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{
"title": "Man charged with assaulting documentary filmmaker during Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-charged-with-assaulting-documentary-filmmaker-during-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2023-06-08T20:04:21.657242Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-23T18:13:07.053293Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-23T18:13:06.965911Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xgfrg\">Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested was recording the <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">riot in and around the U.S. Capitol</a> on Jan. 6, 2021, when a man struck and pulled his camera, causing Quested to stumble down the stairs.</p><p data-block-key=\"u29n\">According to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256180/gov.uscourts.dcd.256180.1.1.pdf\">an FBI affidavit</a> dated June 6, 2023, a journalist identified by the initials N.Q. was documenting the riot from the steps of the Capitol when a man swiped up and grabbed at the journalist’s camera and then pulled it, causing the journalist to stumble down the stairs. Politico <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/07/gop-donor-arrested-jan-6-00100752\">confirmed</a> that the journalist targeted was Quested.</p><p data-block-key=\"aj4b9\">The incident was captured in a Capitol police officer’s <a href=\"https://rumble.com/v2bi8we-exhibit-bodycam-footage-from-officer-owais-akhtar.html\">body camera footage</a> from the riot. The recording shows (starting at approximately 3:10) Quested catching his balance and following the man down the stairs. It appears that a second man stands between them as Quested confronts the man who grabbed his camera. Seconds later, when Quested walks back up the stairs, a press badge can be clearly seen on a lanyard around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"am3ob\">The Department of Justice <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/long-island-man-arrested-felony-assault-charges-actions-during-jan-6-capitol-breach\">announced</a> that the alleged assailant, identified as Peter G. Moloney, was <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.256180/gov.uscourts.dcd.256180.5.0.pdf\">arrested</a> on June 7, 2023. Moloney was charged with eight counts, including assaulting Quested and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-photojournalist-assaulted-during-capitol-riot/\">AP photojournalist John Minchillo</a>, as well as multiple Capitol police officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"f9080\">Moloney is scheduled to appear for an initial hearing on June 20.</p><p data-block-key=\"8u4j4\">Quested did not respond to a request for comment. The filmmaker, executive director and owner of Goldcrest Films, was embedded for months leading up to the riot with the Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center<a href=\"https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys\"> designates</a> as a hate group. The British documentary filmmaker was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentary-filmmaker-subpoenaed-by-house-committee-investigating-jan-6-riot/\">subsequently subpoenaed</a> by and testified as a witness before the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol breach.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Quested.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"01p9b\">U.S. Capitol Police body camera footage from Jan. 6, 2021, shows journalist Nick Quested, far right in a tan jacket, holding on to his camera while a man pulls on it. The assailant was later identified and arrested by the FBI.</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-01-21 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist’s assailant pardoned by Trump"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Nick Quested (Goldcrest Films)"
],
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},
{
"title": "AP photojournalist assaulted during Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-photojournalist-assaulted-during-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-02T15:52:07.004243Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-23T21:18:40.964963Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-23T21:18:40.748203Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p1aqp\">Associated Press photojournalist John Minchillo was assaulted by rioters while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"oj8ib\">President Donald Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"hctmu\">Minchillo and fellow AP photographer Julio Cortez were documenting from along the front barriers, near where Capitol Police officers stood, when rioters attacked Minchillo.</p><p data-block-key=\"4in0r\">Cortez posted an<a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJxKMArpN0_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\"> Instagram video</a> showing multiple rioters dragging Minchillo through an angry mob.</p><p data-block-key=\"9x9al\">“He was labeled as an anti protesters, even though he kept flashing his press credentials, and one person can be heard threatening to kill him,” wrote Cortez in the post.</p><p data-block-key=\"ua5tz\">In Cortez’s video, shouts of “Get the media out of here!” and “Who is he? Antifa!” can be heard. At the 45-second mark, an individual shoves Minchillo over a wall. Several aggressively question if he is “antifa,” while a man in a Trump hat retrieves his camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"yc1u4\">After Minchillo shows his press pass and repeats that he is press, two men help him leave the area, with Cortez filming from behind. “Thankfully, he wasn’t injured,” Cortez wrote in his post.</p><p data-block-key=\"cujcn\">“Please use this moment to reflect on the importance of journalism as a conduit between us,” Minchillo wrote in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/johnminchillo/status/1347380111792893952?s=20\">tweet</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"49iv4\">In an AP <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-new-york-journalists-media-social-media-cba6bd7b93be0ade1da714a32c33d74c\">article</a> about the attacks and harassment journalists faced while covering the riot, an AP spokesperson specifically responded to the attack on Minchillo.</p><p data-block-key=\"g9zlh\">“While we are thankful he is OK, this is a reminder of the dangers journalists both in the U.S. and around the world face every day while simply trying to do their jobs,” said Patrick Maks.</p><p data-block-key=\"q0k05\">Minchillo did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ua6j2\">In a<a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\"> press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 "criminal riotous behavior" and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a "thorough review of this incident."</p><p data-block-key=\"yohuc\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25008631921378.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ikt66\">An image by photojournalist John Minchillo of the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Minchillo was dragged by rioters and shoved over a wall that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-04-14 14:06:00+00:00) Maryland man pleads guilty to attacking AP photojournalist during Capitol riot",
"(2023-09-22 00:00:00+00:00) Maryland man sentenced in attack on AP photojournalist at Capitol",
"(2025-01-21 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist’s assailants pardoned by President Trump",
"(2022-10-21 13:31:00+00:00) Pennsylvania man sentenced to 34 months in prison for attacking AP photographer during Capitol riot",
"(2023-06-07 14:21:00+00:00) Fourth man charged with assault of AP photojournalist during Capitol riot",
"(2022-05-24 12:21:00+00:00) Third man charged for the assault of an AP photojournalist during Capitol riot",
"(2022-07-25 12:35:00+00:00) Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to attacking AP photojournalist during Capitol riot",
"(2021-08-19 10:58:00+00:00) Man charged for the assault of an AP photojournalist during Capitol riot"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"John Minchillo (The Associated Press)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist harassed, his mask pulled during Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-harassed-his-mask-pulled-during-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-07-22T18:35:07.602776Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:32:27.535491Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:32:27.409607Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3e7rk\">Freelance photojournalist Christopher Lee said he was harassed and roughed up by demonstrators while he covered riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pbqj\">Lee, who didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment, said during a <a href=\"https://viiphoto.com/resource/anarchy-in-the-usa-revisit-the-conversation-with-vii-photographers-who-covered-the-events-in-the-capitol/\">panel with VII Insider</a> — an event platform for photographers, journalists and curators — that he was on assignment for Time magazine covering protesters as they marched toward the west side of the Capitol from the National Mall. The demonstrators, spurred by a speech by then-President Donald Trump earlier that day, aimed to disrupt the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"qeo04\">As rioters breached the Capitol in the early afternoon, Lee <a href=\"https://time.com/5927198/capitol-trump-rioters-photography/\">told Time</a>, he tried to remain incognito as he followed them into the building. However, a group of at least six individuals recognized him as a journalist, shouted that he was “fake news” and a member of the “liberal media” and started to grab him to remove him from the Capitol.</p><p data-block-key=\"oanmj\">“It was a moment that I realized, ‘If I don’t leave the situation right now by any way possible, it could escalate into something really, really bad,’” Lee said. “I’ve had it happen on a couple occasions in America, but not to that level of severity that quickly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"0s032\">Lee said during the VII Insider panel that the individuals targeted him in part because he was wearing an N-95 mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"5quzf\">“I remember having interactions with people saying, ‘We know that you’re not one of us because you’re actually taking the virus seriously,’” Lee said. “When they did kind of rough me up a little bit, they did make it a point in all the chaos to try and pull my mask off of my face."</p><p data-block-key=\"aqbis\">According to Time, after Lee left the initial group that had harassed him, he found another group breaking into the building through a different entryway and followed them back inside.</p><p data-block-key=\"szt0z\">“While doing my job in America, that was probably the time that I feared the most for my safety,” said Lee, who has photographed conflicts and protests in the Middle East, Central Asia and elsewhere in the U.S.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"coronavirus",
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Christopher Lee (TIME Magazine)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent photojournalist shoved off railing during Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-shoved-off-railing-during-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-02T16:05:19.785297Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:01.494692Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:01.425699Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9qxyy\">Independent photographer Nate Gowdy was threatened and shoved off a railing while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"bpq3y\">Presidnt Donald Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"l6777\">Gowdy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was photographing the scene as rioters stormed up the Capitol steps and began to breach the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"rf1ai\">"Everything happened so fast. They converged and then started tearing down barricades," Gowdy said. "I got on a balustrade at the base of the stairs and then a man pointed at me and threatened me. I can't even remember what he said but he just shoved me off the balustrade."</p><p data-block-key=\"7og9l\">Gowdy said he wasn't wearing protective gear at the time, but was able to land on his feet.</p><p data-block-key=\"colu5\">Gowdy's <a href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-pictures/trump-supporters-capitol-dc-attack-1111216/010621_stop-the-steal-credit-nate-gowdy-07/\">photograph</a> of this moment shows the man with an American flag hat, sunglasses and mask, pointing intensely at the camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"y0wrn\">A <a href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-pictures/trump-supporters-capitol-dc-attack-1111216/\">Rolling Stone slideshow</a> with Gowdy’s images said the photographer has documented close to 30 official Trump rallies since 2016.</p><p data-block-key=\"4f027\">“I’m still processing what I witnessed yesterday. We all are. It’s difficult to know what people are thinking when they’re breaching security barriers, attacking law enforcement, threatening members of the media, flaunting pandemic safety protocols, and bashing down the doors and windows to Congress,” Gowdy wrote in the slideshow’s introduction.</p><p data-block-key=\"5bwwx\">Throughout the day, he said he was repeatedly threatened and heckled for taking photos and wearing a mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ylam\">"You have to be careful what you take photos of," he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"dl123\">In a <a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\">press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 "criminal riotous behavior" and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a "thorough review of this incident."</p><p data-block-key=\"2k13z\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
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"tags": [
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"protest"
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Illinois man charged with assaulting a cameraman during Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/illinois-man-charged-with-assaulting-a-cameraman-during-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-07-06T21:58:07.632305Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-24T14:46:28.541444Z",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rofba\">A June 21, 2021, <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1405966/download\">affidavit</a> charged an individual with tackling to the ground an unnamed news cameraman who was covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. According to the affidavit, the individual, identified by the FBI as Shane Jason Woods, was charged with the assault as well as with participating in the destruction of multiple news outlets’ equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"29qby\">At a rally in front of the White House earlier that day, then-President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest at the Capitol as Congress confirmed President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Following Trump’s speech, which included unfounded claims of election fraud and calls to “fight” the outcome, hundreds then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters <a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad8xm\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136\">Multiple broadcast journalists</a> were reporting from a media staging area in the northeast area of the Capitol when a crowd of rioters stormed the area and broke through the barricades, surrounding the journalists and their equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"hkt12\">In<a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\"> videos</a><a href=\"https://twitter.com/WilliamTurton/status/1346940440935870472\"> of the</a><a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346945835368501249%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fnews%2F533022-videos-show-protesters-outside-capitol-destroying-journalists-equipment\"> incident</a>, the rioters can be heard yelling “Fuck the mainstream media” as well as “CNN sucks” and “Fuck CNN!” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has not found any information to suggest that a CNN news crew was assaulted in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"ink2q\">According to the affidavit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Woods was allegedly among those “yelling and spitting at members of the news media along a pushed-over fence next to the media staging area.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fuyst\">“Moments later, the individual who appears to be WOODS climbed over the toppled fence and participated in the assault on the media equipment,” the affidavit says.</p><p data-block-key=\"14707\">The unidentified cameraman — dressed in blue jeans and a blue jacket — was filming the property destruction, according to the affidavit. In footage of the incident, Woods can be seen walking closely around the cameraman.</p><p data-block-key=\"3j9yw\">“Soon after, WOODS is observed running into and tackling this same cameraman as the cameraman is facing away from Woods,” the affidavit says. “In the video, WOODS is seen departing quickly after tackling the cameraman, causing the man to fall to the ground and drop his camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t4lpc\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has been unable to identify the cameraman, who is not named in the affidavit, or determine whether his camera was damaged when it fell.</p><p data-block-key=\"ajjsf\">According to the affidavit, the assault on the cameraman was similar to an assault Woods is also charged with perpetrating on a U.S. Capitol Police officer earlier that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"luxdh\">The affidavit charges Woods with numerous federal offenses, including assault of a law enforcement officer, assault in special maritime and territorial jurisdiction (a category that includes the Capitol and its grounds), obstructing law enforcement, trespassing and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds. If convicted on all charges, Woods faces imprisonment for up to 17 years, fines or both.</p><p data-block-key=\"d3onn\">According to a June 24 Justice Department <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/illinois-man-arrested-assault-law-enforcement-and-first-be-arrested-assault-members-news\">press release</a>, Woods is the first individual to be arrested for an assault on members of the news media during the Capitol riots.</p><p data-block-key=\"x9ie4\">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. Find<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\"> election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/shane_jason_woods_screenshot.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"uaop5\">A Reuters photojournalist was tackled to the ground while documenting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Assailant Shane Jason Woods, seen above, was arrested in June 2021 for the assault and for destroying multiple news outlets’ equipment.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-09-09 13:09:00+00:00) Illinois man pleads guilty to assaulting a Reuters journalist during Capitol riots",
"(2025-01-20 00:00:00+00:00) Photojournalist’s assailant pardoned by Trump",
"(2023-10-04 00:00:00+00:00) Illinois man sentenced for assault on Reuters journalist"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 9 (Reuters)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent photographer chased, punched while covering Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photographer-chased-punched-while-covering-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-02T16:00:13.099837Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:33:54.589093Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:33:54.515540Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8tlv5\">Independent White House correspondent Douglas Christian was harassed, pursued and punched by rioters while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"h6gte\">President Donald Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"k032r\">Christian told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting the riots near the Russell Senate Office Building at around 4:45 p.m. when pro-Trump rioters assaulted him.</p><p data-block-key=\"vksfp\">Christian said he had two government-issued press badges displayed around his neck and was taking photographs when "increasingly angry" protesters started to harass him, saying "Democrats should be tried for treason."</p><p data-block-key=\"hmrkc\">One of the demonstrators tried to grab his press pass, according to an <a href=\"https://marylandreporter.com/2021/01/07/photographer-assaulted-during-capitol-siege/\">article</a> in the Maryland Reporter and confirmed by Christian.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ivxz\">As he tried to leave the area, another man began shouting obscenities after him. He said he ignored the man, but then was pursued.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ycqd\">Out of nowhere, the man punched him right in the face and his glasses went flying, Christian told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"7xknl\">"My ear, which he didn't hit, was in terrible pain. I thought, did I just suffer a hemorrhage in my brain? I actually think I was doubled over in so much pain that he didn't punch me again."</p><p data-block-key=\"8f7hx\">As he was leaving the area, he said he saw a police officer nearby and recounted everything that had just happened, but the officer "wouldn't even acknowledge my presence."</p><p data-block-key=\"g2czg\">Subsequently, a Capitol Hill staffer scolded him for approaching the officer. "You’re distracting the officer. He can’t do anything about the guy who is assaulting other people," Christian told the Reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mnmp\">He later tried to contact Capitol Police about the incident, but has yet to hear a response. Christian said he also still has difficulty chewing and is requesting an X-ray for more information.</p><p data-block-key=\"8d0aq\">In a <a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\">press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 "criminal riotous behavior" and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a "thorough review of this incident."</p><p data-block-key=\"p6b8e\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"arresting_authority": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Douglas Christian (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "VICE News correspondent assaulted by rioters at Capitol",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-correspondent-assaulted-by-rioters-at-capitol/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-02T16:10:45.397601Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:13.812254Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:13.722164Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xna3n\">VICE News international correspondent Ben Solomon and cameraman Chris Olson were attacked by several rioters while documenting riots on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"ji3cd\">President Donald Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"jg46h\">In a<a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3iTJNlNpK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\"> video</a> Solomon posted on Instagram, demonstrators can be seen confronting the VICE journalists, shouting, "Get the fuck out of here!" and asking, "Who are you with? Is it CNN? Better not be CNN.”</p><p data-block-key=\"x43pn\">"Chris had a broken handle grip and that guy in forest camo gave me a good hard shove to the throat," Solomon wrote in an Instagram caption. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented Olson’s assault and the damage to his camera <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-journalist-assaulted-camera-damaged-during-capitol-riots/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"qmdez\">In the <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3iTJNlNpK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\">video</a>, demonstrators can be seen confronting the journalists, shouting, "Get the fuck out of here!" and asking, "Who are you with? Is it CNN? Better not be CNN."</p><p data-block-key=\"oamcl\">In the full-length<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfP_5L8epow&feature=youtu.be\"> video</a> posted to Youtube, the camera is hit at 1:23 and Solomon's voice can be heard, "They tried to smash our camera."</p><p data-block-key=\"iwsdc\">"We were lucky to get away with minimal damage," Solomon wrote on Instagram. "To hear how many colleagues had it worse that day, I consider myself lucky."</p><p data-block-key=\"9eh36\">Solomon did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"qmwlz\">In a<a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\"> press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 "criminal riotous behavior" and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a "thorough review of this incident."</p><p data-block-key=\"fwvq1\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ben Solomon (VICE News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Fox 5 DC news crew, other journalists face targeted assaults while covering Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-face-targeted-assaults-while-covering-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-15T22:24:29.613780Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-24T14:45:37.795908Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-24T14:45:37.542349Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lihgu\">A Fox 5 DC news crew was harassed and a cameraman assaulted by rioters while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"lal9w\">Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"j742y\">At about 4:40 p.m., Fox 5 DC reporter Sierra Fox posted a tweet showing her and the news crew covering the scene outside the Capitol when demonstrators harassed and assaulted them, forcing them out of the area.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is how the media is being treated out here. <a href=\"https://t.co/Rxr6ozxOxs\">pic.twitter.com/Rxr6ozxOxs</a></p>— Sierra Fox (@thesierrafox) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/thesierrafox/status/1346934950222647296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"r14ue\">“This is how the media is being treated out here,” Fox wrote alongside a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/thesierrafox/status/1346934950222647296?s=20\"> video</a> posted on Twitter. In the video, as she and the crew are navigating the crowd, demonstrators can be heard yelling, “Fuck the media,” and “Get out of here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fw2t0\">At the 11-second mark, a woman lurches at what is presumably Fox’s phone, but Fox quickly turns away. The same woman grabs and kicks another, unidentified member of the crew a few seconds later. In the back, a demonstrator can be seen reaching for the Fox cameraman’s equipment. Toward the end of the video, several people follow the crew and continue to harass and film them, but ultimately fall back. In another video shared with the Tracker, a demonstrator is seen ripping off the cameraman's mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nl8b\">Fox could not be reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1emuu\">In a <a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\">press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 “criminal riotous behavior” and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a “thorough review of this incident.”</p><p data-block-key=\"u57v7\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/dana_jean_bell_screenshot.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jxmpo\">A rioter at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, caught on video assaulting and harassing a WTTG news crew.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-12-07 00:00:00+00:00) Texas woman arrested for actions during Capitol riot",
"(2024-10-17 00:00:00+00:00) Woman sentenced for actions at Capitol riot, where she assaulted TV news crew",
"(2025-01-20 00:00:00+00:00) News crew’s assailant pardoned by Trump"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified journalist 9 (WTTG)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Broadcast journalist sprayed with chemical irritant by armed individual during Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-journalist-sprayed-chemical-irritant-armed-individual-during-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T17:49:58.763135Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:20:04.046601Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:20:03.973276Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": -122.9007,
"latitude": 47.03787,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rvrj6\">An unidentified videojournalist for Washington state public broadcaster TVW was threatened and sprayed with a chemical irritant by an armed individual while covering a demonstration in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"3yij6\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">increasingly aggressive</a> as the afternoon wore on, was one of several held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pc2n\">KOMO News <a href=\"https://kpic.com/news/nation-world/court-file-seattle-man-arrested-for-assaulting-media-at-olympia-protest\">reported</a> that around noon, an individual carrying an assault-type rifle sprayed two members of the media with what court documents identified as bear spray near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Capitol Way South. The documents reportedly said the spray “caused bodily harm and incapacitated both victims for hours.”</p><p data-block-key=\"467fs\">The Seattle Times, citing charging documents, <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">reported</a> that the man had first approached a freelance photojournalist, telling him to leave the area and that the media wasn’t welcome at the demonstration. When the journalist refused, “the man sprayed his face and camera lens with bear spray, disorienting and blinding the photographer,” according to the Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"egf0y\">Soon after, the armed man quickly came up on the TVW videojournalist, yelling repeatedly for the journalist to “get the [expletive] out of here,” the Times reported. The videojournalist crossed the street, only to once again be approached by the man, this time from behind. When the journalist turned, the man sprayed him in the face. The journalist then returned to his office to seek aid from his co-workers and was reportedly incapacitated for over two hours, the Olympian <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/crime/article248636970.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dj2mc\">The same individual allegedly threatened two other journalists as well. The Tracker<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\"> documented the multiple assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ehe7\">The Washington State Patrol said in a <a href=\"https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/huseman-arrest.pdf\">press release</a> on Jan. 19 that Damon Huseman, a 26-year-old resident of Seattle, had been taken into police custody without incident and was being booked at the Thurston County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, felony harassment and criminal trespass in connection with the events of Jan. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"u8xd2\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">Seattle Times,</a> Huseman had a preliminary court appearance on Jan. 20 and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail. The judge also ordered Huseman to have no contact with the journalists he’s accused of targeting or the Capitol campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"iurwu\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
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"protest"
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{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist sprayed with chemical irritant by armed individual during Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-armed-individual-during-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T17:18:38.481746Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ckg1p\">An unidentified freelance photojournalist was reportedly threatened by an armed individual and sprayed with an irritant identified in court documents as bear spray while covering a demonstration in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"3im5q\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew increasingly aggressive as the afternoon wore on, <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">according to the Olympian</a>. It was one of several demonstrations held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"v3pjj\">KOMO News <a href=\"https://kpic.com/news/nation-world/court-file-seattle-man-arrested-for-assaulting-media-at-olympia-protest\">reported</a> that around noon, an individual carrying an assault-type rifle sprayed two members of the media near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Capitol Way South. The documents reportedly said the spray “caused bodily harm and incapacitated both victims for hours.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qqj71\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/crime/article248636970.html\">Olympian,</a> the individual first approached the photojournalist as he was setting up his camera near the intersection, telling him that the media wasn’t welcome at the demonstration. When the photojournalist refused to leave, the man allegedly pulled out a canister of the chemical irritant to threaten him and ultimately sprayed him in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"dhnir\">The photojournalist, disoriented by the spray, received aid from an unknown passerby and left the area unable to continue working, according to the Olympian.</p><p data-block-key=\"xqamr\">Soon after, the armed protester quickly came up on a second journalist, a videojournalist for TVW, yelling repeatedly for the journalist to “get the [expletive] out of here,” the Times reported. The TVW videojournalist crossed the street, only to once again be approached by the man, this time from behind. When the journalist turned, the man sprayed him in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"uyasi\">The same man allegedly threatened two other journalists as well. The Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\">documented the assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"v39bw\">The Washington State Patrol said in a <a href=\"https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/huseman-arrest.pdf\">press release</a> on Jan. 19 that Damon Huseman, a 26-year-old resident of Seattle, had been taken into police custody without incident and was being booked at the Thurston County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, felony harassment and criminal trespass in connection with the events of Jan. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"nsu1r\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">Seattle Times,</a> Huseman had a preliminary court appearance on Jan. 20 and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail. The judge also ordered Huseman to have no contact with the journalists he’s accused of targeting or the Capitol campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"9m6h3\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
],
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"election",
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{
"title": "AP photojournalist threatened with assault while covering Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-photojournalist-threatened-assault-while-covering-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T17:09:23.769115Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:19:40.933881Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g955b\">Ted S. Warren, a photojournalist for The Associated Press, was threatened by an armed individual while covering a demonstration at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"ve1f5\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew increasingly aggressive as the afternoon wore on, the <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">Olympian reported</a>. The demonstration was one of several held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"i79bv\">During the course of covering the events in Olympia, Warren had met up with Olympian reporter Sara Gentzler. At one point, the two were approached by a man, Gentzler said to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, armed with multiple firearms and a knife. He threatened the journalists, telling them that they had five minutes to leave the area and that he had pepper-sprayed other members of the media earlier in the day. The Tracker<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\"> documented the multiple assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"zdir2\">Gentzler said that she'd already been threatened by the man once that day, an incident the Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-threatened-assault-while-covering-olympia-protest/\">here</a>. As the man walked away after this encounter, Gentzler remembers him saying, “We’re going to shoot you fucking dead in the next year.”</p><p data-block-key=\"wrj2m\">Gentzler said she and Warren sought out another group of press to have safety in numbers and to warn them about the man.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddmyq\">Warren <a href=\"https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/reporters-covering-the-capitol-attack-were-used-to-harassment-and-heckling-but-wednesday-was-different/\">told Poynter</a> he worries that such threats may intimidate journalists out of interacting with demonstrators moving forward, and that in the future he would be more aware of the possibility of direct hostility.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3s2p\">“I’m still going to try and talk to people when I’m out at these things because I think it gives me insight as to why they’re there,” Warren said, “and it also helps me to make a positive case for journalists that we’re there to tell their story and to represent visually what is happening.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gs76n\">The Washington State Patrol said in a <a href=\"https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/huseman-arrest.pdf\">press release</a> on Jan. 19 that Damon Huseman, a 26-year-old resident of Seattle, had been taken into police custody without incident and was being booked at the Thurston County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, felony harassment and criminal trespass in connection with the events of Jan. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"v8zkd\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">Seattle Times,</a> Huseman had a preliminary court appearance on Jan. 20 and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail. The judge also ordered Huseman to have no contact with the journalists he’s accused of targeting or the Capitol campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"o8h9i\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
],
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{
"title": "Photojournalist assaulted by rioters while covering Capitol insurrection",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-rioters-while-covering-capitol-insurrection/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-21T20:12:00.828545Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:18:54.891728Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:18:54.809552Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2oiff\">Photojournalist Chris Jones, who covers right-wing extremism for 100 Days in Appalachia through a partnership with Report for America, was assaulted and had his camera pouch damaged while covering the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"sgjzx\">The <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violent storming of the Capitol</a> came after President Donald Trump had spoken at a rally in front of the White House in which he promoted false claims of election fraud and called for his supporters to march to the legislative seat of the U.S. government, where lawmakers were certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden,<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\"> reported</a> the New York Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"eleat\">Jones told the Tracker that he’d followed a group of demonstrators as they took the building but was stymied at the entrance, first due to the debilitating presence of tear gas and flash-bang grenades and then because rioters impeded his movement.</p><p data-block-key=\"qrzcw\">“Any time I went in, I got very quickly identified as press and it just got bad,” he told the Tracker. At one point, he said, he was no more than 20 feet inside the building when a rioter yelled repeatedly, “Are you press?” before picking him up and dragging him backward. Another then grabbed his legs. “The three of us clumsily made our way to the door,” Jones said.</p><p data-block-key=\"juh9g\">At around 2 p.m., he said, a Capitol Police officer threw a flash-bang grenade right next to him and the heat tore through his camera pouch.</p><p data-block-key=\"py1dh\">As Jones maneuvered among the crowd throughout the day, he said that many approached him with “We’re going to get you” and “You need to move on.” As with several journalists that day, such threats and harassment were common. The Tracker has documented such incidents, including one in which Jones was told he “deserved to be shot,” <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/national-and-international-journalists-harassed-threatened-while-covering-riot-dc/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g3dz\">“There was very clearly an intent and willingness. When they said, ‘Don’t stick around,’ they meant it,” he told the Tracker. He said he encountered younger teens who would show that they carried knives and one man who “flashed a pistol,” claiming, “I’m not here to fuck around.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bjody\">The Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
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"chemical irritant",
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"protest"
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"categories": [
"Assault",
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{
"title": "January: Journalists harassed, threatened while reporting from DC riot and across the country",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/national-and-international-journalists-harassed-threatened-while-covering-riot-dc/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-20T19:03:01.716565Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T20:02:36.056031Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tzr69\"><i>On Jan. 6, 2021, after a rally outside the White House in which President Donald Trump urged supporters to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol — an ostensible protest of the Congress as it was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory — thousands stormed the legislative seat of the U.S. government. As the demonstration rapidly devolved into a full-on riot, individuals broke windows and forced open doors, vandalized and looted congressional offices, chanted for the demise of elected officials and assaulted members of the Capitol Police. Amid the fray, a potent disdain for journalists and journalism also simmered: Someone</i> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1346961494483881985\"><i>scrawled the words “Murder the Media”</i></a><i> on a door to the building, and another</i> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pdmcleod/status/1346942560573526016\"><i>tied a stolen camera cable into a noose</i></a><i> and then hung it from a tree on the Capitol grounds. Below is a roundup of incidents involving individual journalists and news crews who faced harassment and threats in the course of their reporting on the day’s insurrection and across the month of January.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"kvlp1\"><i>A full accounting of incidents in which members of the press were assaulted, arrested or had their equipment damaged while covering the riot can be found</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=2&endpage=2\"><i>here</i></a><i>. To learn more about how the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit</i><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\"> <i>pressfreedomtracker.us</i></a><i>.</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"5w6rf\"><b>Amanda Andrade-Rhoades</b>, a freelance photojournalist on assignment for the Washington Post, told the Tracker that over the course of the day three different individuals threatened to shoot her. While, as far as she could tell, none of the individuals were carrying firearms, Andrade-Rhoades said she had seen people that day armed with knives and pepper spray. She <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2021/01/three-people-threatened-to-shoot-me-journalists-describe-covering-mob-violence-at-the-us-capitol/\">told the Committee to Protect Journalists</a> that during one of the incidents, a man leaned over her and said, “I’m coming back with a gun tomorrow and I’m coming for you.” That afternoon, Andrade-Rhoades was also struck four times with crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement officers. The Tracker has documented that assault <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-struck-multiple-times-projectiles-during-capitol-riot/\">here</a>.</li><li data-block-key=\"ujd70\">Report for America fellow and former Marine <b>Chris Jones</b> <a href=\"https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/01/11/heres-what-it-was-be-marine-turned-journalist-capturing-us-capitol-assault.html\">told Military.com</a> he was covering the protest turned riot for a West Virginia news publication when he was confronted by another former Marine. Jones told the outlet that the man, dressed in a Marines hoodie, yelled at him that he “deserved to be shot” because he was a member of the press. Jones also noted that he was affected by crowd-control measures — including tear gas and flash-bang grenades — deployed by Capitol Police officers in an attempt to stave off the mob. Jones told Military.com he was able to follow the crowd into the Capitol once they broke in, but that he was inside for less than a minute before the rioters recognized him as a member of the press and forcibly expelled him. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/physical-attack/?categories=10&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\">assaults of journalists from that day documented in the Tracker here</a>.</li><li data-block-key=\"4hjle\">CNN reporter <b>Alexander Marquardt</b> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarquardtA/status/1346911295837138944\">tweeted</a> shortly after 3 p.m. that “protesters swarmed and mobbed” his news team after discovering that they worked for CNN. “Extremely aggressive, had to get out fast,” Marquardt wrote. Two hours later, he posted a follow-up <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarquardtA/status/1346940341409226754\">tweet</a>, writing, “After I called them rioters just now on air, the crowd converged on the area press had gathered so we took off. This is a mob of violent rioters, no other way to put it.” CNN was repeatedly targeted that day, including by some who’d incorrectly believed certain news crews to be affiliated with the outlet when they were not. At one point, a crowd of rioters descended on a media staging area chanting, “CNN sucks!” and “Fuck CNN!” as they destroyed equipment belonging to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-associated-press-other-media-equipment/\">The Associated Press</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-german-outlets-equipment/\">German public broadcaster ZDF</a>.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video of Trump Capitol rioters destroying camera equipment. While they yell “CNN Sucks!” and believe it is CNN, I have received a message that this equipment belongs to ZDF, a popular news station in Germany. More videos coming <a href=\"https://t.co/bsGcCP9VEr\">pic.twitter.com/bsGcCP9VEr</a></p>— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"h4waq\">In his <a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/25/among-the-insurrectionists\">account of the day’s events for The New Yorker</a>, contributor <b>Luke Mogelson</b> wrote that he was pepper sprayed by law enforcement as demonstrators made their way up the Capitol steps and to the metal bleachers set up for the inauguration. “A jet of pepper spray incapacitated me for about twenty minutes,” Mogelson wrote. When he finally regained his vision, rioters had infiltrated the building. It was unclear from Mogelson’s account whether he felt targeted with the spray.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"i9ssi\"><b>Erik Mouthaan</b>, a correspondent for Dutch outlet RTL Nieuws, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/erikmouthaanRTL/status/1348731447700582400\">tweeted</a> that he and his crew were threatened while covering the events of the day, writing, “After we were threatened at our live location at the Capitol we walk (with the camera rotating) to a safer place.” In the accompanying video, some individuals appear to be following the news crew, and a few voices can be heard shouting things such as “Get the fuck out of here!” and “Fake News!”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"nl\" dir=\"ltr\">Afgelopen woensdag. Nadat we bedreigd werden op onze live locatie bij het Capitool lopen we (met draaiende camera) naar een veiliger plek. (Zet geluid aan) <a href=\"https://t.co/diyqCeeikS\">pic.twitter.com/diyqCeeikS</a></p>— Erik Mouthaan (@erikmouthaanRTL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/erikmouthaanRTL/status/1348731447700582400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 11, 2021</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\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"fwf76\"><b>Katie Nicholson</b>, a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was filming a live shot five blocks away from the Capitol when she was swarmed and harassed by demonstrators. In a <a href=\"https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1841020995564\">clip</a> of the incident published by the outlet, more than a dozen individuals can be seen approaching Nicholson, walking in front of her camera with flags and crowding around her while shouting, gesticulating and interrupting her broadcast. Nicholson <a href=\"https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/reporters-covering-the-capitol-attack-were-used-to-harassment-and-heckling-but-wednesday-was-different/\">told Poynter</a> that she and her crew had to stop broadcasting and walk away, but the group followed them for two blocks shouting insults. “They zeroed in on us as media, and it felt hostile,” Nicholson told Poynter. “I have never actually packed up and walked away from something before.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CBC’s Katie Nicholson is trying to inform Canadians about what’s happening on the streets of DC & is swarmed & harassed & prevented from doing her job. Thinking of her & all the journalists working hard & putting themselves at risk today to cover this historic story. Stay safe. <a href=\"https://t.co/9OK96ahs94\">pic.twitter.com/9OK96ahs94</a></p>— Meagan Fitzpatrick (@fitz_meagan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/fitz_meagan/status/1346924714967638016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"6dll4\"><b>Megan Pratz</b>, a producer for online financial outlet Cheddar, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/business/media/journalists-capitol-mob.html\">told the New York Times</a> that at approximately 4 p.m. she had been standing in a designated press area on the east side of the Capitol. “Throughout all of this, people were stopping to criticize the media, calling us fake news and liars, the stuff I’m kind of used to,” Pratz said. “But after people started leaving the Capitol, it really ramped up. They were calling us communist; they told me that they were coming for me.” Pratz recounted that 20 to 30 people soon “started coming into the area, surrounding each journalist and screaming at us, these hateful, hateful things.” She went on to say: “That was when we decided we were no longer safe. We grabbed pretty much everything, and we just walked out. We were shaking, like physically shaking, because it’s an adrenaline rush, and not a great one.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ultimately the situation became unsafe when protestors tore down the metal barricades around the press and stormed in, shouting in our faces and in the cameras. We left and are safely in our DC office. But we will not stop covering this unprecedented moment in American history. <a href=\"https://t.co/jZRhALpUhW\">pic.twitter.com/jZRhALpUhW</a></p>— Megan Pratz (@meganpratz) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/meganpratz/status/1346952545563004929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"x5mep\">CBS News national correspondent <b>Chip Reid</b> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1346948550144483328\">reported</a> during a broadcast that evening that he and his team had had a “scary moment” when an individual told him that law enforcement officers would not protect journalists. “The police don’t care about your guys. They’re only protecting the senators,” Reid recalled the man saying. “You’re on your own, buddy.” Reid said that he and his team quickly left the area, recalling that there were no police around them. “They were absolutely, ferociously angry at the media,” Reid said of the rioters.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CBS News' Chip Reid reports from the chaos outside the Capitol: "There were no police around us. We were on our own. I remember one of the protesters standing next to me said, 'The police don't care about you guys. They're only protecting the senators. You're on your own, buddy'" <a href=\"https://t.co/PYHZ4pdmNr\">pic.twitter.com/PYHZ4pdmNr</a></p>— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1346948550144483328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"3n061\">A <b>Univision</b> news crew was heckled by a maskless individual while reporting live in the nation’s capital. In a clip <a href=\"https://twitter.com/rvalentwit/status/1346951528997924869\">posted to Twitter</a> by journalist Robert Valencia, a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat can be seen attempting to talk over the Univision reporter as he gives a live report on the events at the Capitol. Valencia wrote that the man could be heard saying, “I don’t speak Spanish so I don’t know what he’s saying, but don’t believe anything he says.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"87t51\"><i>The Tracker received reports of journalists harassed while reporting from the Capitol the following day, Jan. 7.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"yww2q\">Independent journalist <b>Maranie Rae Staab</b>, who has been covering protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Portland, Oregon, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1347393316766298113\">tweeted</a> that she witnessed a <b>reporter for the Washington Post</b> being harassed by a group in front of the east side of the Capitol. Staab wrote that after she began to film the men as they screamed at the Post reporter, they directed their attention at her. A man without a mask can be seen approaching Staab and stands inches away from her as he shouts, “Are you proud?” and “I will get right in your face. I do not care.” The man also accuses Staab and the Post reporter of being communists. After the maskless man walks away, another individual tells Staab that they — the press — are “rodents” and liars. A third individual can be heard telling another member of the press standing with them, “That [press] badge: Shove it up your ass.” Staab wrote, “These assaults are a direct threat to the healthy #democracy #America purports itself to be, threats that [are] quickly becoming normalized & expected.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">After I filmed these men screaming at a WashPost reporter they turned their attention to me. <br><br>These assaults are a direct threat to the healthy <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/democracy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#democracy</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/America?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#America</a> purports itself to be, threats that r quickly becoming normalized & expected.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/freepress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#freepress</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/uscapitol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#uscapitol</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/thisisamerica?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#thisisamerica</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/n9gFxR12fM\">pic.twitter.com/n9gFxR12fM</a></p>— Maranie R. Staab (@MaranieRae) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1347393316766298113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 8, 2021</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=\"nwl5q\"><i>On Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, journalists reported being caught amid chemical irritants while covering demonstrations and harassed while reporting.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"tlnd4\"><b>In Portland, Oregon</b></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"im3nb\">Freelancer <b>Bethany Kerley</b> was covering demonstrations that included a march to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown Portland, according to a tweet <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352303828775837696\">posted</a> by Kerley. Approximately 200 protesters had gathered at the ICE facility, which has been a common location for protests in Portland. “About a minute before the first rush from the feds, my gas mask broke,” Kerley <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352305324305223682\">wrote</a>. “I went the entire night with no mask, inhaling everything that was used to disperse the crowd.” <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352306750242783232\">According to Kerley</a>, federal officers used multiple forms of gas against the protesters that night. “My eyes immediately burned and my face was on fire,” Kerley said. “Multiple times I had to stop filming to run away from the gas which filled a city block. The first time gas was used, I started choking and threw up.” Kerley wrote that after officers again deployed a thick cloud of gas, a colleague, freelance photojournalist Clementson Supriyadi, saw Kerley fall and pulled her away from the scene. “My colleague screamed for a medic as I started to go unconscious,” Kerley wrote. She was aided by volunteer medics at the scene, who washed out her throat and gave her chemical wipes and other aid. “As of now, my chest feels like it has been crushed, I have a headache, and my mouth tastes like metal,” Kerley <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352315658311110657\">wrote</a> the following day. “I am sure that this will have long-lasting effects I am not aware of yet.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There were numerous gassings which included the use of CS, OC, and HC gas. My eyes immediately burned and my face was on fire. Multiple times I had to stop filming to run away from the gas which filled a city block. The first time gas was used, I started choking and threw up 3/ <a href=\"https://t.co/dkxaAHEPHF\">pic.twitter.com/dkxaAHEPHF</a></p>— Bethany Kerley (@BethanyKerleyOR) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352306750242783232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 21, 2021</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\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"u635m\">Freelance reporter <b>Griffin Malone</b> was also covering the protests outside the ICE facility that night. Malone <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352126200123072512\">posted</a> around 9:30 p.m. that federal officers had declared the demonstration an unlawful assembly and announced that anyone on federal property, including members of the press, would be subject to arrest. Approximately 20 minutes later, Malone <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352131248488022022\">tweeted</a>, “What can only be described as a SHIT TON of tear gas deployed, impact munitions, flash bangs at every step.” Amid federal officers’ attempts to disperse the crowd, Malone <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352141501707419649\">wrote</a>, a flash-bang grenade struck a fence that was next to the reporter and exploded in the air near his head. “My right ear still has minimal hearing,” Malone wrote. “A snap next to it can be heard lightly and that’s about it.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A flashbang hit a fence next to me and went off head level in the air next to me. My right ear still has minimal hearing. A snap next to it can be heard lightly and that's about it. Fuck these feds.</p>— Griffin - Live Protest News (@GriffinMalone6) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352141501707419649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 21, 2021</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=\"pcm5q\"><b>In Charlotte, North Carolina</b></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"655kl\">Fox46 reporter <b>Matt Grant</b> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MattGrantFOX46/status/1352020374536347651\">tweeted</a> that he and photographer <b>Tim Mullican</b> were about to begin a live shot when a man drove past, threw a full beer bottle at them and screamed obscenities. “He missed us and we’re both safe, thankfully,” Grant wrote, “but it’s upsetting that journalists are being attacked just for doing our jobs.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is not OK - A minute before our live shot, a man drove by and threw a full beer bottle right at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TimMullican?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TimMullican</a> and me, screaming an obscenity. He missed us and we’re both safe, thankfully, but it’s upsetting that journalists are being attacked just for doing our jobs. <a href=\"https://t.co/v0HoStSmFy\">pic.twitter.com/v0HoStSmFy</a></p>— Matt Grant (@MattGrantFOX46) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MattGrantFOX46/status/1352020374536347651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 20, 2021</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=\"djx9m\"><i>Information in this roundup was gathered from published social media and news reports as well as interviews where noted. To read about additional incidents of aggression against the press related to the 2020 election,</i><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\"> <i>go here</i></a><i>.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jtimj\">The phrase "Murder the Media" is seen carved into a door to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.</p>",
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"updates": [
"(2022-09-09 13:24:00+00:00) Members of extremist group admit to defacing U.S. Capitol door with ‘Murder the Media’ during riots",
"(2022-12-09 00:00:00+00:00) 'Murder the Media' extremists get prison time over Jan. 6 riots"
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"election",
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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},
{
"title": "CNN correspondent says he was pushed by senator’s aide",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cnn-correspondent-says-he-was-pushed-by-senators-aide/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-18T17:06:20.607328Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-18T15:03:13.444707Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-18T15:03:13.340201Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wys9x\">CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju was pushed aside in the Senate chamber by a senator’s aide while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"c7jwa\">President Donald Trump spoke at a noon rally that day in front of the White House, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol where lawmakers were certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden,<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\"> reported</a> the New York Times. Following the rally, pro-Trump supporters<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\"> violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting congressional action and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"ybn2n\">Raju, who had been<a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1346690751464402948?s=20\"> tweeting</a> about Georgia's Senate runoffs the day prior, was covering events in the Senate chamber when Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler entered the room. According to Raju's<a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1346880191646343168?s=20\"> tweet</a> at 1:03 p.m., "[Loeffler] wouldn’t answer my question about whether she thought it was a free and fair election last night.” He wrote her aide then elbowed and pushed him out of the way.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kelly Loeffler entered Senate chamber and wouldn’t answer my question about whether she thought it was a free and fair election last night. Her aide elbowed me and pushed me out of way.<br>A Capitol police officer reprimanded the aide, who initially lied and said he didn’t push me</p>— Manu Raju (@mkraju) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1346880191646343168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"jzeij\">Loeffler<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/georgia-election-results\"> lost her reelection</a> to Rev. Raphael Warnock earlier that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"il55w\">When Raju confronted the aide, he said he did not push Raju, but a Capitol police officer said, "Yes you did. I saw you. You can’t just push someone out of the way,” according to Raju's second tweet about the incident. The aide then apologized.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ebtd\">CNN video producer DJ Judd confirmed Raju's account in a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1346880498107363330?s=20\"> tweet</a> at 1:05 p.m., "When reprimanded by Capitol Police, the aide lied, said he didn’t push Manu."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An aide to Sen Loeffler just pushed <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mkraju</a> out of the way after she refused to answer if the election she lost last night was free & fair— when reprimanded by Capitol Police, the aide lied, said he didn’t push Manu. When Capitol Police told aide they saw him, the aide apologized</p>— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1346880498107363330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"uvnui\">Raju and Sen. Loeffler’s office did not respond to emailed requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"x53gh\">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. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
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"election",
"Election 2020"
],
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"authors": [],
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"Assault"
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"targeted_journalists": [
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{
"title": "VICE News journalist assaulted, camera damaged during Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-journalist-assaulted-camera-damaged-during-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-18T16:38:08.063714Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-21T17:03:40.135173Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-21T17:03:40.052750Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ca2hr\">VICE News international correspondent Ben Solomon and cameraman Chris Olson were attacked by several rioters as they covered the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Demonstrators attempted to smash Olson’s camera, damaging the handle.</p><p data-block-key=\"l2iwk\">President Donald Trump spoke at a noon rally that day in front of the White House, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol where lawmakers were certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden,<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\"> reported</a> the New York Times. Following the rally, pro-Trump supporters<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\"> violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting congressional action and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"57m27\">In a<a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3iTJNlNpK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\"> video</a> Solomon posted on Instagram, demonstrators can be seen confronting the VICE journalists, shouting, “Get the fuck out of here!” and asking, “Who are you with? Is it CNN? Better not be CNN.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yfe8z\">“Chris [Olson] had a broken handle grip and that guy in forest camo gave me a good hard shove to the throat,” Solomon wrote in a caption with the Instagram post.</p><p data-block-key=\"xlu4f\">In Solomon’s VICE<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfP_5L8epow&feature=youtu.be\"> video</a> story posted to Youtube, the camera is hit at 1:23 and Solomon’s voice can be heard, “They tried to smash our camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zk2s1\">“We were lucky to get away with minimal damage,” Solomon wrote on Instagram. “To hear how many colleagues had it worse that day, I consider myself lucky.”</p><p data-block-key=\"htvx0\">As of press time, Olson had not responded to a U.S. Press Freedom Tracker request for comment. The Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-correspondent-assaulted-by-rioters-at-capitol/\">Solomon’s assault here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"azcgs\">The Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chris Olson (VICE News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
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},
{
"title": "Rioters rush broadcasters, destroy German outlet’s equipment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-german-outlets-equipment/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-15T16:11:46.462937Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:34.875004Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:34.721685Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"l497e\">Broadcast equipment belonging to German public-service broadcaster ZDF and worth approximately 30,000 euros was reportedly destroyed as rioters swarmed a group of broadcast journalists covering the unrest in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"dk48h\">At a rally in front of the White House earlier that day, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest at the Capitol as Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Following Trump’s speech, which included unfounded claims of election fraud and calls to “fight” the outcome, hundreds then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"19wog\">ZDF reporter Elmar Thevessen and his team were reporting alongside journalists from The Associated Press when a crowd of rioters stormed them and broke through the barricades surrounding them, according to a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136\">tweet</a> posted by Thevessen.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, Trumps Mob hat sich ausgetobt. Dem Kameramann, den Kolleg/innen von Associated Press, ARD, RTL und auch mir geht‘s gut. <a href=\"https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce\">https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/3BJ4ZwNlJ8\">pic.twitter.com/3BJ4ZwNlJ8</a></p>— Elmar Theveßen (@ethevessen) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"453j3\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">videos</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WilliamTurton/status/1346940440935870472\">of the</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346945835368501249%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fnews%2F533022-videos-show-protesters-outside-capitol-destroying-journalists-equipment\">incident</a>, the rioters can be heard yelling “fuck the mainstream media” as well as “CNN sucks” and “Fuck CNN!” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has not found any information to suggest that a CNN news crew or any CNN equipment was targeted in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"dusgw\">Thevessen told ZDF in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/heutejournal/status/1346971902770868224\">broadcast</a> later that day that Capitol Police had begun using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the west side of the Capitol, causing many rioters to move to the east where the ZDF team and other members of the media were located. The rioters surrounded the journalists and started throwing and destroying their equipment, Thevessen said. The news teams decided that they needed to quickly leave the area; Thevessen said his team was able to save their camera but the rest of their equipment was destroyed.</p><p data-block-key=\"voncb\">According to Thevessen, none of the journalists were injured in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"vhhyh\">In the center-left of the photo Thevessen posted, a man in a red beanie can be seen holding an orange microphone belonging to ZDF.</p><p data-block-key=\"4h80s\">Thevessen said in subsequent tweets that a colleague from German broadcaster ARD had <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347946143699902465\">retrieved the ZDF microphone</a> from rioters later that day. In total, he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347937221719031810\">wrote</a>, approximately 30,000 euros — or around $36,500 — worth of equipment belonging to the outlet had been destroyed, including a spotlight and portable video uplink.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Unser Scheinwerfer ist wieder da, in fast perfektem Zustand 😉 Was für erbärmliche Wichte, die offenbar ihre Komplexe abreagieren mussten... <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZDFheute?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ZDFheute</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/GdamYSIoKu\">pic.twitter.com/GdamYSIoKu</a></p>— Elmar Theveßen (@ethevessen) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347751175093829633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 9, 2021</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=\"rhs9p\">While the ZDF team was able to protect their camera, according to Thevessen two AP cameras were destroyed. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-associated-press-other-media-equipment/\">documented that incident here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kogd\">In an <a href=\"https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/briefing/washington-kapitol-schmiese-zdfheute-update-100.html\">article</a> published the following morning, ZDF Today’s Journal Editor-in-Chief Wulf Schmiese condemned the attack on Thevessen and his team.</p><p data-block-key=\"6zyko\">“Thank God nothing happened to him or his people. But it was an attack on us — on all of my colleagues who do what we owe to the USA: free reporting,” Schmiese wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebkzn\">According to Schmiese, the rioters also stole phones belonging to the journalists and attempted to “terrorize” the outlet’s control room with threatening calls.</p><p data-block-key=\"i5p9e\">At least one man has been arrested in connection with the equipment destruction. According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Jamie Stranahan, the bureau has identified Pete Harding of Cheektowaga, New York, as one of the participants.</p><p data-block-key=\"h7n92\">The affidavit identified Harding as the man in a maroon hoodie, seen in several videos of the incident, who attempted to light the equipment on fire once it had been destroyed and piled up. The man believed to be Harding can be seen lighting a plastic bag on fire using a lighter in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">video</a> posted by Deadspin reporter Chuck Modi.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video of Trump Capitol rioters destroying camera equipment. While they yell “CNN Sucks!” and believe it is CNN, I have received a message that this equipment belongs to ZDF, a popular news station in Germany. More videos coming <a href=\"https://t.co/bsGcCP9VEr\">pic.twitter.com/bsGcCP9VEr</a></p>— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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=\"oq83g\">Harding also <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rWv16VVhGR0w75euO_owZ1SuOxBctBY3yHHMeS9lX10/edit#\">confirmed to The Buffalo News</a> that he helped pile up the equipment and attempted to burn it.</p><p data-block-key=\"bz6j8\">“That was a symbolic gesture. Nothing burned. It was metal,” Harding told the paper. “It was far from any structure. It was nowhere near the Capitol building. It was nowhere near a tree. It wasn't even on grass that could be lit on fire. There was a plastic bag. I had a Bic lighter and that was it. It was symbolism."</p><p data-block-key=\"tdwah\">The News <a href=\"https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/cheektowaga-man-who-was-inside-capitol-in-custody-in-niagara-county-jail/article_67616e1a-5670-11eb-aa57-8f40b3c8450d.html\">reported</a> that Harding was arrested on Jan. 13 on a U.S. Marshals Service warrant.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX8KWQY.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nvws6\">Journalists survey damaged equipment outside the Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after supporters of President Donald Trump occupied the capitol building and targeted the media for harassment, assaults and equipment damage.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": "private individual",
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{
"quantity": 8,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "live unit"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 3,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "storage unit"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-06-24 12:12:00+00:00) Individual charged for the destruction of ZDF, other media equipment",
"(2023-05-01 13:01:00+00:00) Virginia man ordered to pay more than $33,000 in restitution for destruction of German broadcaster’s equipment during J6 riots",
"(2022-10-28 11:37:00+00:00) Virginia man pleads guilty to felony charges connected to destruction of news equipment",
"(2023-04-20 16:53:00+00:00) Man sentenced to 3 years of probation for destroying news equipment during J6 riots; two others plead guilty to similar charges",
"(2023-07-20 12:51:00+00:00) New York men sentenced in destruction of media equipment during the J6 riot",
"(2023-10-04 16:46:00+00:00) Illinois man who destroyed media equipment during J6 riot sentenced",
"(2023-02-02 00:00:00+00:00) Virginia man sentenced to 32 months behind bars after destroying news equipment"
],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ralf Oberti (ZDF)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Rioters rush broadcasters, destroy Associated Press, other media equipment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-associated-press-other-media-equipment/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-15T15:40:01.071201Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:24.832115Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:24.663712Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tileh\">Broadcast equipment belonging to The Associated Press was reportedly destroyed as rioters swarmed a group of broadcast journalists covering the unrest in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"dysgw\">At a rally in front of the White House earlier that day, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest at the Capitol as Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Following Trump’s speech, which included unfounded claims of election fraud and calls to “fight” the outcome, hundreds then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cggo5\">Elmar Thevessen, a reporter for German public-service broadcaster ZDF, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136\">wrote on Twitter</a> that he and his team were reporting alongside journalists from the AP when a crowd of rioters stormed them and broke through the barricades surrounding the journalists and their equipment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, Trumps Mob hat sich ausgetobt. Dem Kameramann, den Kolleg/innen von Associated Press, ARD, RTL und auch mir geht‘s gut. <a href=\"https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce\">https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/3BJ4ZwNlJ8\">pic.twitter.com/3BJ4ZwNlJ8</a></p>— Elmar Theveßen (@ethevessen) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"qnv27\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">videos</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WilliamTurton/status/1346940440935870472\">of the</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346945835368501249%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fnews%2F533022-videos-show-protesters-outside-capitol-destroying-journalists-equipment\">incident</a>, the rioters can be heard yelling “Fuck the mainstream media” as well as “CNN sucks” and “Fuck CNN!” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has not found any information to suggest that a CNN news crew or any CNN equipment was targeted in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"g1g81\">Thevessen told ZDF in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/heutejournal/status/1346971902770868224\">broadcast</a> later that day that Capitol Police had begun using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the west side of the Capitol, causing many rioters to move to the east where the ZDF team and other members of the media were located. The rioters surrounded the journalists and started throwing and destroying their equipment, Thevessen said. The news teams decided that they needed to quickly leave the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"qt4z3\">Thevessen said that while his team was able to save their camera, the AP team was unable to do so. Multiple plastic storage containers bearing the AP logo are visible in photos of the wreckage, and according to Thevessen at least two AP cameras were destroyed. Thevessen <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347937221719031810\">estimated</a> that at least $100,000 of AP equipment was damaged.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Outside the Capitol, pro-Trump protesters are smashing cameras and other media equipment yelling “CNN sucks!” <br>One man took a wooden stick and bashed the pile of destroyed equipment. <br><br>This stuff isn’t owned by CNN. They are destroying AP equipment. <a href=\"https://t.co/NeIUUSuYaC\">pic.twitter.com/NeIUUSuYaC</a></p>— Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"lg9qi\">A <a href=\"https://twitter.com/shomaristone/status/1346941715895250949\">video posted</a> by NBC reporter Shomari Stone shows rioters also pouring water atop the damaged equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"73ytj\">In total, Thevessen <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347937221719031810\">wrote</a>, approximately 30,000 euros — or around $36,500 — worth of ZDF equipment was destroyed. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-german-outlets-equipment/\">documented that incident here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ntjkw\">According to Thevessen, none of the journalists were injured in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"ldeo2\">The AP <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxwelltani/status/1346970523322912773\">confirmed</a> to Daily Beast media reporter Max Tani that AP equipment was stolen and destroyed during the violent protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"67t34\">The National Press Photographers Association condemned the Jan. 6 attacks on ZDF, AP and other news teams from visual media. “To do our jobs, photojournalists must be on the front lines to record the news,” the group’s statement reads. “The threats, violence and aggression toward visual journalists are unconscionable acts that erode our democracy and our country’s First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qtcqt\">At least one man has been arrested in connection with the destruction of the ZDF and AP broadcast equipment. According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Jamie Stranahan, the bureau has identified Pete Harding of Cheektowaga, New York, as one of the participants.</p><p data-block-key=\"4j0kv\">The affidavit identified Harding as the man in a maroon hoodie, seen in several videos of the incident, who attempted to light the equipment on fire once it had been destroyed and piled up. The man believed to be Harding can be seen lighting a plastic bag on fire using a lighter in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">video</a> posted by Deadspin reporter Chuck Modi.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video of Trump Capitol rioters destroying camera equipment. While they yell “CNN Sucks!” and believe it is CNN, I have received a message that this equipment belongs to ZDF, a popular news station in Germany. More videos coming <a href=\"https://t.co/bsGcCP9VEr\">pic.twitter.com/bsGcCP9VEr</a></p>— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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=\"6mq7a\">Harding also <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rWv16VVhGR0w75euO_owZ1SuOxBctBY3yHHMeS9lX10/edit#\">confirmed to The Buffalo News</a> that he helped pile up the equipment and attempted to burn it.</p><p data-block-key=\"brxzw\">“That was a symbolic gesture. Nothing burned. It was metal,” Harding told the paper. “It was far from any structure. It was nowhere near the Capitol building. It was nowhere near a tree. It wasn't even on grass that could be lit on fire. There was a plastic bag. I had a Bic lighter and that was it. It was symbolism."</p><p data-block-key=\"43py0\">The News <a href=\"https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/cheektowaga-man-who-was-inside-capitol-in-custody-in-niagara-county-jail/article_67616e1a-5670-11eb-aa57-8f40b3c8450d.html\">reported</a> that Harding was arrested on Jan. 13 on warrant issued by the U.S. Marshals Service.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"tlito\">Journalists survey damaged equipment outside the Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after supporters of President Donald Trump occupied the capitol building and targeted the media for harassment, assaults and equipment damage.</p>",
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{
"quantity": 2,
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{
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{
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"updates": [
"(2021-06-24 12:08:00+00:00) Individual charged for the destruction of Associated Press, other media equipment",
"(2023-02-02 00:00:00+00:00) Virginia man sentenced to 32 months behind bars after destroying news equipment",
"(2022-10-28 11:38:00+00:00) Virginia man pleads guilty to felony charges connected to destruction of news equipment",
"(2023-04-20 16:52:00+00:00) Man sentenced to 3 years of probation for destroying news equipment during J6 riots; two others plead guilty to similar charges",
"(2023-07-20 12:48:00+00:00) New York men sentenced in destruction of media equipment during the J6 riot",
"(2023-10-04 00:00:00+00:00) Illinois man who destroyed media equipment during J6 riot sentenced"
],
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"election",
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"protest"
],
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"Equipment Damage"
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{
"title": "Journalists threatened with assault while covering Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-threatened-assault-while-covering-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-14T19:27:35.627280Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:13.617652Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:13.522297Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": -122.9007,
"latitude": 47.03787,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6ynfi\">Sara Gentzler, a reporter for the Olympian, was threatened by an armed individual while covering a demonstration at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"wvuaf\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">increasingly aggressive</a> as the afternoon wore on, was one of several held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"uktu7\">Gentzler told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had been covering the protest intermittently since noon. When she returned shortly before 3 p.m., a man armed with multiple firearms and a knife approached her.</p><p data-block-key=\"cti73\">“He asked, ‘Are you with the media?’ I said yes, and he asked, ‘Which publication?’ And he obviously didn’t want me there,” Gentzler said. The same man approached her again a little while later, after she had met up with AP photojournalist Ted S. Warren.</p><p data-block-key=\"ya30b\">“He was very aggressive and made it very clear that he didn’t want us there. He said he had pepper-sprayed members of the media earlier in the day and we had five minutes to leave,” Gentzler said.</p><p data-block-key=\"kol7v\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SaraGentzler/status/1346952476893696008\">short clip</a> Gentzler posted to Twitter shortly before 3 p.m., the man can briefly be seen before lunging at Gentzler and trying to grab her phone in an attempt to prevent her from filming the interaction</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Man with a gun just told me + another journalist that media isn’t wanted here, that he pepper-sprayed members of the media earlier, and we have 5 min to leave. Later said “We’re going to shoot you f***ing dead in the next year.” This vid is all I got as he reached at my phone. <a href=\"https://t.co/yNDgGVx6cT\">pic.twitter.com/yNDgGVx6cT</a></p>— Sara Gentzler (@SaraGentzler) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SaraGentzler/status/1346952476893696008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"0erqo\">KOMO News <a href=\"https://kpic.com/news/nation-world/court-file-seattle-man-arrested-for-assaulting-media-at-olympia-protest\">reported</a> that the same man had threatened and sprayed two members of the media with what court documents identified as bear spray near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Capitol Way South at around noon, incapacitating both for hours. The Tracker<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\"> documented the multiple assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"wuh9m\">“As he was sort of going away from us,” Gentzler said, “he said, ‘We’re going to shoot you fucking dead in the next year.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"40hrx\">“I’m used to people generally expressing anti-media sentiment, I’ve kind of come to expect it. But that was an exceptional interaction. It definitely felt aggressive and truly frightening,” Gentzler said. “I was just trying to figure out what my next move was, rethinking what I could do to be safe and continue doing this.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7a75z\">Gentzler told the Tracker that she and Warren were able to meet up with other journalists to have safety in numbers and to warn them about the man.</p><p data-block-key=\"s0dbn\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"qjj8b\"><i>Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include comment from Sara Gentzler and to identify Ted S. Warren of The Associated Press.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "Washington",
"abbreviation": "WA"
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"updates": [
"(2021-01-19 11:01:00+00:00) Man arrested for assaulting, harassing multiple journalists",
"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sara Gentzler (Olympian)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Cellphone of French journalist destroyed during his livestream of Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cell-phone-french-journalist-destroyed-during-his-livestream-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T21:49:31.297205Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:02.299668Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:02.198977Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g43mg\">Vincent Jolly, a reporter for the weekly magazine of French newspaper Le Figaro, had his phone destroyed during a live report about the riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"at86k\">Protests organized around Congress’s confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory devolved into a riot earlier that day, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>. At a rally in front of the White House, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside.</p><p data-block-key=\"2sp76\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/vincentroux88/status/1346966057387491329\">clip posted to Twitter</a> by Figaro Live Editor in Chief Vincent Roux, Jolly can be heard at the very beginning giving a live report on the riot at the Capitol while filming a crowd of individuals walking away from the building. Jolly tells the host that they were waiting to hear responses to the violence from the Republican Party and Biden.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">Plusieurs journalistes et équipes médias agressés et leurs matériels détruits par des Pro-<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trumps?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Trumps</a>. Comme notre confrère <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VincentJolly_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VincentJolly_</a> agressé en direct. Pas de blessure mais son téléphone avec lequel il est en direct pour <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Figaro_Live?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Figaro_Live</a> est completement détruit. Shame! <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Capitole?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Capitole</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/7XGzCLLAq2\">pic.twitter.com/7XGzCLLAq2</a></p>— Vincent Roux (@vincentroux88) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/vincentroux88/status/1346966057387491329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"sjdxt\">In Jolly’s video, a man is seen breaking away from the group, quickly advancing on Jolly and swiping at his cellphone before the feed suddenly dies. The Figaro Live host, seen to the left of the cellphone image, picks up the narration as the man advances, exclaiming that they would see what had happened to Jolly and that it appeared someone had taken the journalist’s phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"3s0hm\">In the tweet, Figaro Live editor Roux wrote that while Jolly was not injured in the assault, his cellphone was “completely destroyed.” “Shame!” he wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"mhzy8\">Jolly did not respond to messages requesting comment.</p></div>",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
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"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Vincent Jolly (Le Figaro)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Slate reporter pushed by Capitol Police officer in effort to ‘slow down’ rioters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/slate-reporter-pushed-by-capitol-police-officer-in-effort-to-slow-down-rioters/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T21:06:39.012764Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:46.262028Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:46.181272Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tip8q\">Slate reporter Aymann Ismail was pushed by a Capitol Police officer while covering the riot at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"y74bu\">In an <a href=\"https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/capitol-riot-photos-inside-trump.html\">account for Slate</a>, Ismail wrote that he had started the day covering a rally in front of the White House at which President Donald Trump spoke at noon. After the president called on his supporters to protest Congress as it confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud, a crowd of hundreds marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"94kc7\">Ismail wrote that he’d followed the crowd as they marched across the National Mall, approaching the Capitol from the west.</p><p data-block-key=\"5mb5d\">“As we got closer, though, I saw these marchers ripping open doors and climbing through windows. When I got to the doors, police had managed to close them again,” Ismail wrote. “There was a core group of young people at the very front, just outside, trying to force their way in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ua85z\">In Ismail’s estimation, “there were a few cops, but not nearly enough” as he walked up to the doors and identified himself to officers as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"le2er\">“One cop started using my body to push people behind me backward,” Ismail wrote. “I heard one say to the other, ‘The best we can do is slow them down.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"q27z1\">Ismail was able to quickly get around the officers and into the Capitol without further incident. He told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he didn’t believe the officers had acted maliciously or had been trying to harm him.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg3xj\">The Capitol Police did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"5r96z\">“I moved quickly, got as many photos as I could muster in a short period of time, then moved back out of the building,” Ismail said. “Earlier, I had seen other reporters get attacked by the mob, so I made it a point not to stick around in any one spot too long.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vgtzq\">The Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h5qv7\">Slate reporter Aymann Ismail captured this image as a Capitol Police officer pushed him in an effort to block rioters who had made their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p>",
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"protest"
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{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist struck multiple times with projectiles during Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-struck-multiple-times-projectiles-during-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T21:31:22.145575Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:35.618380Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:35.533120Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ohz4m\">Freelance photojournalist Amanda Andrade-Rhoades said she was hit by crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement officers four times while covering riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"bq2kh\">Andrade-Rhoades told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was on assignment for The Washington Post covering protesters as they marched toward the west side of the Capitol from the National Mall. The protesters, spurred by a speech by President Donald Trump earlier that day, aimed to disrupt the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"n8c0i\">At approximately 2:45 p.m., Andrade-Rhoades said she was photographing as the protest became a riot, with the pro-Trump crowd — some armed with clubs or other weapons — clashing with Capitol Police officers in front of the Capitol.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There's more! <a href=\"https://t.co/RzoPm9InIz\">pic.twitter.com/RzoPm9InIz</a></p>— Amanda Andrade-Rhoades (@Moxie_Manda) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Moxie_Manda/status/1346977168312709120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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=\"9ktpd\">Andrade-Rhoades said she had covered previous pro-Trump demonstrations where protesters were far less aggressive towards law enforcement. “This time [the rioters] were fighting the officers and breaking apart barricades to hit the police with,” she said. “I had just put on my gas mask because things seemed to be getting very much worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"al6u1\">Andrade-Rhoades said her right leg was struck multiple times as she documented Capitol Police and rioters scuffling over a barrier.</p><p data-block-key=\"4i512\">“There was a bit of a gap between the police and the rioters, and that’s when I felt myself get hit four times,” Andrade-Rhoades said. She added that she believes she was hit by rubber bullets based on the rounds she saw on the ground around her after she was struck.</p><p data-block-key=\"sxnzc\">After the incident, she posted a photo of her leg showing several large bruises. “Since someone asked,” she wrote on her Twitter account, “I’m pretty sure these were rubber bullets but not 100% sure.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Since someone asked, I’m pretty sure these were rubber bullets but not 100% sure. The one on the top of my thigh is very swollen, but it looks worse than it feels. That may not be the case tomorrow though ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ <a href=\"https://t.co/kWJerA3pOV\">pic.twitter.com/kWJerA3pOV</a></p>— Amanda Andrade-Rhoades (@Moxie_Manda) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Moxie_Manda/status/1347027395707076610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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=\"s4aum\">Andrade-Rhoades said she was wearing a press credential issued by The Post, and the word “PRESS” was written on a piece of painters’ tape stuck to her gas mask. But she noted that when she was hit, law enforcement officers were overwhelmed by the number of violent rioters and were fighting back indiscriminately. She said she retreated from the violence briefly, then returned to photographing as the rioters climbed up scaffolding and stormed the Capitol.</p><p data-block-key=\"fpvnk\">About two days after the incident Andrade-Rhoades said some of her wounds were still swollen and tender to the touch and that she would seek medical attention if the swelling on her hip did not go down soon.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9jjt\">Andrade-Rhoades said that over the course of the afternoon, multiple rioters threatened to kill her, and that she was caught in pepper spray fired indiscriminately by police. The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">all election-related incidents here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"o1p2r\">Neither the Capitol Police nor the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. responded to emails requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5d5eb\">Photojournalist Amanda Andrade-Rhoades was hit with multiple crowd-control munitions while covering the Capitol riots for The Washington Post on Jan 6, 2021.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with pepper spray while covering demonstration at Utah Capitol",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-maced-while-covering-demonstration-utah-capitol/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-12T18:12:24.657045Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-21T16:52:34.624830Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-21T16:52:34.534908Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cfate\">Salt Lake Tribune photojournalist Rick Egan was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant by a demonstrator upset that he was documenting a protest at the Utah state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"jib4z\">Egan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was documenting what was a largely peaceful demonstration organized by supporters of President Donald Trump who carried signs about unfounded election allegations. The Tribune <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/01/06/utah-capitol-staff/\">reported</a> there were some members of extremist or militia-type groups, including the Proud Boys and Utah Citizens’ Alarm, at the demonstration who were armed with bats and firearms.</p><p data-block-key=\"6baf3\">Egan said he was walking up the first set of stairs toward the Capitol to film a demonstrator using a megaphone when a protester accosted him.</p><p data-block-key=\"1af0b\">“He was singing this sort of childhood, baby song about putting your diapers on your face talking about masks,” Egan said. “I wanted to film that song and I hadn’t even really started filming yet when some [other] guy came out of nowhere and said, ‘Look at you with your mask on, you fucking pussy.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"ym4zv\">Egan said he brushed the encounter off and continued working. Approximately a minute or two later, Egan said, a man carrying a flag repeatedly waved it in his face, preventing the photojournalist from taking pictures of him or from continuing to walk up the steps.</p><p data-block-key=\"3uoab\">“As I tried to make my way through, he started shoving me and pushing me, saying stuff like ‘Get the fuck out of here,’” Egan said. “I just saw quickly from the corner of my eye the same guy who had yelled at me a minute or two earlier just popped around the corner to the side of this guy and sprayed me in the face [with mace]. He just ran up, sprayed me and ran.”</p><p data-block-key=\"kvckk\">Egan said he was carrying two cameras and has no doubt that he was targeted because he was identifiable as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"nes06\">“As soon as the guy sprayed me, they all started laughing at me — all these Proud Boys or Boogaloo Boys who had this sort of gauntlet up to the capitol building,” Egan said. “I’m just stumbling blindly up these stairs thinking, ‘I’ve got to get away from these guys because they could beat me up, steal my cameras, whatever.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"02906\">At first, the effects of the irritant were pretty mild, but suddenly he couldn’t see. Luckily, he said, Associated Press journalist Rick Bowmer found him and helped him to a quiet area where his fellow Tribune photojournalist Francisco Kjolseth was able to rinse out his eyes with a bottle of water.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Salt Lake Tribune photographer Rick Egan has been pepper sprayed by people here upset he was documenting the event. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sltrib?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@sltrib</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/uptol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#uptol</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/AT40p177Pt\">pic.twitter.com/AT40p177Pt</a></p>— Taylor Stevens (@tstevensmedia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tstevensmedia/status/1346930961800327170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</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=\"8wx90\">After approximately 45 minutes and having his eyes rinsed three or four times, Egan said he was able to continue photographing the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"qoqms\">“[The attack] kind of freaked me out a bit, mentally it messed me up a little bit, but I was able to see enough to shoot,” Egan said.</p><p data-block-key=\"rpidz\">Egan said he found a quiet place to edit some of his photos and check to see if he had captured any photos of his assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgrkd\">“While I was going through my photos though I saw a reflection on my screen and turned around to see the guy who had been waving the flag standing directly behind me, watching me,” Egan said.</p><p data-block-key=\"z8cx3\">Egan told the Tracker he quickly and calmly packed up his belongings and found a police officer, who escorted him inside the Capitol to give a statement about the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"we7qu\">Immediately after, Egan returned to his car and drove back to the office to finish editing his images there.</p><p data-block-key=\"xhdf5\">Egan said that he never felt like the armed demonstrators would hurt him as a member of the press, and that their main aim was to intimidate.</p><p data-block-key=\"8e1yl\">“None of us really back down,” Egan said. “I don’t think they’ve successfully intimidated any of us up to this point and I hope that this instance won’t make us not cover a story or not show up or not stay somewhere just because they’re there, because then they win. That’s what they’re trying to do.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m5r8c\">Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall <a href=\"https://twitter.com/slcmayor/status/1346951864995041282\">condemned the attack</a> in a tweet that afternoon.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jbt4\">“An assault on a journalist is an attack on freedom of press and democracy. This is unacceptable, and should not be allowed to go unchecked,” Mendenhall wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2yh2\">The Salt Lake Police Department did not immediately respond to voicemail requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"c9a64\">Salt Lake Tribune photojournalist Rick Egan, photographed here by colleague Francisco Kjolseth, was sprayed with pepper spray by a demonstrator at the Utah state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Jan. 6, 2021.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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"Rick Egan (Salt Lake Tribune)"
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},
{
"title": "New York Times reporter assaulted, cameras stolen and damaged amid Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-times-reporter-assaulted-cameras-stolen-and-damaged-amid-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-11T21:42:15.578889Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-23T18:14:02.294950Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-23T18:14:02.134478Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2l8q0\">New York Times reporter Erin Schaff wrote that she was assaulted, one of her cameras stolen and the lens of a second broken by rioters as they stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ogzz\">A riot broke out as supporters of President Donald Trump marched on the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside in an attempt to disrupt the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>. At a noon rally held in front of the White House, Trump called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. According to Reuters, the building was breached at approximately 2:15 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"l84um\">Schaff, who did not respond to a request for comment, wrote in an <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/politics/capitol-lockdown.html\">account published by the Times</a> that she followed the noise of protesters on the first floor of the Senate side of the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"0bizj\">Schaff recounted that the single Capitol Police officer guarding the ceremonial doors to the Rotunda was rushed by the crowd, forcing open the door.</p><p data-block-key=\"v1tcw\">“I ran upstairs to be out of the way of the crowd, and to get a better vantage point to document what was happening. Suddenly, two or three men in black surrounded me and demanded to know who I worked for,” Schaff wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"qav07\">“Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry. They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched. At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them. They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away.”</p><p data-block-key=\"koeh5\">Schaff’s congressional press credentials were also stolen in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"249zb\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\">Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX8KXQC_-_Reuters_-_Ahmed_Gaber.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"31c4g\">Crowds storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, contesting the certification of the presidential election results. New York Times reporter Erin Schaff wrote that she was assaulted and her camera and press credentials were stolen by rioters that day.</p>",
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{
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{
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],
"state": {
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},
"updates": [
"(2021-06-28 09:12:00+00:00) Pennsylvania woman charged in connection to assault of NYT photojournalist during Capitol riot",
"(2025-01-22 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist’s assailants pardoned by Trump",
"(2023-06-06 14:48:00+00:00) Pennsylvania woman found guilty on charges connected to assault of photojournalist",
"(2023-09-14 00:00:00+00:00) Pennsylvania woman sentenced for actions during J6 riot",
"(2024-09-12 16:36:00+00:00) Two men charged with assault, robbery of NY Times photojournalist at Capitol riot"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest",
"robbery"
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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},
{
"title": "Washington Post video journalists detained in police ‘kettle’ during DC riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-08T16:32:01.028410Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:56.647543Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:56.564547Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r4b1b\">The Washington Post video journalist Zoeann Murphy was detained alongside a colleague while documenting riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"jdh5c\">Murphy and fellow Post video journalist Whitney Leaming were covering protests and demonstrations in downtown D.C., The Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">reported</a>, organized around the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Donald Trump held a rally in front of the White House and called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters <a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3jzbd\">In response to the violence at the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser <a href=\"https://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/release_content/attachments/Mayor%27s%20Order%202020-003%20%201-6-2021.pdf\">declared a public emergency</a> and issued a curfew order from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. The order explicitly exempted journalists and other essential workers.</p><p data-block-key=\"askw9\">Murphy <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">told The Post</a> in a live interview that the two journalists had been entrapped by Metropolitan Police Department officers using a technique known as “kettling,” wherein police surround a group from all sides to prevent exit. Murphy spoke to the outlet live while they were being detained, as Leaming continued to film the scene.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some days are like this. Body armor, helmet, getting arrested while filming a siege on the Capitol. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/journalism?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#journalism</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/i8i6bD4o5q\">pic.twitter.com/i8i6bD4o5q</a></p>— Zoeann Murphy (@ZoeannMurphy) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZoeannMurphy/status/1347007067303915521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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=\"9suws\">Independent journalist Talia Jane was also detained in the kettle. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented her detention <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-briefly-detained-amid-dc-riots/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bs7mo\">Murphy told the Tracker, “We got kettled, and that happens. But usually I can just go up to a police officer and say, ‘We’re media,’ and they just let us out of the kettle. And in this situation they did not.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tvk2e\">Murphy said in the livestream that police confirmed multiple times that the journalists were under arrest, but did not provide further explanation, even though both Leaming and Murphy identified themselves as members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"73lye\">“I have a credential: a Washington Post credential press badge that I wear. And then I actually have my Washington Post fleece on today as well,” Murphy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"jn9ra\">At approximately 7:40 p.m., while still live with The Post, Murphy can be heard saying, “They’ve just told us that they’re letting the press go and have told us that we can go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xiqdw\">Both journalists were released shortly after showing officers their media credentials. The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/\">Leaming’s detainment here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bkhtd\">The journalists were detained alongside the demonstrators for violating curfew, Murphy told the Post.</p><p data-block-key=\"h1d9p\">Murphy told the Tracker that after they were released the police were “completely polite” to the pair as they continued documenting the scene for approximately 30 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"rqjsj\">A spokesperson for The Post said in <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/washington-post-journalists-arrested-capitol/\">a statement to The Wrap</a>, “Our journalists were just doing their jobs and should never have been arrested in the first place. However, we’re pleased that police quickly released them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cddcu\">When reached by phone, a spokesperson for MPDC told the Tracker that it could not comment beyond this statement: “When we detain any reporters, it’s to maintain order and safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"pizvw\">The spokesperson said she could not comment further on the specifics of any case. The Tracker was then asked that any questions about the department’s use of kettling be sent via email. The department did not immediately respond to those or previously emailed questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"u11la\"><i>This article has been updated to include comment from Zoeann Murphy.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"20tox\">Police in Washington, D.C. stand guard at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following riots against Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election results. A curfew was issued following the breaching of the Capitol.</p>",
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{
"title": "Two Washington Post video journalists detained in police ‘kettle’ during DC riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-08T16:22:06.345210Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:42.880307Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:42.795901Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p6jud\">The Washington Post video journalist Whitney Leaming was detained alongside a colleague while documenting riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"eblzl\">Leaming and fellow Post video journalist Zoeann Murphy were covering protests and demonstrations in downtown D.C., The Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">reported</a>, organized around the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Donald Trump held a rally in front of the White House and called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters <a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9w64k\">In response to the violence at the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser <a href=\"https://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/release_content/attachments/Mayor%27s%20Order%202020-003%20%201-6-2021.pdf\">declared a public emergency</a> and issued a curfew order from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. The order explicitly exempted journalists and other essential workers.</p><p data-block-key=\"8okpm\">Murphy <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">told The Post</a> in a live interview that the two journalists had been entrapped by Metropolitan Police Department officers using a technique known as “kettling,” wherein police surround a group from all sides to prevent exit. Murphy spoke to the outlet live while they were being detained, as Leaming continued to film the scene.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With <a href=\"https://twitter.com/wleaming?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wleaming</a>, still rolling the camera while we were being arrested for filming protests outside the Capitol. <a href=\"https://t.co/PcEiwz28DU\">pic.twitter.com/PcEiwz28DU</a></p>— Zoeann Murphy (@ZoeannMurphy) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZoeannMurphy/status/1347009152367927296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</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=\"fvs12\">Independent journalist Talia Jane was also detained in the kettle. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented her detention <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-briefly-detained-amid-dc-riots/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"35e8c\">Murphy said that police confirmed multiple times that the journalists were under arrest, but did not provide further explanation, even though both Leaming and Murphy identified themselves as members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"xnmzo\">While speaking live with The Post at approximately 7:40 p.m., Murphy suddenly said that officers had decided to allow press to leave the scene after providing media credentials. She said she had her Washington Post press badge and was wearing a fleece with the news outlet’s name on it. In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZoeannMurphy/status/1347009152367927296\">video</a> posted to Twitter by Murphy following their release, Leaming can be seen carrying a large camera and backpack with equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dut35\">The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/\">Murphy’s detainment here.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"57scl\">The journalists were detained alongside the demonstrators for violating curfew Murphy told the Post.</p><p data-block-key=\"634ls\">Murphy told the Tracker that after they were released the police were “completely polite” to the pair as they continued documenting the scene for approximately 30 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"zs23r\">A spokesperson for The Post said in <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/washington-post-journalists-arrested-capitol/\">a statement to The Wrap</a>, “Our journalists were just doing their jobs and should never have been arrested in the first place. However, we’re pleased that police quickly released them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lnnes\">When reached by phone, a spokesperson for MPDC told the Tracker that it could not comment beyond this statement: “When we detain any reporters, it’s to maintain order and safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xz5mk\">The spokesperson said she could not comment further on the specifics of any case. The Tracker was then asked that any questions about the department’s use of kettling be sent via email. The department did not immediately respond to those or previously emailed questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"d33xr\"><i>This article has been updated to include comment from Zoeann Murphy.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vzzny\">Police stand guard at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., following a Jan. 6, 2021 riot against the certification of presidential election results by Congress.</p>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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]
