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{
"title": "Project Veritas founder detained, phones seized amid FBI raid of his home",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/project-veritas-founder-detained-phones-seized-amid-fbi-raid-of-his-home/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-16T18:23:23.089764Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-10T15:04:57.375477Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-10T15:04:57.258931Z",
"date": "2021-11-06",
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"city": "Mamaroneck",
"longitude": -73.73263,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rg8wr\">On Nov. 6, 2021, FBI agents raided the Mamaroneck, New York, home of conservative group Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe as part of an investigation into the reported theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s daughter, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/us/politics/ashley-biden-project-vertias-fbi.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"y142u\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> published on Project Veritas’ website, the search came two days after raids had taken place at the homes of multiple individuals affiliated with the group, which describes itself as a non-profit investigative organization. The group is known for its hidden-camera sting operations that typically target liberal politicians and nonprofits, as well as news organizations including CNN and NPR.</p><p data-block-key=\"h98j2\">O’Keefe, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment, said in an <a href=\"https://video.foxnews.com/v/6281036371001#sp=show-clips\">interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity</a> that the agents arrived at his home before dawn, placed him in handcuffs, seized two of his iPhones and searched his apartment for more than two hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"o57e2\">“On my phone were many of my reporter's notes, a lot of my sources unrelated to this story and a lot of confidential information to our news organization,” O’Keefe said. “If they can do this to me, if they can do this to this journalist and raid my home and take my reporter notes, they’ll do it to any journalist.”</p><p data-block-key=\"65rep\">In the Fox News interview, Paul Calli, one of the attorneys representing O’Keefe, said the search warrant cited misprision of — or knowingly helping to conceal — a felony, accessory after the fact and transporting materials across state lines as the basis of the warrant.</p><p data-block-key=\"p7jcb\">Calli denied allegations that his client or Project Veritas was involved in the theft of Biden’s diary. O’Keefe confirmed that Project Veritas was approached by individuals claiming to possess the diary in 2020, but said in his statement that they had declined to publish its contents and had turned the diary over to law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"w3wbm\">“It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” O’Keefe <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">said</a>, in reference to the judicial district in Manhattan. “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7n6v4\">Trevor Timm, the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is housed, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/trevortimm/status/1458497804310126593\">wrote on Twitter</a> that the raid of O’Keefe’s home was concerning.</p><p data-block-key=\"ceiyk\">“This is worrying from a press freedom perspective—unless & until DOJ releases evidence [Project] Veritas was directly involved in the theft,” Timm wrote. “Because if there is none, then the raids could very well be a violation of the Privacy Protection Act.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gz2q7\">The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 states that state and federal law enforcement cannot search for or seize journalistic work product or documentary materials under claims of probable cause if the alleged offense consists of the receipt, possession, communication or withholding of the materials or the information they contain.</p><p data-block-key=\"x4fgn\">“If you take it as true that they were given this diary by someone unknown to them and they chose not to publish it, this is kind of a classic journalistic situation,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “And what law enforcement should have done is issue a subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"brzcv\">Kirtley told the Tracker she agreed that regardless of the debates surrounding Project Veritas’ methods, the raid of O’Keefe’s home and the seizure of his phone could set a dangerous precedent.</p><p data-block-key=\"v3153\">“When we get in the business of government trying to decide when someone is a journalist and when someone isn’t, there’s always a danger that some definitions will be narrow and they will weed out a lot of people who deserve to have journalistic protections,” Kirtley said. “As troublesome as I find Project Veritas’ activities — and again, I do not defend any illegal conduct on their part at all — that is a separate question from whether or not they should be protected by these laws. And if they aren’t then I think all journalists are at risk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"l4pqv\">Another O’Keefe attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, told the Tracker that agents had executed the warrant despite O’Keefe’s attorneys having “indicated a willingness to cooperate and provide any information necessary.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ubide\">Dhillon <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pnjaban/status/1458904181540995079\">tweeted</a> on Nov. 11 that District Court Judge Analisa Torres had ordered that the Department of Justice halt its review of O’Keefe’s phones pending a ruling on their request for a special master — typically a retired judge without ties to the case — to be appointed to oversee the search of the devices.</p><p data-block-key=\"k3qa4\">"We are gratified that the Department of Justice has been ordered to stop extracting and reviewing confidential and privileged information obtained in their raids of our reporters, including legal, donor, and confidential source communications," Dhillon <a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/media/federal-judge-doj-project-veritas-james-okeefe-fbi-raid\">told Fox News</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mena\">In a <a href=\"https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-comment-fbi-raid-project-veritas-founder\">statement</a> released on Nov. 14, Brian Hauss of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern for the precedent that could be set by the case and urged the court to appoint a special master.</p><p data-block-key=\"4sf0m\">“Project Veritas has engaged in disgraceful deceptions, and reasonable observers might not consider their activities to be journalism at all,” wrote Hauss, who is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Nevertheless, the precedent set in this case could have serious consequences for press freedom. Unless the government had good reason to believe that Project Veritas employees were directly involved in the criminal theft of the diary, it should not have subjected them to invasive searches and seizures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"162bz\">As of publication date, the court had not yet ruled on a special master.</p><p data-block-key=\"ephx9\">The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York told the Tracker it does not provide comment on pending cases.</p><p data-block-key=\"nynka\">For the purposes of the Tracker, O’Keefe identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said the phones seized by the FBI contained his reporter’s notes. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"gf1qb\">Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, speaking here at the Conservative Political Action Conference in early 2021, was detained by FBI agents at his home and his phones seized on Nov. 6.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Federal Bureau of Investigation",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:21-mc-00813",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "in custody",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": true,
"actor": "law enforcement",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-12-21 00:00:00+00:00) Court allows government to review Project Veritas founder’s devices seized in raid"
],
"case_statuses": [
"dismissed"
],
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"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
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"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
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],
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"James O'Keefe (Project Veritas)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Former Project Veritas journalist detained, devices seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-journalist-detained-devices-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-01T17:44:55.187119Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-01T18:49:37.866827Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-01T18:49:37.735685Z",
"date": "2021-11-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bwts1\">On Nov. 4, 2021, FBI agents raided the New York City home of former Project Veritas journalist Spencer Meads as part of an investigation into the reported theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s daughter.</p><p data-block-key=\"57jjg\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> published on Project Veritas’ website, the search was one in a series of raids involving individuals affiliated with the conservative group, which describes itself as a nonprofit investigative organization. The group is known for its hidden-camera sting operations that typically target liberal politicians and nonprofits, as well as news organizations including CNN and NPR.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gg2g\">Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, whose <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/project-veritas-founder-detained-phones-seized-amid-fbi-raid-of-his-home/\">home was among those raided</a>, confirmed in an <a href=\"https://video.foxnews.com/v/6281036371001#sp=show-clips\">interview with Fox News</a> that Project Veritas was approached by individuals claiming to possess the diary in 2020, but said in a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> that they had declined to publish its contents and had turned the diary over to law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"26lpf\">“It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” O’Keefe said, in reference to the judicial district in Manhattan. “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ocuk\">In the early morning of Nov. 4, FBI agents broke down the door to Meads’ apartment and handcuffed him and his roommate for approximately 15 minutes, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Agents then searched the apartment for approximately three hours pursuant to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.8.1.pdf\">two search warrants</a> issued the previous day. According to the attached receipt for property, agents seized 13 cellphones, three laptops (one of which Meads later identified as belonging to his roommate) and two electronic storage devices.</p><p data-block-key=\"br97l\">Trevor Timm, the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, which operates the Tracker, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/trevortimm/status/1458497804310126593\">wrote on Twitter</a> that the raids were concerning.</p><p data-block-key=\"67p3j\">“This is worrying from a press freedom perspective—unless & until DOJ releases evidence [Project] Veritas was directly involved in the theft,” Timm wrote. “Because if there is none, then the raids could very well be a violation of the Privacy Protection Act.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9irbd\">The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 states that law enforcement officers cannot search for or seize journalistic work product or documentary materials under claims of probable cause if the alleged offense consists of the receipt, possession, communication or withholding of the materials or the information they contain.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gnhn\">“If you take it as true that they were given this diary by someone unknown to them and they chose not to publish it, this is kind of a classic journalistic situation,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “And what law enforcement should have done is issue a subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1l4gd\">Kirtley told the Tracker she agreed that regardless of the debates surrounding Project Veritas’ methods, the raids could set a dangerous precedent.</p><p data-block-key=\"a598f\">“When we get in the business of government trying to decide when someone is a journalist and when someone isn’t, there’s always a danger that some definitions will be narrow and they will weed out a lot of people who deserve to have journalistic protections,” Kirtley said. “As troublesome as I find Project Veritas’ activities — and again, I do not defend any illegal conduct on their part at all — that is a separate question from whether or not they should be protected by these laws. And if they aren’t then I think all journalists are at risk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"579v9\">Attorneys representing Meads, O’Keefe and a third staffer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-staffer-detained-devices-seized/\">Eric Cochran</a>, requested that the court appoint a special master — typically a retired judge without ties to the case — to be appointed to oversee the search of the devices seized from their homes.</p><p data-block-key=\"fn51\">“(T)he entire premise of utilizing a search warrant against a journalist to obtain newsgathering materials in connection with investigating the potential theft of property is grossly flawed,” Meads’ attorney Brian Dickerson <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.8.0.pdf\">wrote</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dds19\">District Court Judge Analisa Torres granted the motion on Dec. 8 and appointed a special master with the authority to review the materials to determine which ones were responsive to the search warrants and to rule on any privilege objections.</p><p data-block-key=\"vfam\">In mid-March 2022, according to court records, Microsoft notified Project Veritas that between January and April 2021, it had received a series of search warrants, subpoenas and orders from the government for email records connected to eight Project Veritas journalists, amounting to nearly 200,000 files, along with non-disclosure orders forbidding it from disclosing the demands. Microsoft threatened to file a lawsuit against the Justice Department over the non-disclosure orders, the New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/us/politics/project-veritas-emails.html\">reported</a>, at which point the Justice Department lifted the gag orders and Microsoft told Project Veritas about the warrants.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ikb7\">Project Veritas immediately applied to the court for an order forcing the government to stop reviewing the materials it had obtained from Microsoft and disclose who had reviewed the data, what they reviewed and when, arguing that the materials it had seized through the Microsoft warrants went far beyond the scope of the November 2021 search warrants. It does not appear from court records that the court ruled on this request.</p><p data-block-key=\"5t9dq\">Two individuals <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/us/politics/ashley-biden-diary-project-veritas-guilty.html\">pleaded guilty</a> in August 2022 to stealing Biden’s diary and selling it to Project Veritas. Federal prosecutors allege that after being approached about the diary, Project Veritas requested that the individuals steal additional belongings. Project Veritas maintains that it “was approached by sources who lawfully provided Ashley Biden’s diary and personal effects, representing that this property had been abandoned.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f002d\">In March 2023, the special master reported that about 1,000 documents were responsive to the November 2021 search warrants, only a small portion of which were determined to be potentially protected by attorney-client privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"5djp\">“The Government has established probable cause that the offenses under investigation were committed and that the seized devices contained evidence of that criminal conduct,” the special master wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"4g096\">The sources of the diary had already been identified and one was already cooperating with the government; therefore, the special master said, the typical assumption of confidentiality for communications between reporters and sources was moot. The seized materials were relevant to the government’s criminal investigation and not reasonably available from other sources and therefore were not covered by journalistic privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"5pdem\">Project Veritas objected on May 2 to the report. And a month later, Freedom of the Press Foundation co-authored <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24253862-143-letter-brief-of-amici-curiae-aclu-fpf-fire-in-re-search-warrant-dated-november-5-2021-no-21-mc-00813\">an amicus brief</a> in support of neither party, but asking the court “to affirm that the First Amendment protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess expressive materials of public concern, even if those materials were unlawfully obtained by a third party.”</p><p data-block-key=\"81rkd\">“It is undisputed that Project Veritas learned about the diary only after it was stolen,” the organizations wrote. “But the Report (perhaps inadvertently) suggests that the First Amendment does not protect Project Veritas’ subsequent receipt and possession of the diary, in addition to any other unlawful activity alleged here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c2c5m\">“The right to publish newsworthy information is of little use without the concomitant right to possess the information on which publication depends,” the brief argued. “Such a ruling would also undermine decades of precedents recognizing that constitutional protection for newsgathering, an obviously necessary antecedent to publication, is essential for the First Amendment’s Press Clause to have any effect.”</p><p data-block-key=\"spea\">On Dec. 21, the court overruled the objections and ordered that any of the materials not protected by attorney-client privilege on the special master’s list be turned over to investigators. Meads appealed the ruling and all three journalists asked the court to put a halt to the investigation while the appeal was pending; the court refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"f4i3p\">“The Court has already determined that disclosure of the Responsive Materials would not violate the First Amendment,” the judge wrote on Jan. 25, 2024. “The public interests in fairness and journalistic protections have been vindicated by the lengthy and robust process that the parties engaged in before the Special Master and the Court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a8h7i\">The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.82.0.pdf\">affirmed</a> the lower court’s order on July 23, rejecting Meads’ argument that it had incorrectly denied him the protection of journalistic privilege. Meads <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.85.0.pdf\">requested</a> a stay again on July 25, so that he could file a petition for a full panel hearing by the appellate court.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jgmc\">Meanwhile, RCFP had appealed the judge’s order that the search warrant affidavits be kept sealed. On April 16, the court ruled that the search warrant materials should be unsealed once the government’s investigation was finished, whether or not it ultimately brought charges against O’Keefe, Meads and Cochran.</p><p data-block-key=\"dp8bu\">For the purposes of the Tracker, Meads identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said the devices seized by the FBI contained information from his journalistic investigations as well as confidential source materials. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6p43n\">A portion of one of the search warrants served on former Project Veritas journalist Spencer Meads when FBI agents came to his New York City apartment, detained him and seized more than a dozen devices on Nov. 4, 2021.</p>",
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{
"title": "Former Project Veritas staffer detained, devices seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-staffer-detained-devices-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-01T18:48:13.694714Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-01T18:48:13.694714Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-01T18:48:08.544054Z",
"date": "2021-11-04",
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"city": "Mamaroneck",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3oj5y\">On Nov. 4, 2021, FBI agents raided the Mamaroneck, New York, home of former Project Veritas journalist Eric Cochran as part of an investigation into the reported theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s daughter.</p><p data-block-key=\"68mt7\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> published on Project Veritas’ website, the search was one in a series of raids involving individuals affiliated with the conservative group, which describes itself as a nonprofit investigative organization. The group is known for its hidden-camera sting operations that typically target liberal politicians and nonprofits, as well as news organizations including CNN and NPR.</p><p data-block-key=\"ecsia\">Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, whose <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/project-veritas-founder-detained-phones-seized-amid-fbi-raid-of-his-home/\">home was among those raided</a>, confirmed in an <a href=\"https://video.foxnews.com/v/6281036371001#sp=show-clips\">interview with Fox News</a> that Project Veritas was approached by individuals claiming to possess the diary in 2020, but said in a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> that they had declined to publish its contents and had turned the diary over to law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"3igrt\">“It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” O’Keefe said, in reference to the judicial district in Manhattan. “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”</p><p data-block-key=\"an363\">In the early morning of Nov. 4, FBI agents knocked on Cochran’s door; he answered with a recording device in hand, which an agent quickly removed, his attorney recounted in a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950.8.0.pdf\">court filing</a> reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Cochran was handcuffed and detained for approximately 15 minutes, and agents searched his home for around two-and-a-half hours pursuant to a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950.8.1.pdf\">search warrant</a> issued the previous day. According to the attached receipt for property, agents seized 22 storage devices, two cellphones and three computers, as well as multiple cords and adapters.</p><p data-block-key=\"ckl8\">Trevor Timm, the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, which operates the Tracker, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/trevortimm/status/1458497804310126593\">wrote on Twitter</a> that the raids were concerning.</p><p data-block-key=\"9sgda\">“This is worrying from a press freedom perspective—unless & until DOJ releases evidence [Project] Veritas was directly involved in the theft,” Timm wrote. “Because if there is none, then the raids could very well be a violation of the Privacy Protection Act.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8cur8\">The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 states that law enforcement officers cannot search for or seize journalistic work product or documentary materials under claims of probable cause if the alleged offense consists of the receipt, possession, communication or withholding of the materials or the information they contain.</p><p data-block-key=\"4np0\">“If you take it as true that they were given this diary by someone unknown to them and they chose not to publish it, this is kind of a classic journalistic situation,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “And what law enforcement should have done is issue a subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1jlh8\">Kirtley told the Tracker she agreed that regardless of the debates surrounding Project Veritas’ methods, the raids could set a dangerous precedent.</p><p data-block-key=\"bpgfd\">“When we get in the business of government trying to decide when someone is a journalist and when someone isn’t, there’s always a danger that some definitions will be narrow and they will weed out a lot of people who deserve to have journalistic protections,” Kirtley said. “As troublesome as I find Project Veritas’ activities — and again, I do not defend any illegal conduct on their part at all — that is a separate question from whether or not they should be protected by these laws. And if they aren’t then I think all journalists are at risk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"elfk7\">Attorneys representing Cochran, O’Keefe and a third staffer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-journalist-detained-devices-seized/\">Spencer Meads</a>, requested that the court appoint a special master — typically a retired judge without ties to the case — to be appointed to oversee the search of the devices seized from their homes.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bod3\">“(T)he entire premise of utilizing a search warrant against a journalist to obtain newsgathering materials in connection with investigating the potential theft of property is grossly flawed,” Meads’ attorney Brian Dickerson <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.8.0.pdf\">wrote</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"t15a\">District Court Judge Analisa Torres granted the motion on Dec. 8 and appointed a special master with the authority to review the materials to determine which ones were responsive to the search warrants and to rule on any privilege objections.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ablt\">In mid-March 2022, according to court records, Microsoft notified Project Veritas that between January and April 2021, it had received a series of search warrants, subpoenas and orders from the government for email records connected to eight Project Veritas journalists, amounting to nearly 200,000 files, along with non-disclosure orders forbidding it from disclosing the demands. Microsoft threatened to file a lawsuit against the Justice Department over the non-disclosure orders, the New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/us/politics/project-veritas-emails.html\">reported</a>, at which point the Justice Department lifted the gag orders and Microsoft told Project Veritas about the warrants.</p><p data-block-key=\"79maa\">Project Veritas immediately applied to the court for an order forcing the government to stop reviewing the materials it had obtained from Microsoft and disclose who had reviewed the data, what they reviewed and when, arguing that the materials it had seized through the Microsoft warrants went far beyond the scope of the November 2021 search warrants. It does not appear from court records that the court ruled on this request.</p><p data-block-key=\"b40mv\">Two individuals <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/us/politics/ashley-biden-diary-project-veritas-guilty.html\">pleaded guilty</a> in August 2022 to stealing Biden’s diary and selling it to Project Veritas. Federal prosecutors allege that after being approached about the diary, Project Veritas requested that the individuals steal additional belongings. Project Veritas maintains that it “was approached by sources who lawfully provided Ashley Biden’s diary and personal effects, representing that this property had been abandoned.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c1n31\">In March 2023, the special master reported that about 1,000 documents were responsive to the November 2021 search warrants, only a small portion of which were determined to be potentially protected by attorney-client privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"detek\">“The Government has established probable cause that the offenses under investigation were committed and that the seized devices contained evidence of that criminal conduct,” the special master wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"87h44\">The sources of the diary had already been identified and one was already cooperating with the government; therefore, the special master said, the typical assumption of confidentiality for communications between reporters and sources was moot. The seized materials were relevant to the government’s criminal investigation and not reasonably available from other sources and therefore were not covered by journalistic privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"9qj75\">Project Veritas objected on May 2 to the report. And a month later, Freedom of the Press Foundation co-authored <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24253862-143-letter-brief-of-amici-curiae-aclu-fpf-fire-in-re-search-warrant-dated-november-5-2021-no-21-mc-00813\">an amicus brief</a> in support of neither party, but asking the court “to affirm that the First Amendment protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess expressive materials of public concern, even if those materials were unlawfully obtained by a third party.”</p><p data-block-key=\"71nec\">“It is undisputed that Project Veritas learned about the diary only after it was stolen,” the organizations wrote. “But the Report (perhaps inadvertently) suggests that the First Amendment does not protect Project Veritas’ subsequent receipt and possession of the diary, in addition to any other unlawful activity alleged here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cqhi9\">“The right to publish newsworthy information is of little use without the concomitant right to possess the information on which publication depends,” the brief argued. “Such a ruling would also undermine decades of precedents recognizing that constitutional protection for newsgathering, an obviously necessary antecedent to publication, is essential for the First Amendment’s Press Clause to have any effect.”</p><p data-block-key=\"edm2p\">On Dec. 21, the court overruled the objections and ordered that any of the materials not protected by attorney-client privilege on the special master’s list be turned over to investigators. Meads appealed the ruling and all three journalists asked the court to put a halt to the investigation while the appeal was pending; the court refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"28jdv\">“The Court has already determined that disclosure of the Responsive Materials would not violate the First Amendment,” the judge wrote on Jan. 25, 2024. “The public interests in fairness and journalistic protections have been vindicated by the lengthy and robust process that the parties engaged in before the Special Master and the Court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cs6dd\">The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.82.0.pdf\">affirmed</a> the lower court’s order on July 23, and Meads quickly <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.85.0.pdf\">requested</a> a stay again in order to file a petition for a full panel hearing by the appellate court.</p><p data-block-key=\"2hles\">Meanwhile, RCFP had appealed the judge’s order that the search warrant affidavits be kept sealed. On April 16, the court ruled that the search warrant materials should be unsealed once the government’s investigation was finished, whether or not it ultimately brought charges against Cochran, Meads and O’Keefe.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gs09\">For the purposes of the Tracker, Cochran identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said the devices seized by the FBI contained information from his journalistic investigations as well as confidential source materials. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nvvhd\">A portion of the search warrant served on former Project Veritas journalist Eric Cochran when FBI agents came to his home in Mamaroneck, New York, handcuffed and detained him, and seized more than 30 pieces of equipment on Nov. 4, 2021.</p>",
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{
"title": "Former BuzzFeed reporter ordered to sit for deposition in lawsuit against Kevin Spacey",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-buzzfeed-reporter-ordered-to-sit-for-deposition-in-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-07T19:06:19.330496Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-05-22T19:31:08.131905Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-05-22T19:31:08.007531Z",
"date": "2021-11-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bp6kf\">Former BuzzFeed News reporter Adam Vary was subpoenaed for testimony on Nov. 4, 2021, as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit filed against the actor Kevin Spacey. On Aug. 9, 2022, a district judge granted a motion to compel Vary to partially comply with the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"apr1j\">According to a September 2020 <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18632797/6/1/rapp-v-fowler/\">civil complaint</a>, Anthony Rapp was a 14-year-old actor in a Broadway play in 1986 when Spacey befriended him and invited him to a party at his New York City apartment, where Rapp claims Spacey sexually abused him.</p><p data-block-key=\"677r7\">Rapp approached journalist Vary, who was also a long-time friend, in 2017 about his claims against Spacey. Vary then wrote an article about the allegations <a href=\"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/anthony-rapp-kevin-spacey-made-sexual-advance-when-i-was-14\">published by BuzzFeed</a> in late October 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi8lo\">According to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Vary was issued two subpoenas by Spacey’s attorneys during the course of discovery. In this first subpoena, issued on Nov. 4, 2021, Vary was ordered to sit for a deposition. While he complied with the order the following month, Vary refused to answer questions about the BuzzFeed article or any unpublished materials he gathered in the course of reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"9h1sc\">Spacey’s attorneys issued a second subpoena in December 2021, requesting Vary provide documents, including copies of confidential communications and reporting materials. The Tracker documented that subpoena <a href=\"/all-incidents/former-buzzfeed-reporter-ordered-to-submit-documents-in-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey/\">here</a>. In February 2022, Spacey’s attorneys <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186.154.0.pdf\">filed a motion to compel</a> Vary to sit for an additional deposition after his refusal to answer questions about the article during the first deposition.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2ck7\">New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186.222.0_1.pdf\">ruled on Aug. 9, 2022</a>, that while Vary does not have to produce privileged materials, he must sit for a supplementary deposition on or before Sept. 9 to answer all questions he had refused to answer during his first deposition as well as questions about the newly produced documents.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Journalist subpoenaed by Facebook, seeking years of communications",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-by-facebook-seeking-years-of-communications/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-19T17:29:16.658901Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T00:04:48.164350Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T00:04:48.070492Z",
"date": "2021-11-01",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Seattle",
"longitude": -122.33207,
"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6h5c7\">Seattle-based journalist Eli Sanders reported that in November 2021, Facebook issued him a subpoena seeking nearly four years of his reporting records.</p><p data-block-key=\"9doe5\">The social media company was under investigation by the state of Washington for allegedly selling state political ads without maintaining data as is required under <a href=\"https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.17A.345\">state law</a>. Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a <a href=\"https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-sues-facebook-repeatedly-violating-washington-campaign-finance-law\">campaign finance lawsuit</a> against Facebook on April 14, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"7he9a\">According to his Substack newsletter, <a href=\"https://wildwest.substack.com/p/facebook-subpoenaed-my-reporting\">Wild West</a>, Sanders had requested that Facebook send him its political ad data. When the company refused to do so, he filed complaints with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.</p><p data-block-key=\"2n1or\">Sanders did not respond to emailed requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs33c\">Sanders wrote that in November 2020 the state informed him that he was being listed as a trial witness in the campaign finance lawsuit, citing his first-hand experience with Facebook’s failure to comply with state disclosure law. In November 2021, attorneys for the social media company issued him a subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"fivu\">According to Sanders, the subpoena sought documents from December 2017 to the present, including his reporting materials on Facebook political ads in the state, its failure to disclose information on those ads, communications with "any other person or entity" about the state's disclosure law, any communications between him and five other named sources from reporting on the topic across multiple years plus "anyone acting on their behalf."</p><p data-block-key=\"7u7m0\">Sanders wrote that he sought legal support from the Substack Defender program, and his attorney was able to reach an agreement with Facebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"4nkid\">According to court records on the <a href=\"https://dja-prd-ecexap1.kingcounty.gov/?q=node/411&199355=411110\">King County Superior Court system</a> reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, attorneys for the state and Facebook filed a joint stipulation on April 13, 2022, specifying that Sanders would only be asked to testify about his requests to Facebook for political ad data and not about his sources. The stipulation also detailed that Facebook — which was then under the newly named Meta umbrella — would drop its document subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"t0vr\">“What I could not understand was why Facebook, to prove its (ultimately failed) argument that Washington’s disclosure law can’t withstand constitutional legal scrutiny, would need to dig through years of my reporting records,” Sanders wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"asq68\">According to his newsletter, Sanders sat for a “relatively brief” deposition a few weeks later, in late April or early May. The judge in the case ruled on Sept. 2 that Facebook had repeatedly violated that state disclosure law, rejecting the company’s request to gut the finance transparency law, <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/02/facebook-political-ads-details/\">The Washington Post reported</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Federal judge upholds subpoena demanding unreleased materials from Chicago’s CBS2 News",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/federal-judge-upholds-subpoena-demanding-unreleased-materials-from-chicagos-cbs2-news/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-12T16:45:02.203636Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-13T21:17:50.995939Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-13T21:17:50.831555Z",
"date": "2021-10-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o7xfj\">A federal judge in Chicago, Illinois, upheld a subpoena on April 29, 2022, compelling CBS2 News to produce raw, unpublished video and audio footage as part of a lawsuit brought by a mother on behalf of her son.</p><p data-block-key=\"rbr4\"><a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/school-beating-ruling.pdf\">According to court documents</a>, the subpoena ordered CBS2 News to produce footage collected after a reporter interviewed the child, who was allegedly beaten in a school bathroom with belts provided by his teacher, and the child’s relative, who is accused of the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lhti\">The subpoena was originally issued to CBS2 News’ parent company, ViacomCBS, in June 2021 but was withdrawn on Oct. 21 after ViacomCBS objected, arguing that the media company was not the custodian of the footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"crn2d\">On Oct. 26, lawyers for the plaintiff reissued identical subpoenas to a <a href=\"/all-incidents/subpoena-seeking-unreleased-footage-issued-to-former-editor-at-cbs2-news/\">former CBS2 news editor</a>, <a href=\"/all-incidents/subpoena-seeking-unreleased-footage-issued-to-chicago-cbs2-news-reporter/\">reporter Dave Savini</a> and redirected ViacomCBS’ original subpoena to CBS Broadcasting, Inc. also known as CBS2 News, for footage gathered for <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMGjihk6I8\">a segment that aired</a> in February 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"d047m\">CBS2 objected to all of the subpoenas, stating that all materials were privileged newsgathering information. Attorneys for CBS2 also cited federal and <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/illinois/#:~:text=The%20Illinois%20Reporter's%20Privilege%20Statute,either%20that%20%E2%80%9Cdisclosure%20of%20the\">state reporter’s privilege statutes</a>, saying that collecting the files would be “unduly burdensome to produce.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fkl83\">Plaintiffs in the lawsuit then filed a motion to compel CBS2 to produce the footage but agreed to narrow the scope, demanding only the video and audio outtake recordings of interviews with the child and accused assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi6l3\">In her decision, United States Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan upheld the CBS2 subpoena and granted the motion to compel. Finnegan wrote that “there is no federal common-law reporter’s privilege applicable in this case, and CBS2 cannot withhold the requested audio/video outtakes on this basis.” The court ordered the outlet to produce the unreleased footage by May 13, 2022. The status of the other subpoenas is unknown.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"384sj\">A portion of the subpoena issued to CBS2 News seeking unpublished video and audio footage as part of a lawsuit against the Chicago Department of Education. — SCREENSHOT</p>",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
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"(2022-10-20 00:00:00+00:00) Chicago CBS station ordered to turn over raw interview footage"
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"targeted_institutions": [
"WBBM-TV"
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"upheld"
],
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},
{
"title": "Salon reporter assaulted while documenting Virginia gubernatorial campaign rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/salon-reporter-assaulted-while-documenting-virginia-gubernatorial-campaign-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-26T20:37:08.271214Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T17:03:14.567442Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T17:03:14.454950Z",
"date": "2021-10-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Burke",
"longitude": -77.27165,
"latitude": 38.79345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2mam6\">Zachary Petrizzo, an investigative reporter for Salon, was assaulted by a man while documenting a campaign rally for Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin in Burke, Virginia, on Oct. 19, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"o4dle\">Petrizzo told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he had arrived to cover the event and was speaking with Youngkin supporters and counterprotesters supporting his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, some of whom had set up a large inflatable chicken in the likeness of former President Donald Trump.</p><p data-block-key=\"cdo6k\">“This guy comes by initially, starts revving his engine in front of these McAuliffe supporters, these older women, turns his wheels towards them, and starts yelling at these women like he has road rage” Petrizzo said. He said the man drove away but quickly returned, and turned his ire toward the reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"pzzae\">“I’m standing pretty far away on a grassy patch and he approaches me and strikes me with his left hand, and strikes my camera and my hands,” Petrizzo said. “The whole thing caught me pretty off guard just because I didn’t think he’d lunge and actually strike.”<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"ep2sn\">In a video <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1450608362060754944\">posted to Twitter</a> following the incident, a man can be seen approaching Petrizzo and shouting, “Get rid of that thing! You stupid fool, get rid of it!” referring to his camera. The man then swings at Petrizzo’s hand and cellphone, which he was using to film.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An irate Glenn Youngkin supporter just came over and punched my hand. <a href=\"https://t.co/PdaMAtxE43\">pic.twitter.com/PdaMAtxE43</a></p>— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1450608362060754944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 19, 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=\"rvcty\">He told the Tracker he was wearing a large press badge at the time of the attack and that his phone was not damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"1kcl0\">Petrizzo <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1450626623083061255\">wrote</a> later that evening that he had filed a police report about the incident and that Fairfax County police <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1450634734002966529\">were able to identify the man</a> as a resident of nearby Annandale. Petrizzo told the Tracker he does not plan to press charges, but said he was concerned about the political climate that contributed to the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"db6ke\">“It highlights a political temperature that seemingly after Jan. 6 has continued to ratchet only louder and higher, in terms of these pro-Trump events,” Petrizzo said. “You really see the anger still that perhaps Trump sparked, but that is very much the Republican base: upset and willing to go to these extreme measures, whether it’s yelling at old women, revving your engine or striking a reporter.”</p></div>",
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"name": "Virginia",
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"tags": [
"election",
"political rally"
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Zachary Petrizzo (Salon)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance journalist questioned about journalism at Portland airport",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-questioned-about-journalism-at-portland-airport/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-21T16:25:41.843515Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-10-21T16:26:14.693392Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-10-21T16:26:14.640930Z",
"date": "2021-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Freelance journalist Sergio Olmos said he was subjected to secondary screening and questioning about his journalistic credentials while re-entering the United States in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 18, 2021.</p><p>Olmos, who did not respond to a request for comment, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1450285588196708355\">wrote on Twitter</a> shortly after 7 p.m. that he “went through an extended security check” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after landing at Portland International Airport.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just went through an extended security check at CBP at PDX where the officer asked, with notepad in hand, where I went to journalism school. <br><br>I said it was none of his business, and so out came my underwear from my backpack.</p>— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1450285588196708355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 19, 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>“The officer asked, with notepad in hand, where I went to journalism school,” Olmos wrote. “I said it was none of his business, and so out came my underwear from my backpack.”</p><p>In a subsequent tweet, Olmos said a CBP officer searched his bag for approximately an hour with a supervisor watching, and refused to provide Olmos his name when asked. It was not immediately clear from Olmos’s posts whether he plans to file a complaint with the CBP Office of Internal Affairs.</p><p>The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented nearly 50 instances of journalists stopped at the border for secondary screening, asked intrusive questions about their work or been subjected to searches or seizures of their electronic devices. Find all instances of border stops <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/border-stop/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
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"Sergio Olmos (Freelance)"
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{
"title": "Production company subpoenaed for documentary footage in criminal case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/production-company-subpoenaed-for-documentary-footage-in-criminal-case/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-02T19:27:18.975782Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-02T19:27:18.975782Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-02T19:27:18.902097Z",
"date": "2021-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2us57\">Painless Television, Inc., a California-based production company, was issued a subpoena by the state’s attorney of Cook County for unaired documentary footage as part of a wrongful-conviction hearing in Chicago, Illinois, on Oct. 18, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"3h117\">An attorney for the media company, Steven Mandell, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the subpoena requested both published and unpublished footage from an episode of “Reasonable Doubt,” which aired on Investigation Discovery. The <a href=\"https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/video/reasonable-doubt-investigation-discovery/it-wasnt-me\">episode</a> investigated assertions that Roosevelt Myles was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1996, and included interviews with his family members and neighbors, including a witness who claimed he could provide Myles an alibi. The episode aired in May 2020 and Myles was released from prison that July. The subpoena was issued by an assistant state’s attorney as part of the post-conviction hearing discovery process.</p><p data-block-key=\"2d240\">Mandell said Painless Television produced the documentary for Discovery Channel, which was itself subpoenaed in July 2021. The Tracker has documented that subpoena <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/discovery-channel-subpoenaed-for-documentary-footage-in-criminal-case\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7305p\">“One of the things that the prosecutor did was not only ask for the as-broadcast version of the program but also any outtakes, including any footage of witnesses that were not broadcast,” Mandell said. “In response, the producers at Discovery were willing to give the as-broadcast version but maintained — appropriately in my view — that the outtakes were protected by the shield law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e70km\">Discovery and Painless Television are headquartered in New York and California, respectively, states that have some of the strongest shield laws for members of the press in the country, Mandell said. Illinois, on the other hand, has a qualified privilege meaning that it can be overcome or “divested” under certain circumstances.</p><p data-block-key=\"f0bfa\">“We argued that if there’s a public interest involved it’s to protect the press,” Mandell said. “One of the roles the press plays is to shine a light on government, not to assist or facilitate government action. To preserve the flow of information from confidential or even non-confidential sources, the press has to assert its privilege and not be viewed as an arm or an instrument of the police.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1eabb\">On June 27, 2022, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Carol Howard struck down the subpoenas against both Discovery and Painless Television. According to a <a href=\"https://medialaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/07.07.22illinois.pdf\">court transcript</a> reviewed by the Tracker, Howard found that the state’s attorney had failed to meet the requirements to overcome the reporter’s privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmi4n\">“The State has not set forth the specific information that is sought and why that information is relevant to the proceedings. The State cannot say with any amount of specificity exactly what they are seeking,” Howard said. “And the State simply has not met the third requirement that requires you to exhaust all available sources of the information.”</p><p data-block-key=\"53qc4\">Painless Television did not respond to messages requesting comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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"Painless Television, Inc."
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{
"title": "Ransomware attack on Sinclair Broadcast Group interrupts dozens of its broadcasts",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ransomware-attack-on-sinclair-broadcast-group-interrupts-dozens-of-its-broadcasts/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-03T15:30:29.857279Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-03T15:30:29.857279Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-03T15:30:29.806173Z",
"date": "2021-10-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Hunt Valley",
"longitude": -76.64108,
"latitude": 39.49983,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e9ew6\">Sinclair Broadcast Group, a major media conglomerate with <a href=\"https://sbgi.net/\">185 TV stations across 86 U.S. markets</a>, was targeted by a ransomware attack on Oct. 16, 2021. </p><p data-block-key=\"45v86\">In ransomware attacks, hackers use malicious software, or “malware,” to seize control of a company’s IT and digital assets and demand the company pay a ransom for their return.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekl2t\">In a <a href=\"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211018005490/en/Sinclair-Broadcast-Group-Provides-Information-On-Cybersecurity-Incident\">press release</a>, Sinclair said the cyberattack infected operational servers and workstations, disrupting many of its local news stations. Sinclair also said data was stolen from the company’s network and was working with law enforcement and government agencies to identify the type of information contained in it.</p><p data-block-key=\"593pn\">“While the Company is focused on actively managing this security event, the event has caused – and may continue to cause – disruption to parts of the Company’s business, including certain aspects of its provision of local advertisements by its local broadcast stations on behalf of its customers,” according to the release. Sinclair did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"17j1j\">According to <a href=\"https://therecord.media/sinclair-tv-stations-disrupted-across-the-us-in-apparent-ransomware-attack/\">The Record</a>, the ransomware attack delayed dozens of local morning shows, news segments and professional sports from airing on Oct. 17. </p><p data-block-key=\"20i8u\">In its <a href=\"https://sbgi.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/4Q21-Earnings-PR_FINAL.pdf\">fourth quarter earnings statement</a>, Sinclair said it did not pay any ransom to restore the networks but the incident resulted in a $63 million loss in advertising revenue. </p><p data-block-key=\"dip9v\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents similar <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?tags=cyberattack&categories=\">cyberattacks</a> that interrupt the distribution of news, including when hackers targeted <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/apparent-ransomware-attack-forces-local-tv-stations-offline-in-florida-north-carolina-and-pennsylvania/\">Cox Media Group</a> with ransomware in June 2021 and impacted more than a dozen Cox-owned TV and radio stations.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Maryland",
"abbreviation": "MD"
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"Sinclair Broadcast Group"
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"tags": [
"cyberattack"
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
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{
"title": "Man who threatened CNN and ABC anchors pleads guilty to federal charge",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-who-threatened-cnn-and-abc-anchors-pleads-guilty-to-federal-charge/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-22T14:03:33.476822Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-04T21:39:26.921165Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-04T21:39:26.784942Z",
"date": "2021-10-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"iic6z\">A California man pleaded guilty on Oct. 15, 2021 to a <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/california-man-pleads-guilty-making-threats-directed-against-journalist-relating\">federal charge</a> of sending threatening messages to a family member of a journalist reported to be George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. His indictment revealed the man had also messaged nearly 50 politicians and journalists, among them Brian Stelter of CNN.</p><p data-block-key=\"sf3hv\">According to the Department of Justice, Robert Lemke <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/california-man-charged-making-threats-directed-against-new-york-city-based-us\">was arrested and charged</a> on Jan. 26 by federal prosecutors with making threatening interstate communications to multiple victims from November 2020 through early January 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"q1gdc\">Prosecutors said Lemke was angered by the results of the 2020 presidential election and allegedly sent threatening text messages to reporters, their family members and to Democratic <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/15/politics/california-robert-lemke-court-hearing-2020-election/index.html?utm_term=16345135079184ac763388ee6&utm_source=cnn_Reliable+Sources+-+October+17%2C+2021&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=TPnnrGs53k51u%2FOaCM5l9bSo3VBcbL6r37SgYqhDPD8XqXw7GoP5eukUjpmt45vd&bt_ts=1634513507920\">New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries</a>, among others.</p><p data-block-key=\"lly7c\">“Rather than peaceably disagree, Lemke allegedly threatened to harm those individuals’ families, demanding they retract their statements,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said.</p><p data-block-key=\"0590g\">Prosecutors said Lemke used at least three different phone numbers and various electronic accounts in an attempt to mask his identity when sending the threatening messages.</p><p data-block-key=\"tucy8\">Following Lemke’s guilty plea, Stelter <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2021/10/17/brian-stelter-election-reporting-threats-rs-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/business-media/\">revealed on his CNN talk show Reliable Sources</a> on Oct. 17 that he was who prosecutors had labeled as “victim-1” in Lemke’s indictment. According to Stelter, Lemke sent him and his brother a series of text messages, including one that read, “You can either choose to dig the hole deeper or stop digging. Because we're not fu***** around.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1nzs1\">Stelter said on his program that in addition to those messages, Lemke sent voice messages and a picture of his father's gravesite before moving on to other victims, which Stelter said included other CNN journalists, politicians and a nonprofit CEO. He did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"rl156\">In thanking the FBI and prosecutors for their work, Stelter said harassment of journalists was pervasive.</p><p data-block-key=\"aopkf\">“Threats and harassment hinder a free press,” he said. “So many reporters have stories like this one. They’re usually all bottled up, never shared with the public and never prosecuted by authorities. But this case, with dozens of victims, can be a statement.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h0vxv\">While the indictment does not name ABC chief anchor and Good Morning America co-host Stephanopoulos as one of Lemke’s victims, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/nyregion/hakeem-jeffries-george-stephanopoulos-threat.html\">The New York Times</a> reported that Lemke sent text messages to a relative of Stephanopoulos that read “Your brother is putting your entire family at risk with his lies and other words. We are armed and nearby your house.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5xavy\">Lemke's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 14, 2021. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
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"(2021-12-20 12:46:00+00:00) Man who threatened CNN and ABC anchors, politicians sentenced to three years in prison"
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020"
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"George Stephanopoulos (ABC News)",
"Brian Stelter (CNN)",
"Don Lemon (CNN)"
],
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{
"title": "Journalist sues Indiana attorney general over exclusion from press conferences",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-sues-indiana-attorney-general-over-exclusion-from-press-conferences/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-11T17:47:50.715837Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-28T20:28:38.073406Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-28T20:28:37.953904Z",
"date": "2021-10-14",
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"city": "Indianapolis",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qorq0\">Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, editor and publisher of the online news site IndyPolitics.org, said he was singled out and barred from attending a press conference with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on Oct. 14, 2021. Since then, according to <a href=\"https://www.aclu-in.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/dkt_1_-_complaint_5.pdf\">a suit filed</a> by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana against Rokita on Shabazz’s behalf on Feb. 7, 2022, he has been barred from attending any of the attorney general’s subsequent press conferences.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2j5n\">Shabazz, who is also an attorney, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had a friendly relationship with Rokita until 2018, when he moderated a Republican Senate primary debate in which Rokita was a candidate. Rokita objected to Shabazz’s involvement, saying that the debate shouldn’t be led by “liberal media figures.” <a href=\"https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/rokita-sued-over-barring-journalist-from-press-conferences\">According to NPR-affiliate WFYI</a>, Shabazz is widely considered to have a conservative leaning.</p><p data-block-key=\"520jm\">While Rokita lost that race, he was elected to Indiana Attorney General in 2020. Following Rokita’s inauguration in January 2021, Shabazz said he reached out to Rokita’s office to reestablish a professional relationship but didn’t receive a response.</p><p data-block-key=\"4gbfe\">In October, Rokita’s office announced that he would hold one of his first press conferences, specifying that it was for credentialed media and that press had to RSVP to attend; Shabazz said he followed the instructions, believing it was a newsworthy event.</p><p data-block-key=\"dtnk6\">When he arrived at the Indiana Statehouse for the Oct. 14 press conference, Shabazz said he was told he had been denied credentials for that event and would not be allowed to attend. He told the Tracker he had his press pass issued by the Indiana Department of Administration, but that it made no difference.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ke35\">In the wake of the incident, Shabazz said he emailed the attorney general’s press secretary asking for the criteria it uses for issuing media credentials and, when he received no response, attempted to access the same information through a public records request. Shabazz said received a response confirming that the request was received, but as of February 2022 has not received any additional information.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ss2l\">The attorney general’s office disparaged Shabazz and his credentials in a statement issued after the press conference, WTHR <a href=\"https://www.wthr.com/article/news/politics/aclu-joins-suit-against-ag-for-barring-journalist-abdul-hakim-shabazz-from-news-conferences-todd-rokita-indiana/531-059cf15a-953f-4245-87c5-c3d9479c2ed8\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6fmkq\">“Our press conferences are meant for actual journalists reporting on real issues, instead of gossip columnists… Therefore, an OAG press conference concerning a serious investigation is not an appropriate venue for Shabazz,” the statement reads. It also asserts that the attorney general’s press conferences are livestreamed on Facebook, and Shabazz can view them like any member of the public.</p><p data-block-key=\"pshu\">“Shabazz has not been denied any public records or been prevented from attending any official public-noticed meetings.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ctnu\">Shabazz told the Tracker that while he does publish a newsletter called Cheat Sheet that involves statehouse gossip, it is only one facet of the reporting work he does. In addition to his work with IndyPolitics.org, Shabazz is the host of a program on WIBC-FM and is a frequent contributor with Fox 59, WISH TV and the Indianapolis Business Journal.</p><p data-block-key=\"9n13l\">The ACLU of Indiana’s lawsuit, filed in February 2022, said Rokita’s decision to ban Shabazz is not “viewpoint neutral”:</p><p data-block-key=\"4rvlb\">“The Attorney General’s decision to ban Mr. Shabazz is based on either personal antipathy of the Attorney General towards Mr. Shabazz or on the Attorney General’s opinion that Mr. Shabazz’s reporting is too ‘liberal,’ or perhaps based on both,” the lawsuit states.</p><p data-block-key=\"afmsr\">Rokita’s press secretary, Kelly Stevenson, said in a <a href=\"https://fox59.com/news/aclu-sues-ag-rokita-for-barring-journalist-from-news-conferences/\">statement</a> to FOX59 that the office is considering filing a counterclaim and will “aggressively” defend its actions. The Tracker reached out to the Attorney General’s office via email and did not receive a response as of publication.</p><p data-block-key=\"5cjv3\">“We are confident that our actions are legally sound and needed to protect staff against professional harassment,” the statement said. “As one of the most accessible and highly covered elected officials in the state, it’s clear that Hoosiers know what our Attorney General is doing on their behalf, and they appreciate it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"30a4l\">Shabazz told the Tracker that not being allowed in the room hampers his ability to observe body language and prevents him from asking questions in real time. His hope with the lawsuit is to regain that access.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcn7i\">“I want to make sure every elected official knows that you cannot tear up the First Amendment,” Shabazz said. “It was a government conference in a government building and I had every right to be there.”</p></div>",
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"name": "Indiana",
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"(2022-03-28 11:43:00+00:00) Lawsuit against Indiana AG dismissed; barred journalist can attend future press conferences"
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{
"title": "Missouri governor labels reporter a hacker, threatens criminal prosecution",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/missouri-governor-labels-reporter-a-hacker-threatens-criminal-prosecution/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-18T20:22:17.595497Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-02-16T16:50:36.317184Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-02-16T16:50:36.081460Z",
"date": "2021-10-13",
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"city": "St. Louis",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6h0wf\">Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven accused St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist Josh Renaud of “hacking” a state website on Oct. 13, 2021, after Renaud reported a flaw in the website that exposed educators’ Social Security numbers. The following day, Parson announced an investigation into the alleged hacking and said the state would pursue criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit against Renaud and the newspaper, the Post-Dispatch <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/parson-issues-legal-threat-against-post-dispatch-after-database-flaws-exposed/article_93f4d7d6-f792-5b1b-b556-00b5cac23af3.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bub12\">Renaud discovered the vulnerability on a website maintained by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education while using a web application that allowed the public to search teacher certifications and credentials. While no private information was publicly visible, the Social Security numbers of 100,000 educators were contained in the HTML source code of the pages.</p><p data-block-key=\"dc89a\">After identifying the flaw on Oct. 12, the Post-Dispatch reported the vulnerability to DESE and held <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-teachers-social-security-numbers-at-risk-on-state-agencys-website/article_f3339700-ece0-54a1-9a45-f300321b7c82.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=undefined_stltoday\">Renaud’s report</a> until the information was removed from the state website, according to the article.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ld8c\">In a <a href=\"https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/educator-data-incident-commissioner-letter\">letter sent to educators</a> the following day, Vandeven characterized the journalist’s actions as hacking, though she did not identify Renaud by name. Vandeven alleged that, “Through a multi-step process, an individual took the records of at least three educators, unencrypted the source code from the webpage, and viewed the social security (SSN) of those specific educators.”</p><p data-block-key=\"y13uv\">A cybersecurity professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Shaji Khan, told the Post-Dispatch the data on the website had been encoded but not encrypted, making it easily accessible by anyone with a basic knowledge of web design and functionality.</p><p data-block-key=\"i6e47\">On Oct. 14, Parson also asserted that Renaud was a hacker during a <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/parson-issues-legal-threat-against-post-dispatch-after-database-flaws-exposed/article_93f4d7d6-f792-5b1b-b556-00b5cac23af3.html\">press conference</a>, and said he had referred the case to the Cole County prosecutor and the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Digital Forensic Unit.</p><p data-block-key=\"36ywh\">“This individual is not a victim. They were acting against the state agency to compromise teachers’ personal information in an attempt to embarrass the state and sell headlines for their news outlet,” Parson said. “We will not let this crime against Missouri teachers go unpunished and we refuse to let them be a pawn in the news outlet’s political vendetta. Not only are we going to hold this individual accountable but we will also be holding accountable all those who aided this individual and the media corporation that employs them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vdh7z\"><a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/10/14/mike-parson-st-louis-post-dispatch-hacker/\">According to The Washington Post</a>, the governor’s office indicated that Renaud may have violated a <a href=\"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=569.095\">Missouri law</a> against “tampering with computer data” — a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine — and that another Missouri code <a href=\"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.525\">allows a civil suit</a> for damages.</p><p data-block-key=\"vnoe4\">When reached via email, Parson’s Communications Director Kelli R. Jones said she could not comment any more than what was already public, but provided the same Missouri statutes and a link to the <a href=\"https://oa.mo.gov/commissioners-office/news/state-missouri-addresses-data-vulnerability\">Office of Administration’s press release</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4e2az\">“This information was not freely available, and there was no authorization given to tamper with computer data,” Jones said.</p><p data-block-key=\"j1427\">DESE Chief Communications Officer Mallory McGowin also declined to comment further and pointed to the OA press release, noting it is where the Information Technology Services Division is housed.</p><p data-block-key=\"kjru7\">In response to an emailed request for comment from Renaud, the Post-Dispatch also declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. In a statement provided by the outlet from Post-Dispatch Attorney Joe Martineau, he said Renaud acted responsibly by reporting his findings.</p><p data-block-key=\"yueqz\">“A hacker is someone who subverts computer security with malicious or criminal intent. Here, there was no breach of any firewall or security and certainly no malicious intent,” Martineau said. “For DESE to deflect its failures by referring to this as ‘hacking' is unfounded. Thankfully, these failures were discovered.”</p><p data-block-key=\"giv2k\">Freedom of the Press Foundation said Parson’s threats illustrate a fundamental misunderstanding of digital security.</p><p data-block-key=\"z1w3l\">“Whether expressly or unintentionally, this is an effort to intimidate a reporter who is doing important reporting and uncovering a newsworthy story,” said Parker Higgins, advocacy director at FPF, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is housed.</p><p data-block-key=\"u58kl\">In an <a href=\"https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-parson-attacks-reporter-who-discovered-teachers-personal-data-on-state-website/article_27768b8a-28eb-5aeb-b702-d9dfc3df1b2b.html\">editorial</a> responding to Vandeven’s assertions and Parson’s threats, the Post-Dispatch defended Renaud’s actions of alerting the state to the vulnerability and holding the story until the web feature was disabled.</p><p data-block-key=\"9b3w2\">“Predatory hackers don’t behave that way. Responsible journalists do. This is watchdog journalism at its finest,” the Editorial Board wrote. “The reactions by Parson and Vandeven seem designed to distract the public and hide the state’s embarrassment over its own gross negligence.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d53gc\"></p><p data-block-key=\"lisn9\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect comments from the Missouri governor’s communications office and Margie Vandeven’s communications team.</i></p></div>",
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"(2022-02-11 11:14:00+00:00) Prosecutor declines to charge for St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter labeled a ‘hacker’ by Missouri governor"
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{
"title": "Univision reporter ‘blocked, shoved’ by Miami mayor’s security",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-reporter-blocked-shoved-by-miami-mayors-security/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-13T16:38:11.828377Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-13T16:38:11.828377Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-13T16:38:05.209624Z",
"date": "2021-10-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Miami",
"longitude": -80.19366,
"latitude": 25.77427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"welvr\">Erika Carrillo, then-investigative reporter for Univision affiliate WLTV-DT, said she was “blocked and shoved” by security for Mayor Francis Suarez when seeking to question him on Oct. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"3e8co\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.univision.com/local/miami-wltv/crece-la-polemica-en-torno-al-jefe-de-la-policia-de-miami-y-francis-suarez-se-niega-a-referirse-al-respecto-video\">report</a> published by the outlet, Carrillo waited after a public event at City Hall to ask Suarez his opinion on the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/cuba-police-texas-miami-havana-e69f83626057bd9f473d8939e0b4df96\">controversy</a> surrounding then-Miami Police Department Chief Art Acevedo.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hnf3\">Carrillo reported that at least 13 staff members and security personnel blocked her and her team’s path in an attempt to prevent her from reaching the mayor. In the footage, Carrillo appears to be held back, jostled and pushed on multiple occasions, including as she followed Suarez up a set of stairs.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g4mr\">Nearly a week later, on Oct. 12, the mayor’s <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tomaskenn/status/1448019554425319428/photo/2\">talking points</a> from a press conference revealed a handwritten note that read (translated from the Spanish), “Ericka Carillo [sic] — tripped in a limited space.”</p><p data-block-key=\"84i3s\">Carrillo subsequently <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ErikaCarrilloTV/status/1448037924898025479\">wrote</a> on social media that contrary to Suarez’s notes, she didn’t trip or stumble. “I was blocked and shoved by the Mayor’s security when I was trying to ask him about chief [Acevedo],” she wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Btw, for the record… I didn’t trip or stumble as the mayor’s <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FrancisSuarez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FrancisSuarez</a> notes say. I was blocked and shoved by the Mayor’s security when I was trying to ask him about chief <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ArtAcevedo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ArtAcevedo</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/I2558wIphn\">https://t.co/I2558wIphn</a></p>— Erika Carrillo (@ErikaCarrilloTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ErikaCarrilloTV/status/1448037924898025479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 12, 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=\"vu9di\">Dan Shelley, the president and CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MurrowNYC/status/1448383827450253314\">condemned the incident</a> at the time, writing that it was “unacceptable” that Carrillo was shoved while “merely trying to ask the mayor questions about the police chief’s dismissal.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6n47f\">Neither Carrillo nor Mayor Suarez’s office responded to later requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ppn2t\">In footage published by WLTV-DT, investigative reporter Erika Carrillo, center in blue, is held back and jostled by a security officer for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on Oct. 6, 2021, while seeking comment on a scandal involving the city’s police chief.</p>",
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"name": "Florida",
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{
"title": "CBS journalist shoved by University of Colorado football coach",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbs-journalist-shoved-by-university-of-colorado-football-coach/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-07T17:38:17.495533Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-10-07T17:38:17.495533Z",
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"date": "2021-10-02",
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"city": "Boulder",
"longitude": -105.27055,
"latitude": 40.01499,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>A CBS4 Denver photographer was shoved by the University of Colorado’s head football coach after the team’s game on Oct. 2, 2021, at Folsom Field, in Boulder, Colorado.</p><p>In a video posted to Twitter, the unnamed CBS4 journalist captured the moment head coach Karl Dorrell shoved the camera down while he jogged off the football field.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">things are going well for Buffs football... <a href=\"https://t.co/oD41OS8DkD\">pic.twitter.com/oD41OS8DkD</a></p>— Ryan Greene 📷 (@RyanCBS4) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RyanCBS4/status/1444424726022012930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 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>CBS4 did not respond to a request for comment but reported that the photographer, who has <a href=\"https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/10/03/karl-dorrell-shoves-television-photographer-colorado-buffaloes-football-coach/\">covered sports for 25 years</a> and had the appropriate press credentials to be on the field at the time of the incident, did nothing to incite the reaction from Dorrell. CBS Denver’s vice president and general manager Tim Wieland criticized Dorrell’s behavior, calling it “unacceptable and unprofessional.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is unacceptable and unprofessional. A shove like that to a photojournalist carrying a heavy camera, looking thru a viewfinder, can cause him to lose balance and get hurt or damage the equipment. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RickGeorgeCU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RickGeorgeCU</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/zNr251cJ6w\">https://t.co/zNr251cJ6w</a></p>— Tim Wieland (@CBS4Tim) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CBS4Tim/status/1444435064322813955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 2, 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>Dorrell was not asked about the incident and did not mention it during his postgame press conference, as reported by the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/college-football-entertainment-sports-media-football-943f78f451381c66d70ee39040eeb103\">AP</a>.</p><p>Later that day, the school’s athletic director, Rick George, took to Twitter to issue an apology on behalf of Dorrell, stating, “We treat journalists with respect and apologize for falling short of that today.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Coach Dorrell sends his apologies to the local journalist who he intercepted after today’s game. We treat journalists with respect and apologize for falling short of that today.</p>— Rick George (@RickGeorgeCU) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RickGeorgeCU/status/1444458074094243841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 3, 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>The following morning, after receiving criticism on social media for not addressing the incident personally, Dorrell issued his own statement on the school’s <a href=\"https://cubuffs.com/\">athletics page</a>, apologizing to the photographer and attributing his reaction to his team’s fourth consecutive loss.</p><p>“I want to apologize for the incident at the end of our game Saturday. We do value the media and the coverage they provide for our program, and this was strictly in the heat of the moment,” the statement said. “That’s not who I am, and I hope people who have known me through the years do realize that. I did reach out and spoke directly this morning to the videographer from CBS-4 and personally apologized to him.”</p><p>University of Colorado’s athletic director did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Bangladeshi journalist assaulted during press conference in New York",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bangladeshi-journalist-assaulted-during-press-conference-in-new-york/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-01T16:23:29.140817Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-11-09T17:04:14.081219Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-11-09T17:04:13.981307Z",
"date": "2021-09-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h4ky9\">Bangladeshi journalist Farid Alam was physically attacked by individuals while at a press conference for the country’s ruling party, the Awami League, in New York City, New York, on Sept. 22, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"yrjhd\">Alam, the executive editor of News Communications Network, attended a news conference hosted by U.S.-based Awami League members, where Bangladesh Parliament member Abdus Sobhan Golap gave a briefing on the United Nations General Assembly.</p><p data-block-key=\"o4axp\">Alam told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he asked the party leaders about the large delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the General Assembly.</p><p data-block-key=\"aw762\">“I asked why they had 141 members in their delegation during a pandemic and why they had chartered a plane. They weren’t happy with my question and attacked me,” Alam told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"kdjdy\">A video posted to<a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/100001595423534/videos/pcb.4570068759722926/593966654936981\"> Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists’ Facebook</a> page shows the Awami League members sitting on a stage, addressing Alam’s questions before individuals in the crowd begin shouting and confronting Alam.</p><p data-block-key=\"t9zgc\">When asked to translate the video, Alam said he was told he wasn’t allowed to ask questions. “I told them they held a press conference to answer questions. Then they started threatening me,” Alam said.</p><p data-block-key=\"idteq\">The video shows individuals rushing and grabbing at Alam from several directions. He said journalists around him quickly formed a circle in protection.</p><p data-block-key=\"02tbo\">“They attacked me, kicking me multiple times, punching me,” Alam said. He said one man attempted to snatch his cellphone away and two people stole his wallet amid the struggle.</p><p data-block-key=\"u7uah\">Alam said he was taken to Elmhurst hospital in Queens and treated for his injuries. Alam's son confirmed that he reported the assault to a New York Police Department detective but has not received an update on the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"3wr2z\">The following day, New York-based Bangladeshi journalists held a <a href=\"https://fb.watch/8e4LQ8xiaB/\">protest</a> condemning Alam’s assault and announced a boycott against Awami League sponsored events at Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens, a borough of New York City.</p><p data-block-key=\"vtj9y\">The USA Awami League could not be reached for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "New York",
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"Assault"
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"Farid Alam (News Communication Network)"
],
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{
"title": "Forbes chief content officer ordered to testify before grand jury in Trump investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/forbes-chief-content-officer-ordered-to-testify-before-grand-jury-in-trump-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-21T17:51:29.132516Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-12-21T17:51:29.132516Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-12-21T17:51:29.096632Z",
"date": "2021-09-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Chief content officer and editor of Forbes, Randall Lane, was subpoenaed by the Manhattan District Attorney on Sept. 21, 2021, to testify in New York City before a grand jury in an ongoing investigation of former President Donald Trump’s finances. </p><p>Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. first launched the criminal investigation into Trump’s businesses in 2019, after Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress that <a href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/manhattan-district-attorney-cy-vance-convenes-special-grand/story?id=80978743\">Trump manipulated the value</a> of his wealth when seeking loans and preparing taxes.</p><p>Lane, who did not respond to a request for comment on the subpoena, said in an interview on <a href=\"https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/we-think-this-is-bad-precedent-we-fought-it-really-hard-says-forbes-editor/vi-AARV02e\">MSNBC’s Morning Joe</a> that he was asked to testify about his <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2021/12/16/inside-the-epic-fantasy-thats-driven-donald-trump-for-33-years/?sh=57dc18391d45\">2015 cover story</a> chronicling Trump’s fixation with his estimated wealth and place in the magazine’s ranking of the 400 richest people in America. </p><p>In the interview, Lane said he and his attorneys fought hard against the subpoena for three months until a judge ultimately ordered him to testify on Dec. 16, 2021. </p><p>“We think this is wrong, we didn’t want to testify, we don’t want to testify,” Lane said. “Think about the precedent that’s set here — how do you have an autonomous press if you’re supposed to testify about the people you cover regularly?”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3 months ago, Cyrus Vance subpoenaed me to appear before the Trump grand jury. The Forbes legal team fought it all the way, but yesterday, I was compelled to testify about our reporting that’s already public, shared with the world. It’s a bad precedent. <a href=\"https://t.co/j2mhspjLx5\">https://t.co/j2mhspjLx5</a></p>— Randall Lane (@RandallLane) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RandallLane/status/1471833509396365318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 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>Lane <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2021/12/17/forbes-testified-before-the-trump-grand-jury-yesterday--heres-why-we-fought-their-subpoena/?sh=222b811e3e77\">wrote in Forbes</a> that the testimony lasted about 20 minutes. He answered questions strictly on the accuracy of previously reported stories, he said, including his reporting on Trump’s history with the Forbes 400 list and the methodology used to determine who the magazine names the nation’s richest people. </p><p>“To be clear, the original story transparently reported what Trump told us six years ago,” Lane wrote. “We revealed no new information during the testimony. If we were sitting on anything newsworthy, we would have already shared that with our readers.”</p><p>Lane added that while his testimony was limited in scope and mostly to “yes or no” answers, the order sets a dangerous precedent with the “creeping use of subpoenas to undermine a free press” and highlighted the recent subpoena of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-sues-following-house-committees-subpoena-of-her-phone-records/\">freelance photojournalist Amy Harris</a> by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots on the Capitol. </p><p>“Reporters and prosecutors both serve the public, but in different ways. The latter shouldn’t trample on the efficacy of the former.”</p></div>",
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"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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],
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"carried out"
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{
"title": "Forbes deputy wealth editor ordered to testify in Trump investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/forbes-deputy-wealth-editor-ordered-to-testify-in-trump-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-21T17:51:10.302462Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-12-21T17:51:10.302462Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-12-21T17:51:10.259287Z",
"date": "2021-09-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Chase Peterson-Withorn, the deputy wealth editor for Forbes, was subpoenaed by the Manhattan District Attorney on Sept. 21, 2021, to testify in New York City before a grand jury in an ongoing investigation of former President Donald Trump’s finances.</p><p>Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. first launched the criminal investigation into Trump’s businesses in 2019, after Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress that <a href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/manhattan-district-attorney-cy-vance-convenes-special-grand/story?id=80978743\">Trump manipulated the value of his wealth</a> when seeking loans and preparing taxes.</p><p>Forbes Chief Content Officer and Editor, Randall Lane, was also subpoenaed and said in an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that they had fought the order for three months until a judge ultimately ordered them to testify on Dec. 16, 2021.</p><p>“We think this is wrong, we didn’t want to testify, we don’t want to testify,” <a href=\"https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/we-think-this-is-bad-precedent-we-fought-it-really-hard-says-forbes-editor/vi-AARV02e\">Lane said</a>. “Think about the precedent that’s set here — how do you have an autonomous press if you’re supposed to testify about the people you cover regularly?”</p><p>After testifying, Lane wrote about the process in an article for Forbes. Peterson-Withorn, who declined to comment further but confirmed Lane’s reporting, testified after Lane for about five minutes. Prosecutors focused their questions on Peterson-Withorn’s <a href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2017/05/03/donald-trump-has-been-lying-about-the-size-of-his-penthouse/?sh=2a9af69a1ef8\">2017 reporting on the value of Trump’s New York City apartment</a>.</p><p>“We revealed no new information during the testimony. If we were sitting on anything newsworthy, we would have already shared that with our readers,” Lane wrote in the article.</p><p>According to Lane, the questions asked by prosecutors were limited in scope and mostly to “yes or no” answers, but the “creeping use of subpoenas to undermine a free press” sets a dangerous precedent, he said.</p><p>“Reporters and prosecutors both serve the public, but in different ways. The latter shouldn’t trample on the efficacy of the former.”</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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"carried out"
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{
"title": "Border Report correspondent detained photographing outside Texas Air Force base",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/border-report-correspondent-detained-photographing-outside-texas-air-force-base/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-01T17:06:02.077702Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T20:23:34.039004Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T20:23:33.936966Z",
"date": "2021-09-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Del Rio",
"longitude": -100.89676,
"latitude": 29.36273,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"iix4r\">Border Report correspondent Sandra Sanchez was detained for 45 minutes and threatened with arrest by Laughlin Air Force Base military police in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 19, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"u01xv\">Sanchez was photographing Laughlin Air Force Base signs outside the base’s gates while reporting on the Del Rio encampment, where more than 12,000 Haitian migrants seeking asylum had settled along the banks of the Rio Grande while waiting to cross into the United States from Mexico.</p><p data-block-key=\"jdylh\">The day before, Department of Homeland Security officials had announced during a press conference that deportation flights carrying Haitian migrants would be departing from the <a href=\"https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/immigration/biden-admin-speeds-up-plan-to-fly-thousands-of-haitians-out-of-texas-border-city/\">Laughlin base’s airfields</a>, which is located just east of the Del Rio border.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So I almost got arrested today by military police covering this story in Del Rio, Texas. I was detained for nearly an hour. Details in my <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/BorderReport?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BorderReport</a> blog. <a href=\"https://t.co/muGgvD4C8O\">https://t.co/muGgvD4C8O</a></p>— Sandra Sanchez (@SandraESanchez) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SandraESanchez/status/1439711408569176069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 19, 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=\"ks0rw\">When asked for comment, Sanchez referred the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to a Border Report <a href=\"https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/immigration/live-blog-fallout-as-del-rio-international-bridge-closes-amid-migrant-influx-on-texas-border-town/\">blog</a> detailing the incident. According to the post, Sanchez was not on the base when she took still photos and a short video of the military base sign when military police detained her, claiming she had illegally entered federal property.</p><p data-block-key=\"bfcf2\">Border Report stated there were no signs indicating where public property ended and the military base began. According to the blog, military police claimed base property extends north of the gates she was photographing.</p><p data-block-key=\"0eqem\">A Val Verde County deputy sheriff was called to the base while Sanchez was being held but military police refused to release her. The deputy sheriff did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcmwe\">Before releasing her without charges, military police required that they witness her delete the photos and video of the base, the blog said.</p><p data-block-key=\"srvcy\">Laughlin Air Force Base Public Affairs office did not respond to requests for comment by the Tracker.</p></div>",
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"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "work product"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"military"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sandra Sanchez (Border Report)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist harassed, equipment damaged at LA anti-vaccine rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-harassed-equipment-damaged-at-la-anti-vaccine-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-27T15:15:08.719614Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T14:16:47.288534Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T14:16:47.187201Z",
"date": "2021-09-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kb0yu\">Independent videographer and photographer Emily Molli was assaulted while gathering footage of an anti-vaccine rally outside Los Angeles City Hall in California on Sept. 18, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbdaj\">Molli told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was doused with an oily substance and her camera equipment was damaged while covering what organizers called a “fight for medical freedom” rally.</p><p data-block-key=\"p2i7y\">She told the Tracker she had not initially planned on covering the rally because of recent violent eruptions that have <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?categories=10&city=Los%20Angeles&date_lower=2021-08-14&date_upper=2021-08-14&state=8\">occurred at these events</a> but changed her mind and began photographing the speakers several feet away from the crowd. Molli estimated there were close to 50 people at the rally in addition to about two dozen others who were watching from the sidewalk.</p><p data-block-key=\"rzzfs\">Molli said she had not taken her cellphone or her usual press credentials and helmet labeled “PRESS” because her last-minute decision to photograph the event had not given her enough time to prepare.</p><p data-block-key=\"xq4nr\">However, after covering these rallies in the past, Molli said she believed other reporters covering the event would recognize her and at the very least her professional camera would identify her as a reporter.</p><p data-block-key=\"zv1cp\">According to Molli, she was gathering footage of the protest for approximately five minutes when an individual walked up behind her and started hovering over her shoulder.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This was the only shot I got at the park before I was accused of doxxing. Delusional. <a href=\"https://t.co/76oKO7hlDT\">pic.twitter.com/76oKO7hlDT</a></p>— Emily Molli (@emilymolli) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/emilymolli/status/1439342607117651968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 18, 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=\"tbz3m\">“I decided at that point I should probably just leave and I started walking away, when more people caught up with me,” Molli said.</p><p data-block-key=\"3uqkr\">The group continued to follow her, accusing her of “doxxing” people in the crowd and being part of the far-left-wing movement antifa.</p><p data-block-key=\"6wiwc\">“In the past, people would sometimes recognize me as a reporter and leave me alone but I knew there was no getting through to these people,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1i0zn\">Molli said she tried to calm the group by telling them she supported freedom of expression and the right to peacefully assemble but by then a man had tried to take her camera out of her hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"ylxte\">“I was filming just in case something happened — most of the time it does,” Molli said. “As I’m waiting to cross the street someone pumps up a super soaker full of glitter, some kind of oil, and water and shoots me in the back, the back of the head, and my camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a0ji0\">Molli managed to get away from the group and walked over to a police officer in a patrol car that had just arrived at the event. She reported the assault and equipment damage to the officer but was directed to file a police report online.</p><p data-block-key=\"jmtwr\">Knowing she wasn’t going to get a name or description of the masked individual who had doused her for the report, Molli said she walked away, but a woman continued to follow her, shoving a sign in front of her camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"3s3d9\">Molli told the Tracker she approached a man across the street from the rally and asked to borrow his cellphone to call her colleague. Molli, who distributes her work through wire services or directly to clients, said she essentially lost a full day of work after her camera was soaked. The substance got onto the camera lens and into the air vents but she will not know the full extent of the damage until she tries to use it again.</p><p data-block-key=\"rre9e\">Molli said she did not intend to file a police report about the incident.</p></div>",
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"equipment_seized": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"coronavirus",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Emily Molli (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Student journalist harassed, forced to delete photos while documenting protesters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-harassed-forced-to-delete-photos-while-documenting-protesters/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-15T14:48:33.292273Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T15:51:49.504784Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T15:51:49.412997Z",
"date": "2021-09-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Long Beach",
"longitude": -118.18923,
"latitude": 33.76696,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mmtss\">Student journalist Abel Reyes was confronted and harassed by a group of individuals who demanded that he delete all the photos he had taken while documenting protesters in Long Beach, California, on Sept. 14, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"cf4ei\">Reyes told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker a counterprotest was organized in opposition to a rally with President Joe Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom at Long Beach City College. He said he was leaving an area with a lot of people he identified as supporters of former President Donald Trump when the harassment began.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ck6t\">“It started with a lady who noticed my camera and the press badge around my neck, and she started asking me a bunch of questions, whether I was part of the ‘fake news,’ where I was from,” Reyes said.</p><p data-block-key=\"57of9\">The student journalist said he tried to walk away, but the woman followed him and continued yelling at him, telling him to take off his “China mask,” in reference to the face mask he was wearing as a coronavirus safety measure.</p><p data-block-key=\"89g2j\">Suddenly, Reyes said, a group of men surrounded him. One of the men demanded that Reyes show him the photos he had taken. Reyes said he explained that he had taken close to 400 photos and that he couldn’t show the man all of them. The man then told Reyes to delete all of his images.</p><p data-block-key=\"3iluq\">“I didn’t argue, I didn’t want to argue, I didn’t say anything. At that point I just wanted to leave because it was not a good situation,” Reyes said, adding that he felt they wouldn’t let him leave until he complied with their demands.</p><p data-block-key=\"8m8nc\">According to Reyes’ <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CTybjLvpRHF/\">Instagram post</a> that night, once the group was convinced he had deleted all of the images one of them told him, “You’re lucky we’re nice.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ermr\">Reyes left the protest shortly after without attempting to take any additional photos, and told the Tracker that he has avoided any demonstrations with counterprotesters since the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gltq\">As a young journalist himself, he is particularly upset by the impact of harassment on student journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"e690b\">“I worry about what ripple effects this is having on journalism as a whole,” Reyes said. “How do you expect someone to go into journalism if they can’t even get through student journalism without something like this happening?”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Reyes.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"egc4v\">Abel Reyes, center with camera, documents an August demonstration in Fullerton, California. Reyes was harassed by a group of people who insisted he delete photos off his camera.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
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"assailant": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "work product"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"political rally",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Abel Reyes (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter, public removed from Illinois city council meeting",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-public-removed-from-illinois-city-council-meeting/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-22T17:52:09.363927Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T21:03:42.032758Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T21:03:41.931347Z",
"date": "2021-09-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Country Club Hills",
"longitude": -87.72033,
"latitude": 41.56809,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ns8v9\">Erica Chiang, editor-in-chief for The Southland Journal, was told to stop filming and ordered to leave a city council meeting in Country Club Hills, Illinois, on Sept. 13, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"k6rb3\">Chiang told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she covered the city council meeting without incident until the public comments portion of the meeting. In <a href=\"https://thesouthlandjournal.com/ford-violates-open-meetings-act-empties-room-of-all-citizens-and-press/\">an account</a> for the Journal, Chiang wrote that when an alderman attempted to respond to an attendee’s comment, Mayor James Ford interrupted.</p><p data-block-key=\"6m6tk\">“That caused the crowd to get a little upset, and maybe two or three people were like, ‘Let him speak, let him speak,’” Chiang said. “So that prompted the mayor to try to shut down the meeting to the public.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ifruf\">Ford ordered the room to be emptied, but Chiang said she remained seated and continued filming; when the mayor noticed her, he said she needed his permission to record and ordered that she be removed as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"aw0f3\">“I’m a member of the press,” Chiang can be heard saying in her <a href=\"https://youtu.be/zo3YzRzysmQ\">recording</a> of the incident. “This is a public meeting, I have every right to record a public meeting. I don’t need permission; it is a public meeting.”</p><p data-block-key=\"uuon3\">According to the Illinois <a href=\"https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=84&ChapterID=2\">Open Meetings Act</a>, “Any person may record the proceedings at meetings required to be open by this Act by tape, film or other means. The authority holding the meeting shall prescribe reasonable rules to govern the right to make such recordings.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vqw83\">“It was a surprise that he would say I couldn’t record without his permission, considering the Open Meetings Act clearly spells out what I can and cannot do,” Chiang told the Tracker. “I was not obstructing, I was seated and I was just recording with my phone out as I had been.”</p><p data-block-key=\"26ngr\">Chiang said she has been in contact with an attorney about the incident and is considering next steps.</p><p data-block-key=\"47qdc\">Ford did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Local government: Mayor"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Erica Chiang (The Southland Journal)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "Filmmaker arrested at ‘Cop City’ protest, sues Atlanta and police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-arrested-at-cop-city-protest-sues-atlanta-and-police/",
"first_published_at": "2023-12-15T14:10:51.714808Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T22:52:11.668213Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T22:52:11.539088Z",
"date": "2021-09-08",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Atlanta",
"longitude": -84.38798,
"latitude": 33.749,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"atxu2\">Journalist Lev Omelchenko, arrested on Sept. 8, 2021, while filming a protest in Atlanta, has since filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.320146/gov.uscourts.gand.320146.1.0.pdf\">lawsuit</a> against the city and two police officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pv7\">The lawsuit, filed in September 2023, states that Omelchenko, an independent <a href=\"https://levomel.com/about\">documentary filmmaker</a>, was arrested while recording a protest outside the Atlanta home of then-City Councilmember Natalyn Archibong as she took part in a virtual council meeting. Four protesters also arrested have filed similar lawsuits.</p><p data-block-key=\"4r3n8\">The Atlanta City Council, at its meeting, <a href=\"https://saportareport.com/public-safety-training-center-wins-city-council-approval-opponents-suggest-fight-to-continue/sections/reports/johnruch/\">approved</a> the lease for a controversial public safety training center for the Atlanta Police Department. Opponents of the center, who dubbed it “Cop City,” <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/atlanta-cop-city-police-training-center-protest-988fc2fa9c0bb76292bfcd3072b9c3c7\">allege</a> that the 85-acre, $90 million facility will harm the environment and contribute to the militarization of the police in the Atlanta area.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgl1s\">According to Omelchenko’s lawsuit, around 12 people were holding cardboard signs and chanting in front of Archibong’s home. Omelchenko was “present at the site of this protest but did not participate in the protest itself,” the suit states, adding that he was “not chanting but was present in his role as a filmmaker to film the protest.” The suit notes that the protesters and Omelchenko were “standing or striding as near as practicable to an outside edge of the roadway” on a street without sidewalks or shoulder.</p><p data-block-key=\"9t536\">About 20 minutes after police arrived, officers told the protesters that they were in violation of the noise ordinance, the suit says. Soon after, officers told the protesters that they were obstructing traffic and ordered them to leave. After a few minutes of walking back and forth, the protesters decided to leave. At that time, one of the officers ordered the arrest of the protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"aaj9g\">Olemchenko was also arrested, the lawsuit says, despite the fact that he “was not participating in the protest, was not chanting, but was instead filming the entire time” and “clearly informed the officers of same.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5g8fu\">Omelchenko was charged with “pedestrian walking in roadway,” a misdemeanor, and released on his own recognizance on Sept. 9, 2021, according to his arrest report and court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. He pleaded not guilty on Oct. 27, 2021, and the case was transferred from Atlanta Municipal Court to Fulton State Court.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmmfh\">According to the lawsuit, “The Fulton County Solicitor’s Office never filed an accusation in Plaintiff’s case and therefore no criminal prosecution against this Plaintiff is currently pending.” It went on to state that “based on this information and belief – and although the case was never formally dismissed – Plaintiff believes that Fulton County Solicitor’s Office has decided not to prosecute his case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4h0gb\">The solicitor’s office, when asked for an update on the case, told the Tracker that the case was handled in the Municipal Court of Atlanta. Fulton County, in response to an open records request, said, “We have no record of this case as of yet.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ffkq6\">Drago Cepar Jr., an attorney representing Omelchenko in the lawsuit, had no further comment when reached by phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"5me8p\">The lawsuit alleges that Omelchenko was falsely arrested in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights, and that the detention was retaliation for exercising his right to film the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"7k8m5\">It further asserts that the filmmaker was arrested “because officers believed that he shared the views of the protesters” and accuses the city of failing to properly train police officers and of routinely arresting protesters “under the pretext of violating pedestrian in the roadway laws.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9t9le\">The suit seeks damages and the recovery of attorneys fees and other expenses.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSFDYZ4.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"w8xpy\">A protester is detained during demonstrations in Atlanta over a planned police training center on Jan. 21, 2023. Filmmaker Lev Omelchenko sued the city of Atlanta and police after his arrest while covering a 2021 protest against the center.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Atlanta Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2021-09-09",
"detention_date": "2021-09-08",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:23-cv-04041",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
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"tags": [
"environmentalism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Lev Omelchenko (Independent)"
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist chased, assaulted by mob during protest in Oregon",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-chased-assaulted-by-mob-during-protest-in-oregon/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-21T19:57:17.925419Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-26T20:09:53.651129Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-26T20:09:53.569935Z",
"date": "2021-09-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1pziv\">Independent journalist Alissa Azar tweeted that she was chased and assaulted by a mob of Proud Boys wearing helmets and carrying shields as she covered a protest in Olympia, Oregon, on Sept. 4, 2021.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the moment I was attacked. You can’t see actually it happen but you can hear me screaming for them to get off of me as they celebrate my assault and encourage more. evac’d & out safely. I don’t wanna recap at the moment so I’ll update later. <a href=\"https://t.co/0c6bWzcm0J\">https://t.co/0c6bWzcm0J</a></p>— alissa azar (@AlissaAzar) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlissaAzar/status/1434316536945299459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 5, 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=\"z0g12\">Business Insider <a href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/washington-proud-boys-leader-shot-in-antifa-clash-at-covid-19-protest-2021-9\">reported</a> that the protest was organized near the state capitol as an anti-COVID-19 demonstration.</p><p data-block-key=\"vns4h\">Video posted on Twitter shows the gang suddenly change direction and head towards Azar, shouting her name, surrounding her and pulling her to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"qp1jp\">She said on Twitter she had been walking with a group but had separated from them to walk a short distance when she was suddenly targeted by a group of about 50 Proud Boys.</p><p data-block-key=\"w91ww\">In another <a href=\"https://twitter.com/chadloder/status/1434617753290174465?s=20\">video</a>, members of the mob can be heard shouting “get her” and “whip her ass,” and then are seen leaving the scene laughing. Many of them are masked and wearing helmets and body armour.</p><p data-block-key=\"963c5\">Azar, who did not respond to a request by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker for a comment, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlissaAzar/status/1434278767644405760?s=20\">tweeted right after the attack</a> that people in a nearby bar in Olympia helped her get away. “I ran as fast as I could. They caught me and pulled my hair and shoved me to the ground then bear maced me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2vdtn\">In a separate tweet she added: “Not OK and shaking, but safe now and have protection.”</p><p data-block-key=\"54br2\">The Olympia Police Department did not respond to a U.S. Press Freedom Tracker request for a comment.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "New policy removes freelance journalists from MS health department media lists",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-policy-removes-freelance-journalists-from-ms-health-department-media-lists/",
"first_published_at": "2022-07-11T21:19:36.885917Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T21:09:53.498212Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T21:09:53.417103Z",
"date": "2021-09-01",
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"city": "Jackson",
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"latitude": 32.29876,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xsagb\"><b></b>The Mississippi State Department of Health removed freelance journalists from its media distribution lists in 2021, restricting their ability to attend press conferences and receive other announcements.</p><p data-block-key=\"79c7q\">Kamesha Laurry, a legal fellow for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the group, which provides pro bono representation and other legal resources for journalists, became aware of the change in policy after a freelance journalist called the RCFP legal hotline in September 2021. According to Laurry, the journalist said the policy was limiting her access to the health department’s press conferences. RCFP is a member of the Tracker’s advisory board.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o1jp\"><a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/miss-health-dept-media-policy/\">According to RCFP,</a> the policy change bans freelance journalists from live press conferences, including about the ongoing pandemic, and other timely announcements. RCFP attorneys sent the State Department of Health <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22070751-2022-06-24-rcfp-letter-to-mississippi-state-department-of-health\">a letter</a> on June 24, 2022, objecting to the policy, saying it was revised without explanation and in violation of the First Amendment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4c3no\">“No public justification was given for the change,” RCFP wrote. “Instead, members of the MSDH communications team told freelance journalists that they could, instead, stream press conference recordings via MSDH’s website hours after the live event occurs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dobet\">The RCFP letter also argues that the policy is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides equal protection and due process.</p><p data-block-key=\"8i13g\">“Indeed, freelance journalists are members of the press just like their ‘affiliated media’ peers and should not be placed at a disadvantage simply because they are not working full-time for a single media outlet or newsroom,” RCFP wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"f6vo7\">The Mississippi State Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Mississippi",
"abbreviation": "MS"
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"Media"
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"Denial of Access"
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