Running late of course) <a href=\"https://t.co/fpt76wFV4L\">pic.twitter.com/fpt76wFV4L</a></p>— Ra's Al Crood (@ChrisKhatami) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisKhatami/status/1310812617594732545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 29, 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=\"8nwym\">At around 11 p.m., Khatami said he was walking across an intersection and filming when he was grabbed from behind by police officers and told he was under arrest because the street had been declared off limits. A police statement said law enforcement declared the gathering an unlawful assembly after protesters started throwing objects at officers, according to <a href=\"https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/protests/portland-protests-north-portland-kenton-park/283-00c451cf-585f-491f-881c-4a42d79afaaa\">news reports.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"ufp27\">Khatami told the Tracker he had printed out papers that said “press” and taped them to his sleeves and vest. He said he also told the officers he was a member of the press. The officers asked if he was affiliated with any organization and Khatami told them he was an independent journalist, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bpg7h\">Since July, law enforcement officers from the Portland Police Bureau and federal agencies have been barred by court rulings from arresting, harming or impeding journalists or legal observers of the protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"0v1r2\">Despite identifying himself as a member of the media, the officers placed him in zip ties and put him in the back of a police van, he said. About an hour later, he and others arrested at the protests were taken to a police precinct in downtown Portland.</p><p data-block-key=\"qgq2x\">After being held for several hours, he was released early the next morning, Khatami said. He was one of 24 people charged with “Interfering with a Peace Officer” and “Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree,” according to <a href=\"https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=261231\">government records</a>. At an arraignment the next day, officials declined to prosecute him for the charges, Khatami said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2avmn\">When asked for comment, a PPB Public Information Officer directed the Tracker to the city attorney's office. The city attorney's office did not respond to an email requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"77mzv\">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": "",
"teaser": "",
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"arresting_authority": "Portland Police Bureau",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-09-29",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chris Khatami (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved by law enforcement officers while covering Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-by-law-enforcement-officers-while-covering-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-13T15:31:22.623191Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:13:11.462576Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:13:11.383689Z",
"date": "2020-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lckpf\">Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Sergio Olmos was pushed by an officer into a tree, according to his social media posts, while he was covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, early on the morning of Sept. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"rahzy\">Olmos was documenting one of the many protests that had been ongoing for months in downtown Portland and across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"tou7c\">Law enforcement officers in Portland have targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The ACLU suit led to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-protect-journalists-and-legal-observers\">temporary restraining order</a>, and later a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction,</a> barring the Portland Police Bureau from harming or impeding journalists. Olmos provided a declaration in support of the class-action lawsuit involving a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-public-broadcasting-reporter-shoved-portland-police/\">previous incident</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e92pj\">On Sept. 26, a rally organized by the Proud Boys far-right extremist group drew some 800 people to Portland, while at least 1,000 counterprotesters gathered nearby, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/far-right-rallies-and-counter-protests-in-portland-ended-without-violence-saturday-as-the-daytime-gatherings-were-smaller-shorter-than-expected.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency ahead of the rally, putting officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office under a unified command. After those protests ended, left-leaning demonstrators gathered downtown later that night, according to The Oregonian, and police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11:40 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"9d1im\">Videos posted on social media into early the morning of Sept. 27 show police pushing many people who were marked as “press.</p><p data-block-key=\"nywhb\">Olmos captured footage of officers pushing journalists. He tweeted a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1310118106568650752\"> video</a> at 12:24 a.m. showing police officers pushing a crowd up a street, writing that OSP and PPB officers were pushing journalists, protesters and legal observers with batons.</p><p data-block-key=\"daho2\">Immediately after, he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1310118171060256768\">tweeted</a>, “This reporter is pushed into a tree.”</p><p data-block-key=\"szbaz\">The video posted with the tweet shows police pressing people along a street. An officer in riot gear can be seen pushing the back of someone with a camera in a vest labeled “press.” The Tracker couldn’t identify the journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"2f656\">Then another officer can be heard in the video saying, “Go, go, go, get moving!” After Olmos replies, “I’m press,” the camera abruptly shakes and continues to record as it hits the ground, looking up the trunk of a tree. When Olmos leans over to pick up the device, his black vest, labeled with “press” in white letters, is visible.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This reporter is pushed into a tree <a href=\"https://t.co/mXP5Ar1pLN\">pic.twitter.com/mXP5Ar1pLN</a></p>— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1310118171060256768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 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=\"lsooy\">Olmos didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"v68ft\">OPB news director Anna Griffin <a href=\"https://twitter.com/annargriff/status/1310253063689494528\">retweeted</a> Olmos’ video, noting that the enforcement actions against a journalist violated the temporary restraining order in the ACLU case. “I’d also love to hear elected officials explain why a reporter from my organization was subject to violence at the hands of law enforcement when judges have made it very clear this is not acceptable,” she wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hqoy\">Afterwards, the ACLU called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate police treatment of journalists, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pwex\">Gov. Brown<a href=\"https://twitter.com/OregonGovBrown/status/1310369711159271424?s=20\"> tweeted</a> on Sept. 27 that she asked the individual law enforcement agencies to investigate any allegations about the use of force against members of the press or public. In a statement on behalf of the three agencies, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware that video had been taken of several incidents involving force, which would be reviewed to determine whether any officers violated law enforcement policies, according to <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3nf3n\">A spokesperson for the PPB declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. A spokesperson for the OSP said they weren’t aware of the incidents.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "Oregon",
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"tags": [
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"white nationalism"
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Freelance journalist shoved, camera damaged during Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-shoved-camera-damaged-during-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-05-14T15:04:13.166021Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:12:51.476823Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:12:51.338999Z",
"date": "2020-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"siy90\">Freelance journalist Michael Elliott said he was repeatedly shoved by law enforcement officers, damaging his camera, while covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, early on the morning of Sept. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"6595f\">Elliott told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was documenting one of the many protests held for months in downtown Portland and across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"bahp4\">Law enforcement officers in Portland have targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\"> class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The ACLU suit led to a<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-protect-journalists-and-legal-observers\"> temporary restraining order</a>, and later a<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\"> preliminary injunction,</a> barring the Portland Police Bureau from harming or impeding journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"941gd\">On Sept. 26, a rally organized by the Proud Boys far-right extremist group drew some 800 people to Portland, while at least 1,000 counterprotesters gathered nearby,<a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/far-right-rallies-and-counter-protests-in-portland-ended-without-violence-saturday-as-the-daytime-gatherings-were-smaller-shorter-than-expected.html\"> The Oregonian</a> reported. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency ahead of the rally, putting officers from the PPB, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office under a unified command. After those protests ended, left-leaning demonstrators gathered downtown later that night, according to The Oregonian, and police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11:40 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"vxgsl\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1310127485921574914\">Videos</a> posted on social media into early the morning of Sept. 27 show police pushing many people who were marked as “press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"wzyz8\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/fieldnotesmedia/media\">Elliott</a>, who says his work has been published by VICE, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Willamette Week, among others, told the Tracker he was one of the journalists repeatedly shoved by officers using their batons shortly after midnight. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?assailant=LAW_ENFORCEMENT&categories=10&city=Portland&date_lower=2020-09-26&date_upper=2020-09-27\">At least six other journalists</a> also reported being shoved, pushed or grabbed by law enforcement officers that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"17qno\">“I was literally pleading with the law enforcement [officers] to stop pushing me because they were pushing me into protesters who were pushing back,” Elliott said. “They were relentlessly pushing us, a group predominantly of press, and the press was essentially trampling each other at that point.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rw9xn\">Elliott added he believes that at some point during the incident, one of the officer’s batons struck his camera, cracking the glass of his camera’s viewfinder. He said that in addition to his camera, he was wearing a press credential around his neck and a helmet labeled “PRESS.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ow4ce\">The following day, the ACLU called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate police treatment of journalists,<a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\"> The Oregonian</a> reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"aeu46\">Gov. Brown <a href=\"https://twitter.com/OregonGovBrown/status/1310369711159271424?s=20\">tweeted</a> on Sept. 27 that she asked the individual law enforcement agencies to investigate any allegations about the use of force against members of the press or public. In a statement on behalf of the three agencies, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware that video had been taken of several incidents involving force, which would be reviewed to determine whether any officers violated law enforcement policies, according to The Oregonian.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dsyx\">Since July, law enforcement officers from the<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\"> PPB</a> and<a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\"> federal agencies</a> have been barred by court rulings from arresting, harming or impeding journalists or legal observers of the protests. The PPB has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case. A spokesperson for the Oregon State Police said they weren’t aware of the incidents.</p></div>",
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"actor": "law enforcement",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
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"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved multiple times by law enforcement officers while covering Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-shoved-by-law-enforcement-officers-while-covering-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-16T15:54:47.550048Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:12:27.953002Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:12:27.850369Z",
"date": "2020-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qa9lw\">Independent photojournalist Sean Bascom was pushed by officers several times, he said, including once when he was knocked down over another person while he was covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, early on the morning of Sept. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"kdnba\">Bascom was documenting one of the many protests that had been ongoing for months in downtown Portland and across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"sk781\">Law enforcement officers in Portland have targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The ACLU suit led to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-protect-journalists-and-legal-observers\">temporary restraining order</a>, and later a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction,</a> barring the Portland Police Bureau from harming or impeding journalists. Olmos provided a declaration in support of the class-action lawsuit involving a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-public-broadcasting-reporter-shoved-portland-police/\">previous incident</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m9ou\">On Sept. 26, a rally organized by the Proud Boys far-right extremist group drew some 800 people to Portland, while at least 1,000 counterprotesters gathered nearby, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/far-right-rallies-and-counter-protests-in-portland-ended-without-violence-saturday-as-the-daytime-gatherings-were-smaller-shorter-than-expected.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency ahead of the rally, putting officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office under a unified command. After those protests ended, left-leaning demonstrators gathered downtown later that night, according to The Oregonian, and police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11:40 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"ibj5e\">Videos posted on social media into the early morning of Sept. 27 show police pushing many people who were marked as “press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d0ujm\">Bascom, whose work has been published in outlets including the Portland Mercury and the Portland State Vanguard, said he was pushed by law enforcement officers at several points during the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"cve43\">In a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1310114291954061312\"> live video</a> shot just after midnight on Sept. 27, journalists can be seen walking away from law enforcement officers before the camera shakes. That was when an officer knocked him down over another person, Bascom told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"redut\">Later, the video shows officers once again starting to push Bascom and other journalists, ordering them to move down the street. They can be heard telling Bascom to “Go faster!” and “Stop interfering and move!”</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/AOmu0fWCg9\">https://t.co/AOmu0fWCg9</a></p>— Sean Bascom (@baaascom) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1310114291954061312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 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=\"a7b7m\">Bascom repeatedly tells them he is a journalist. One officer responds, saying. “I understand that you’re press, but you have to move.” As Bascom walks backwards filming the officers, one tells him, “Turn around so you don’t trip.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2gwe3\">In a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1310127485921574914\"> video</a> Bascom uploaded to Twitter around 1 a.m., officers can be seen pushing Bascom and other journalists with batons as they try to clear the crowd. About 80 seconds into the video, an officer grabs a photographer by his body armor and flings him back towards where Bascom is retreating. In his tweet, Bascom described the officers as being from both the OSP and the PPB.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">OSP & PPB bull rush indiscriminately for one block <a href=\"https://t.co/LTXWJdZRpI\">pic.twitter.com/LTXWJdZRpI</a></p>— Sean Bascom (@baaascom) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1310127485921574914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 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=\"6x4uo\">“Normally there is an avenue for us to go, for press to step aside and exist and document. But on that night it was like building-to-building, wall-to-wall police and pushing, and there was nowhere for anybody to go,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"vaarp\">Bascom, who was wearing a high-visibility vest with press markings that night, said officers appeared to be targeting members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"myzph\">Afterwards, the ACLU called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate police treatment of journalists, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"kmafx\">Gov. Brown<a href=\"https://twitter.com/OregonGovBrown/status/1310369711159271424?s=20\"> tweeted</a> on Sept. 27 that she asked the individual law enforcement agencies to investigate any allegations about the use of force against members of the press or public. In a statement on behalf of the three agencies, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware that video had been taken of several incidents involving force, which would be reviewed to determine whether any officers violated law enforcement policies, according to <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"g1ssu\">A spokesperson for the PPB declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. A spokesperson for the OSP said they weren’t aware of the incidents.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Independent journalist shoved by police while covering a Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-shoved-by-police-while-covering-a-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-10T18:56:17.687988Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:12:10.319008Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:12:10.197368Z",
"date": "2020-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q86oy\">Independent journalist Rodrigo Melgarejo was shoved by Portland police while covering a protest in downtown Portland, Oregon, during the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"yxr0e\">The protest was among the many demonstrations that broke out in response to police violence and in support of Black Lives Matter following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"xu8oh\">Law enforcement officers in Portland had targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The city agreed to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction</a> in July to not to arrest or harm any journalists or legal observers of the protests or impede their work.</p><p data-block-key=\"qlc14\">On the night of Sept. 26, several hundred protesters gathered in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center for a demonstration that lasted into the early morning hours, according to <a href=\"https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protesters-gather-out-front-of-multnomah-county-justice-center/283-3e8de712-3648-436e-bc6c-a1838291dd37\">local news station KGW8</a>. After an unlawful assembly was declared around 11:30 p.m., law enforcement officers “began bull-rushing and pushing protesters, press, and legal observers,” the article said.</p><p data-block-key=\"jh0xe\">“Police push tonight was one of the most brutal show of force by the Portland Police,” Melgarejo <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Mestizo43/status/1310171628391641089?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 3:57 a.m. “Pushing and shoving press members on the ground.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police push tonight was one of the most brutal show of force by the Portland Police. Pushing and shoving press members on the ground. in this video, Brent Taylor is seen making an arrest in the midst of the chaos. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NLG_Portland?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NLG_Portland</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/uspresstracker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@uspresstracker</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/gT7ioazVI4\">pic.twitter.com/gT7ioazVI4</a></p>— Rodrigo Melgarejo (@Mestizo43) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Mestizo43/status/1310171628391641089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 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=\"41gjr\">In the video, officers in riot gear can be seen aggressively pushing people and repeatedly shouting, “Move!” Melgarejo gets shoved about seven seconds into the video, though it's unclear if the officer directly hits the camera with a baton or uses the baton to push someone into the camera. About 10 seconds later, an officer can be seen grabbing someone from behind and slamming them to the ground.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"m4pbs\">Melgarejo was wearing a ballistic vest and black helmet, both marked as “press,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"7eabu\">In a different <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Mestizo43/status/1310174573870997504?s=20\">video</a>, Melgarejo is walking alongside other members of the press when one officer yells at a person wearing a large “press” sign on their chest, "Do you know how many projectiles we take from people wearing press?” the officer asks. “Police your own.”</p><p data-block-key=\"z7q67\">When reached by email about this incident, the Portland Police Bureau declined to comment, citing pending litigation.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Rodrigo Melgarejo (Freelance)"
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{
"title": "Journalist hit with batons, shoved to the ground by law enforcement officers while covering a Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-hit-with-batons-and-shoved-to-the-ground-by-law-enforcement-officers-while-she-was-covering-a-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-03T16:42:06.786864Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:11:51.388953Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:11:51.272286Z",
"date": "2020-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"drjk2\">Independent journalist Alissa Azar was shoved and hit with batons by law enforcement officers while she was covering a protest in downtown Portland, Oregon, during the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"c22l7\">The protest was among the many demonstrations that broke out in response to police violence and in support of Black Lives Matter following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"y1d68\">Law enforcement officers in Portland had targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The city agreed to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction</a> in July to not to arrest or harm any journalists or legal observers of the protests or impede their work.</p><p data-block-key=\"mqpxi\">On the night of Sept. 26, several hundred protesters gathered in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center for a demonstration that lasted into the early morning hours, according to <a href=\"https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protesters-gather-out-front-of-multnomah-county-justice-center/283-3e8de712-3648-436e-bc6c-a1838291dd37\">local news station KGW8</a>. After an unlawful assembly was declared around 11:30 p.m., law enforcement officers “began bull-rushing and pushing protesters, press, and legal observers,” the article said.</p><p data-block-key=\"z58bb\">A little after midnight, Azar was pushed around, hit with batons and shoved to the ground by officers while covering the demonstration, she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"6zs6m\">“Before we knew it, a few riot vans came in and arrested three people just for standing in the street,” she said, noting that officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office were working together under a unified command.</p><p data-block-key=\"0ixw8\">“They pushed us SO far. And by pushed I mean literally sprinting as fast as they could after us...I saw countless people get pushed and hit,” Azar <a href=\"https://twitter.com/R3volutionDaddy/status/1310118380649607169?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 12:25 a.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"7iid9\">In a follow-up <a href=\"https://twitter.com/R3volutionDaddy/status/1310118382084083712?s=20\">tweet</a>, she wrote, “I got told to move and to ‘use my brain’ and ‘self accountability’ for saying I’m moving. I then got pushed to the ground, picked up by my backpack strap & pushed again then told to ‘stop flopping around.’ Wrist is already bruising and swelling & hurt my ankle.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I got told to move and to “use my brain” and “self accountability” for saying I’m moving. I then got pushed to the ground, picked up by my backpack strap & pushed again then told to “stop flopping around.” Wrist is already bruising and swelling & hurt my ankle 😎</p>— Alissa Azar (@AlissaAzar) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlissaAzar/status/1310118382084083712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 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=\"vavi8\">Azar sustained a minor concussion, numerous bruises, a thumb injury that required medical attention and a cracked phone screen, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"xkuek\">She had been wearing a vest and helmet, both labeled with press markings, she said, as well as a National Press Photographers Association press pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"e30ar\">In a joint <a href=\"https://ktvz.com/top-stories/2020/09/26/dozens-in-body-armor-arrive-in-portland-for-right-wing-rally/\">statement</a> on that day’s demonstrations, MCSO Sheriff Mike Reese and OSP Superintendent Travis Hampton praised officers for maintaining safety and order while allowing people to exercise their rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"siv5s\">When reached by email about this incident, the PPB declined to comment, citing pending litigation. MCSO didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"l2pjl\">OSP spokesperson Timothy Fox told the Tracker that “if someone feels that excessive or improper force was used against them,” they may report it to the Office of Professional Standards for investigation.</p></div>",
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{
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}
],
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"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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{
"title": "Photojournalist assaulted at a Proud Boys rally in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-at-a-proud-boys-rally-in-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-04T17:26:53.135506Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-05-17T13:40:42.174095Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-05-17T13:40:42.058509Z",
"date": "2020-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ejawc\">Two independent photojournalists and a livestreamer were assaulted by an individual at a Sept. 26, 2020, rally in Portland, Oregon, according to interviews and multiple filmed accounts of the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"5slak\">National leaders of the Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group, organized the rally, which drew between 200 and 300 people to Portland’s Delta Park, <a href=\"https://www.opb.org/article/2020/09/26/live-updates-portland-under-state-of-emergency-as-hate-group-holds-rally/\">Oregon Public Broadcasting reports</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0leu\">Journalists and <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFneZg0B4I4/?igshid=1gri7c05smoeh\">others at the rally</a> posted videos online showing a man shoving around independent journalists Zack Perry and Justin Katigbak.</p><p data-block-key=\"7acca\">The same assailant <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1309945564922961920?s=20\">was also recorded throwing a livestreamer</a> to the ground, kicking him in the face and throwing the journalist’s phone over a fence. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented the assault on the livestreamer, who goes by the name Jovanni, and damage to his equipment <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/livestreamer-assaulted-individual-proud-boys-rally-his-phone-stolen/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"92flf\">Perry told the Tracker that prior to the assaults, a “huge chunk of the crowd” moved away from a stage erected in the park to chase after Jovanni. A Proud Boys member working security at the event managed to keep the crowd at bay to allow Jovanni to leave, Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ft44d\">Perry, Jovanni and other journalists walked away from the scene together. But the man followed after them, “stalking us and berating us” and blaming them for “burning down the city of Portland,” Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7khi5\">The assailant “pushed me very aggressively multiple times and punched me in the back of the head on two separate occasions but we just kept walking,” Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"cds4v\">Katigbak told the Tracker that he began to follow the group after he noticed that the assailant was pursuing the two journalists, recording the altercation with a Nikon Z6.</p><p data-block-key=\"e0nvf\">“I noticed this guy was going after them and I followed to video,” Katigbak said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1t4v3\">Instagram user Gabby Albano <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFneZg0B4I4/?igshid=1gri7c05smoeh\">posted a video</a> of the assailant following Perry and Jovanni and giving Perry a shove from behind.</p><p data-block-key=\"flpsp\">Soon after that exchange, the man shoved Jovanni into a nearby fence and kicked him in the face while he was down before tossing the livestreamer’s phone over the fence.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mtnd\"><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFneZg0B4I4/?igshid=1gri7c05smoeh\">In Albano’s video</a>, a man wearing a black polo shirt with yellow trim — colors associated with the Proud Boys — is seen trying to restrain the assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"de7pf\">The assailant paces for about one minute before turning his sights on Katigbak. The assailant then shoves the journalist into a tree, causing Katigbak to fall to one knee. The Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-journalists-assaulted-proud-boys-rally-portland/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"28db6\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1309946306337464322?s=20\">In a video posted by</a> Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling, Katigbak is seen getting to his feet when another rally attendee, wearing combat gear with a rifle strapped to his vest, shoves the journalist several times before others step between them.</p><p data-block-key=\"d5bld\">Perry told the Tracker he did not file a complaint. Katigbak said he filed a report with the Portland Police Bureau regarding the assault but that he has not followed up with the department in the months since.</p><p data-block-key=\"4uqil\">PPB spokesman Derek Carmon told the Tracker on Feb. 1, 2021, that no one has been arrested in relation to Katigbak’s alleged assault and no suspects have been identified.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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{
"title": "Journalist arrested while covering a Portland protest, equipment confiscated and damaged",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-arrested-while-covering-a-portland-protest-equipment-confiscated-and-damaged/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-07T16:03:07.135397Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:15:05.788887Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:15:05.664029Z",
"date": "2020-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
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"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8df16\">A journalist with Full Revolution Media said he was arrested by police while covering a protest on the night of Sept. 26, 2020, in downtown Portland, Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"s29q7\">The protest was among the many demonstrations that broke out in response to police violence and in support of Black Lives Matter following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"23hmw\">Law enforcement officers in Portland had targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The city agreed to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction</a> in July to not to arrest or harm any journalists or legal observers of the protests or impede their work.</p><p data-block-key=\"jsnii\">Earlier in the day on Sept. 26, a rally organized by the Proud Boys far-right extremist group drew some 800 people to Portland, while at least 1,000 counterprotesters gathered nearby, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/far-right-rallies-and-counter-protests-in-portland-ended-without-violence-saturday-as-the-daytime-gatherings-were-smaller-shorter-than-expected.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency ahead of the rally, putting officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office under a unified command.</p><p data-block-key=\"f1qzm\">After those protests ended, left-leaning demonstrators gathered downtown later that night, according to The Oregonian, and police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11:40 p.m. At 10:23 p.m., the MSCO <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MultCoSO/status/1310087588389158912?s=20\">tweeted</a> that "officers have made more than a dozen arrests."</p><p data-block-key=\"57y3i\">John, the Full Revolution Media journalist, told the Tracker, "I moved south and decided to separate from the protesters by myself to look for a friend that had my charging cable, as my phone was about to die."</p><p data-block-key=\"c14xi\">John, who asked that his last name not be used out of safety concerns, said an officer asked him to go with the crowd, but he said, "No, I'm going southwest."</p><p data-block-key=\"9i9bh\">"He told me again, and knowing it was not a legal order, I started to walk when he grabbed me and said, 'You are under arrest,'" he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7zohz\">John believes he was targeted, noting he had just interacted with that officer about 30 minutes earlier.</p><p data-block-key=\"lsd4s\">He had press markings on the front and rear of his helmet, he said, but was still transported in a "paddy wagon with people with no masks" to the Multnomah County jail, where he was booked for harassment and interfering with a peace officer. The charges were later dropped, John said.</p><p data-block-key=\"r5wvc\">The journalist said he was released on a Sunday and allowed to pick up his personal belongings on Monday when the property room opened, but his work-related belongings were kept in evidence until he filed for their release. On Thursday he was allowed to retrieve his helmet, GoPro camera, Canon camera, and backpack with a backup phone, charger, batteries and other items in it.</p><p data-block-key=\"26rud\">"One of my phones (brand new) had been damaged," he told the Tracker. "I was in booking for 14 hours, and if it weren't for help from people outside jail, I wouldn't have been able to pick up my daughter."</p><p data-block-key=\"r8mcw\">The MSCO didn’t respond to a request for comment. The PPB has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"arresting_authority": "Portland Police Bureau",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-09-27",
"detention_date": "2020-09-26",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "external battery"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "protective equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "equipment bag"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"protest",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"John (Full Revolution Media)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist grabbed by backpack, shoved by police while covering Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-grabbed-by-backpack-shoved-by-police-while-covering-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-17T16:18:00.847904Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:14:49.033601Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:14:48.904822Z",
"date": "2020-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"539mq\">A law enforcement officer grabbed independent photojournalist Maranie Staab by her backpack and shoved her while she was covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, late on the night of Sept. 26, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"gz1qj\">Staab was documenting one of the many protests that had been ongoing for months in downtown Portland and across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lnsp\">Law enforcement officers in Portland have targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The ACLU suit led to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-protect-journalists-and-legal-observers\">temporary restraining order</a>, and later a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction,</a> barring the Portland Police Bureau from harming or impeding journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"421kp\">Earlier in the day on Sept. 26, a rally organized by the Proud Boys far-right extremist group drew some 800 people to Portland, while at least 1,000 counterprotesters gathered nearby, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/far-right-rallies-and-counter-protests-in-portland-ended-without-violence-saturday-as-the-daytime-gatherings-were-smaller-shorter-than-expected.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency ahead of the rally, putting officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office under a unified command. After those protests ended, left-leaning demonstrators gathered downtown later that night, according to The Oregonian, and police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11:40 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"njcyt\">Shortly before midnight, Staab was standing next to several other journalists when an officer grabbed her by her backpack and shoved her away.</p><p data-block-key=\"55xv0\">Independent journalist Rodrigo Melgarejo captured the incident in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Mestizo43/status/1310174924976259072\">video</a> posted on Twitter. Staab, wearing a black vest clearly marked with “press” in large white letters, can be seen standing next to several other people wearing press vests as police officers tell people to leave. An officer abruptly reaches toward her from her right, spins her around by her backpack and pushes her forward.</p><p data-block-key=\"qqg93\">Retweeting Melgarejo’s video later that day, Staab <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1310397183963746306?s=20\">wrote</a>, “@PortlandPolice continue to unlawfully target members of the Press. While they’re clearly marked. And on the sidewalk. And in no way interfering. This is an affront to our Constitution & democracy. This is taxpayer funded abuse.”</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/PortlandPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PortlandPolice</a> continue to unlawfully target members of the Press. <br><br>While they’re clearly marked. <br><br>And on the sidewalk. <br><br>And in no way interfering. <br><br>This is an affront to our Constitution & democracy. <br><br>This is taxpayer funded abuse. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/protectandserve?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#protectandserve</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/policebrutality?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#policebrutality</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/pyhLiT4p77\">https://t.co/pyhLiT4p77</a></p>— Maranie R. Staab (@MaranieRae) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1310397183963746306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 28, 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=\"fhrgd\">After the incident, police began rushing a group of journalists who were on the sidewalk, Staab told the Tracker, adding that she and other members of the press were pushed and shoved back by police.</p><p data-block-key=\"eu36v\">Staab believed she was targeted because she was a journalist, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ngv6s\">The ACLU called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate police treatment of journalists that night, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Photojournalist John Rudoff was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-knock-photojournalist-to-the-ground-damaging-camera-lens-during-portland-protest/\">pushed to the ground</a> by police while covering the same protest, shortly before midnight. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-shoved-by-police-while-covering-a-portland-protest/\">Melgarejo</a> and journalists <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-shoved-by-law-enforcement-officers-while-covering-portland-protests/\">Sergio Olmos and Sean Bascom</a> were also shoved by law enforcement in the early hours of the morning.</p><p data-block-key=\"1z0f3\">Brown<a href=\"https://twitter.com/OregonGovBrown/status/1310369711159271424?s=20\"> tweeted</a> on Sept. 27 that she asked the individual law enforcement agencies to investigate any allegations about the use of force against members of the press or public. In a statement on behalf of the three agencies, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware that video had been taken of several incidents involving force, which would be reviewed to determine whether any officers violated law enforcement policies, according to <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"yai7j\">A spokesperson for the PPB didn’t respond to a request for comment, but the bureau has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing the continuing ACLU litigation.</p></div>",
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"actor": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"protest",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Maranie Staab (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Police knock photojournalist to the ground, damaging camera lens, during Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-knock-photojournalist-to-the-ground-damaging-camera-lens-during-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-11T18:09:52.373397Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:14:33.773710Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:14:33.676501Z",
"date": "2020-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fts5d\">Independent photojournalist John Rudoff was shoved to the ground by police while he was photographing an arrest during a protest in Portland, Oregon, late on Sept. 26, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"zyijr\">Rudoff, whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Nation and Rolling Stone, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he hit the ground “so hard that my teeth hurt” and that his camera lens was significantly damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"675j0\">Rudoff was documenting one of the many protests that had been ongoing for months in downtown Portland and across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. The Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"35wlo\">Law enforcement officers in Portland have targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The ACLU suit led to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/judge-grants-temporary-restraining-order-protect-journalists-and-legal-observers\">temporary restraining order</a>, and later a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction,</a> barring the Portland Police Bureau from harming or impeding journalists. Rudoff is a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-say-federal-agents-targeted-them-with-projectiles-as-they-covered-protests-in-portland/\">plaintiff</a> in the class-action lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"e993v\">Earlier in the day on Sept. 26, a rally organized by the Proud Boys far-right extremist group drew some 800 people to Portland, while at least 1,000 counterprotesters gathered nearby, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/far-right-rallies-and-counter-protests-in-portland-ended-without-violence-saturday-as-the-daytime-gatherings-were-smaller-shorter-than-expected.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown had declared a state of emergency ahead of the rally, putting officers from the Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office under a unified command. After those protests ended, left-leaning demonstrators gathered downtown later that night, according to The Oregonian, and police declared an “unlawful assembly” around 11:40 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"0n684\">Rudoff told the Tracker that he was following a crowd of protesters around 11:45 p.m. when several police officers ran up the sidewalk and tackled a demonstrator. Rudoff crossed the street and ran to document the arrest, along with several other journalists and photographers.</p><p data-block-key=\"lu708\">When Rudoff started taking photographs, standing at least 10 feet back, two officers put their hands on him and pushed him backwards, he said. He didn’t have time to put a foot back to catch his balance, and he landed on his right hip and the right side of his back. The right side of his head got slammed to the ground, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7tfzf\">“All the teeth in my mouth hurt from the impact of my helmet on the sidewalk,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"gk2ub\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/ByMikeBaker/status/1310112139126996992\">Video</a> posted on Twitter at midnight by Mike Baker of The New York Times shows officers running alongside a wall and tackling an individual to the ground. About 20 seconds into the video, Rudoff, wearing a bright yellow backpack, can be seen standing several yards back from the arrest, holding a camera up to take a photograph. Then two officers approach him, put their hands on his shoulder, and push him to the ground.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Aggressive arrests, baton jabbing and knocking a photographer to the ground. <a href=\"https://t.co/OXdGhfOs3k\">pic.twitter.com/OXdGhfOs3k</a></p>— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ByMikeBaker/status/1310112139126996992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 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=\"ajz9i\">Rudoff said he was protected from the impact because he was wearing a helmet and body armor. He continued to work for about 20 more minutes before going home. He didn’t require any medical attention, he said, but was sore for the next few days.</p><p data-block-key=\"m19b4\">His 24-70mm Canon lens, the shorter of two lenses he had with him that night, was significantly damaged and had to be repaired, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"grvkm\">Rudoff said he believes PPB officers pushed him, but that it’s possible it was a state trooper.</p><p data-block-key=\"268tb\">He doesn’t know whether he was targeted because he was a member of the press, saying it’s possible he was pushed because he was a civilian approaching a police action. However, he believes it’s more likely he was shoved because he was a clearly marked journalist photographing a violent arrest. “That would be the argument, that I was targeted because I was able to record what they were doing,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"divo1\">Rudoff noted that he had “press” written on his helmet and body armor, press identification around his neck, and professional-grade cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"y8wy1\">Attorneys involved with the ACLU suit are aware of the incident on Sept. 26, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"xjsqm\">The ACLU called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate police treatment of journalists that night, <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a> reported. Matt Borden, a lawyer on the ACLU case, was quoted as saying the incident involving Rudoff “violates basic human decency in addition to the Court’s injunction.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8fc9j\">Brown<a href=\"https://twitter.com/OregonGovBrown/status/1310369711159271424?s=20\"> tweeted</a> on Sept. 27 that she asked the individual law enforcement agencies to investigate any allegations about the use of force against members of the press or public. In a statement on behalf of the three agencies, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said it was aware that video had been taken of several incidents involving force, which would be reviewed to determine whether any officers violated law enforcement policies, according to <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/09/aclu-calls-for-special-prosecutor-after-video-shows-officers-aggressive-tactics-during-weekend-protests.html\">The Oregonian</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"w831s\">A spokesperson for the PPB declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation. A spokesperson for the OSP said they weren’t aware of the incidents.</p></div>",
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"actor": "law enforcement",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"links": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
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"tags": [
"protest",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Multiple journalists assaulted at a Proud Boys rally in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-journalists-assaulted-proud-boys-rally-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-02T20:13:00.676523Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-05-17T13:40:34.846659Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-05-17T13:40:34.726646Z",
"date": "2020-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2w72l\">Two independent photojournalists and a livestreamer were assaulted by an individual at a Sept. 26, 2020, rally in Portland, Oregon, according to interviews and multiple filmed accounts of the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"jgc26\">National leaders of the Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group, organized the rally, which drew between 200 and 300 people to Portland’s Delta Park, <a href=\"https://www.opb.org/article/2020/09/26/live-updates-portland-under-state-of-emergency-as-hate-group-holds-rally/\">Oregon Public Broadcasting reports</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"kuzbg\">Journalists and <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFneZg0B4I4/?igshid=1gri7c05smoeh\">others at the rally</a> posted videos online showing a man shoving around independent journalists Zack Perry and Justin Katigbak.</p><p data-block-key=\"twjof\">The same assailant <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1309945564922961920?s=20\">was also recorded throwing a livestreamer</a> to the ground, kicking him in the face and throwing the journalist’s phone over a fence. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented the assault on the livestreamer, who goes by the name Jovanni, and damage to his equipment <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/livestreamer-assaulted-individual-proud-boys-rally-his-phone-stolen/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kf47\">Perry told the Tracker that prior to the assaults, a “huge chunk of the crowd” moved away from a stage erected in the park to chase after Jovanni. A Proud Boys member working security at the event managed to keep the crowd at bay to allow Jovanni to leave, Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"wthig\">Perry, Jovanni and other journalists walked away from the scene together. But the man followed after them, “stalking us and berating us” and blaming them for “burning down the city of Portland,” Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"31cnc\">The assailant “pushed me very aggressively multiple times and punched me in the back of the head on two separate occasions but we just kept walking,” Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7wwps\">Katigbak told the Tracker that he began to follow the group after he noticed that the assailant was pursuing the two journalists, recording the altercation with a Nikon Z6.</p><p data-block-key=\"s52uq\">“I noticed this guy was going after them and I followed to video,” Katigbak said.</p><p data-block-key=\"o6qrv\">Instagram user Gabby Albano <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFneZg0B4I4/?igshid=1gri7c05smoeh\">posted a video</a> of the assailant following Perry and Jovanni and giving Perry a shove from behind. The Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-at-a-proud-boys-rally-in-portland/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"sr2he\">Soon after that exchange, the man shoved Jovanni into a nearby fence and kicked him in the face while he was down before tossing the livestreamer’s phone over the fence.</p><p data-block-key=\"qe6vf\"><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CFneZg0B4I4/?igshid=1gri7c05smoeh\">In Albano’s video</a>, a man wearing a black polo shirt with yellow trim — colors associated with the Proud Boys — is seen trying to restrain the assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vlis\">The assailant paces for about one minute before turning his sights on Katigbak. The assailant then shoves the journalist into a tree, causing Katigbak to fall to one knee.</p><p data-block-key=\"72rqe\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1309946306337464322?s=20\">In a video posted by</a> Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling, Katigbak is seen getting to his feet when another rally attendee, wearing combat gear with a rifle strapped to his vest, shoves the journalist several times before others step between them.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ba5n\">Perry told the Tracker he did not file a complaint. Katigbak said he filed a report with the Portland Police Bureau regarding the assault but that he has not followed up with the department in the months since.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmsdq\">PPB spokesman Derek Carmon told the Tracker on Feb. 1, 2021, that no one has been arrested in relation to Katigbak’s alleged assault and no suspects have been identified.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Livestreamer assaulted by individual at Proud Boys rally, his phone stolen",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/livestreamer-assaulted-individual-proud-boys-rally-his-phone-stolen/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-02T20:08:34.198877Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T14:52:36.847269Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T14:52:36.730888Z",
"date": "2020-09-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3r9nr\">A livestreamer was punched and shoved to the ground while covering a Sept. 26, 2020, rally in Portland, Oregon. The attacker was filmed kicking the journalist in the face, taking his phone and throwing it over a fence.</p><p data-block-key=\"s83f3\">Journalists covering the Sept. 26 rally of the Proud Boys, a far-right group, Portland’s Delta Park, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1309945564922961920?s=20\">captured images of a man</a> assaulting the livestreamer, who goes by the name Jovanni, <a href=\"https://www.thedailybeast.com/police-investigate-assault-on-livestreamer-after-far-right-proud-boys-descend-on-portland\">the Daily Beast reports</a>. The event attracted between 200 and 300 people, <a href=\"https://www.opb.org/article/2020/09/26/live-updates-portland-under-state-of-emergency-as-hate-group-holds-rally/\">according to Oregon Public Broadcasting</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ex6jr\">Independent journalist Zack Perry told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that at one point during the rally he witnessed members of the crowd yelling at Jovanni and trying to chase him out of the event. A man clad in jeans, gray shirt and a ballcap punched Jovanni in the eye but the livestreamer managed to get away, according to Perry and a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jovannithe1st/status/1310085449910595585?s=20\">Twitter post by Jovanni.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"czsc0\">Jovanni did not respond to the Tracker’s requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bvrn\">Perry, Jovanni and two other journalists tried to walk out of the event as a group, but Jovanni’s assailant “kept stalking us and berating us, blaming us for killing Jay Bishop and for burning down the city of Portland,” Perry said.</p><p data-block-key=\"gvdqe\">“Jay Bishop” is an alias for Aaron Danielson, a “friend and supporter” of the right-wing, Vancouver, Washington-based Patriot Prayer group <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/08/1-person-shot-killed-near-downtown-portland-protests-saturday.html\">who was shot and killed</a> on Aug. 29, 2020, during a clash of left-wing groups and supporters of President Donald Trump in downtown Portland, the Oregonian reports.</p><p data-block-key=\"7vgp4\">“He pushed me very aggressively multiple times and punched me in the back of the head on two separate occasions but we just kept walking,” Perry said. After Perry was struck, the journalist said he stepped away in order to get “some distance to see if I could capture footage of him fucking with us better.”</p><p data-block-key=\"g6nvd\">The Tracker documented the assaults of Perry and independent journalist Justin Katigbak <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-journalists-assaulted-proud-boys-rally-portland/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"yx153\">At that point, Perry said, the assailant who had punched Jovanni earlier assaulted him a second time, throwing him into a fence and kicking him in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"pb7qf\">Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDXzane/status/1309945564922961920?s=20\">posted a video</a> on Twitter of the attack at about 4 p.m. in which the man is seen kicking Jovanni in the face, snatching his phone from his hand and throwing the device over the fence. The assailant then falls to the ground himself.</p><p data-block-key=\"qpzwt\">Perry said that both journalists and rally attendees then moved to separate the assailant from Jovanni and that he and other journalists took the livestreamer to be seen by medics on hand at a nearby Black Lives Matter protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"pkhg8\">Jovanni <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jovannithe1st/status/1310085449910595585?s=20\">tweeted on Sept. 27</a> that he went to the hospital and learned that he suffered a concussion from the attack. He said that he was unable to recover his phone but that a “homie got me a temporary.”</p><p data-block-key=\"wa681\">The Portland Police Bureau <a href=\"https://twitter.com/portlandpolice/status/1309964401600901120?s=21\">tweeted that the department</a> was investigating the on-camera assault and called on witnesses to come forward. But a department spokesperson told the Tracker that investigators were unable to get in touch with Jovanni to look into the matter further.</p><p data-block-key=\"k4w7o\">“I have not been notified that there has been any change to that case. As far as I can tell it remains inactive,” Portland Police Sgt. Kevin Allen told the Tracker on Feb. 1, 2021.</p></div>",
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"name": "Oregon",
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{
"title": "Freelance photographer beaten, arrested while covering Illinois protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photographer-beaten-arrested-while-covering-illinois-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-03-05T21:00:46.300943Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-05T21:07:50.863817Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-05T21:07:50.707399Z",
"date": "2020-09-25",
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"city": "Rockford",
"longitude": -89.094,
"latitude": 42.27113,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"65heb\">Freelance photojournalist Albert Riley Jr. was beaten by police officers, arrested, and had his camera seized and equipment damaged while documenting a protest in Rockford, Illinois, on Sept. 25, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"7j27l\">He was held for three days and later charged with felony aggravated battery and resisting arrest, but was acquitted of the charges on Feb. 17, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3pd\">Protests against police brutality had been held Fridays near Rockford’s City Market in the wake of the killing in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. On Sept. 25, a small group of demonstrators showing support for the police was also present, the Rockford Register Star <a href=\"https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/2020/09/26/2-arrested-1-taken-away-by-ambulance-in-rockford-protests/114399006/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"djk9d\">Riley <a href=\"https://www.rockrivercurrent.com/2022/02/photographer-albert-riley-found-not-guilty-after-arrest-covering-protests/\">told</a> the Rock River Current that he was covering various aspects of the protests. “There wasn’t anything specific that I was taking pictures of: I took pictures of police, I took pictures of protesters, I took picture of counter-protesters, I took pictures of the ministers on the corner singing and playing guitars, I took pictures of the marches as they were going through the crosswalk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8sdiq\">According to the Current, Riley said that at one point, he took photos of an off-duty Winnebago County sheriff’s deputy throwing a water bottle at protesters, and protesters throwing the bottle back. The deputy’s wife, an off-duty detective in the Sheriff’s Office, approached Riley and asked him to delete the photos; he started to take a picture of her, and she slapped his hand and camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"dihoq\">Riley said he reacted to try to protect himself and the camera, causing the detective to fall back. “Was it my intention for her to fall back and hit the ground? No it was not. I just wanted her out of my personal space,” he told the Current.</p><p data-block-key=\"9qbvo\">Then, her husband pushed him in the back, and two uniformed Rockford Police Department officers grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. Riley said he was unaware they were police officers until he was on the ground. He alleged they assaulted him, and denied he resisted arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"a884k\">“They’re punching me. They’re kicking me,” he told the Current. “I didn’t fight with them, I was just attacked by them.” The outlet reported the journalist sustained a black eye, a bruised cheek and bleeding on the side of his nose, adding that his glasses and cellphone screen were broken.</p><p data-block-key=\"8v0i9\">Riley also said that images were deleted from his professional camera’s memory card without his permission.</p><p data-block-key=\"2cako\">Melinda Jacobson, Riley’s attorney, told the Current that the police never explained deleting the images. “The only photographs that were deleted contained images of the state’s witnesses,” she added.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ecoc\">Jacobson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email that Riley’s camera was broken during the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"n6mt\">A <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/camera-equipment-broke-by-rockford-police\">fundraiser</a> started on his behalf stated that he needed to replace more than $4,000 worth of camera equipment and a lens as a result of the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"28a4k\">Riley was released on Sept. 28, and charged with felony counts of aggravated battery in a public way — for allegedly shoving the off-duty detective to the ground — and resisting arrest. A superseding indictment was entered on Oct. 28, for the same charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"cdoba\">In February 2022, following a four-day trial, Riley was acquitted on both charges by a jury in Winnebago County 17th Judicial Circuit Court, according to the <a href=\"https://www.rockrivercurrent.com/2022/02/photographer-albert-riley-found-not-guilty-after-arrest-covering-protests/\">Current</a> and court records.</p><p data-block-key=\"bu71r\">The Rockford Police Department declined to comment.</p></div>",
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{
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],
"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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},
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"tags": [
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Independent social media reporter arrested while covering protest in Richmond",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-social-media-reporter-arrested-while-covering-protest-richmond/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-02T18:09:47.747561Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:15:25.834053Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:15:25.700621Z",
"date": "2020-09-24",
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"city": "Richmond",
"longitude": -77.46026,
"latitude": 37.55376,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4crnj\">Independent reporter Lynn Murphy, who said she reports on social media about protests, was arrested while covering a demonstration in Richmond, Virginia, early in the morning of Sept. 24, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lyyd\">The Richmond event was held in response to a Kentucky grand jury’s decision on Sept. 23 not to bring charges against police officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was killed in her home in Louisville on March 13, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"jsj3q\">Murphy is one of three activist journalists who recently told <a href=\"https://vpm.org/news/articles/18040/citizen-journalists-seek-answers-from-richmond-police\">Virginia Public Media</a> they believe Richmond police have targeted them for their coverage of racial justice protests in 2020. She told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that on the day of the grand jury decision in Kentucky, she had been covering a march in Richmond that turned into an hours-long standoff at the police headquarters, continuing past midnight.</p><p data-block-key=\"ou3qg\">Murphy said when she approached one part of a police line outside the building, an officer greeted her by name. Murphy, who was taking photographs, said the officer said she would help Murphy get a better photo. According to Murphy, the officer then stepped up close to her face, grabbed her arm and pulled her through the line of police in order to arrest her. Murphy said she was pulled through the line just as police advanced toward protesters. Richmond activist Jimmie Lee Jarvis <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JLJLovesRVA/status/1309005753915711489?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 1:44 a.m. that police had “snatched” Murphy from the crowd; a video Jarvis posted shows police officers moving toward protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"q1qnw\">Murphy said she dropped her phone as the officer pulled her. Her glasses were also knocked off and broken, and her arm was bruised, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bwe21\">A Richmond police sergeant told Murphy that she was being taken into custody for an outstanding arrest warrant, but Murphy said the sergeant couldn’t tell her any specific information about the warrant. She said she later learned that the warrant was for a charge of “obstructing free passage” on Sept. 14, when Murphy had been reporting on another protest in Richmond. Murphy said that on that day, she had been covering the protest from the sidewalk with other reporters and was never spoken to by police.</p><p data-block-key=\"00x9z\">Murphy said police restrained her wrists with zip-ties and transported her to the Richmond City Justice Center, where she was held for 12 hours. At 2:45 a.m., while she was in custody, a magistrate set bond for her at $1,500, according to Murphy. But when a bail bond representative arrived later, the representative was told bail had not been set, Murphy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"sykvz\">Murphy said she was released after her arraignment on the morning of Sept. 24. At a Nov. 19 hearing, the case was continued until March 2021. Murphy said the charges are still pending while her lawyer seeks to probe whether police unlawfully searched her phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"rri39\">Murphy said she got her phone back from police on Nov. 6. When she retrieved it, the case was missing, the screen protector cracked, and the SIM card had been removed, she said. Murphy believes police searched her phone, but she said there was no way for her to determine whether the device had been searched. She said police asked for her passcode, which she did not provide.</p><p data-block-key=\"mn2to\">According to Murphy, a detective told her multiple times that police were keeping the phone because they had a sealed warrant for it, but she has not been able to locate any warrant in either the circuit or district court.</p><p data-block-key=\"qf5ra\">Murphy said she was wearing a press badge at the time of her arrest. She said that she did not identify herself to police as a reporter, but she believes officers with the police department are familiar with her because they refer to her at protests as “Lynn from Twitter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9rlet\">“I really just see them as malicious, the way they target us like this,” Murphy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ypw89\">The Richmond Police Department confirmed to the Tracker that detectives had held her phone “due to the ongoing investigation.” The department did not respond to further questions about a warrant.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mtv2\">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.<a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> Find these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
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"links": [],
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}
],
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"state": {
"name": "Virginia",
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},
"updates": [
"(2021-03-02 08:47:00+00:00) Independent social media reporter agrees to community service in exchange for charges being dropped",
"(2021-06-03 16:06:00+00:00) Charges dropped against independent social media reporter"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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"tags": [
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"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Lynn Murphy (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved by Portland, Oregon, police during Breonna Taylor protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-injured-by-portland-police-while-covering-protest-over-breonna-taylor-grand-jury-decision/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-13T15:17:39.324604Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:30:09.540892Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:30:09.448270Z",
"date": "2020-09-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9ww5n\">Independent videographer Melissa Lewis says she was shoved by local police officers while covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 23, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"wvdxn\">Lewis was covering one of the many protests that have broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and others. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"9cs2f\">Law enforcement officers in Portland have targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The ACLU suit led the city to agree to <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">a preliminary injunction</a> in July to not arrest, harm or impede the work of journalists or legal observers of the protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"daqje\">The Sept. 23 protest was called in response to a Kentucky grand jury’s decision that day to not prosecute Louisville police officers for shooting and killing Taylor.</p><p data-block-key=\"mjgkn\">Demonstrators <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/portland-protest-grows-downtown-on-eve-of-breonna-taylor-grand-jury-decision.html\">gathered</a> in downtown Portland outside the Multnomah County Justice Center, a focus of Portland protests because it houses a jail, courtrooms and a police station. According to a <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/09/portland-protest-grows-downtown-on-eve-of-breonna-taylor-grand-jury-decision.html\">report in The Oregonian</a>, sometime after 9 p.m., some protesters threw rocks at the windows to the Central Precinct station, located on the Second Avenue side of the Justice Center.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qxgm\">In response, Portland police declared the protest a riot and used crowd-control munitions on demonstrators. At around 10:30 p.m., a protester threw a Molotov cocktail at officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"mvt0b\">Lewis told the Tracker she was filming a confrontation between an officer and a protester on Broadway in downtown Portland. After she walked on the crosswalk to film, a police officer began to yell at her.</p><p data-block-key=\"m75fy\">Video <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LauraJedeed/status/1309008605543362561\">published</a> by independent journalist Laura Jedeed at 10:55 p.m. captures Lewis, with the words “press” on her helmet walking backwards while an officer follows. Then, the officer pushes her to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"yr689\">“I reached the sidewalk and he shoved me over. My ankle caught the curb. I felt it pop and snap,” Lewis told the Tracker. “Medics were concerned I broke my ankle because it swelled, so I got evacuated to the ER.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tznd0\">At Providence Portland Medical Center, Lewis learned her ankle didn’t break. But medical staff told her the officer’s push resulted in torn soft tissue in her ankle.</p><p data-block-key=\"dzpb3\">The PPB has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case.</p><p data-block-key=\"p54n9\">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/RTX7XT1S_-_Reuters_-_Jim_Urquhart.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q8ev8\">Law enforcement at a September 2020 protest in Portland, Oregon, after a grand jury declined to prosecute Kentucky police for killing Breonna Taylor. Journalist Melissa “Claudio” Lewis was shoved by an officer at a Portland protest on Sept. 23.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "3:20-cv-01882",
"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": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [
"(2020-11-01 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist joins civil rights suit against Portland, Oregon; later withdraws"
],
"case_statuses": [
"withdrawn"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"court verdict",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Melissa “Claudio” Lewis (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent reporter arrested while covering Louisville protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-reporter-arrested-while-covering-louisville-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-23T17:20:31.448993Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:15:44.917731Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:15:44.814783Z",
"date": "2020-09-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Louisville",
"longitude": -85.75941,
"latitude": 38.25424,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vp8qr\">Social media reporter Ian Kennedy was arrested while covering a protest against police violence in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sept. 23, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"ea8z7\">Racial-justice demonstrations, which had been occurring daily in Louisville for months, were reinvigorated when a grand jury decided not to bring charges against police officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her home on March 13, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2ube\">Kennedy, who reports for his independent media outlet Concrete Reporting, streams unedited video footage of protests live to social media.</p><p data-block-key=\"jfygg\">Kennedy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was following a large group of protesters who continued to demonstrate in downtown Louisville after a 9 p.m. curfew went into effect. Near midnight, city police officers used <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/journalists-covering-protests-us-risk-getting-caught-police-kettling-tactic/\">a crowd-control technique called kettling</a>, in which police block protesters from leaving the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"murxz\"><a href=\"https://www.pscp.tv/w/1dRJZZLRzkvJB\">Video</a> Kennedy posted of the protest on Periscope shows police lines blocking both directions of a wide city street, firing pepper balls toward the ground and ordering protesters to sit down. As police moved in toward the group of protesters Kennedy had been following, he crossed the street to stand on the opposite sidewalk, where he and others were also ordered to sit on the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"0xd5s\">He said he identified himself to police as a reporter multiple times. On his video, he can be heard telling one officer that he had just arrived from Seattle to cover the protest for his work. “I’m not a protester, I’m just doing my job. I’m press,” he tells the officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"akp2f\">A short time later, another officer searches through his backpack and pulls out a copy of Kennedy’s press pass, which Kennedy said includes his name, Concrete Reporting, and a QR code that links to the website.</p><p data-block-key=\"uy0jk\">“Yeah, that’s fake,” the officer says.</p><p data-block-key=\"xf42g\">Kennedy told the Tracker he was held in jail for 18 hours after he was arrested. Court documents show he was charged with failure to disperse and unlawful assembly. A hearing in his case is scheduled for Nov. 24.</p><p data-block-key=\"1mdq2\">The Louisville Metro Police Department didn’t respond to requests for comment about Kennedy’s arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"p7zfl\">Two Daily Caller reporters,<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-held-12-hours-while-covering-louisville-protests/\"> Jorge Ventura</a> and<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-held-16-hours-while-covering-louisville-protests/\"> Shelby Talcott</a>, were arrested covering the same protest in Louisville on Sept. 23.</p><p data-block-key=\"x07er\">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.<a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> Find these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": "Louisville Metro Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-09-24",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Kentucky",
"abbreviation": "KY"
},
"updates": [
"(2020-11-24 14:54:00+00:00) Charges dropped for reporter arrested while covering Louisville protest"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ian Kennedy (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter arrested, held 12 hours while covering Louisville protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-held-12-hours-while-covering-louisville-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-08T18:00:04.001915Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T19:43:23.947662Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T19:43:23.834478Z",
"date": "2020-09-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Louisville",
"longitude": -85.75941,
"latitude": 38.25424,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sxx0m\">Daily Caller reporter Jorge Ventura was arrested while covering protests and unrest in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sept. 23, 2020, and detained more than 12 hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"xprf4\">Protesters marching daily for months in downtown Louisville were inflamed anew that day after a grand jury decided not to charge police officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her home on March 13, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"r4iyb\">Ventura and Shelby Talcott, his colleague from the right-leaning news and opinion outlet, were reporting from the city center late at night when police began using a controversial crowd-control technique called kettling that restricts people from dispersing, according to an <a href=\"https://dailycaller.com/2020/09/28/exclusive-louisville-arrest-daily-caller-reporters-kettling-black-lives-matter-protest/\">account</a> of the arrests Talcott later published. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-held-16-hours-while-covering-louisville-protests/\">Talcott’s arrest here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kjr8\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShelbyTalcott/status/1308960469240213504?s=20\">Video Talcott posted on Twitter</a> shortly before the two journalists were arrested shows she told nearby police officers that they were members of the press several times.</p><p data-block-key=\"pkee2\">Geoffrey Ingersoll, editor in chief of the Daily Caller, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GPIngersoll/status/1308973875980644352?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 11:37 p.m. that he had notified the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department that the two reporters were press, and expected they would be released swiftly. A short time later he posted that he learned that they would be processed and charged.</p><p data-block-key=\"k1zbt\">While he was held in the police processing center, Ventura was called over to a supervising police officer who told him that Ingersoll had called, Ventura said in <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1309270945400528898?s=20\">an interview with Fox News</a>. He said he thought then that the two journalists would be released, but the officer briefly left, and when he returned, told him that they would be arrested and held overnight.</p><p data-block-key=\"b50ne\">Ventura was released early in the afternoon on Sept. 24.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Released from jail in Louisville after being detained for +12 hours. My colleague <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShelbyTalcott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ShelbyTalcott</a> is still detained at the moment, as well as journalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/livesmattershow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@livesmattershow</a>. Thank you to everyone for the support , I am truly grateful! <a href=\"https://t.co/E6Ooau4viQ\">pic.twitter.com/E6Ooau4viQ</a></p>— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/1309207734756216834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 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=\"l2m2o\">Ventura was charged with violating a county ordinance and failure to disperse, <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/us/daily-caller-reporters-arrested-during-protests/index.html\">CNN reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"vrqem\">The LMPD didn’t respond to a request for comment about why the reporters were arrested. In an email to members of the media earlier on Sept. 23, the department said journalists wouldn’t be subject to curfew or unlawful-assembly orders, according to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/oliviakrauth/status/1308997947338772480?s=20\">correspondence shared on Twitter</a> by a Louisville Courier-Journal reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"3kizt\">A court dropped the charges against both Talcott and Ventura on Oct. 20, the <a href=\"https://dailycaller.com/2020/10/20/charges-dropped-daily-caller-reporters-arrested-louisville-protest/\">Daily Caller reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"a22s0\">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/RTX7XHII.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ey8oh\">A man in Louisville, Kentucky, holds up a sign during a Sept. 23, 2020, protest for Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot dead by local police earlier in the year.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Louisville Metro Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-09-24",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Kentucky",
"abbreviation": "KY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"court verdict",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jorge Ventura (Daily Caller)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter arrested, held for 16 hours while covering Louisville protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-held-16-hours-while-covering-louisville-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-08T17:51:21.176946Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T19:42:00.787968Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T19:42:00.595645Z",
"date": "2020-09-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Louisville",
"longitude": -85.75941,
"latitude": 38.25424,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8s72i\">Daily Caller reporter Shelby Talcott was held in police custody for 16 hours after she was arrested while covering protests and unrest in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sept. 23, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"3zzjt\">Protesters marching daily for months in downtown Louisville were inflamed anew that day after a grand jury decided not to charge police officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her home on March 13, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"rgb63\">Talcott and Jorge Ventura, her colleague at the right-leaning news and opinion outlet, were reporting from the city center late on Sept. 23 when police began using a controversial crowd-control technique called kettling that restricts people from dispersing.</p><p data-block-key=\"1tfy2\">Talcott <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShelbyTalcott/status/1308960469240213504?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 10:44 p.m. that police were moving in on a scattered crowd at a park. Video she posted showed a line of officers with shields advancing along a street. A few minutes later she tweeted that police had everyone on the ground, and had begun zip-tying people’s wrists.</p><p data-block-key=\"6swkh\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShelbyTalcott/status/1308965986683551745?s=20\">video</a> Talcott posted on Twitter at 11:06 p.m., she can be heard trying to tell police that they were journalists. “Sir, we’re press,” she repeats twice. “Stay where you’re at,” an officer responds. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented Ventura’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-held-12-hours-while-covering-louisville-protests/\">arrest 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\">We are all on the ground right now and police are taking people and putting them in zip tie cuffs <a href=\"https://t.co/eIJJF1t1Ub\">pic.twitter.com/eIJJF1t1Ub</a></p>— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShelbyTalcott/status/1308965986683551745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 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=\"ndyyl\">Talcott wrote in a Daily Caller <a href=\"https://dailycaller.com/2020/09/28/exclusive-louisville-arrest-daily-caller-reporters-kettling-black-lives-matter-protest/\">article</a> that she identified herself as a journalist to several other officers as she was taken into custody. One officer asked for her credentials, which Talcott didn’t have, but she offered to verify that she was a journalist by calling people who could vouch for her.</p><p data-block-key=\"inc2l\">When she asked another officer if she was being detained, he told her she was being arrested, she wrote. The officer told her that members of the press weren’t exempt from the city’s curfew or the unlawful-assembly order, she wrote, contradicting previous statements from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department. Police had emailed reporters that day saying they wouldn’t be subject to curfew or unlawful-assembly orders, according to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/oliviakrauth/status/1308997947338772480?s=20\">correspondence shared on Twitter</a> by a Louisville Courier-Journal reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"va1no\">The LMPD didn’t respond to a request for comment about why the reporters were arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"lb8br\">Police took Talcott’s backpack, zip-tied her wrists behind her back, and patted her down, before she was taken into a garage where police were processing arrests, she wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"myh16\">Geoffrey Ingersoll, editor in chief of the Daily Caller, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GPIngersoll/status/1308973875980644352?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 11:37 p.m. that he had notified the LMPD that the two reporters were press, and expected they would be released swiftly. A short time later he posted he learned that they would be processed and charged.</p><p data-block-key=\"ta3lx\">Talcott wrote that she underwent a second, more invasive pat-down as she was processed. She wrote in a <a href=\"https://dailycaller.com/2020/10/03/shelby-talcott-daily-caller-arrest-louisville-jail-part-two/\">second account of her experience</a> that she was held in a cell with approximately 28 women, no room to social distance, and not everyone was provided with a mask. She said she was in custody for 16 hours before she was released.</p><p data-block-key=\"22pjy\">Talcott was charged with unlawful assembly and failure to disperse. She <a href=\"https://dailycaller.com/2020/09/30/daily-caller-reporter-pleads-not-guilty-arrested-covering-louisville-protests/\">pleaded not guilty</a> to the charges on Sept. 30. A court dropped the charges against both Talcott and Ventura on Oct. 20, the <a href=\"https://dailycaller.com/2020/10/20/charges-dropped-daily-caller-reporters-arrested-louisville-protest/\">Daily Caller reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"f2i8t\">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/RTX7XGE91.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hlid5\">Police stand guard in Louisville, Kentucky, as people react to a Sept. 23, 2020, decision in the criminal case against officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman, earlier in the year.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Louisville Metro Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-09-24",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
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{
"title": "Multimedia journalist repeatedly pushed by police while covering L.A. protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multimedia-journalist-repeatedly-pushed-by-police-while-covering-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-11T14:16:03.335879Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T19:44:12.991639Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T19:44:12.902566Z",
"date": "2020-09-23",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v6zqt\">Lexis-Olivier Ray, a multimedia journalist for local outlet L.A. Taco, says he was repeatedly pushed by Los Angeles Police Department officers while documenting protests in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 23, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"5hqqk\">The Los Angeles Times <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-23/hundreds-join-downtown-l-a-protest-over-decision-in-breonna-taylor-case\">reported</a> that hundreds had taken to the streets of downtown L.A. that day following the grand jury decision in the case of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who’d been fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, home by police in March. Protesters were also demanding the removal of Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, whom <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/us/jackie-lacey-la-da-black-lives-matter/index.html\">they claimed</a> hadn’t done enough to hold the police department accountable in cases of excessive use of force and officer-involved shootings.</p><p data-block-key=\"ra29d\">The protest was just one in a surge of demonstrations against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that have been held since May. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"0kof8\">Ray told the Tracker he was following marchers as they made their way through downtown toward LAPD headquarters, near the intersection of South Main and West First streets.</p><p data-block-key=\"kjpfn\">“I arrived kind of late and was trying to catch up with people as they headed toward the police station and City Hall, which is nearby,” he said. “To get where the group of people was, I had to cross police lines.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t7bcf\">Ray said that he identified himself as press, but when he then attempted to cross the line, a few officers gave him a “hard time.” He said he then took a few steps back and told the officers he would stay where he was.</p><p data-block-key=\"qqxgd\">“They weren’t happy about that,” Ray said. “They told me to back up and eventually started pushing me down the street pretty aggressively.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LAPD pushing a shoving me down a public sidewalk after I repeatedly identified myself as a journalist. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LATACO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LATACO</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/2HRRFPrfw1\">pic.twitter.com/2HRRFPrfw1</a></p>— Lexis-Olivier Ray (@ShotOn35mm) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShotOn35mm/status/1309007382345928705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 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=\"oz1sv\">Ray said that he then walked approximately 30 to 40 feet farther down the police line and asked different officers if he could be allowed to cross the line in order to document the protest, again identifying himself as a member of the press. According to Ray, the officers said, “Oh yeah, sure,” and he was able to reach the protest without further incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"tsq30\">“I had my press pass and I had a system for dealing with the police,” Ray said. “I stayed on the sidewalk, in a public area. I was careful about identifying myself and making sure that they knew I was a journalist and I tried to keep my distance from the officers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hkv5t\">The LAPD did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "California",
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"court verdict",
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{
"title": "Social media journalist hit with projectile while covering Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/social-media-journalist-hit-with-projectile-while-covering-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-10T18:57:36.123312Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:16:22.373574Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:16:22.277754Z",
"date": "2020-09-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o1mxw\">Social media journalist Chris Khatami was hit with a law enforcement munition used for crowd-control while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 23, 2020. Khatami told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he did not believe he was targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4uut\">Khatami, who hosts an <a href=\"https://www.twitch.tv/specscript\">entertainment show</a> on the platform Twitch, has been documenting and livestreaming the city’s protests for racial justice and against police brutality on social media for several months.</p><p data-block-key=\"93ri2\">On Sept. 23, protesters gathered outside the Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland to demonstrate against the Kentucky Attorney General’s <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/breonna-taylor-decision-louisville-police-wanton-endangerment-grand-jury/\">announcement</a> that a grand jury had declined to charge any police officers in the March 2020 death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.</p><p data-block-key=\"8qnab\">According to Khatami, around midnight, officers began pushing protesters away from the building and through Chapman Square, which housed a large encampment of homeless people. It was a chaotic scene, Khatami told the Tracker, as he tried to film officers pushing and grabbing protesters in the dark, while not trampling the belongings of the encampment’s residents.</p><p data-block-key=\"vhstp\">In the midst of this, Khatami said he was hit on the hand by a crowd-control munition, but that it did not leave a mark or cause injury. He said he was not sure what kind of munition it was, and he did not believe he was targeted.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At Wednesday’s protest I was hit by DHS munitions and all I got was this amazing shot.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PortlandProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PortlandProtests</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portland</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/policeriot?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#policeriot</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/copriot?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#copriot</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PoliceBrutality?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PoliceBrutality</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/5VexF9wRug\">pic.twitter.com/5VexF9wRug</a></p>— Ra's Al Gabaghul (@ChrisKhatami) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisKhatami/status/1309565049715847170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 25, 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=\"dt9yo\">Earlier that evening, around 11 p.m., Khatami said police officers threw a gas canister directly toward where he was standing with a group of journalists, all of whom were clearly labeled “press.” Khatami was wearing homemade signs that said “press” taped to his backpack, shirt and helmet, he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"9q2n2\">The journalist said the canister bounced away and he was not hit with any chemical irritant.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In this video from last night's protests in Portland you can see a cop throw a CS gas canister at me, and you can hear me be an indignant baby about it! <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PDXprotests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PDXprotests</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portland</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PortlandProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PortlandProtests</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PoliceBrutality?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PoliceBrutality</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/csgas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#csgas</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/copriot?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#copriot</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PoliceRiots?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PoliceRiots</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/b6ktNW4lKb\">pic.twitter.com/b6ktNW4lKb</a></p>— Ra's Al Gabaghul (@ChrisKhatami) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisKhatami/status/1309270620668977153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 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=\"9rg74\">Since July, law enforcement officers from the PPB and federal agencies have been barred by court rulings from arresting, harming or impeding journalists or legal observers of the protests. Sergeant Kevin Allen, a Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer, told the Tracker in an email that he was unable to provide comment on the incident because “there is active litigation involving the City of Portland on the topic you’re asking about.”</p><p data-block-key=\"p3c3b\">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>",
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