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{
"title": "Videojournalist struck with baton during Beverly Hills protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videojournalist-struck-with-baton-during-beverly-hills-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-19T22:09:38.610392Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T17:05:18.501202Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T17:05:18.411614Z",
"date": "2020-10-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Beverly Hills",
"longitude": -118.40036,
"latitude": 34.07362,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"agd0m\">Vishal Singh, a videographer who works on Netflix documentaries and has been covering demonstrations in Los Angeles, said he was assaulted by a police officer while reporting on clashes between protest groups in Beverly Hills, California on Oct. 31, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"cyd0p\">Singh told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was covering a group of counterprotesters as they marched to a rally held by supporters of President Donald Trump. When the group arrived at the Trump rally, police from Beverly Hills and other departments “immediately surrounded the counterprotesters, as well as journalists, and started advancing, started assaulting,” Singh said. “I was batoned in the back while filming but was wearing a bulletproof vest so I didn’t actually feel it that hard.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jf6rr\">Singh said both the front and back of the vest and his helmet are labeled “PRESS,” and he was carrying two copies of his press pass, with one pinned to the vest.</p><p data-block-key=\"kq4wv\">Singh said that he witnessed Jintak Han, a Los Angeles-based photojournalist, being pushed to the ground by a Beverly Hills officer and helped him up, which can be seen in his <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBlH2ggEaM/\">footage from that day</a>. The Tracker has documented Han’s assault and the resulting equipment damage <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-ground-equipment-damaged-during-beverly-hills-political-protest/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bzatm\">“Many journalists were assaulted that day,” Singh said.</p><p data-block-key=\"t7qak\">Beverly Hills Police Department executive officer Lt. Max Subin told the Tracker that the department had received a complaint from Han, but could not immediately confirm whether Singh had filed one as well. Singh said he has filed multiple complaints, but did not remember whether he had filed one for this incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"6tdup\">Subin also disputed Singh’s assertion that “many” journalists were assaulted by law enforcement that day. He said that the department has typically had a “great” relationship with the press and that the department is conducting an internal review of excessive use of force.</p><p data-block-key=\"v6eab\">“There were cases of use of force that day, and the use of force against members of the press will be part of that review,” Subin said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ot0je\">Singh said that he is pursuing multiple complaints and lawsuits independently and with the National Lawyers Guild.</p></div>",
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"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Vishal Singh (Freelance)"
],
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{
"title": "Journalist hit with riot control device during rally at Portland ICE building",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-hit-with-riot-control-device-during-rally-at-portland-ice-building/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-10T19:04:48.920253Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T19:46:09.715541Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T19:46:09.618087Z",
"date": "2020-10-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uusdi\">Independent videographer Garrison Davis was struck with a crowd-control munition in the early morning hours of Oct. 29, 2020, while he covered a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"log71\">Protests had been held on an almost nightly basis in Portland since late May, in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Videographer Davis has covered many of the Portland protests, and in November 2020, after this incident, he began co-hosting a podcast, “Uprising: A Guide From Portland,” for iHeartRadio.</p><p data-block-key=\"cdm56\">According to Davis, a group of about 100 protesters assembled at Elizabeth Caruthers Park in South Portland just before midnight on Oct. 29; they marched a few blocks south to the ICE building, a frequent site for demonstrations to protest conditions for the facility’s inmates and to call for the agency’s abolition.</p><p data-block-key=\"kpy0x\">The group stopped in front of a driveway into the facility, Davis told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. He said about 10 journalists were covering the gathering.</p><p data-block-key=\"837vn\">Davis captured footage of armed Federal Protective Service agents, who are part of Homeland Security, in riot gear, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1321712052876967937?s=20\">emerging from the building</a> on two separate occasions and arresting a protester each time.</p><p data-block-key=\"ftbld\">Following <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1321719074838118400?s=20\">the second arrest</a>, the agents began firing tear gas <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1321719869662916610?s=20\">and other crowd-control devices</a> at the crowd and marching toward them as they backed down South Moody Avenue, according to tweets and videos Davis posted on his account.</p><p data-block-key=\"fp484\">Davis told the Tracker that because of his work he has a gas mask that offers decent protection in such situations. “If you put it on ahead of time it’s not the worst,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ot6f\">Davis told the Tracker that he was struck on the knee with what he believed to be either a rubber bullet or a tear-gas canister.</p><p data-block-key=\"g9h5g\">“Teargas and Stun Grenades in Portland streets,” Davis <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1321720887385616384?s=20\">wrote in a Twitter post</a>. “I’ve been shot in the leg with either a rubber bullet or canister.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ayoe9\">Davis said he did not seek medical attention but that he walked with a limp for a few days after the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"a44rj\">Davis said he was wearing a press badge on a lanyard and a helmet with “PRESS” in white letters on one side. He said that, while an agent used a loudspeaker <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1321705102760054785?s=20\">to threaten protesters and journalists</a> with arrest if they were caught trespassing on federal property, the agents on the street did not issue a warning before setting off crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"tw3ne\">Davis and other people filming the scene <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1321724603039805443?s=20\">edged to the east side of the street</a> to keep cameras on the agents as protesters moved north. He said that it appeared agents were firing munitions toward the journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l9ux\">“They were doing it kind of for fun, it seemed,” Davis said.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3swp\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ncq0r\">Demonstrators and Federal and local police clash at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 29, 2020</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Garrison Davis (Freelance)"
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{
"title": "Federal agents shoot independent videographer three separate times with crowd-control munitions, damage camera",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/federal-agents-shoot-independent-videographer-three-separate-times-crowd-control-munitions-damage-camera/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-29T16:22:07.248082Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T19:54:31.778495Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T19:54:31.686707Z",
"date": "2020-10-29",
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"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"eid22\">Independent journalist Mason Lake said he was shot three separate times with crowd-control munitions by federal law enforcement officers while he was covering a protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, in the early hours of Oct. 29, 2020. The pepper balls also damaged his video camera, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekbfo\">Lake, a videographer, was covering one of the many Portland protests against law enforcement violence that first erupted after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis 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=\"1833x\">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 case resulted in a temporary restraining order on July 2 barring the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists, which was <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> later that month.</p><p data-block-key=\"winxa\">The <a href=\"https://pdx.recompilermag.com/2020/10/28/protests-for-october-28/\">protest</a> began late on Oct. 28, as demonstrators rallied at Elizabeth Carruthers Park, in the South Waterfront district of Portland, and stretched past midnight. The protesters marched several blocks south to the ICE building, chanting against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including the separation of children from parents that took place from 2017 to 2018 and the <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-separation-parents-chosen-homeland-security-chad-wolf/\">lack of progress</a> in reuniting all of the families.</p><p data-block-key=\"rfhaf\">When demonstrators arrived outside the ICE building shortly before midnight, federal officers warned them they were trespassing and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to the local news station <a href=\"https://www.koin.com/news/protests/tear-gas-fills-streets-as-federal-officers-clash-with-protesters-portland-ice-protest-10282020/\">KOIN</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"l49ur\">Lake, who was marked as press on a helmet and a vest and carried his press identification with him, was shot three separate times with crowd-control munitions after midnight and caught them all on video that he later posted on YouTube. He said he believes he was targeted by the federal agents because he was filming them.</p><p data-block-key=\"5bgap\">In the <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FlyVzB6J8Q&feature=youtu.be\">first</a> incident, at around 1:27 a.m., Lake captured federal officers advancing down the street in a cloud of tear gas and shooting crowd-control munitions. At about seven seconds in, Lake is heard cursing after being shot with what he believes were pepper balls.</p><p data-block-key=\"44i4a\">“I was shot in the back of my thigh when we were backing up from the line they were pushing us from,” Lake told the Tracker. “It also hit my back.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tfezo\">In the <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUcGrObGTtU&feature=youtu.be\">second</a> incident, at around 1:34 a.m., Lake approached a tear gas canister on the ground, and was then fired at. He responded by cursing at the federal agents.</p><p data-block-key=\"di8v7\">“They shot me in the chest with the pepper rounds, and then my camera got hit with a pepper round, got hit with a pellet, and then another pepper round. And the mic itself got hit with a pepper round,” Lake told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"oe1e1\">His Canon EOS 6D Mark II camera was damaged, with the audio connection and hot shoe needing cleaning and maintenance. The mic also needed work after being hit with a pepper ball.</p><p data-block-key=\"kedl8\">“I had to send in the camera for work. The camera took some damage, though thankfully not too much,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"m7eza\">In the <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgQaLK6_e7w&feature=youtu.be\">third incident</a>, at 1:58 a.m., Lake is hit with crowd-control munitions as he walks towards federal officers stationed outside the ICE facility. At about six seconds in, Lake can be heard yelling that he was shot in the face. He then turns his camera to show where a mark was left on his helmet.</p><p data-block-key=\"js23o\">Lake told the Tracker it was a pepper round that hit him that time as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"rvcps\">The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incidents.</p></div>",
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"shot / shot at"
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Journalist tackled, equipment damaged while covering Dodgers celebrations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-tackled-equipment-damaged-while-covering-dodgers-celebrations/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-11T21:46:09.557678Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:04:42.078541Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:04:41.913844Z",
"date": "2020-10-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gzjfd\">Lexis-Olivier Ray, a freelance multimedia journalist, was tackled to the ground by Los Angeles Police Department officers and beaten with batons, damaging his equipment as he documented the celebrations of the Dodgers’ World Series win in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 28, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"c31og\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. experienced protests against police brutality throughout the summer, and crowds in L.A. had clashed with police earlier in October during celebrations of the Lakers’ NBA championship win. 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=\"kma2q\">USA Today <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/dodgers/2020/10/28/world-series-celebration-fire-looting-los-angeles/3759882001/\">reported</a> that the Dodger celebrations in L.A. that began the night of Oct. 27 took place mainly in downtown and in Echo Park, a neighborhood near Dodger Stadium. Ray covered the event on assignment for L.A. Taco, a digital-only outlet focused on the city. Ray did not respond to emails requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"v0b6v\">Ray <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-28/lapd-deals-with-unruly-crowds-after-dodgers-world-series-victory\">told the Los Angeles Times</a> that he was near the intersection of West 8th and Flower Streets when officers suddenly sprinted forward and pinned him against a car. Ray said that he feared being dragged underneath the car, which was slowly moving forward, if the driver accelerated.</p><p data-block-key=\"vwh6k\">Shortly after midnight, Ray <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShotOn35mm/status/1321352709899907073\">posted a video</a> to Twitter that shows a line of officers in riot gear rushing at him, pushing him repeatedly and ultimately knocking him to the ground. Ray can be heard identifying himself as a member of the press multiple times.</p><p data-block-key=\"1doaf\">Ray told the Times that he had introduced himself to a police supervisor at the scene moments before the incident, so some of the officers who were standing with the supervisor should have known who he was.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jxrv\">In a subsequent tweet, Ray <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShotOn35mm/status/1321365608605208576\">posted pictures</a> of a few abrasions on his right hand and elbow, as well as damage to his video camera’s microphone and lens. “A group of LAPD officers just broke my camera mic, tackled me to the ground and beat me with their batons, after I identified myself as a journalist multiple times,” he wrote. He noted, however, that he was “OK.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A group of LAPD officers just broke my camera mic, tackled me to the ground and beat me with their batons, after I identified myself as a journalist multiple times. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LATACO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LATACO</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/2VaB4sq8IJ\">pic.twitter.com/2VaB4sq8IJ</a></p>— Lexis-Olivier Ray (@ShotOn35mm) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ShotOn35mm/status/1321352709899907073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 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=\"29dgi\">“It’s really difficult to be a reporter right now,” Ray told the Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"fbyp1\">The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment as of press time. Officer Lizeth Lomeli, an LAPD spokesperson, told USA Today she had no information about the incident.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vq83p\">Los Angeles Police Department officers in riot gear stand guard near Dodger Stadium on Oct. 28, 2020, following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series win.</p>",
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{
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"(2020-11-01 13:16:00+00:00) Outlet files complaint about police assault on its journalist while covering Dodgers celebrations"
],
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"Equipment Damage"
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"Lexis-Olivier Ray (L.A. Taco)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist sprayed in face with chemical irritant during DC protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-sprayed-face-chemical-irritant-during-dc-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T18:58:54.933340Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T20:09:55.652276Z",
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"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9qu6b\">A police officer sprayed a chemical irritant in Wyatt Reed’s face as the independent journalist covered a protest in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, 2020, the journalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"fynh3\">Reed is a Washington-based journalist who produces the show By Any Means Necessary for Russian state-owned Radio Sputnik. He was covering the second night of protests over the death of Karon Hylton, a 20-year-old Black man who <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/karon-hylton-crash-body-camera/2020/10/29/132727f6-19e2-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html\">crashed an electric scooter while being pursued by police on Oct. 23</a> and died three days later. Police said they had attempted to stop Hylton after he was observed driving on a sidewalk without wearing a helmet.</p><p data-block-key=\"8huiz\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/wyattreed13/status/1321648372642697217\">In a video Reed uploaded to Twitter</a> at 11:01 p.m., a line of police officers can be advancing south on Georgia Avenue, just a block from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fourth District station, which had emerged as a focal point for protests. Then, what appears to be a firework can be seen exploding to the left of Reed before the footage goes blurry as the camera appears to get doused in a chemical irritant.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gcpr\">“Watch as DC cop targets me and sprays me point blank in the face with high-pressure mace,” Reed wrote on Twitter alongside the video. “I was displaying my press pass & clearly posed no threat. The only other person around me was the photographer you see here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gqpif\">Reed told the Tracker he felt he was targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"rfgbc\">“He [the police officer] was directly in front of me and he went straight for my eyes. It felt like I got pressure washed by bear mace on the inside of my eyeballs,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vk3p\">Reed said he had to be helped out of the protest after being sprayed and that the effects on his vision were severe even through the next day.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bhmi\">“It probably lasted about two hours before I was really able to open my eyes and not immediately be screaming out for water,” he said. “I went home and basically gave myself an hour under the sink flushing my eyes repeatedly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jrnen\">Reed said his vision remained “pretty severely” affected the following day and that he worries his ability to focus his eyesight isn’t the same as it was before getting sprayed.</p><p data-block-key=\"lu273\">He said he was also <a href=\"https://twitter.com/wyattreed13/status/1321924488834011136\">sprayed at another point earlier in the protest</a>, but told the Tracker he wasn’t as severely hurt.</p><p data-block-key=\"peelj\">The night before, at another protest over Hylton’s death, Reed had a crowd-control munition fired next to his head at close range by police.</p><p data-block-key=\"vz40y\">The Metropolitan Police Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"fpmyk\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting hundreds of incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, hit by crowd-control munitions or having their equipment damaged at protests around the country. <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">Find these incidents here.</a></p></div>",
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"tags": [
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{
"title": "Student journalist struck with crowd-control munitions amid Dodgers celebrations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-dodgers-celebrations/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-04T15:55:11.916265Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:06:02.033846Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:06:01.941268Z",
"date": "2020-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7g8dn\">Two journalists were hit with crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement while documenting celebrations in Los Angeles, California, after the Dodgers won the World Series on Oct. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"4h6je\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. experienced protests against police brutality throughout the summer, and crowds in L.A. had clashed with police earlier in October during celebrations of the Lakers’ NBA championship win. 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=\"chbpr\">Beverly Hills Courier reporter Samuel Braslow told the Tracker he was covering the downtown celebration with Emily Holshouser, a reporter for California State University Northridge’s student newspaper, The Daily Sundial. Holshouser declined to comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8a8p6\">The Los Angeles Times <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-28/lapd-deals-with-unruly-crowds-after-dodgers-world-series-victory\">reported</a> that celebrations devolved into looting and vandalism in downtown L.A. and the neighborhood of Echo Park.</p><p data-block-key=\"330q6\">Holshouser <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321317813076676609\">reported</a> on Twitter that one policeman told her there were “not enough” officers to deal with the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"7gtm8\">Braslow told the Tracker, “Police were trying to respond to things, but again, they were spread thin.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8p69d\">On her Twitter feed, Holshouser said that the LAPD issued a dispersal order shortly after 10 p.m., and that a line of officers in riot gear and mounted police were <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321318412463693825\">preparing to advance</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"crhr5\">Braslow said he and Holshouser were standing with a group of 10-15 people at a street corner when police began advancing toward them. Shortly before midnight, Holshouser <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321344609847369729\">posted</a> a clip of nearly a dozen individuals wearing Dodgers-branded apparel posing for Braslow to take a photo.</p><p data-block-key=\"11mmo\">“These guys made @SamBraslow photograph them and then we got shot at with foam baton rounds,” Holshouser wrote. “I got shot in my hip. I’m fine just mega pissed.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">These guys made <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SamBraslow</a> photograph them and then we got shot at with foam baton rounds ✨ I got shot in my hip. I’m fine just mega pissed <a href=\"https://t.co/OPH0By53bU\">pic.twitter.com/OPH0By53bU</a></p>— Emily Holshouser (@emilyytayylor) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321344609847369729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 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=\"7g8dn\">Braslow <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1321344502926204930\">tweeted</a> an image of a canister for a foam baton round — a crowd-control munition similar to a rubber bullet — at 11:54 p.m., and wrote that he had been hit in the arm by a “less-lethal” round. He told the Tracker he was not certain what type of munition struck him. The Tracker has documented Braslow’s assault <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-reporters-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-dodgers-world-series-celebrations/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"do0qg\">“I’m fine, just noting it,” Braslow wrote. “As per usual, camera around my neck, carrying camera bag, and wearing press credentials.”</p><p data-block-key=\"febt0\">Braslow told the Tracker he was also wearing a bulletproof vest and ballistic goggles. Holshouser can be seen in <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1321337240635633664\">clips</a> from that night wearing a bright yellow vest and press pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"bqg2f\">Braslow said he had some bruising and soreness on his arm, but both he and Holshouser were able to continue reporting that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"1npu4\">The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to emailed requests for comment as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"9t30h\">A third journalist, L.A. Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray, was tackled to the ground and struck with batons while filming the celebrations shortly after midnight. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-tackled-equipment-damaged-while-covering-dodgers-celebrations/\">documented that assault here</a>.</p></div>",
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"tags": [
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Reporter assaulted while filming looting in Philadelphia",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-while-filming-looting-in-philadelphia/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-11T20:03:58.002902Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:05:40.873353Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:05:40.793193Z",
"date": "2020-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Philadelphia",
"longitude": -75.16362,
"latitude": 39.95238,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qcouq\">Following protests in western Philadelphia, TheBlaze reporter Elijah Schaffer was assaulted while filming looting inside a discount store on Oct. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"b1bf1\">Schaffer, who reports for TheBlaze, which was founded by conservative political commentator Glenn Beck and is a part of Blaze Media, was covering protests that broke out in response to the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year old Black man who was fatally shot one day earlier by two Philadelphia police officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"dn3t1\">According to <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/27/philadelphia-unrest-police-shooting-walter-wallace/\">news reports</a>, protests that had begun peacefully the night of the shooting, to demand justice for Wallace, were disrupted by violence and looting “that officials said were caused by people taking advantage” of the demonstration. On Oct. 27, the second night of protests, The Washington Post reported that law enforcement “took a more aggressive tack,” using lines of riot police to block demonstrators who had gathered at Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia.</p><p data-block-key=\"9fvhf\">As the protests spread out, some people targeted "big-box stores" in the Port Richmond area and broke into places such as Walmart, according to The Washington Post and Schaffer.</p><p data-block-key=\"wbspl\">Schaffer told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he followed a group of protesters headed from a nearby police precinct toward Port Richmond, running past officers who were trying to stop him. He said he "ran with the looters trying to document what was happening," which led him into a Five Below, a specialty discount store, at Sepviva Street and East Butler Street. He did not have any press markings displayed at the time, he said, noting that he had not found it "very useful to mark yourself as press."</p><p data-block-key=\"9828d\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ElijahSchaffer/status/1321282505715187717?s=20\">video</a> shared on Twitter, Schaffer films people grabbing things from inside the store when someone approaches him and says, "Hey bro, stop recording," to which he responds, "I'm not recording faces. I'm doing the floor."</p><p data-block-key=\"5lcdd\">He said he was accused of being a white supremacist several times and that he felt targeted for being white. In a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/ElijahSchaffer/status/1321286272149762053?s=20\"> video</a> captured by Daily Caller reporter Shelby Talcott, Schaffer can be seen being confronted by several men and backing up before they start attacking him.</p><p data-block-key=\"oy5zi\">Schaffer told the Tracker that his attackers tried to steal his phone, and one of them pulled out a gun. "Another guy punched me right in the face and they started kicking and punching me a couple of times in the head and the gut,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"vm6mc\">According to Schaffer, the attackers stopped after a young Black man intervened.</p><p data-block-key=\"cuebt\">After the incident, Schaffer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/theblaze/status/1321271106968453120?s=20\">went on camera</a> to recount the attack. "I was jumped," he said with a bloodied lip. "I might go to the hospital I think to get stitches."</p><p data-block-key=\"13caj\">Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenny <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PhillyMayor/status/1321561480861536261?s=20\">tweeted</a> the next afternoon, "The looting that has taken place is distressing, and it is clear that many of these folks are taking advantage of the situation, harming our businesses and communities, and doing a great disservice to those who want to protest the death of Walter Wallace, Jr."</p><p data-block-key=\"3bqn2\">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></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
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},
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"tags": [
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],
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Journalist receives failure to disperse charge months after documenting Dodgers win",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-receives-failure-to-disperse-charge-four-months-after-documenting-dodgers-celebrations/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-08T18:48:38.141484Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:05:19.727961Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:05:19.622875Z",
"date": "2020-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"thk72\">Four months after covering celebrations in Los Angeles, California, following the Dodgers’ World Series win on Oct. 27, 2020, multimedia journalist Lexis-Olivier Ray says he received a citation for failure to disperse that evening.</p><p data-block-key=\"0wqj1\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. experienced protests against police brutality throughout the summer, and crowds in L.A. had clashed with police earlier in October during celebrations of the Lakers’ NBA championship win. 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=\"8nuu6\">USA Today<a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/dodgers/2020/10/28/world-series-celebration-fire-looting-los-angeles/3759882001/\"> reported</a> that the Dodgers celebrations took place mainly downtown and in Echo Park, a neighborhood near Dodger Stadium. Ray was on assignment that evening for <a href=\"https://www.lataco.com/\">L.A. Taco</a>, a digital-only outlet focused on the city.</p><p data-block-key=\"yacd1\">Ray told the Tracker that while documenting the scene he was assaulted by LAPD officers, who tackled him to the ground and beat him with batons just after midnight, damaging his equipment — an incident which the Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-tackled-equipment-damaged-while-covering-dodgers-celebrations/\">here</a> — but he was not detained or issued a citation.</p><p data-block-key=\"stcf6\">It was a surprise, Ray said, when he got a letter from the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office on March 3, 2021, notifying him that the office had received a report alleging that he had “violated Section PC409 Riot — remaining after warning to disperse on Oct. 27, 2020.”</p><p data-block-key=\"i9fbk\">Failure to disperse is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.</p><p data-block-key=\"uv63n\">The letter ordered him to appear for a hearing on March 8, stating that should he fail to appear, criminal charges may be brought against him.</p><p data-block-key=\"8gecm\">“I spoke to a public defender that said if I appear it will likely get thrown out,” Ray said, “but I have a lot of questions about why I received this notice in the first place.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5whsh\">Neither the city attorney’s office nor the Los Angeles Police Department responded to requests for comment as of press time.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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"(2021-03-09 08:39:00+00:00) City attorney declines to charge multimedia journalist, leaves case 'open' for later prosecution"
],
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{
"title": "Reporter struck with crowd-control munitions amid Dodgers World Series celebrations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-reporters-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-dodgers-world-series-celebrations/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-11T21:54:02.678442Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:05:01.636910Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:05:01.548377Z",
"date": "2020-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o9he3\">Two journalists were hit with crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement while documenting celebrations in Los Angeles, California, after the Dodgers won the World Series on Oct. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"5v977\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. experienced protests against police brutality throughout the summer, and crowds in L.A. had clashed with police earlier in October during celebrations of the Lakers’ NBA championship win. 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=\"j5gvy\">Beverly Hills Courier reporter Samuel Braslow told the Tracker he was covering the downtown celebration with Emily Holshouser, a reporter for California State University Northridge’s student newspaper, The Daily Sundial. Holshouser declined to comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"wgh0i\">The Los Angeles Times <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-28/lapd-deals-with-unruly-crowds-after-dodgers-world-series-victory\">reported</a> that celebrations devolved into looting and vandalism in downtown L.A. and the neighborhood of Echo Park.</p><p data-block-key=\"v1vxa\">Holshouser <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321317813076676609\">reported</a> on Twitter that one policeman told her there were “not enough” officers to deal with the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"mz2cx\">Braslow told the Tracker, “Police were trying to respond to things, but again, they were spread thin.”</p><p data-block-key=\"avwto\">On her Twitter feed, Holshouser said that the LAPD issued a dispersal order shortly after 10 p.m., and that a line of officers in riot gear and mounted police were <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321318412463693825\">preparing to advance</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcwt0\">Braslow said he and Holshouser were standing with a group of 10-15 people at a street corner when police began advancing toward them. Shortly before midnight, Holshouser <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilyytayylor/status/1321344609847369729\">posted</a> a clip of nearly a dozen individuals wearing Dodgers-branded apparel posing for Braslow to take a photo.</p><p data-block-key=\"goi3u\">“These guys made @SamBraslow photograph them and then we got shot at with foam baton rounds,” Holshouser wrote. “I got shot in my hip. I’m fine just mega pissed.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3lbds\">The Tracker has documented Holshouser’s assault <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-dodgers-celebrations/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"qufwl\">Braslow <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1321344502926204930\">tweeted</a> an image of a canister for a foam baton round — a crowd-control munition similar to a rubber bullet — at 11:54 p.m., and wrote that he had been hit in the arm by a “less-lethal” round. He told the Tracker he was not certain what type of munition struck him.</p><p data-block-key=\"5w2i7\">“I’m fine, just noting it,” Braslow wrote. “As per usual, camera around my neck, carrying camera bag, and wearing press credentials.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Whelp, hit by a less lethal in the arm. I’m fine, just noting it. As per usual, camera around my neck, carrying camera bag, and wearing press credentials. <a href=\"https://t.co/sy81UGBe7x\">pic.twitter.com/sy81UGBe7x</a></p>— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1321344502926204930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 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=\"t5w8j\">Braslow told the Tracker he was also wearing a bulletproof vest and ballistic goggles. Holshouser can be seen in <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1321337240635633664\">clips</a> from that night wearing a bright yellow vest and press pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"515y9\">Braslow said he had some bruising and soreness on his arm, but both he and Holshouser were able to continue reporting that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"0py0l\">The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to emailed requests for comment as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"isxse\">A third journalist, L.A. Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray, was tackled to the ground and struck with batons while filming the celebrations shortly after midnight. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-tackled-equipment-damaged-while-covering-dodgers-celebrations/\">documented that assault here</a>.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6htxb\">People celebrate the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series victory in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 27, 2020.</p>",
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{
"title": "DC police fire crowd-control round past journalist’s head during protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dc-police-fire-crowd-control-round-past-journalists-head-during-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T19:54:02.984288Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T20:10:36.511285Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T20:10:36.389674Z",
"date": "2020-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j3z04\">Independent journalist Wyatt Reed had a crowd-control munition shot past his head at close range while he covered a protest in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Oct. 27, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"c7l89\">Reed is a Washington-based journalist who produces the show By Any Means Necessary on Russian state-owned Radio Sputnik. He was covering a protest over the <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/karon-hylton-crash-body-camera/2020/10/29/132727f6-19e2-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html\">death of Karon Hylton</a>, a 20-year-old Black man who crashed an electric scooter while being pursued by police on Oct. 23 and died three days later. Police said they had attempted to stop Hylton after he was observed driving on a sidewalk and not wearing a helmet.</p><p data-block-key=\"9biai\">On the night of Oct. 27, protesters gathered at the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Fourth District station, less than a mile from where Hylton was killed. When Reed arrived, he said the situation was tense and the crowd of protesters had been pushed back to the corner of Georgia Avenue and Missouri Avenue, just south of the precinct.</p><p data-block-key=\"b4dcj\">In a video Reed <a href=\"https://twitter.com/wyattreed13/status/1321252001737572356\">uploaded to Twitter</a> at 8:46 p.m., the situation appears relatively peaceful as a line of police officers stands in the street in front of a group of protesters. Suddenly, one officer rushes forward and fires a crowd-control munition, which appears to flash past at eye level, just to the left of Reed.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">MPD launched a flashbang just inches from my face as they unleash a brutal crackdown on DC protesters demanding justice for <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/KaronHylton?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#KaronHylton</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/rwq5RMZNFh\">pic.twitter.com/rwq5RMZNFh</a></p>— Wyatt Reed (@wyattreed13) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/wyattreed13/status/1321252001737572356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 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=\"w04kz\">“Sir, is you okay? I saw that! You alright? Thank god,” somebody in the crowd asks Reed.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o29n\">“I’m OK, I’m OK. They could have shot my fuckin’ eye out,” Reed replies.</p><p data-block-key=\"96b7b\">“MPD launched a flashbang just inches from my face as they unleash a brutal crackdown on DC protesters demanding justice for #KaronHylton” Reed wrote on Twitter with the video.</p><p data-block-key=\"fnpr0\">Reed told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that, looking back on the video, he believes an officer positioned behind the line of police may have been hit with a thrown object, prompting another officer to rush forward and fire.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad4qp\">The D.C. public radio station WAMU reported that <a href=\"https://wamu.org/story/20/10/28/protesters-demand-police-accountability-after-death-of-d-c-moped-rider-karon-hylton/\">rocks had been thrown at police</a> during the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvrqm\">Reed said the fired munition passed about six inches from his head.</p><p data-block-key=\"93uis\">Reed said officers were shooting with “fairly little to no regard for who they could hurt.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7jean\">While he was standing at the front of the crowd near officers, was filming on a large camera and had his press identification “prominently displayed,” he said the incident felt like it was the result of “incompetence more than malice.”</p><p data-block-key=\"477mk\">The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"9s5p8\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting hundreds of incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, hit by crowd-control munitions or having their equipment damaged at protests around the country. <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> Find these incidents here.</a></p></div>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"tags": [
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{
"title": "Videojournalist assaulted, equipment broken during Austin demonstration",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videojournalist-assaulted-equipment-broken-during-austin-demonstration/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-29T16:08:01.127286Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T20:11:05.192224Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T20:11:05.103074Z",
"date": "2020-10-24",
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"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"auvya\">Austin-based independent videojournalist Hiram Gilberto Garcia was assaulted and had his equipment damaged while covering a protest in Texas’ capital city on Oct. 24, 2020, according to social media posts.</p><p data-block-key=\"gkvy3\">At approximately 6:40 p.m., Garcia — who posts his livestreams and interviews on Facebook and his <a href=\"https://www.imhiram.com/\">website</a> — was documenting a march against police brutality organized to mark the six-month anniversary of the death of Mike Ramos, an unarmed Black and Hispanic man who’d been fatally shot by an Austin police officer on April 24.</p><p data-block-key=\"n10kq\">The protest was also part of a national movement against police brutality that had swept across the country over the summer. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented hundreds of incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or had their equipment damaged while covering protests in 2020. Find all of these cases <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"om3cb\">In his <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/videos/1276133516097675\">livestream of the Austin march</a>, Garcia identifies a group of demonstrators he believed were affiliated with the Mike Ramos Brigade, which had organized after Ramos’ death to seek “justice for Mike and all victims of police violence.” The MRB had come to be seen by some in the community as militant, and Ramos’ mother, Brenda Ramos, had distanced herself from the group, KXAN News <a href=\"https://www.kxan.com/austin-george-floyd-mike-ramos-protests/mike-ramos-mom-calls-for-more-strict-penalties-faster-response-for-officer-involved-deaths/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"wc2an\">“The Mike Ramos Brigade — if it is the Mike Ramos Brigade — is not very friendly with me,” Garcia says in the footage, as some two dozen individuals advanced down South Pleasant Valley Road toward the intersection with East Riverside Drive.</p><p data-block-key=\"sayy4\">Shortly thereafter, Garcia can be seen crossing the street to document the group more closely after confirming that the group did include members of the MRB.</p><p data-block-key=\"npmec\">As soon as Garcia gets a few yards ahead of the group, an individual can be seen breaking away, running up to the journalist and holding a sign in front of his camera in order to prevent him from filming. Multiple other individuals can be heard yelling at Garcia, “Fuck you, Hiram!”</p><p data-block-key=\"e0rnl\">Addressing the animosity, Garcia says in his stream, “Specifically, they’re more concerned that I don’t take really extreme measures to blur out their faces or edit footage afterwards. Obviously this is not what the stream is about.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3dglk\">“As far as the disagreement between MRB and the platform is simply that, one, I’m unbiased—” Garcia says, before a demonstrator interrupts him, saying, “and two, you’re a fucking snitch!”</p><p data-block-key=\"5pf97\">In the footage, Garcia continues to follow and attempt to film the group as it crosses the street, with participants consistently holding their signs in front of their faces, cursing him and demanding that he leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"7npow\">“Hiram, I don’t know why you’re here!” a participant says through a megaphone. “You’re not here for Black lives. You’re here for yourself.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c498b\">Someone then grabs for his camera, which flips the point of view of the footage upside down. It is unclear what transpired after that point, though it appears Garcia was pushed back toward the road and his equipment was knocked out of his hands. Within seconds, the stream abruptly stops.</p><p data-block-key=\"47v0a\">A <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/posts/190785825998090\">post</a> to Garcia’s Facebook page said, “Today during our broadcast Hiram was assaulted and had all of his equipment destroyed and taken (not confirmed), police and EMS were dispatched to the scene and asked Hiram if he wanted to go to the hospital to get checked out, to which he agreed and went with EMS to the Hospital.”</p><p data-block-key=\"l6kvo\">The post went on to condemn the attack on Garcia, but also asked that his subscribers not retaliate against the Mike Ramos Brigade or “seek vigilante justice.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4csul\">“Please we only want to bring you information about what is happening around you and report as accurately as possible what is happening, so you all have a better source to make decisions from.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vv56n\">On Oct. 26 an <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/posts/191325632610776\">update</a> was posted to Garcia’s page noting that he was “resting at home and going through standard concussion protocol.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1dauf\">“[Garcia] suffered from a concussion according to the ER, along with a black eye and some other scrapes and bruises,” the post reads. “Again we continue to denounce any violence of any kind, our mission is truth, Justice, and Honor, we will continue on that path.”</p><p data-block-key=\"y2ck1\">In an emailed comment, a representative for Garcia said, “Our comments will always be the same. We are not the story, our mission is simply to show people who are not down on the streets or at events what is happening in their community as the events happen.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f790c\">The representative did not respond to requests for elaboration on the number and type of equipment damaged or whether Garcia has filed or plans to file a police report.</p></div>",
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"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"tags": [
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Independent photojournalist threatened by man with a gun in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-threatened-man-gun-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-13T13:12:31.456089Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-13T15:24:46.167515Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-13T15:24:46.074504Z",
"date": "2020-10-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9agug\">An unidentified man threatened independent photojournalist Maranie Staab with a gun as she covered protests in downtown Portland, Oregon on Oct. 24, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"3mbps\">Staab, whose photos of the protests in Portland have been published by <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/clashes-between-rival-groups-of-demonstr-idUKRTX7REOH\">Reuters</a>,<a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-can-you-do-if-trump-stages-a-coup\"> The New Yorker</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AFPphoto/status/1303739949036994565?s=20\">Agence France-Presse</a>, was documenting one of the protests that have been held almost nightly in the city in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, 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=\"48w21\">On the night of Oct. 24, Staab was covering demonstrations near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, which has increasingly become a focus of the demonstrations, in South Portland.</p><p data-block-key=\"lwgln\">At around 11 p.m., two men drove by in an unmarked vehicle, said Staab. She was filming at the time because there had been “suspicious vehicles driving around” and “a lot of intimidation happening,” she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"roqhd\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1320247758712786944?s=20\">video</a> she tweeted, the driver of the car can be seen pointing the gun through his passenger side window and calling her a “bitch.”</p><p data-block-key=\"margu\">“I had my phone up making video and happened to catch him pointing a handgun directly at me,” Staab recalled.</p><p data-block-key=\"y9e3z\">After threatening Staab. the men got out of their car a few hundred feet away and then started to threaten protesters, yelling phrases like “All lives matter!” and “Back the blue!” One of the men said he was military, but there is no evidence to verify that claim, according to Staab. In a different <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1320261600096342018?s=20\">video</a> Staab tweeted, protesters can be heard chanting “Black lives matter!” in response.</p><p data-block-key=\"vaas8\">The men continued to aggravate protesters until members of the crowd helped de-escalate the situation, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"x6ko5\">Freelance photojournalist Cole Howard tweeted <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RedheadNomad/status/1320285436233699330?s=20\">several photographs</a> of the situation. “The man in the green sweatshirt though not affiliated with the protest de-escalated the situation,” he wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"z0w0y\">While Staab didn’t file a police report, she said she has been actively working to identify the individuals and is speaking to an attorney to discuss potential legal action.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
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},
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"tags": [
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
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],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with pepper balls fired by federal agents while covering protest in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalists-hit-pepper-balls-fired-federal-agents-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-23T20:54:31.540559Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-13T15:26:39.613051Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-13T15:26:39.473040Z",
"date": "2020-10-18",
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"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dytcy\">Independent photojournalist Sean Bascom said he was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal law enforcement officers during a protest in Portland, Oregon, on the early morning of Oct. 18, 2020, despite a court order banning federal agents from targeting press.</p><p data-block-key=\"7v8to\">Protests had been held In Portland on almost a nightly basis 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. A temporary restraining order in early July barring the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists was <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents later that month</a>. 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=\"7l1lf\">A number of protests in Portland have targeted federal government buildings, and on the evening of Oct. 17, protesters marched on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland, in a demonstration that stretched into the early hours of Oct. 18.</p><p data-block-key=\"z6pgk\">Bascom told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was struck by pepper balls fired by federal agents stationed at the ICE building. Around 2:15 a.m, Bascom posted <a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1317756486341206019\">footage</a> on Twitter of the agents firing pepper balls as they moved. His shoes got covered in residue from the munitions as agents fired at him, he told the Tracker. Without a gas mask on, he couldn’t see as he retreated.</p><p data-block-key=\"luqlh\">“I was clearly marked as press. I have a high-vis vest on, ‘press’ clearly marked on my helmet,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"0i4fq\">The federal agents pushed protesters and the press onto Southwest Moody Avenue, just north of the facility, where they then used tear gas. In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/baaascom/status/1317739981524201473\">video</a> posted by Bascom on Twitter, federal agents can be seen firing pepper balls through clouds of tear gas that filled the street. One hit him in the lower chest, near his lowest rib, and left a paintball-sized welt, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"kj03m\">“They gassed it and just started firing pepperballs into the smoky gas. Like we couldn’t see them, and they definitely couldn’t see us,” he told the Tracker. “And it was mostly press that was closest to them, because that’s who gets close to them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"waf0a\">To Bascom, the actions of the federal agents towards himself and other members of the press “wasn’t explicitly targeting, it was more disregarding,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"zx9ny\">The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incidents. ICE, which operates under the DHS, referred the Tracker to the DHS for comment.</p></div>",
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"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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"authors": [],
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{
"title": "Independent photojournalist hit with pepper balls fired by federal agents in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-hit-with-pepper-balls-fired-by-federal-agents-in-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-13T19:59:53.256880Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-12T18:38:37.163632Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-12T18:38:37.058405Z",
"date": "2020-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dgp2w\">Independent photojournalist Maranie Staab said she was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal law enforcement officers during a protest in Portland, Oregon, on the early morning of Oct. 18, 2020, despite a court order banning federal agents from targeting press.</p><p data-block-key=\"c02ym\">Protests had been held In Portland on almost a nightly basis 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. A temporary restraining order in early July barring the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists was <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents later that month</a>. 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=\"5w5be\">A number of protests in Portland have targeted federal government buildings, and on the evening of Oct. 17, protesters marched on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland, in a demonstration that stretched into the early hours of Oct. 18.</p><p data-block-key=\"wvsh2\">Staab told the Tracker that around midnight she was on an adjacent street outside the ICE building, documenting a standoff between protesters and officers in an alleyway. Staab said she was behind the first row of protesters when officers started to rush at the group, shooting pepper balls while running.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mzz6\">“I was shot numerous times. I took one to the knee that put me on the ground,” she said. “They continued to shoot at me while I was on the ground. I was pretty messed up because they got my finger too.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ysgr\">Staab added that she was clearly marked as press, yet officers continued to fire at her. She posted images of her injuries on Twitter, including <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1318002478776942592?s=20\">welts on her lower back and knees</a> and a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1317759891805622274\">splint on her right middle finger</a>. She later told the Tracker that the finger had been severely sprained.</p><p data-block-key=\"0zeh1\">Additionally, her new camera stopped working out of the blue and was in repair for more than two weeks, Staab said. When she received the $700 repair bill, it stated that damage was caused by “corrosion due to paint and chemical substances.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3dbvq\">“It’s whatever they’ve been gassing us with. It’s getting into equipment and literally causing corrosion to camera,” Staab said. “I was not OK there for a little while, but the reality is I’m tough, because I realize that anything that I’m going through is nothing compared to what people have and continue to go through at the hands of the police. I have every intention to continue doing this work.”</p><p data-block-key=\"k2r1z\">The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incidents. ICE, which operates under the DHS, referred the Tracker to the DHS for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved, hit with projectiles during Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-hit-projectiles-during-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-23T20:33:04.011764Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T19:56:34.703719Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T19:56:34.634131Z",
"date": "2020-10-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hzenh\">Independent journalist Brian Conley was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement officers while covering a protest at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 17, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"sbj50\">Racial justice protests had been held regularly in Portland since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Several protests in the city have targeted federal government buildings, and on the evening of Oct. 17, protesters marched on the ICE building in South Portland.</p><p data-block-key=\"h594k\">Conley was filming a standoff between federal agents and protesters when the agents began firing pepper balls and moving forward in an attempt to clear the street. Conley was pushed by one of the agents and then tripped over a person who was already on the ground. Tumbling to the ground, Conley dropped his phone. When he got up and tried to retrieve it, he said officers fired pepper balls at him.</p><p data-block-key=\"ipv1u\">“He barreled directly into me, knocked me into the ground,” Conley told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker when describing how the officer pushed him down. “Then when I went to get my phone, he started shooting the ground around me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9b7ak\">Conley said he had press markings on his body armor and was visibly filming close to the agents when the incident occurred.</p><p data-block-key=\"tms8h\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/BaghdadBrian/status/1317717834059837440\">In a video Conley uploaded to Twitter at 11:43 p.m.</a>, the footage goes dark as Conley drops his phone and heavy pepper-ball fire can be heard before he picks it up again.</p><p data-block-key=\"a35hc\">“I’m press, buddy! I’m press. You can’t shoot me!” he yells at one officer after he retrieves his phone. He then approaches another federal agent and says: “Tell your buddy to leave me alone.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here's that moment when DHS officers rush the crowd, I try to back up while still shooting, get knocked over a photographer, and if you listen closely you may hear the pepper balls shot at my phone as I retrieved it from the ground. <a href=\"https://t.co/uQZOSlcQ8N\">pic.twitter.com/uQZOSlcQ8N</a></p>— Brian Conley (@BaghdadBrian) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BaghdadBrian/status/1317717834059837440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 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=\"73f2r\">Conley told the Tracker he had “pretty bad” shoulder pain after the incident as well as a knot around the area where the back of his skull meets his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"exu99\">The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incidents from the Tracker. ICE, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, responded by telling the Tracker to contact the Department of Homeland Security.</p><p data-block-key=\"kloci\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
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{
"title": "Photojournalist sprayed with chemical irritants during Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-sprayed-with-chemical-irritants-during-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-13T17:10:15.203985Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T19:58:01.489012Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T19:58:01.412795Z",
"date": "2020-10-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q2zcb\">Photojournalist Cole Howard said he was sprayed with chemical irritants by law enforcement officers during a protest at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 17, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"uhcew\">Racial justice protests had been held regularly in Portland since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Several protests in the city have targeted federal government buildings, and on the evening of Oct. 17, protesters marched on the ICE building in South Portland.</p><p data-block-key=\"pmchw\">Howard told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was following the crowd that evening when it arrived at the ICE building. He said protesters were attempting to tie balloons to the gate of the facility when federal agents moved in to confront them.</p><p data-block-key=\"t9glx\">“This one specific officer had a can of mace and unloaded it into my face,” he said. “He aimed at me and then he aimed over. So it wasn’t like I was the only one who was hit in that moment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"px7kl\">But he said it was definitely a direct blast, even though he was wearing press credentials, including a big press badge on his body armor and another on his backpack.</p><p data-block-key=\"rg3ad\">“I was very obviously press,” he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"flnbi\">Howard<a href=\"https://twitter.com/RedheadNomad/status/1317802460979712000\"> captured the moment the officer sprayed him in a photo</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1 of my first shots of the night. A DHS officer blasts mace into a crowd of protesters and press (including myself). Prior to fleeing the attacks, protesters were hanging balloons on the fence of ICE HQ, which led to this reaction.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PortlandProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PortlandProtests</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PDXprotests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PDXprotests</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/jornalismo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#jornalismo</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/9NQZALjtay\">pic.twitter.com/9NQZALjtay</a></p>— Cole Howard (@RedheadNomad) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RedheadNomad/status/1317802460979712000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 18, 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=\"tybga\">A video shot by journalist Justin Yau and uploaded at 9:09 p.m.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDocumentarians/status/1317905369553752065\"> showed Howard getting sprayed in the face</a> with a chemical agent at close range as he tried to take photos.</p><p data-block-key=\"97sgt\">Howard had a gas mask with him, but wasn’t anticipating getting hit with a chemical agent at that point and wasn’t wearing it. After being helped to safety about a block away, he said it took him 10-to-15 minutes to regain vision that was good enough for him to work. He said his skin burned for the next day.</p><p data-block-key=\"t8mfp\">“I always feel like my eyes are kind of foggy after that for a while,” he said. “But I don’t know if that’s something that’s proven on paper or just me feeling disoriented.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gwupz\">Howard feels that he was targeted initially by the officer, but that they changed their aim when they realized aiming at a journalist “wasn’t going to look good on paper.”</p><p data-block-key=\"0prja\">The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incidents from the Tracker. ICE, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, responded by telling the Tracker to contact the Department of Homeland Security.</p><p data-block-key=\"ty4k6\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Man attacks TV photojournalist filming outside of Nashville school",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-attacks-tv-photojournalist-filming-outside-of-nashville-school/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-16T18:47:19.040742Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-11-16T18:47:19.040742Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-11-16T18:47:19.000416Z",
"date": "2020-10-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Nashville",
"longitude": -86.78444,
"latitude": 36.16589,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Two journalists for local TV station WSMV News 4 in Nashville, Tennessee, were attacked by an unidentified man on Oct. 12, 2020, as they were doing field reporting for a feature story.</p><p>Caresse Jackman, a consumer news investigative reporter for WSMV, and a cameraman were recording B-roll outside of an elementary school for<a href=\"https://www.wsmv.com/news/ladies-make-masks-with-love-for-students-returning-to-in-person-learning/article_f51d6b00-0c38-11eb-97d3-0b7480ef8982.html\"> a segment about two women</a> who made COVID-19 masks for students. During the shoot they were approached by a man they did not know, according to social media posts <a href=\"https://www.mediaite.com/news/man-caught-on-tape-assaulting-reporters-filming-covid-mask-report-at-nashville-elementary-school/\">and Mediaite</a>.</p><p>“While shooting video for a feature story-a man from across the street kept looking [at] our crew. We never said a word to him,” Jackman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CaresseJ/status/1315768025518399489?s=20\">posted on her Twitter account</a>. “I got out of the car to record. He started to approach me. My photog tried to get his attention so he wouldn't come my way. The man then attacked us.”</p><p>Jackman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CaresseJ/status/1315768025518399489?s=20\">posted a video of the man</a>, who was wearing a red shirt and gray shorts, walking toward the videographer, who is not identified in Jackman’s social media posts about the incident.</p><p>“I told you,” the man can be heard saying before attacking the videographer and his camera equipment.</p><p>Jackman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CaresseJ/status/1315769005878239232?s=20\">also posted a video</a> that she recorded with her phone, showing the man grappling with the cameraman, tearing at his shirt and punching him once in the face. During the scuffle, the assailant falls to the ground.</p><p>“Get back or I am calling the police,” Jackman warns the assailant as he struggles to get to his feet. “You assaulted my partner. We could press charges.”</p><p>Jackman and her colleague get in their vehicle without any further physical contact with the assailant.</p><p>On Oct. 16, Jackman shared on her Facebook account <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10112340134837710&set=a.10100740915576090&type=3\">a message from the colleague</a> who was attacked, in which he wrote that police were able to find the assailant. According to the Facebook post, the attacker said he wanted to apologize to the journalists, and they agreed to meet with him personally with a detective present.</p><p>“Contrary to what many concluded, this was not an ‘attack on the media’ or ‘politically motivated,’” the photojournalist wrote after that meeting. “I accepted his apology and decided not to press charges.”</p><p>Jackman did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Tennessee",
"abbreviation": "TN"
},
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Unidentified photojournalist 8 (WSMV-TV)"
],
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{
"title": "Man attacks TV reporter filming outside of Nashville school",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-attacks-tv-reporter-filming-outside-of-nashville-school/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-05T15:58:12.305096Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-11-16T18:47:21.630834Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-11-16T18:47:21.577525Z",
"date": "2020-10-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Nashville",
"longitude": -86.78444,
"latitude": 36.16589,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Two journalists for local TV station WSMV News 4 in Nashville, Tennessee, were attacked by an unidentified man on Oct. 12, 2020, as they were doing field reporting for a feature story.</p><p>Caresse Jackman, a consumer news investigative reporter for WSMV, and a cameraman were recording B-roll outside of an elementary school for<a href=\"https://www.wsmv.com/news/ladies-make-masks-with-love-for-students-returning-to-in-person-learning/article_f51d6b00-0c38-11eb-97d3-0b7480ef8982.html\"> a segment about two women</a> who made COVID-19 masks for students. During the shoot they were approached by a man they did not know, according to social media posts <a href=\"https://www.mediaite.com/news/man-caught-on-tape-assaulting-reporters-filming-covid-mask-report-at-nashville-elementary-school/\">and Mediaite</a>.</p><p>“While shooting video for a feature story-a man from across the street kept looking [at] our crew. We never said a word to him,” Jackman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CaresseJ/status/1315768025518399489?s=20\">posted on her Twitter account</a>. “I got out of the car to record. He started to approach me. My photog tried to get his attention so he wouldn't come my way. The man then attacked us.”</p><p>Jackman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CaresseJ/status/1315768025518399489?s=20\">posted a video of the man</a>, who was wearing a red shirt and gray shorts, walking toward the videographer, who is not identified in Jackman’s social media posts about the incident.</p><p>“I told you,” the man can be heard saying before attacking the videographer and his camera equipment.</p><p>Jackman <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CaresseJ/status/1315769005878239232?s=20\">also posted a video</a> that she recorded with her phone, showing the man grappling with the cameraman, tearing at his shirt and punching him once in the face. During the scuffle, the assailant falls to the ground.</p><p>“Get back or I am calling the police,” Jackman warns the assailant as he struggles to get to his feet. “You assaulted my partner. We could press charges.”</p><p>Jackman and her colleague get in their vehicle without any further physical contact with the assailant.</p><p>On Oct. 16, Jackman shared on her Facebook account <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10112340134837710&set=a.10100740915576090&type=3\">a message from the colleague</a> who was attacked, in which he wrote that police were able to find the assailant. According to the Facebook post, the attacker said he wanted to apologize to the journalists, and they agreed to meet with him personally with a detective present.</p><p>“Contrary to what many concluded, this was not an ‘attack on the media’ or ‘politically motivated,’” the photojournalist wrote after that meeting. “I accepted his apology and decided not to press charges.”</p><p>Jackman did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"state": {
"name": "Tennessee",
"abbreviation": "TN"
},
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Caresse Jackman (WSMV-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "LA police officer points weapon at videojournalist covering Lakers NBA championship win",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/la-police-officer-points-weapon-at-videojournalist-covering-lakers-nba-championship-win/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-02T16:02:10.504981Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:07:59.294653Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:07:59.191814Z",
"date": "2020-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fbzwu\">Los Angeles Police Department officers threatened an unidentified videojournalist with a firearm amid fanfare in downtown Los Angeles, California, on the night of Oct. 11, 2020, according to social media posts.</p><p data-block-key=\"rgas3\">Earlier in the evening, the Los Angeles Lakers had won the NBA championship, drawing thousands of celebrants outside the Staples Center. According to the Los Angeles Times, the festivities “quickly <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-12/76-arrested-in-downtown-la-following-lakers-win\">soured</a>,” though, and “the scene devolved into another roving standoff between police in riot gear and throngs of people on the street.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zyxuk\">Throughout the summer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. saw similar scenes, as thousands took to the streets to protest police brutality. 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=\"rf7y0\">Photographer Ricardo Salvador Miranda posted footage <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQlFLdgdO0/?igshid=1uhls8hlvogud\">on Instagram</a> the following day that captured the scene, which he captioned, “LAPD pulls gun on Lakers fans and the Press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vd9kx\">In the clip, the LAPD officer can be seen jumping out of a cruiser with his pistol drawn, pointing behind the vehicle as multiple objects appear to be thrown in his direction.</p><p data-block-key=\"yi8ll\">The officer quickly gets back into the vehicle just as an object — which appears to be a beer bottle — strikes the passenger side of the cruiser and shatters. The officer once again jumps out of the vehicle with his firearm drawn, aiming at the crowd, when he notices the broadcast cameraman.</p><p data-block-key=\"kgi44\">The officer, lowering his weapon, approaches the videojournalist and appears to indicate that he should move back or out of the area as other projectiles crash around them. The officer then returns to the vehicle.</p><p data-block-key=\"nvnit\">Freelance photojournalist Christian Monterrosa, who was on assignment for The Associated Press, also posted the encounter on social media. Monterrosa, who did not respond to requests for comment, captioned a photo on <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGP8ESNFZQV/\">Instagram</a>, “An LAPD officer points his firearm at Laker fans on the street including a TV news cameraman, and myself, who were documenting it.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some more here after the night devolved into a police vs. crowd situation.<br><br>For <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AP</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/SEobeQPnME\">pic.twitter.com/SEobeQPnME</a></p>— Christian Monterrosa (@chrismatography) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/chrismatography/status/1315686694750830592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 12, 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=\"k4zgr\">The Tracker was unable to identify the videojournalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3s60\">LAPD did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"Assault"
],
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"Unidentified documentary journalist 1"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist threatened with weapon while covering Lakers championship celebrations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-threatened-with-weapon-while-covering-lakers-championship-celebrations/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-02T16:02:07.281556Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:07:40.690944Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:07:40.603314Z",
"date": "2020-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cbm5e\">Freelance photojournalist Christian Monterrosa, who was on assignment for The Associated Press, posted on social media that Los Angeles Police Department officers pointed a firearm at him in downtown Los Angeles, California, on the night of Oct. 11, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"4aws6\">Earlier in the evening, the Los Angeles Lakers had won the NBA championship, drawing thousands of celebrants outside the Staples Center. According to the Los Angeles Times, the festivities “quickly <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-12/76-arrested-in-downtown-la-following-lakers-win\">soured</a>,” though, and “the scene devolved into another roving standoff between police in riot gear and throngs of people on the street.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t7dzk\">Throughout the summer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. saw similar scenes, as thousands took to the streets to protest police brutality. 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=\"ez3yb\">Monterrosa, who did not respond to requests for comment, captioned a photo posted to <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGP8ESNFZQV/\">Instagram</a>, “An LAPD officer points his firearm at Laker fans on the street including a TV news cameraman, and myself, who were documenting it.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some more here after the night devolved into a police vs. crowd situation.<br><br>For <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AP</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/SEobeQPnME\">pic.twitter.com/SEobeQPnME</a></p>— Christian Monterrosa (@chrismatography) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/chrismatography/status/1315686694750830592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 12, 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=\"xi6jt\">LAPD did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Christian Monterrosa (The Associated Press)"
],
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},
{
"title": "An LAPD officer hits reporter with crowd-control munition during Lakers celebrations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/la-police-officer-hits-reporter-with-projectile-another-points-weapon-at-journalists-during-lakers-celebration/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-04T20:53:17.531498Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:07:20.297585Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-10T21:07:20.201140Z",
"date": "2020-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0ysj5\">Samuel Braslow, a journalist for the Beverly Hills Courier, said Los Angeles Police Department officers hit him with crowd-control munition amid fanfare in downtown Los Angeles, California, on the night of Oct. 11, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"l9weq\">Earlier in the evening, the Los Angeles Lakers had won the NBA championship, drawing thousands of celebrants outside the Staples Center. According to the Los Angeles Times, the festivities “quickly <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-12/76-arrested-in-downtown-la-following-lakers-win\">soured</a>,” though, and “the scene devolved into another roving standoff between police in riot gear and throngs of people on the street.” Throughout the summer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&tags=34\">Los Angeles</a> and cities across the U.S. saw similar scenes, as thousands took to the streets to protest police brutality. 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=\"xclu2\">Braslow told the Tracker he arrived in downtown LA after LAPD officers had already started forming a skirmish line with officers in riot gear on foot and mounted police behind them.</p><p data-block-key=\"bas10\">“Even as people were complying and moving backward, LAPD officers continued firing less-lethal munitions at the crowd,” Braslow said.</p><p data-block-key=\"rmi8x\">At 9:43 p.m. on Oct. 11, Braslow <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1315513293780512769\">posted footage</a> of the advancing police line. Approximately 4 seconds into the clip, an officer on the left side of the frame appears to notice Braslow, aims his crowd-control firearm at the journalist and fires.</p><p data-block-key=\"rrvn0\">“Police aimed at me. Less lethal round literally hits my phone out of my hands (credit to apple, it kept recording),” Braslow wrote on Twitter.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police aimed at me. Less lethal round literally hits my phone out of my hands (credit to apple, it kept recording) <a href=\"https://t.co/TguhhlZXs7\">pic.twitter.com/TguhhlZXs7</a></p>— Samuel Braslow (@SamBraslow) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1315513293780512769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 12, 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=\"w24nd\">Braslow told the Tracker he was holding his phone in front of the face when it was shot out of his hands, and said that it was clear officers were not following directives to aim crowd-control munitions at the ground or waist-level.</p><p data-block-key=\"n5n9f\">Braslow said he was wearing a Courier press badge and was carrying a large, professional camera around his neck. He said he was not injured and his phone was not damaged from the incident. He was able to continue posting live reports and footage until about 1:20 a.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"3m9yq\">“I was less surprised than I maybe should have been,” Braslow said, “and I just took it in stride.”</p><p data-block-key=\"sfj4c\">LAPD did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX81MCZ.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ijors\">Los Angeles Police Department officers line up in front of the Staples Center as Lakers fans celebrate their team winning the 2020 NBA Championship on Oct. 11, 2020.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Samuel Braslow (Beverly Hills Courier)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Video journalist presses charges over police assault",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/video-journalist-presses-charges-over-police-assault/",
"first_published_at": "2024-03-07T20:32:56.403152Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-31T19:02:42.660107Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-31T19:02:42.580192Z",
"date": "2020-10-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ln54e\">Independent video journalist Mason Lake is pressing charges after he said a Portland, Oregon, police officer grabbed and physically moved him to the sidewalk, away from filming a mass arrest at a protest on Oct. 10, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"36fgs\">Lake filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.177047/gov.uscourts.ord.177047.1.1.pdf\">lawsuit</a> 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=\"cc7su\">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=\"drcqm\">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=\"6ib1m\">“When someone like me or other independent press are actually in between police officers and protesters, they (police officers) don’t like that,” Lake told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in a March 2024 interview. “I do believe the police knew who I was, and I do very much believe they were trying to get rid of me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c56p\">By pressing charges, Lake said he hopes to set a legal precedent for press freedom cases in the future, adding, “I didn’t break any laws. I never contributed to anything (illegal), like breaking windows or anything like that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3jsck\">When contacted, the Portland Police Bureau said they 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_Police1010_Lake_assault_10-202.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ogi0o\">Police officers shoving a group of protesters back before arresting many of them at an Oct. 10, 2020, protest in Portland, Oregon. Video journalist Mason Lake was shoved away from the scene shortly after a police officer saw him filming.</p>",
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"case_number": "3:23-cv-01870",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"(2024-05-22 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist’s claims dismissed over assault by Portland, Oregon, police"
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{
"title": "Journalist covering Portland protest shoved away from demonstration",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-covering-portland-protest-shoved-away-from-demonstration/",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"x3nwg\">Independent journalist Melissa Lewis said she was harassed and assaulted by Portland police while covering a protest in front of the Portland Police Bureau North Precinct on Oct. 10, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"jbfm0\">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=\"4nxn4\">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=\"y8bbw\">Lewis tweeted a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Claudio_Report/status/1315175466119045121?s=20\">video</a> at 11:20 p.m. that captures the initial rush of officers toward the demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"1uk7t\">“I was maced, pushed behind a barrier, forced to jump the barrier, and then forced down the sidewalk under threat of violence,” Lewis told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"k5oet\">She said she had a press badge and large press markings on her backpack and helmet.</p><p data-block-key=\"etvvc\">The Portland Police Bureau has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case.</p></div>",
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"name": "Oregon",
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"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Melissa “Claudio” Lewis (Independent)"
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{
"title": "Officers harass, shove journalist covering Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-covering-portland-protest-shoved-away-from-demonstration/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-12T18:12:00.111148Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-10T21:08:19.796823Z",
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"date": "2020-10-10",
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"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"k8ehv\">Independent journalist Alissa Azar said she was harassed and assaulted by Portland police while covering a protest in front of the Police Bureau North Precinct on Oct. 10, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"03y57\">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=\"xzvq3\">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=\"74bsb\">At 10:22 p.m. on Oct. 10 Azar tweeted a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlissaAzar/status/1315160950303911938?s=20\">video</a> of officers surrounding protesters, yelling at and aggressively pushing them around. At the 1:10 time mark, an officer approaches Azar saying, “If you want to film, you can do it from down there,” pressuring them to walk away from the scene. Another officer suddenly charges at them, yelling, “Move! I don’t care what the TRO says.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jauif\">Azar told the Tracker she was physically pushed and was wearing her National Press Photographers Association pass, as well as a helmet and vest with press markings.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ibsb\">The Portland Police Bureau has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "TV producer arrested, released, after the channel’s private security guard shoots a man at dueling Denver protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-producer-arrested-released-after-the-channels-private-security-guard-shoots-a-man-at-dueling-denver-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-05T17:45:03.263887Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:27:33.379556Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:27:33.276171Z",
"date": "2020-10-10",
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"city": "Denver",
"longitude": -104.9847,
"latitude": 39.73915,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h6uzb\">A 9NEWS producer was arrested alongside a private security guard hired by the TV station, after the guard was involved in a shooting at the site of dueling right- and left-wing protests in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 10, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"n8t8e\">A “Patriot Rally” was organized for 2 p.m. at the park next to the state Capitol; a counterprotest “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive” was planned for 1:30 p.m. at the Civic Center to “drown out” the rally, 9NEWS <a href=\"https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/shooting-near-dueling-rallies-denver-2-in-custody/73-6890f727-e44a-4a60-a777-a6fbe0730e0e\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"v849x\">As the protests were winding down at around 3:30 p.m., there was a confrontation between opposing protesters near the courtyard of the Denver Art Museum, according to the channel’s report. An unnamed 9NEWS producer <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLZXe9aQo6k&has_verified=1&bpctr=1614630186\">was filming</a> as a man attempted to de-escalate the fight. One of the men, later identified as Lee Keltner, eventually pulled out a can of pepper spray, threatening to spray a protester wearing a “Black Guns Matter” T-shirt.</p><p data-block-key=\"gohqb\">At the 1:30 mark in the producer’s footage of the incident, Keltner appears to notice the producer filming and Denver Post photojournalist Helen Richardson documenting the scene. Keltner walks toward them and out of the frame, and someone can be heard saying, “This is not the place for a camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ybjq\">“Get the cameras out of here or I’m going to fuck you up,” the man continues. It is unclear in the footage that follows whether the speaker was Keltner and whether he then pushes the 9NEWS producer or immediately begins a confrontation with the crew’s security guard, Matthew Dolloff. As the producer backed away from the scuffle, Keltner aimed his spray can at Dolloff as the security guard reached to his belt, <a href=\"https://www.denverpost.com/2020/10/13/denver-protest-shooting-matthew-dolloff-affidavit/\">according to a police affidavit</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9v2lh\">According to the footage posted by 9NEWS, the producer stopped recording on his phone for the next 12 seconds, during which Keltner pepper sprayed Dolloff, who had drawn a handgun, and Dolloff shot Keltner. Those moments, however, were <a href=\"https://www.denverpost.com/2020/10/10/dueling-denver-rallies-fatal-shooting-photos/\">captured</a> by Richardson.</p><p data-block-key=\"tdq5t\">Both Dolloff and the 9NEWS producer were arrested by Denver Sheriff Department deputies, who arrived at the scene within seconds. The producer resumed filming after the shooting, and can be heard identifying himself as a member of the press to officers and informing them that he had a press pass and a 9NEWS hat in his pocket.</p><p data-block-key=\"uzxqw\">The producer also said that the man who was shot “was going to get me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"krw5w\">“That guy [Dolloff] just saved my fucking life, you know that, right?” the producer can be heard telling officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"ye0lp\">Dolloff can also be heard identifying himself as security for 9NEWS.</p><p data-block-key=\"30kg4\">Keltner was transported to a local hospital where he died later that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"5lw0p\">After initially being placed under arrest, the 9NEWS producer was released from police custody that evening without charges and is not considered a suspect, the outlet reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"4lvfz\">The station did not respond to an email requesting comment and identification of the producer.</p><p data-block-key=\"6b7dk\">9NEWS management released a <a href=\"https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/shooting-near-dueling-rallies-denver-2-in-custody/73-6890f727-e44a-4a60-a777-a6fbe0730e0e\">statement</a> concerning the incident that read, in part: “9NEWS continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement and is deeply saddened by this loss of life.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e2ru0\">“For the past few months, it has been the practice of 9NEWS to contract private security, through an outside firm, to accompany our personnel covering protests. Pinkerton, the private security firm, is responsible for ensuring its guards or those it contracts with are appropriately licensed. 9News does not contract directly with individual security personnel.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ruc0\">The station’s management <a href=\"https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/security-guard-held-denver-shooting-wasnt-licensed-officials-say/73-648ca0f2-cc71-4fa7-b145-cbd710b87f5f\">also stated</a> that the news crew Dolloff was accompanying was unaware that he was carrying a firearm, and the station had instructed the security firm that security guards for its news crews should not be armed.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qfkw\">Pinkerton <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/us/denver-colorado-protests.html\">told The New York Times</a> in a statement that Dolloff was not an employee of the firm, but a contractor from Isborn Security. Both Pinkerton and 9NEWS said they had no knowledge that Dolloff was not licensed to work as a security guard.</p></div>",
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