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{
"title": "Reuters reporter’s phone confiscated on Pentagon trip to Europe",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reuters-reporters-phone-confiscated-on-pentagon-trip-to-europe/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-23T17:34:40.680776Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-11-08T20:33:56.111096Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-11-08T20:33:56.045820Z",
"date": "2022-05-22",
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"city": "Prince George County",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uclis\">A Reuters reporter had his phone confiscated and was prohibited from using any electronic devices during a flight to Oslo, Norway, on May 22, 2022, while traveling with the Department of Defense.</p><p data-block-key=\"eho7t\">Idrees Ali, who has been a foreign correspondent covering the Pentagon since 2015 and is not a U.S. citizen, was told of a new policy on May 19 that would impact his ability to use his cellphone during the eight-hour flight to Oslo with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. As of publication, the Pentagon has not responded to a request for comment or for a copy of the policy to review.</p><p data-block-key=\"clshj\">According to <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/22/pentagon-foreign-reporter-phone-official-travel-00034299\">Politico</a>, the policy states that non-U.S. citizens traveling with government officials who have “top-secret” security clearance are prohibited from using any devices during the flight. As a foreign correspondent, Ali has traveled to secure locations in the past with top government officials, including trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.</p><p data-block-key=\"fa89n\">Officials for the Pentagon had been “working on a resolution” with Ali before the departure date, but after arriving at Joint Base Andrews airport on the 22nd, Ali was told that no resolution to the issue was found and he would not be allowed to use his cellphone or laptop computer for the flight duration.</p><p data-block-key=\"b73e7\">Shortly after taking off, a DoD official instructed Ali to hand over his phone. Ali documented the incident on Twitter and shared a photo of the pouch he placed his phone in before it was confiscated.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Yesterday on an official trip with Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Hicks, my phone was confiscated by a DoD official, locked up and I was stopped from using electronics because of a new policy that bars non-US reporters from using devices on govt planes. (Pic taken by US citizen) <a href=\"https://t.co/2cREYUp5Qd\">pic.twitter.com/2cREYUp5Qd</a></p>— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/idreesali114/status/1528688565118554113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 23, 2022</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=\"uclis\">Officials returned the cellphone to Ali after landing in Oslo. Reporters, including Ali, are set to visit the United Kingdom and Germany as Hicks meets with military and government leaders.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ogh6\">DoD and Air Force officials did not respond to requests for comment from the Tracker, but in a statement to Politico, Air Force spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the policy was under review and would not impact Ali for the remainder of the trip.</p><p data-block-key=\"75v5l\">“We respect the role of a free press and welcome them aboard our flights. We regret the inconvenience we caused this reporter, and we will be reviewing the policy going forward,” Ryder said.</p><p data-block-key=\"22ou7\">In an emailed statement to the Tracker, a Reuters spokesperson said the news agency had “expressed our concern about the rule change regarding members of the press who are non-U.S. citizens being able to access electronic devices during travel with the U.S. Department of Defense. The matter has now been resolved.”</p></div>",
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"(2022-05-23 13:02:00+00:00) Air Force rescinds new policy that led to Reuters reporter’s phone being confiscated on Pentagon trip to Europe"
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{
"title": "Nebraska high school newspaper, class shuttered after publishing LGBTQ content",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nebraska-high-school-newspaper-class-shuttered-after-publishing-lgbtq-content/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-20T17:27:03.869205Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T17:34:26.937427Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T17:34:26.849773Z",
"date": "2022-05-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Grand Island",
"longitude": -98.34201,
"latitude": 40.92501,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6empc\">A high school student newspaper and related class in Nebraska were shuttered by school administrators in May 2022, after student journalists featured LGBTQ content in their end-of-year issue, a move press freedom advocates condemned as censorship.</p><p data-block-key=\"buqi6\">The Grand Island Independent <a href=\"https://theindependent.com/news/local/nurseries-of-democracy-northwest-student-journalism-elimination-a-saga/article_88ceba8a-1758-11ed-a179-c36008eeaed3.html\">reported</a> that Northwest Public Schools administrators abruptly announced an end to The Viking Saga, a 54-year-old student publication in Grand Island, just three days after the newspaper published its June issue on May 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"2amc0\">According to the <a href=\"https://theindependent.com/news/local/nurseries-of-democracy-northwest-student-journalism-elimination-a-saga/article_88ceba8a-1758-11ed-a179-c36008eeaed3.html\">Independent</a>, which publishes the school newspaper, an email sent by a school employee to cancel printing services on May 22 said the news program was slashed because the school board and superintendent were “unhappy with the last issue's editorial content.”</p><p data-block-key=\"pnl7\">The Saga adviser declined to comment to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The student journalists told the Independent that Saga staff had been reprimanded in April by district officials who said to use only birth names in bylines and articles.</p><p data-block-key=\"2n2b6\">Marcus Pennell, a college freshman and former Saga student journalist, wrote in an <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/07/nebraska-northwest-high-school-newspaper-lgbtq-canceled/\">op-ed for The Washington Post</a> that the Saga staff decided to highlight LGBTQ issues after the reprimand.</p><p data-block-key=\"8b3l5\">“The Saga’s staff disagreed with the policy,” Pennell wrote. “So with our next issue, we knew we wanted to make a statement.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cgl5q\">The <a href=\"https://issuu.com/vikingsaga/docs/nwv05132022t01\">June issue’s</a> LGBTQ content, according to Pennell, was three articles and, next to the paper’s nameplate, two rainbow icons.</p><p data-block-key=\"3hlr2\"><i>“</i>Every other story in the paper was dedicated to honoring Northwest’s expansive student life.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4gvb3\">Saga student journalists reached out to the Student Press Law Center, which <a href=\"https://splc.org/2022/08/student-paper-shut-down-for-lgbtqia-coverage/\">condemned the censorship</a> and worked with the students. Mike Hiestand, SPLC senior legal counsel, told the Tracker that this incident is part of a recent string of attacks on student journalism.</p><p data-block-key=\"6e1nq\">“The very first question I have to ask when a student journalist calls is ‘Where are you calling from?’ because it makes all of the difference in the world right now,” Hiestand said. “It’s really unfortunate, but the law does vary significantly from state-to-state.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d22vf\">Laws that specifically protect students’ First Amendment rights, known as “New Voices” laws, are the best protection for student journalists, Hiestand said. New Voices legislation was <a href=\"https://splc.org/new-voices-nebraska/\">introduced in Nebraska in 2019</a>, but did not pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"6g2r9\">On Aug. 29, the ACLU of Nebraska issued a letter to district superintendent Jeff Edwards, calling the elimination of the Saga an infringement on the student’s constitutional rights and demanding the newspaper’s reinstatement.</p><p data-block-key=\"34rs7\">Edwards wrote in <a href=\"https://www.ksnblocal4.com/2022/08/31/ginw-superintendent-issues-letter-regarding-lgbtq-controversy/\">an Aug. 31 statement</a> that the Saga was temporarily paused, not canceled, and that the decision wasn’t based on a single reason. Neither the superintendent nor the school principal responded to a request for comment by the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"2p01c\">Since 2017, the Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?tags=student+journalism&categories=63\">seven high school newspapers</a> censored or subjected to prior review for their coverage of controversial topics.</p><p data-block-key=\"3beji\">If not reinstated, the 2022-2023 school year will mark the first time that the Saga hasn’t published since its 1968 launch. Last academic year, the student publication finished third at the Nebraska School Activities Association State Journalism Championship.</p></div>",
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"name": "Nebraska",
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"updates": [
"(2022-11-11 09:46:00+00:00) Nebraska school district reinstates high school newspaper, shuttered after LGBTQ issue, with caveats",
"(2023-03-31 14:43:00+00:00) A former student reporter, state high school press association file suit against Nebraska school district for shuttering student newspaper",
"(2023-10-16 12:49:00+00:00) Judge dismisses lawsuit against Nebraska school district for shuttering student newspaper"
],
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{
"title": "Fox News subpoenaed to reveal confidential source, editorial process",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fox-news-subpoenaed-to-reveal-confidential-source-editorial-process/",
"first_published_at": "2023-07-06T21:55:34.787090Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-08-02T21:26:38.220091Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-08-02T21:26:37.900445Z",
"date": "2022-05-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2vbm7\">Fox News was subpoenaed in May 2022, about coverage of a federal investigation into a Chinese American scientist that later led to a privacy lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"4iahk\">The network published the investigative online articles and broadcast reports from February to June 2017. Multiple agencies were investigating the possible foreign military ties of Yanping Chen and the university she founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area.</p><p data-block-key=\"11im2\">The articles cited, and included excerpts of, materials from the investigation, such as FBI interviews, Chen’s immigration forms and photos of her in a Chinese military uniform. The six-year investigation was concluded in 2016. No charges were brought against Chen.</p><p data-block-key=\"clo0c\">In December 2018, Chen sued the FBI and the departments of Justice, Defense and Homeland Security, arguing that investigators violated her rights under the Privacy Act when her personal information was shared with Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge.</p><p data-block-key=\"g14u\">Chen subpoenaed Fox News on May 19, 2022, seeking <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751.97.8.pdf\">documents and communications</a> from December 2012 through July 2018 concerning the published excerpts from the federal investigation, as well as information sufficient to identify Herridge’s source. A representative from Fox was also ordered to appear to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751.97.9.pdf\">testify via Zoom</a> about the reporting and the network’s editorial review processes.</p><p data-block-key=\"fqhrs\">Over the next month, Chen also subpoenaed Herridge and producers Pamela K. Browne and Cyd Upson, who shared bylines on the articles. The Tracker has documented each of the subpoenas <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2022-05-19&date_upper=2022-06-16&city=washington&state=District+of+Columbia&targeted_institutions=Fox+News&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6rv43\">Upson and Browne ultimately agreed to provide sworn statements in place of documents or testimony, according to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751.86.0.pdf\">court filings</a>. In exchange, Chen agreed to withdraw her subpoenas to Browne and Upson, but continued to pursue the subpoenas to Fox and Herridge, a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751.122.0.pdf\">subsequent court filing</a> confirmed.</p><p data-block-key=\"9cmb3\">Attorney Patrick Philbin — who is representing all of the Fox News defendants — filed <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751.96.1.pdf\">motions</a> <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751/gov.uscourts.dcd.202751.97.1.pdf\">to quash</a> the latter two subpoenas on Aug. 1, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"1lha0\">“The public interest in First Amendment protections that promote the functioning of a free press is at its height in a case like this involving reporting on issues of national security,” Philbin wrote. “Without confidential sources, the press could not uncover information vital for informing the public — especially about the inner workings of government.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1hf3f\">U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper heard arguments concerning the motions on May 30, 2023. <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/fox-news-pushes-to-quash-subpoena-that-could-unmask-source/\">Courthouse News reported</a> that he seemed reluctant to accept Philbin’s argument that the subpoenas posed a threat to First Amendment protections. Philbin did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ee8b9\">Cooper did not indicate when he would rule on the motions to quash, according to Courthouse News.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"roifx\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Fox News on May 19, 2022, seeking documents, communications and testimony concerning the network’s coverage of an FBI investigation into a Chinese American scientist's possible foreign military ties.</p>",
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"(2023-08-01 17:13:00+00:00) Subpoenas to Fox News quashed while reporter must testify on confidential source"
],
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{
"title": "Photojournalist loses camera during confrontation at LA reproductive rights rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-loses-camera-while-covering-confrontation-at-reproductive-rights-rally-in-la/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-24T19:23:25.139127Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-02T14:44:35.595797Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-02T14:44:35.508230Z",
"date": "2022-05-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8ra8j\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco lost a camera during a skirmish while covering a reproductive rights rally that was met with a counterprotest in Los Angeles, California, on May 14, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"dri7d\">JP told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they arrived at the “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally outside of Los Angeles City Hall at about 11 a.m. to document the event and was heading toward the staging area where speakers were set to deliver remarks.</p><p data-block-key=\"ch0k9\">“I didn’t even make it to the stage because as soon as I got there, I immediately walked into a confrontation,” JP said.</p><p data-block-key=\"avkdv\">A group of individuals had locked arms to create a barrier to keep counterprotesters, who were demonstrating nearby, from engaging with those at the rally. The groups clashed after one individual pushed through the barrier.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Counter protesters are in s standoff with pro choice protesters <a href=\"https://t.co/abtTXHyZiP\">pic.twitter.com/abtTXHyZiP</a></p>— JP (Josh Pacheco) ✨🏳️⚧️They/Them (@JoshMPacheco) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JoshMPacheco/status/1525550281324343296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 14, 2022</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=\"8ra8j\">“At that point, I put my GoPro in my pocket because there was a scrum between protestors and their counters,” JP said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9me5l\">JP, who was also carrying additional camera equipment, captured footage of the groups clashing but lost the GoPro, valued at about $400, in the process.</p></div>",
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"name": "California",
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{
"title": "Freelance journalist detained while covering a deforestation protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-detained-while-covering-a-deforestation-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-27T17:47:15.344749Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-01-30T21:59:28.351228Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-01-30T21:59:28.249073Z",
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"city": "Atlanta",
"longitude": -84.38798,
"latitude": 33.749,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ptb9i\">Freelance journalist Ryan Fatica was detained and his notebook seized while covering a protest in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 14, 2022, according to <a href=\"https://saportareport.com/protester-terrorism-charges-come-amid-legal-battle-over-other-arrests-of-demonstrators-journalists/columnists/johnruch/\">a news report</a> and an interview with the journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"fokpl\">Fatica, who is based in Arizona, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in December that he was on assignment for Unicorn Riot that day covering protests organized by the Defend the Atlanta Forest campaign. According to Fatica’s <a href=\"https://unicornriot.ninja/2022/police-raid-atlanta-forest-occupation/\">reporting</a> for the nonprofit media organization, demonstrators gathered in Atlanta as part of a “week of action” against the planned destruction of 85 acres of forest to make way for a police training facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"2o7iq\">Fatica told the Tracker that on May 14, protesters marched for approximately an hour before returning to Freedom Park and beginning to disperse.</p><p data-block-key=\"fv86m\">“We could see the cops starting to line up at the edge of the park, piles of zip ties in their hands,” Fatica said. “Lots of people left, others thought that they were in a public park so they didn’t have anything to worry about.”</p><p data-block-key=\"68k4f\">Atlanta Police Department officers advanced on those remaining in the park without warning, Fatica said. While he was filming the arrest of a demonstrator, an officer pointed at him and directed other officers to detain him as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"9su6m\">“Him too, he was in the street recording, he was recording, too,” the officer can be heard saying in Fatica’s <a href=\"https://vimeo.com/710114457\">footage</a> of the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"53f4e\">Fatica told the Tracker that while he wasn’t wearing a press badge, as soon as officers grabbed him he identified himself as a journalist. While he was handcuffed and on the ground, a sergeant took his reporting notebook from his pocket.</p><p data-block-key=\"9uc5j\">“She started looking through the notes, then said something like, ‘You’re not getting this back,’ and put it in her pocket,” Fatica said. He added that she wrote down his name on the inside flap before walking away.</p><p data-block-key=\"blgsc\">Fatica said he was one of approximately 17 people detained, and that those who were charged were cited with “pedestrian in roadway,” a misdemeanor.</p><p data-block-key=\"8kggk\">Once he was transported with the other detainees to jail to be processed, officers realized that the proper paperwork had not been filled out for Fatica during his arrest. He said he was released without charges approximately five hours after he was detained.</p><p data-block-key=\"4rrj3\">“I do believe that my arrest is part of a process of escalation of tactics against that movement and anyone documenting it,” Fatica said. “If this had been a protest about some issue unrelated to the police they would not have attacked it in the way that they did.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3bphi\">When emailed for comment, the Atlanta Police Department’s Public Affairs Office responded with an automated reply that it was operating on holiday on-call capacity, and that it would follow up.</p><p data-block-key=\"bp8q3\">Fatica told the Tracker that his notebook still had not been returned as of December. Attorney Drago Cepar has filed an ante litem notice on Fatica’s behalf, the first step in filing a lawsuit against the Georgia government. Cepar said the event in the park deserves to be rectified.</p><p data-block-key=\"alb9t\">“With Ryan, he hasn’t been ‘arrested,’ but his liberty has been restricted, he has been detained,” Cepar told the Tracker.</p></div>",
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"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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{
"quantity": 1,
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],
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"state": {
"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"tags": [
"environmentalism",
"protest"
],
"current_charges": [],
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"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
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"Ryan Fatica (Unicorn Riot)"
],
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},
{
"title": "AZ Republic denied multiple requests to witness executions",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/arizona-republic-repeatedly-denied-access-to-witness-executions/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-16T19:31:19.911544Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T20:52:05.483457Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T20:52:05.399275Z",
"date": "2022-05-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Florence",
"longitude": -111.38734,
"latitude": 33.03145,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8d8wu\">The Arizona Department of Corrections denied a request from The Arizona Republic to serve as a media witness to a prisoner execution on May 11, 2022. Over the next six months, the Republic was barred from attending two additional executions.</p><p data-block-key=\"bo3vt\">The Republic, Arizona’s largest newspaper by circulation, historically was granted access to witness executions and has widely reported on the state’s death penalty. In 2014, a Republic reporter was a media witness and <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2014/07/23/arizona-execution-botched/13070677/\">wrote about</a> the prolonged and difficult execution of <a href=\"http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/wood1385.htm#:~:text=According%20to%20Arizona%20Republic%20reporter%20Michael%20Kiefer%2C%20who%20witnessed%20the,he%20gasped%2C%22%20Kiefer%20said.\">Joseph Wood</a>. That execution was cited in the then-governor’s decision to order a review of the death penalty process, which led to the state halting executions for eight years. More recently, the Republic reported on the state’s <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2021/07/19/trial-ordered-over-arizona-department-corrections-inmate-health-care/8016646002/\">beleaguered prison health care system</a> and investigated the <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Farizona-breaking%2F2022%2F04%2F08%2Fattorneys-death-row-prisoners-clarence-dixon-and-frank-atwood-question-safety-effectiveness-arizonas%2F9518633002%2F\">effectiveness of the lethal injections</a> used by the department.</p><p data-block-key=\"9u83u\">Republic reporter Jimmy Jenkins told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker his requests to serve as a media witness, beginning with the <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/05/11/clarence-dixon-executed-arizona-deana-bowdoin-murder/9723223002/\">May execution of Clarence Dixon</a>, were denied by the department. Executive Editor Greg Burton contacted Gov. Doug Ducey’s office, which oversees ADOC, regarding the newspaper’s May exclusion. According to <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/11/10/arizona-republic-denied-request-media-witness-execution/8309030001/\">the Republic</a>, Ducey’s chief of staff told Burton the news organization might be treated differently <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/05/23/attorney-arizona-violates-journalists-rights-witness-executions/9900645002/\">if it did not print “false information.”</a></p><p data-block-key=\"16cb0\">Since then, the Republic’s requests to witness the June execution of <a href=\"https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2022/06/08/frank-atwood-execution-arizona-vicki-lynne-hoskinson-murder/7547656001/\">Frank Atwood</a> and Nov. 16 execution of Murray Hopper were also denied by the ADOC. Other media organizations were allowed to witness the executions.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We're waiting on the press conference. The Arizona Republic was denied a request to serve as media witness to the execution for a 3rd time. There were once again only 3 media witnesses chosen by DOC to view the execution when they can accommodate up to 5 <a href=\"https://t.co/0x6DLFjaLk\">https://t.co/0x6DLFjaLk</a></p>— Jimmy Jenkins (@JimmyJenkins) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JimmyJenkins/status/1592934475629211648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 16, 2022</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=\"8d8wu\">The ADOC did not directly respond to emailed questions from the Tracker. Instead, an official shared a copy of the <a href=\"https://corrections.az.gov/sites/default/files/policies/900/0710_042022.pdf\">department’s manual</a> citing guidelines on selecting media witnesses to executions.</p><p data-block-key=\"1m6al\">Attorney David Bodney, who represents Phoenix Newspapers, Inc., the publisher of the Republic and azcentral.com, told the Tracker in an email that the denials were retaliatory and in violation of state law.</p><p data-block-key=\"c50a5\">“The Department’s continued and unreasonable denial of The Republic’s requests seems nothing short of retribution for the newspaper’s detailed yet fair reporting on Arizona’s prisons,” Bodney said. “The law does not permit the government to deny access on this basis.”</p></div>",
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"case_number": null,
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"actor": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Arizona",
"abbreviation": "AZ"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"The Arizona Republic"
],
"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Law enforcement: State",
"State government: Governor"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "Congressional candidate’s ad touts crowd-control munition use against press",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/congressional-candidates-ad-touts-crowd-control-munition-use-against-press/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-09T15:38:13.386906Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-25T18:14:09.609113Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-25T18:14:09.500519Z",
"date": "2022-05-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Winter Park",
"longitude": -81.33924,
"latitude": 28.6,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lxlvo\">A Florida Republican campaigning for a U.S. House of Representatives seat released an ad on May 5, 2022, boasting about the use of his company’s crowd-control munitions against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"dkpkc\">Cory Mills, who served in the Trump administration's Department of Defense and is now running for Florida’s 7th Congressional District, posted the campaign ad to <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7OH3e2hXh0\">YouTube</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CoryMillsFL/status/1522361410948280320\">Twitter</a>. The Floridian <a href=\"https://floridianpress.com/2022/05/cory-mills-rips-media-and-woke-culture-with-six-figure-tv-ad-buy/\">reported</a> that Mills also made a“six-figure” ad buy in the Orlando media market to air the video on television.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BLM democrats in Congress are “investigating” us for providing riot control gear to law enforcement around the country to stop the riots in 2020.<br><br>Sadly for them, we are really proud of what we do.<br><br>If they want to cry about it, we can help them shed real tears. <br><br>Watch 👇🏼 <a href=\"https://t.co/tZDuzjnoOt\">pic.twitter.com/tZDuzjnoOt</a></p>— Cory Mills 🍊 (@CoryMillsFL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CoryMillsFL/status/1522361410948280320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2022</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=\"lxlvo\">“I came home and started a company making riot control munitions for law enforcement — you may know some of our work,” Mills says in the ad while smiling. A clip then plays of demonstrators and members of the press being shot at with crowd-control munitions and chemical irritants at various protests nationwide.</p><p data-block-key=\"2cpo4\">“Now the liberal media’s crying about it,” Mills continues. “If the media wants to shed some real tears, I can help them out with that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cas1d\">On YouTube, the video description reiterates that point, writing, “Cory Mills is always happy to help the liberal media shed some tears.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ccd8h\">The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, released a statement that it was “deeply disturbing to hear a candidate for public office state that he would enjoy targeting journalists with tear gas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"g9q3\">“Threatening members of the media simply for engaging in critical reporting creates an atmosphere where attacks on journalists are normalized and perceived as acceptable, and sends a message to journalists that they ought to be afraid of public officials,” CPJ Advocacy Manager Michael De Dora said. “This has no place in our political discourse and is dangerous, regardless of the tone with which it is said.”</p><p data-block-key=\"634q1\">Mills' campaign office did not return a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Mills_-_chilling.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"g7gta\">A YouTube screenshot of Cory Mills’ congressional campaign ad, where he boasts about the use of his company’s crowd-control munitions against members of the press. Press advocacy groups called the rhetoric dangerous.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"status_of_charges": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Florida",
"abbreviation": "FL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"election"
],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Subpoena seeking testimony from Oregon independent journalist dropped",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-seeking-testimony-from-oregon-independent-journalist-dropped/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-11T18:21:25.235862Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-05-11T18:21:25.235862Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-05-11T18:21:25.187376Z",
"date": "2022-05-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Bend",
"longitude": -121.31531,
"latitude": 44.05817,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8e1uf\">The Deschutes County District Attorney in Bend, Oregon, issued a subpoena to independent journalist Hanna Merzbach on May 5, 2022, seeking testimony for an ongoing criminal case against a local rock climber. The subpoena was dropped the next day.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ovst\">In an email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Merzbach said the subpoena demanded she testify as a witness during a three-day criminal trial for local climber Shawn Ian Snyder. Merzbach interviewed Snyder for a <a href=\"https://www.bendsource.com/bend/rocky-regulations/Content?oid=13237912\">September 2020 article</a> about rock climbing regulations at Smith Rock State Park in Terrebonne, Oregon. </p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When the DA’s office delivers you a subpoena at the local coffee shop to testify about a source… <a href=\"https://t.co/jpdUh66Hu9\">pic.twitter.com/jpdUh66Hu9</a></p>— Hanna Merzbach (@HannaMerzbach) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/HannaMerzbach/status/1522324786570948608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 5, 2022</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=\"8e1uf\">Before this trial, Snyder had been accused of <a href=\"https://gripped.com/news/highline-bolts-chopped-in-yosemite-and-death-threats/\">removing climbing bolts</a> in Yosemite State Park and was arrested and banned for <a href=\"https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/stashing-gear-on-public-land-etiquette-vs-law/article_ac24e7b1-ea83-513b-8473-5d1788049277.html\">removing climbing ropes and gear</a> from Smith Rock, which he said “puts a stain on a beautiful, natural place.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ekabp\">According to Merzbach, the DA’s office wanted her to testify on a specific quote attributed to Snyder in her article. In the quote, he admitted that while unacceptable, he had “determined that physical threats and actions are the only methods that work” when communicating with other climbers about installing climbing equipment in the park.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2tnp\">Merzbach told the Tracker that the subpoena was dropped on May 6 after lawyers from the Oregon chapter of the Reporters Committee for Freedom Press intervened. RCFP is a member of the Tracker’s advisory board. </p><p data-block-key=\"76bmt\">In a tweet referring to the incident, Ellen Osoinach of RCFP wrote, “Fact. Journalists should never have to testify against sources they worked to develop relationships of trust with.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
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"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
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"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Hannah Merzbach (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Sheriff’s Department targets LA Times reporter in criminal leak investigation, then backtracks",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/sheriffs-department-targets-la-times-reporter-in-criminal-leak-investigation-then-backtracks/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-28T19:11:22.311256Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-04-28T19:11:22.311256Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-04-28T19:11:22.256266Z",
"date": "2022-04-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"eby8p\">Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced that Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian was under a criminal leak investigation during a <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj-FLxsIkOY&t=798s\">press conference</a> on April 26, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"1f0co\">The statement came nearly a month after <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-25/sheriff-deputy-force-coverup\">Tchekmedyian first reported on internal documents</a> detailing an alleged cover-up within the sheriff's department around an inmate abuse case. During the press conference, Villanueva displayed a picture of Tchekmedyian and two other individuals, saying all three were connected to the leak.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, Tuesday, April 26, 2022, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LACoSheriff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LACoSheriff</a> Alex Villanueva held a press conference to discuss a recent lawsuit by a disgruntled employee. To read the press release and view the video and materials used, click the following link <a href=\"https://t.co/gFBDoqk9ZL\">https://t.co/gFBDoqk9ZL</a></p>— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LASDHQ/status/1519124966821679104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2022</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=\"eby8p\">When pressed to say whether Tchekmedyian was specifically under criminal investigation, Villanueva responded that Tchekmedyian received information and put it to use. “What she receives legally and puts to her own use and what she receives legally and the L.A. Times uses — I'm sure that's a huge, complex level of law and freedom of the press and all that. However, when it's stolen materials, at some point, you actually become part of the story. So, that's up to the L.A. Times to decide that."</p><p data-block-key=\"6r1m3\">Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida immediately condemned Villanueva's comments in a statement to the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"cq8uq\">"His attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law. We will vigorously defend Tchekmedyian's and the Los Angeles Times' right in any proceeding or investigation brought by authorities," Merida said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The sheriff’s attack on reporter <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AleneTchek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AleneTchek</a> drew immediate condemnation from the newspaper.<br><br>“His attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law,” said <a href=\"https://twitter.com/meridak?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@meridak</a>, executive editor of The Times, in a statement. <a href=\"https://t.co/ZDmiTaktrG\">https://t.co/ZDmiTaktrG</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/yiJPDWGNUd\">pic.twitter.com/yiJPDWGNUd</a></p>— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/latimes/status/1519068136946880513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 26, 2022</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=\"eby8p\">Times’ General Counsel Jeff Glaser <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-26/l-a-times-protests-sheriffs-criminal-leak-investigation-against-reporter\">published a letter of protest</a>, warning Villaneuva that any attempt to prosecute the reporter would be "an abuse of your official position," and the outlet would “seek every available remedy against you, the Department, and every individual official involved in any such unlawful conduct."</p><p data-block-key=\"44sa4\">The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also condemned Villanueva's comments, calling it “blatantly retaliatory conduct.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3m4dk\">"Publishing newsworthy information about an alleged law enforcement cover up that sought to block an investigation into the use of excessive force is constitutionally protected activity, and clearly in the public interest," said Katie Townsend, RCFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Legal Director.</p><p data-block-key=\"99vu5\">Hours after the press conference, Villanueva <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LACoSheriff/status/1519130928915787776\">addressed</a> the public outcry in response to his comments.</p><p data-block-key=\"tbr9\">"Resulting from the incredible frenzy of misinformation being circulated, I must clarify at no time today did I state an L.A. Times reporter was a suspect in a criminal investigation. We have no interest in pursuing, nor are we pursuing, criminal charges against any reporters."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">(1/3) Resulting from the incredible frenzy of misinformation being circulated, I must clarify at no time today did I state an LA Times reporter was a suspect in a criminal investigation. We have no interest in pursuing, nor are we pursuing, criminal charges against any reporters. <a href=\"https://t.co/43Ro4kK8HM\">pic.twitter.com/43Ro4kK8HM</a></p>— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LACoSheriff/status/1519130928915787776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2022</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=\"eby8p\">Villanueva also wrote that the sheriff's department would conduct a thorough investigation around the disclosure of evidence.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4t1oe\">LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva indicated LA Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian was part of a criminal leak investigation during an April 26, 2022, press conference for her reporting. He later called it ‘misinformation’.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"dropped_charges": [],
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"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Alene Tchekmedyain (Los Angeles Times)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Denver Gazette barred from publishing article based on mistakenly released documents",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/denver-gazette-barred-from-publishing-article-based-on-mistakenly-released-documents/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-29T14:10:08.048915Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-21T20:17:47.852648Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-21T20:17:47.761311Z",
"date": "2022-04-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Brighton",
"longitude": -104.82053,
"latitude": 39.98526,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"t4jvw\">A judge issued an order on April 25, 2022, barring The Denver Gazette from publishing an article based on court documents that were mistakenly released to reporter Julia Cardi. The outlet’s attorney has filed a motion asking the judge to vacate the order, arguing that it is unconstitutional.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gre7\">According to the newspaper’s <a href=\"https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/66/c66f3426-c65b-11ec-ae2c-7bd9fc340099/6269929d30de2.pdf.pdf\">motion</a>, on April 14 Cardi requested a number of recent public filings in the cases of each of the police officers and paramedics charged in connection with the the death of Elijah McClain in August 2019. The clerk at the Adams County Courthouse provided her a stack of documents that included filings in the case of former Aurora police officer Nathan Woodyard, which a judge had sealed from public access.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8u2q\">Cardi <a href=\"https://twitter.com/juliawhitsett23/status/1519400701444636673\">wrote</a> on Twitter that she notified the Attorney General’s office on the morning of April 25 that the Gazette would be publishing an article based on the mistakenly disclosed records. By that afternoon, she wrote, she received the order barring them from moving forward with the piece and telling her to destroy any copies of the documents.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A few weeks ago I went to the clerk’s office in the Adams County courthouse and asked for recent public filings in the cases of each of the police officers and paramedics charged in connection with Elijah’s death, since a hearing was scheduled the next day.</p>— Julia Whitsett (@juliawhitsett23) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/juliawhitsett23/status/1519400701444636673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2022</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=\"t4jvw\">“So now we fight for our right to publish information that is in the public’s interest to know,” Cardi <a href=\"https://twitter.com/juliawhitsett23/status/1519400701444636673\">wrote</a>. “I have to admit the version of me at 9 a.m. on Monday had no idea what this situation would turn into. But all we can do now is put up the best fight we can.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d2h3t\">Neither Cardi nor the Gazette respond to requests for further comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mf1i\">District Court Judge Priscilla Loew, who issued the <a href=\"https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/30/630de948-c65d-11ec-9799-d780282892a1/6269952d67160.pdf.pdf\">protective order</a>, wrote that the disclosure of these materials to the public would threaten grand jury secrecy and the defendant’s right to a fair trial and impartial jury.</p><p data-block-key=\"eptle\">Gazette attorney Steven Zansberg filed a <a href=\"https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/66/c66f3426-c65b-11ec-ae2c-7bd9fc340099/6269929d30de2.pdf.pdf\">motion to lift the gag order</a> on April 26, stating that Cardi obtained the documents lawfully and that barring the newspaper from publishing information of legitimate public concern violates its First Amendment rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ckel\">Zansberg told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Loew ordered all parties to respond to the newspaper’s motion by April 28, and he said he expects a hearing to be set shortly.</p><p data-block-key=\"dsa1o\">“The judge’s order demanding the parties to file responses by noon [on April 28] said that the court agrees that this was a matter of utmost importance and needed to be resolved quickly,” Zansberg said. “It is a big deal, there’s nothing worse. And that’s what the Supreme Court says about prior restraints: They are the least tolerable and most objectionable form of censorship.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4s8e3\">Zansberg noted that the response from the former police officer in the matter, Woodyard, also asserted that the prior restraint was unconstitutional and should be lifted. The Tracker was unable to access that filing as of publication.</p><p data-block-key=\"ae09r\">The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Cardi_prior_restraint.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lwpr9\">A portion of the order barring The Denver Gazette from publishing information obtained from mistakenly released court documents related to the trial of a former police officer.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"status_of_charges": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"case_type": null,
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"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": "struck down",
"mistakenly_released_materials": true,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-04-28 19:07:00+00:00) Judge lifts gag order on Denver Gazette article based on mistakenly released documents"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter"
],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Julia Cardi (The Denver Gazette)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Social media journalist arrested during San Clemente protest, held overnight",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/social-media-journalist-arrested-during-san-clemente-protest-held-overnight/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-19T19:51:34.040791Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-08-03T14:32:27.113726Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-08-03T14:32:26.984869Z",
"date": "2022-04-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Clemente",
"longitude": -117.61199,
"latitude": 33.42697,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nbcd0\">Los Angeles-based independent photojournalist Jessica Rogers, who said she shares her work through social media, was arrested and charged with ignoring police orders while documenting protests in San Clemente, California, on April 23, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"funss\">The protest was held in remembrance of Kurt Reinhold, a homeless Black man who was fatally shot by Orange County Deputies after jaywalking in front of a hotel in September 2020. According to police, 30-45 individuals had gathered to participate in the demonstration.</p><p data-block-key=\"36e1u\">Rogers told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was photographing the march as it advanced toward City Hall, where participants paused to kneel for a moment of silence. As she was taking photos from the curb at about 3:45 p.m, Rogers said multiple deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office came forward and placed her under arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"b1eca\">“I immediately said, ‘I am press, here’s my press badge, I am a photographer,’” Rogers told the Tracker, referring to her National Press Photographers Association press badge. “And they told me I was being arrested for being in the street, which later I found out is not true because they are trying to charge me with resisting arrest.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At 3:45pm on a Saturday I was targeted/arrested by OCSD while photographing the Kurt Reinhold action in San Clemente. While taking photos a large group of sheriffs came into the crowd, grabbed, & arrested me. My <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NPPA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NPPA</a> press badge was in plain sight & I verbally stated I was press <a href=\"https://t.co/zBYMmH7g13\">pic.twitter.com/zBYMmH7g13</a></p>— Jessica (@jessrayerogers) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jessrayerogers/status/1518258211018530817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2022</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=\"jxjnt\">Sgt. Scott Steinle, a public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office, clarified that both Rogers and a second individual who was taking photographs, Juan Gomez, were charged under <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=148.&lawCode=PEN\">California Penal Code 148 (A)(1)</a>. The law criminalizes willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"16mb3\">“They went out into the public roadway somewhere between four and six different times. Each time, Sheriff’s Department personnel contacted these two individuals who were told to return to the sidewalk area,” Steinle said, noting that that area has a 45-mile per hour speed limit.</p><p data-block-key=\"caiel\">Steinle also refuted assertions that the pair were targeted because they were documenting the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcs62\">“As a member of the press you are supposed to be performing your duties in a responsible manner, and it’s completely irresponsible when you’re told by law enforcement that you are causing a hazard and putting yourself in a hazardous situation to continue to do so,” Steinle said. “They were told numerous times and subsequently they forced our hand and we had to make an arrest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fej05\">Before transporting her to a staging location nearby, Rogers said deputies allowed her to hand off her camera and cellphone to one of the protest organizers. Once she was taken to a law enforcement facility in Santa Ana, Rogers told the Tracker she was transferred in and out of multiple cells, repeatedly questioned about why she was arrested and denied water or access to a working phone for more than 13 hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"7i975\">“I shut down,” she said. “I realized that they can and will do whatever they want to me in there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aqup8\">Rogers said she was released the following morning at 5:15 a.m. Rogers said her release paperwork orders her to appear for a preliminary hearing on July 22, but her online arrest record lists her next appearance date as May 23. She said she is unsure of the reason behind the discrepancy. If convicted, she faces a fine of up to $1,000, one year in jail or both.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Rogers1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"f7qeg\">Orange County Sheriff’s deputies detain social media journalist Jessica Rogers at a demonstration in remembrance of Kurt Reinhold, a homeless Black man killed by police, in San Clemente, California, on April 23, 2022.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Orange County Sheriff's Office",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"status_of_charges": "charges dropped",
"release_date": "2022-04-24",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-03-30 16:39:00+00:00) Charge dropped against LA journalist who was documenting protest"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [
"obstruction: resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jessica Rogers (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "WOIO photojournalist assaulted while covering police standoff",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/woio-photojournalist-assaulted-while-covering-police-standoff/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-27T18:30:48.340088Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-04-27T18:35:44.368534Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-04-27T18:35:44.299780Z",
"date": "2022-04-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Cleveland",
"longitude": -81.69541,
"latitude": 41.4995,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v2jre\">An unidentified photojournalist with WOIO 19 News was assaulted by individuals while covering an arrest in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 22, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ifh8\">WOIO <a href=\"https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/04/22/cleveland-police-seek-identify-men-seen-viral-video-pointing-guns-officer/\">reported</a> that one of its news crews was reporting on a tense standoff in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood connected to a viral video of two men pointing guns at a police officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"7bg28\">Investigative reporter Kelly Kennedy said in a <a href=\"https://ms-my.facebook.com/kellyekennedytv/videos/cleveland-police-arrested-a-man-suspected-to-be-in-a-viral-video-pointing-a-gun-/684172679512338/\">report for the outlet</a> that a few nearby residents were angry that there were journalists filming.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o6b2\">“When we got to the scene, some neighbors were really angry when they saw our cameras and one man actually tried to grab one of our photographers’ cameras and then he actually knocked over another TV station’s camera and broke it,” Kennedy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"emsi0\">Kennedy reported that the police then handcuffed the man. “So, it was a kind of scary situation out there — that’s kind of what you have to go through sometimes in the field,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ccbv\">Neither WOIO nor Kennedy responded to emailed requests for additional comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qjpq\">Kennedy <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KellyEKennedyTV/status/1517678731183206401\">wrote</a> on Twitter that everyone was okay, and that the incident was just one example of the kind of harassment journalists face daily when just trying to do their jobs.</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 just one example of the kind of harassment we face day after day as journalists just for doing our jobs. Thankfully everyone was okay, but it was definitely a scary situation. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/cleveland19news?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cleveland19news</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/PBuIscEena\">pic.twitter.com/PBuIscEena</a></p>— Kelly Kennedy (@KellyEKennedyTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KellyEKennedyTV/status/1517678731183206401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 23, 2022</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=\"v2jre\">A police report identified that photojournalist as WKYC 3 Studios’ Craig Roberson; the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented his equipment damage <a href=\"/all-incidents/wkyc-photojournalists-camera-damaged-while-covering-police-standoff/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ff54g\">According to the police report released to the Tracker, the man was charged with <a href=\"https://casetext.com/statute/ohio-revised-code/title-29-crimes-procedure/chapter-2909-arson-and-related-offenses/section-290905-vandalism\">felony vandalism</a> for damaging the $9,000 WKYC camera, which is punishable by 6 to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Cleveland_equip_damage.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"i4nge\">A screenshot from a WOIO report shows two men harassing another photojournalist attempting to document a police standoff in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 22, 2022. One of the men later assaulted a WOIO photojournalist.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Ohio",
"abbreviation": "OH"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 22 (WOIO)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "WKYC photojournalist’s camera damaged while covering police standoff",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wkyc-photojournalists-camera-damaged-while-covering-police-standoff/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-27T18:35:08.819726Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-03T20:14:22.285160Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-03T20:14:21.877492Z",
"date": "2022-04-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Cleveland",
"longitude": -81.69541,
"latitude": 41.4995,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uiyrx\">WKYC 3 Studios photojournalist Craig Roberson was harassed by individuals and his camera damaged while covering an arrest in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 22, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"benfc\">WOIO 19 News <a href=\"https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/04/22/cleveland-police-seek-identify-men-seen-viral-video-pointing-guns-officer/\">reported</a> that journalists from multiple broadcast stations were covering a tense standoff in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood connected to a viral video of two men pointing guns at a police officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"4vo34\">Kelly Kennedy, an investigative reporter with the WOIO team on scene, said in a <a href=\"https://ms-my.facebook.com/kellyekennedytv/videos/cleveland-police-arrested-a-man-suspected-to-be-in-a-viral-video-pointing-a-gun-/684172679512338/\">report for the outlet</a> that a few nearby residents were angry that there were journalists filming.</p><p data-block-key=\"8s775\">“When we got to the scene, some neighbors were really angry when they saw our cameras and one man actually tried to grab one of our photographers’ cameras and then he actually knocked over another TV station’s camera and broke it,” Kennedy said, referring to Roberson’s equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"50cqn\">According to the police report, the $9,000 WKYC camera was destroyed and broken into multiple pieces. The man was charged with <a href=\"https://casetext.com/statute/ohio-revised-code/title-29-crimes-procedure/chapter-2909-arson-and-related-offenses/section-290905-vandalism\">felony vandalism</a>, punishable by 6 to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gjpt\">When reached for comment, WKYC President and General Manager Micki Byrnes confirmed that Roberson’s camera was damaged and that he was unharmed; Roberson did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"b1sbl\">WOIO’s Kennedy <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KellyEKennedyTV/status/1517678731183206401\">wrote</a> on Twitter that everyone was OK, and that the incident was just one example of the kind of harassment journalists face daily when just trying to do their jobs.</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 just one example of the kind of harassment we face day after day as journalists just for doing our jobs. Thankfully everyone was okay, but it was definitely a scary situation. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/cleveland19news?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cleveland19news</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/PBuIscEena\">pic.twitter.com/PBuIscEena</a></p>— Kelly Kennedy (@KellyEKennedyTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KellyEKennedyTV/status/1517678731183206401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 23, 2022</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=\"uiyrx\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented the WOIO assault <a href=\"/all-incidents/woio-photojournalist-assaulted-while-covering-police-standoff/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Cleveland_ED.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"0vqe7\">A screenshot from a WOIO report on April 22, 2022, shows a photojournalist looking on after an individual threw his camera equipment to the ground in Cleveland, Ohio.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"status_of_charges": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Ohio",
"abbreviation": "OH"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-08-31 00:00:00+00:00) Cleveland man who broke photojournalist’s camera ordered into treatment"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Craig Roberson (WKYC)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Reporter assaulted in Detroit by contractor profiled in news segment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-in-detroit-by-contractor-profiled-in-news-segment/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-26T20:35:09.115243Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-18T15:07:42.222840Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-18T15:07:42.099825Z",
"date": "2022-04-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Detroit",
"longitude": -83.04575,
"latitude": 42.33143,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"md3wo\">Rob Wolchek, an investigative reporter for Fox 2 News, was assaulted on April 19, 2022, while on assignment in Detroit, Michigan.</p><p data-block-key=\"bhp77\">Wolchek told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he often profiles bad contractors for his "Hall of Shame" segment, and had featured fence contractor Seth Chuhran in a 2020 segment after he was arrested for allegedly failing to build fences for paying customers.</p><p data-block-key=\"e8cg7\"><a href=\"https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/faux-fence-guy-is-a-real-hot-head\">Fox 2 News video</a> of the incident shows Chuhran leaving a police station before assaulting Wolchek. Wolchek said he happened to be at the police station to interview a detective working on Chuhran's case when he saw him arrive at the police station.</p><p data-block-key=\"dsean\">"We saw [Chuhran] drive up to the station and thought, ’OK, let's try to talk to him when he comes out,’" Wolchek said.</p><p data-block-key=\"32pf2\">The video shows Wolchek holding a microphone and attempting to ask him questions before Chuhran walks toward him and swings at the microphone.</p><p data-block-key=\"90gd4\">Wolchek said he has been reporting on Chuhran, who has been arrested more than six times, for nearly two years.</p><p data-block-key=\"c5pls\">Wolchek said that he felt safe trying to interview Chuhran in front of the police station but was not aware officers had witnessed the incident and did not expect Chuhran to get arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"mvvs\">"I've been doing this a long time, and it's not that unusual, particularly after these guys who are exposed and put on the news to retaliate with aggression when they see me again," Wolchek said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah62i\">Wolchek filed a police report, and Chuhran was charged with assault and battery under a city ordinance. He said the microphone was not damaged.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
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"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"status_of_charges": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Michigan",
"abbreviation": "MI"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-06-21 00:00:00+00:00) Man who attacked reporter trying to interview him sentenced to probation and a fine"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Rob Wolchek (WJBK)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Daily Beast editor says arrest was in retaliation for his reporting",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/daily-beast-editor-says-arrest-was-in-retaliation-for-his-reporting/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-07T20:48:26.318626Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-09-07T20:48:26.318626Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-09-07T20:48:26.256112Z",
"date": "2022-04-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"glda1\">Lachlan Cartwright, an editor-at-large for The Daily Beast, was arrested and charged with trespassing on April 17, 2022, while at a store in New York City.</p><p data-block-key=\"fapbl\">Cartwright told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was charged as a form of payback following an <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-aggressively-seized-journalists-press-pass-amid-manhattan-protest/\">adversarial interaction</a> he had with a New York Police Department officer while covering a protest in 2020. On Aug. 23, his attorney <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.585204/gov.uscourts.nysd.585204.1.0.pdf\">filed a lawsuit</a> on his behalf against the city and 10 NYPD officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"j3sm\">Cartwright said he entered a storefront in Lower Manhattan at around noon on April 17 to buy gifts for his sister. When he noticed that there were no employees in the store, he attempted to reach managers, messaging the store through Instagram and calling its sister store in Florida.</p><p data-block-key=\"64apb\">The manager of the sister store told him that the shop’s manager would be coming in, and Cartwright said he offered to wait around as long as he could. After around 10 minutes — approximately 40 minutes since he had first walked into the store — Cartwright said he left a note with the items he wanted to purchase and went to leave. That’s when he noticed the sirens.</p><p data-block-key=\"9126k\">NYPD officers then entered the store, approached Cartwright and placed him under arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"6drb8\">“I consistently and repeatedly told them what had happened and the fact that if they’d just check the note, the security camera and talk to the store, this would all be resolved,” Cartwright told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"fgkmo\">Officers transported Cartwright to the NYPD’s 6th Precinct, eventually allowing him to call his editor at The Daily Beast. A few hours later, an officer asked whether he had his NYPD press credentials. Cartwright told the Tracker that since he had stopped covering events that would necessitate it, he had not gone through the process of renewing it for at least a year.</p><p data-block-key=\"4h9nu\">Cartwright told the Tracker that when he asked what was going on, one of his arresting officers told him that he had been speaking with the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Information’s Office and that, “They know who you are.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7epci\">A short while later, Cartwright said one of the officers stepped out of the room to speak with someone. When the officer returned, he told Cartwright that while his story had checked out, they were still charging him with criminal trespass in the third degree.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0qqg\">“I broke down crying. I was just in such a state of shock that this was going on and just absolutely baffled as to how they could carry out an investigation and tell me that I did nothing wrong but then charge me with something,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"87v59\">Approximately three to four hours after he was placed under arrest, Cartwright was released with a citation and orders to appear before a judge. The Office of the District Attorney for New York County declined to prosecute the charge against the editor on April 21.</p><p data-block-key=\"fehtq\">Cartwright said that both he and one of his colleagues at The Daily Beast spoke with sources at the department who confirmed that the DCPI did not like him, referencing an <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-aggressively-seized-journalists-press-pass-amid-manhattan-protest/\">interaction he had with officers</a> while covering a Black Lives Matter protest in Union Square Park in May 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ger3\">The DCPI did not respond to emails requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"hqv8\">National Lawyers Guild attorney Gideon Orion Oliver filed a notice of claim on Cartwright’s behalf on July 15, 2022, and the <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.585204/gov.uscourts.nysd.585204.1.0.pdf\">lawsuit</a> against the City of New York and multiple police officers on Aug. 23.</p><p data-block-key=\"1i6bj\">“I want to find out exactly what was happening that day behind the scenes because it’s not just a suspicion that this was payback or retribution against me for basically journalism: We have it from two different sources that it was,” Cartwright told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"698f6\">Oliver told the Tracker that the case will go through mediation before reaching discovery, but they hope to identify the DCPI officer or officers who communicated about Cartwright while he was in custody and the extent to which that influenced the decision to charge him. He added that while they hope to speak with the officers themselves, he could not rule out the possibility of calling on Cartwright’s colleague to testify.</p><p data-block-key=\"92vh9\">The Tracker was unable to independently corroborate Cartwright’s assertion that the charges against him were specifically in retaliation for the May 2020 incident.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"status_of_charges": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Lachlan Cartwright (The Daily Beast)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Two Occupy Democrats journalists removed from press conference with Florida governor",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-occupy-democrats-journalists-removed-from-press-conference-with-florida-governor/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-22T16:17:52.742796Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T20:54:41.344765Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T20:54:41.217336Z",
"date": "2022-04-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Miami",
"longitude": -80.19366,
"latitude": 25.77427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ro3e3\">Two journalists with the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats were forcibly removed from a press conference at Miami Dade College in downtown Miami, Florida, on April 12, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"da4ol\">Executive Editor Grant Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and Reported Opinion Columnist Thomas Kennedy were alerted to a press conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñes via email from the governor’s press office. Stern said both he and Kennedy sent emails confirming that they would attend the press conference, but received no response. Stern told the Tracker that due to Kennedy’s activist activities prior to his work for Occupy Democrats, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiled a dossier on Kennedy and his known associates in 2020 and functionally blacklisted him from attending the governor’s press conferences.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpk5b\">When reached for comment, Kennedy said that politicians in Florida too often pick and choose which press to engage with, and that his emails to RSVP for press conferences are routinely ignored.</p><p data-block-key=\"30j6k\">“Then, when we get [to the press conference] they tell us we’re not on the list or we haven’t gone through the proper credentialing. They could say ‘no,’ which I think is unfair and selective, especially when it’s not a campaign event, but they don’t even bother to do that,” Kennedy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2an1f\">When the pair arrived on April 12, they were directed to the media area at the back of the room alongside other members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"64un4\">Before the event began, DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, approached the press area with other staff members and multiple law enforcement officers. In footage <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1513892830325977093\">shared on Twitter</a> by NBC reporter Marc Caputo, another woman can be seen approaching Kennedy and asking him whether he is a member of the press; Kennedy responds that he is.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As with other Miami pressers, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GovRonDeSantis</a> kicks his off with the customary removal of <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tomaskenn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@tomaskenn</a> & <a href=\"https://twitter.com/grantstern?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@grantstern</a> <br><br>Here’s Tomas<br>1/2 <a href=\"https://t.co/v8cjHQK2ml\">pic.twitter.com/v8cjHQK2ml</a></p>— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarcACaputo/status/1513892830325977093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 12, 2022</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=\"ro3e3\">The woman says that Kennedy isn’t on their RSVP list and that because he did not go through their screening process he must step out of the room. At least three police officers then roughly guide Kennedy out of the room as he voices a question for DeSantis.</p><p data-block-key=\"2fi1q\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BiancaJoanie/status/1513892655675101189\">footage</a> posted by Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio, Pushaw can be seen pointing out Stern to a man who appears to also be acting as security for the event as Kennedy is led away. Moments later Stern is directed to leave the press conference as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"f6gm8\">“Do you suspect me of committing a crime?” Stern <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BiancaJoanie/status/1513893064057761795\">can be heard asking</a> an officer before walking out of the room. “I sent an RSVP, I am a member of the press: I am an editor of a national publication called Occupy Democrats.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8te52\">Stern told the Tracker he asked the officers for the names and badge numbers before the pair left to <a href=\"https://occupydemocrats.com/2022/04/12/video-florida-gov-ron-desantis-sends-cops-to-eject-our-journalists-for-no-reason/\">report on their removal</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"11e8i\">DeSantis’ office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"64k1r\">The governor’s office has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?politicians_or_public_figures_involved=Gov.%20Ron%20DeSantis\">barred press from covering press conferences or bill signings</a> on at least three other occasions since March 2020, including an incident in August 2021 when Stern was forcefully removed from a press conference with DeSantis and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The Tracker documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-at-advocacy-news-organization-dragged-from-press-conference/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Occupy_Democrats_1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hkn3m\">“Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio captured footage of police escorting two Occupy Democrats journalists out of a gubernatorial press conference at Miami Dade College on April 12, 2022.”</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"status_of_charges": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Florida",
"abbreviation": "FL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"State government: Governor"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats)",
"Thomas Kennedy (Occupy Democrats)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "A restraining order filed against two LA Times reporters to stop news story dissolved by judge",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/a-restraining-order-filed-against-two-la-times-reporters-to-stop-news-story-dissolved-by-judge/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-11T19:13:51.696338Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-07-13T22:28:07.241095Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-07-13T22:28:07.121488Z",
"date": "2022-04-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"w2821\">Michael Mario Santillanes, a cosmetic surgeon who was the subject of a Los Angeles Times <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-10/full-coverage-california-medical-board-and-troubled-doctors\">investigation</a>, filed a restraining order against two reporters who investigated claims that Santillanes continued to practice medicine after his license was revoked in 2020. After first granting the order against reporters Jack Dolan and Brittny Mejia, a California U.S. District judge then permanently dissolved it on April 11, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"5jbg2\"><a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-03/russian-thug-fake-yelp-former-california-doctor-medical-board\">According to the LA Times</a>, the judge cited “omissions and inconsistencies” in Santillanes’ story and accused him of “attempting to mislead the court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"71p1c\">When filing the request, Santillanes did not identify Dolan as a reporter, and claimed he was a menacing “Russian Thug.” Santillanes also implied that Mejia did not exist and was a made-up identity created to stalk his former clients on the review website, Yelp.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">He didn’t tell the judge I’m a reporter for the LA Times. He told her I was an enormous Russian thug dating his ex-wife. She signed the restraining order without Googling, apparently. With <a href=\"https://twitter.com/brittny_mejia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@brittny_mejia</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/g9wF5JZcz2\">https://t.co/g9wF5JZcz2</a></p>— Jack Dolan (@jackdolanLAT) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jackdolanLAT/status/1554842112490741760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 2022</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=\"w2821\">The LA Times reported that Santillanes' fictitious claims and the eventual restraining order — typically granted for immediate relief from violence, threats or harassment — derailed the reporters’ investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"46e7i\">Neither Dolan nor Mejia responded to a request for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The outlet’s General Counsel Jeff Glasser told the newspaper that this was the first time he had seen someone try to use a civil restraining order to prevent a news story.</p><p data-block-key=\"7v8cn\">“I was concerned that it posed a danger to our newsgathering,” Glasser said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8grgj\">After the Times filed documents to challenge the restraining order, a court hearing was held in Santa Ana in early May 2022. During the hearing, an LA Times attorney said the paper found a computer system breach the day after Santillanes filed for a restraining order. Dolan’s direct deposit paycheck had also been rerouted and transferred to a prepaid debit card, and his work email account was accessed more than a dozen times illegally.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This story marked a number of firsts. First court declaration. First time prepping to testify. First purchase of identity theft protection<br><br>An ex-doctor’s wild campaign against reporters w/ <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jackdolanLAT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jackdolanLAT</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/JpGDsSQC3i\">https://t.co/JpGDsSQC3i</a></p>— Brittny Mejia (@brittny_mejia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/brittny_mejia/status/1554854864378703872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 2022</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=\"w2821\">Judge Sandy N. Leal, who had initially granted the temporary restraining order, stopped the hearing after two days, permanently dissolving the restraining order and dismissing the case. Leal also invited the Times to file a motion requesting that Santillanes pay the paper’s legal fees, which it did. On July 11, Leal ordered Santillanes to pay $117,000 in attorneys fees.</p></div>",
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
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"Jack Dolan (Los Angeles Times)",
"Brittny Mejia (Los Angeles Times)"
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{
"title": "Documentary filmmaker subpoenaed by House Committee investigating Jan. 6 riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentary-filmmaker-subpoenaed-by-house-committee-investigating-jan-6-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2022-06-23T15:55:59.616478Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-28T18:59:52.596957Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-28T18:59:52.485327Z",
"date": "2022-04-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3h0g6\">The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol subpoenaed British documentary filmmaker Nick Quested for footage and testimony in mid-2022, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/us/alex-holder-jan-6-subpoena-video.html?referringSource=articleShare\">according to The New York Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6cf0r\">CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/09/politics/nick-quested-january-6-committee-public-hearing-explainer/index.html\">reported</a> that Quested, executive director and owner of Goldcrest Films, was embedded with the Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center <a href=\"https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys\">designates</a> as a hate group, for months leading up to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Leaders of the Proud Boys were involved in the early clashes at the Capitol and five of them have been charged with seditious conspiracy.</p><p data-block-key=\"4148s\">In an <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/11/opinions/quested-proud-boys-jan-6-hearing-bergen/index.html\">interview with CNN</a>, Quested said, “I spoke to the authorities in an interview beforehand, but when they were using my work in the way that they did, I felt it was only appropriate for them to subpoena me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8rjsf\">Quested told CNN that recognizing that he had likely filmed numerous crimes being committed, he decided to turn the footage over to the FBI.</p><p data-block-key=\"e358v\">“I didn’t feel there was any journalistic jeopardy giving that to authorities,” Quested said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5bmkp\">Quested <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-5-2022/candid-cameraman/\">told Politico</a> that he sat for an hours-long deposition on April 5, 2022. The documentarian also mentioned a possible second subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice.</p><p data-block-key=\"b65up\">Quested, who gave live testimony at a hearing on June 9, did not respond to requests for additional information on when the subpoena was issued or what materials were requested.</p><p data-block-key=\"5kpn6\">The House Select Committee, established on June 30 chaired by democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, has now issued at least three subpoenas targeting journalists or their records. The committee subpoenaed freelance photojournalist Amy Harris’ <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-sues-following-house-committees-subpoena-of-her-phone-records/\">phone records</a> in November 2021 and ordered another British documentarian, Alex Holder, to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentarian-subpoenaed-by-house-committee-investigating-jan-6-riot/\">provide footage and testify</a> before the committee on June 15, 2022.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTS8K0MO.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"juo0d\">Nick Quested, a documentary filmmaker, testifies on June 9, 2022, before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. Quested said he was speaking in compliance with a subpoena.</p>",
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_type": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"tags": [
"Donald Trump",
"election",
"Election 2020",
"white nationalism"
],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Nick Quested (Goldcrest Films)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"carried out"
],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Subpoena withdrawn for former NYT reporter in trial of Clinton campaign lawyer",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dc_sussmann-trial_lichtblau_subpoena_04-2022/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-26T19:16:22.127875Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-28T19:02:58.264030Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-28T19:02:58.087994Z",
"date": "2022-04-01",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ij4xv\">As part of a trial involving a former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer, a subpoena demanding testimony from a former New York Times reporter was submitted in April 2022 then withdrawn on May 24, legal counsel for the Times confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email.</p><p data-block-key=\"eohfi\"><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/us/politics/michael-sussmann-trial-eric-lichtblau.html\">According to the Times</a>, the subpoena called for Eric Lichtblau to testify in the trial of Michael Sussmann, who was charged with making false statements to the FBI in 2016 in his role as a Clinton campaign attorney.</p><p data-block-key=\"f8opr\">Prosecutors say that Sussmann met with former FBI General Counsel James Baker and shared information about data that allegedly linked the Trump Organization to Alfa Bank, a Russian bank affiliated with the Kremlin.</p><p data-block-key=\"3d3ru\">Prosecutors say Sussmann wanted to prompt an FBI investigation into the connection so that journalists could report on it. Sussmann’s defense team says he approached the FBI to notify them that an article was already underway.</p><p data-block-key=\"d7n2q\">Lichtblau, then a reporter for the Times, co-authored <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/us/politics/fbi-russia-election-donald-trump.html\">an article in October 2013</a>, six weeks after Sussmann met with the FBI, noting that officials had not been able to confirm a clear link between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.</p><p data-block-key=\"9dep0\"><a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/media/durham-sussmann-trial-times-lichtblau\">Fox News reported</a> that before the defense lawyers withdrew the subpoena, Lichtblau had initially agreed to testify during the trial but then filed a protective order to limit testimony to only interactions between him and Sussmann and bar any questions about other sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"15tn0\">According to the Times, Lichtblau’s testimony could have “shed light on what he told Mr. Sussmann regarding how soon an article might be published before he sought the F.B.I. meeting.”</p></div>",
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"subpoena_type": "other testimony",
"name_of_business": null,
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"Eric Lichtblau (The New York Times)"
],
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"dropped"
],
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},
{
"title": "Colorado investigative journalist assaulted by city official",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/colorado-investigative-journalist-assaulted-by-city-official/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-08T18:06:00.683497Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-01-09T22:14:01.158655Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-01-09T22:14:00.964856Z",
"date": "2022-03-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Collins",
"longitude": -105.08442,
"latitude": 40.58526,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zhs98\">Colorado independent journalist Stacy Lynne told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Loveland City Manager Stephen Adams “shoulder-checked” her while she was covering a hearing on public records on March 29, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"bj7el\">“It still shocks me to realize that he actually hit me,” Lynne said. “I didn't even have time to adjust or brace, I didn't have time to defend myself at all.”</p><p data-block-key=\"57nt8\">As part of an investigation, Lynne had sued the city of Loveland in 2021 for access to records around a police detective’s employment files. In January 2022, a district court judge granted her unredacted access to the files. Lynne said she was attending the March evidentiary hearing for the Loveland mayor’s public records request which referenced her reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"1pap5\">It was at the hearing, Lynne said, where she realized Adams had been involved in blocking access to the public records. Adams did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"d1jl7\">After the incident, Lynne filed a report with the sheriff’s department. She said it took 72 days for harassment charges to be filed.</p><p data-block-key=\"4f7v5\">In October, Adams entered into a diversion agreement, a contract with the court that allows first-time offenders to <a href=\"https://www.larimer.gov/da/diversion-programs#:~:text=We%20offer%20diversion%20opportunities%20for,harm%20repair%20in%20the%20community.\">resolve cases outside the criminal justice process</a>. Larimer County Assistant District Attorney Matt Maillaro told the Tracker via email that the case remained open while Adams completed the conditions of his diversion agreement — 50 hours of community service and a conflict management class. According to the DA’s office, failure to meet the conditions could result in prosecution. Adams is expected to complete the agreement in February 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"1l1qt\">Several months after the assault, Lynne said she was satisfied with how the DA’s office handled the case but was still disturbed by the city manager’s actions.</p><p data-block-key=\"bqkk9\">“His intention was clearly to scare me enough that I would stop reporting on what the city's problems are,” Lynne said. “So that's the chilling aspect, to make it clear that this was no accident.”</p></div>",
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"assailant": "public figure",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-01-02 00:00:00+00:00) Colorado journalist awarded $110,000 settlement in assault suit against city manager"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
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"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Stacy Lynne (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "New York Post reporter assaulted by man being evicted from encampment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-post-reporter-assaulted-by-man-being-evicted-from-encampment/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-07T17:40:41.252968Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-04T22:27:54.577315Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-04T22:27:54.010160Z",
"date": "2022-03-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"s5psp\">Kevin Sheehan, a reporter for the New York Post, was assaulted by a man who was being evicted from his makeshift dwelling in Riverbank State Park in New York City on March 28, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"73rda\">According to the <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/03/26/homeless-man-has-been-nesting-in-nyc-park-tree-for-months/\">Post</a>, the man, Rewell Altunaga, has lived in the park for several months. His eviction came the day after city officials issued a "notice of clean up" in the area of the park where Altunaga was living. Sheehan, who was reporting on the New York Police Department eviction of the area with a colleague, <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/03/28/nyc-squirrel-man-who-lives-in-park-tree-arrested-in-attack-on-post-reporter/\">captured the assault on video</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7iu2e\">The video shows Altunaga climbing down from a tree and grabbing a tree branch before walking toward Sheehan. Altunaga then asks Sheehan, "Why are you taking pictures?" before hitting Sheehan twice with the tree branch, once on his head, and knocking his phone out of his hand. Sheehan did not respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, and it is unclear if his phone was damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"tpq8\">In the video, Sheehan tells three police officers present about the assault. "This guy just hit me with a stick. You guys can't just let him walk away. That's assault," he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nqao\">The video shows NYPD police officers arresting Altunaga after he hit another Post journalist, photographer G.N. Miller, with a garbage bag, causing Miller’s camera to smash to the ground. The Tracker has documented that <a href=\"/all-incidents/new-york-post-photographer-assaulted-by-man-being-evicted-from-encampment/\">assault and equipment damage here.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"epavf\">According to the Post, Altunaga was charged with <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/squirrel-man-who-lives-in-manhattan-tree-released-without-bail-in-attack-on-post-reporter/\">second-degree assault</a> and released without bail on March 30. A judge also ordered that he remain clear of journalists Sheehan and Miller. NYPD has acknowledged but not responded to a request for more details.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-10-11 00:00:00+00:00) Case sealed for man who attacked New York Post reporter"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"tags": [
"encampment"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kevin Sheehan (New York Post)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "New York Post photographer assaulted by man being evicted from encampment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-post-photographer-assaulted-by-man-being-evicted-from-encampment/",
"first_published_at": "2022-04-07T17:43:07.680666Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-04T22:26:00.199804Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-04T22:25:59.986171Z",
"date": "2022-03-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"m53qw\">G.N. Miller, a photographer for the New York Post, was assaulted by a man who was being evicted from his makeshift dwelling in Riverbank State Park in New York City on March 28, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"aiqsc\">According to the <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/03/26/homeless-man-has-been-nesting-in-nyc-park-tree-for-months/\">New York Post</a>, the man, Rewell Altunaga, has lived in the park for several months. His eviction came the day after city officials issued a "notice of clean up" in the area of the park where Altunaga was living. Miller, who was reporting on the New York Police Department eviction of the area with a colleague, <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/03/28/nyc-squirrel-man-who-lives-in-park-tree-arrested-in-attack-on-post-reporter/\">captured the assault on video</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"acslf\">Miller did not respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Miller’s colleague, Post reporter Kevin Sheehan, was <a href=\"/all-incidents/new-york-post-reporter-assaulted-by-man-being-evicted-from-encampment/\">also assaulted by Altunaga</a>. Sheehan filmed NYPD police officers arresting Altunaga after he hit Miller with a garbage bag, causing Miller’s camera to smash to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"735a0\">According to the Post, Altunaga was charged with <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/squirrel-man-who-lives-in-manhattan-tree-released-without-bail-in-attack-on-post-reporter/\">second-degree assault</a> and released without bail on March 30. A judge also ordered that he remain clear of journalists Miller and Sheehan. NYPD has acknowledged but not responded to a request for more details.</p></div>",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-10-11 00:00:00+00:00) Case sealed for man who attacked New York Post photographer"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"encampment"
],
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"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
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"G.N. Miller (New York Post)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist assaulted in Denver while reporting on city’s efforts to curb crime",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-in-denver-while-reporting-on-citys-efforts-to-curb-crime/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-24T20:24:35.224840Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-04-04T20:02:23.618488Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-04-04T20:02:23.561831Z",
"date": "2022-03-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Denver",
"longitude": -104.9847,
"latitude": 39.73915,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7c9bo\">An unidentified photojournalist for CBS Denver News was assaulted while on assignment in Denver, Colorado, on March 21, 2022, according to the reporter accompanying him at the time.</p><p data-block-key=\"bb81r\">Kelly Werthmann, a CBS Denver News anchor, was with the photojournalist and witnessed the assault. Werthmann <a href=\"https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/03/21/denver-crime-union-station-shooting/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter\">said in a newscast</a> after the assault that the incident occurred as the photojournalist gathered video footage of the Union Station and the Regional Transportation District bus terminal in downtown Denver.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ilsb\">“While we were out there earlier today, our photographer was simply trying to get video of the area, and that’s when a man, unprovoked, came over and hit him upside the head and threatened to kill him,” Werthmann said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Working on a stay about safety around Union Station & the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RideRTD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RideRTD</a> bus terminal here. Just minutes after setting up his camera, my photographer was assaulted. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DenverPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DenverPolice</a> here now taking the report. Thankfully my photog is ok, for the most part. <a href=\"https://t.co/CEgQso19KA\">pic.twitter.com/CEgQso19KA</a></p>— Kelly Werthmann 🌻 (@KellyCBS4) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KellyCBS4/status/1505983727385653258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 21, 2022</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=\"7c9bo\">Werthmann declined a request for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker but confirmed over email that the photojournalist was not seriously harmed. She also confirmed that no equipment was damaged during the incident, and both continued reporting on their assignments for that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"n9n3\">According to the outlet, the assault comes after a recent wave of violent incidents surrounding Union Station, including <a href=\"https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/03/20/dominico-archuleta-union-station-shooting/\">a shooting</a> in the station’s underground bus terminal on March 19.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/CBS_News_Denver.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bljsg\">A CBS Denver News photojournalist was assaulted by an unidentified man on March 21, 2022, at Denver's Union Station, shown in this 2017 file photo.<br/>REUTERS/Rick Wilking</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
"updates": [],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 21 (KCNC-TV)"
],
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"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Journalist subpoenaed in connection with blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-23T14:53:02.849522Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:18:20.854484Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:18:20.740171Z",
"date": "2022-03-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1p1ao\">The City of Minneapolis issued journalist Jared Goyette a subpoena on March 18, 2022, in connection with a pending lawsuit against the city and multiple law enforcement officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"bjgk5\">The Minneapolis Star Tribune <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-serving-subpoenas-on-journalists-in-lawsuit-over-2020-unrest-response/600157398/?refresh=true\">reported</a> that three journalists were ordered to produce a broad range of materials and communications relating to their coverage of protests following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The subpoenas were filed in connection with an excessive use of force lawsuit filed by freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado, who was permanently blinded in one eye after police <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/\">shot her with a crowd-control munition</a> on May 29.</p><p data-block-key=\"3uve9\">Goyette, who was a freelance journalist at the time and now works for Fox 9, declined to comment further than confirming to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was one of the three journalists subpoenaed. He is also a plaintiff in a separate class-action suit against the city and law enforcement, which <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-in-the-eye-with-less-lethal-round-during-second-day-of-minnesota-protests/#update-337\">recently reached a partial settlement</a> with Minnesota State Patrol.</p><p data-block-key=\"3fn3l\">According to the Star Tribune, the subpoenas order the journalists to produce any images or documents pertaining to their coverage of the protests from May 26-31, 2020, and any communications they may have had with Tirado or her legal counsel, excepting anything that he has “a good faith basis to assert is protected by a legally recognized journalistic privilege.” The journalists were also ordered to appear for depositions via Zoom videoconferencing in late March.</p><p data-block-key=\"dtnci\">The journalists were each also asked for materials related to their own injuries from projectiles that struck them while covering the protests sparked by Floyd’s death. Goyette was struck in the eye with a crowd-control munition while covering protests on May 27. The Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-in-the-eye-with-less-lethal-round-during-second-day-of-minnesota-protests/\">here</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I got hit in the eye and then tear gassed. <a href=\"https://t.co/wXm1P5yPKb\">pic.twitter.com/wXm1P5yPKb</a></p>— Jared Goyette (@JaredGoyette) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JaredGoyette/status/1265786797650558976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1p1ao\"><a href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/03/18/minneapolis-city-attorney-subpoenas-reporters-in-police-brutality-suit\">According to MPR News</a>, the city issued similar subpoenas to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Andy Mannix</a> of the Star Tribune and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/deputy-editor-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Max Nesterak</a> of the Minnesota Reformer.</p><p data-block-key=\"5tkph\">In a statement shared with the Tracker, the City Attorney’s Office said: “The individuals subpoenaed were identified by Plaintiff Linda Tirado as having information relevant to her claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"autnk\">“It is incumbent upon the City Attorney’s Office, as it would be any attorney, to obtain information relevant to their client’s case, whether or not the individuals possessing that information happen to be journalists.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"actor": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_type": "subpoena",
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-06-02 10:33:00+00:00) Subpoenas dropped following settlement in blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"Black Lives Matter 1 year",
"Black Lives Matter 2020",
"protest"
],
"current_charges": [],
"dropped_charges": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jared Goyette (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Deputy editor subpoenaed in connection with blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/deputy-editor-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-23T14:45:01.283931Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:17:46.621429Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:17:46.514959Z",
"date": "2022-03-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uubim\">The City of Minneapolis issued Minnesota Reformer Deputy Editor Max Nesterak a subpoena on March 18, 2022, in connection with a pending lawsuit against the city and multiple law enforcement officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"eqav8\">The Minneapolis Star Tribune <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-serving-subpoenas-on-journalists-in-lawsuit-over-2020-unrest-response/600157398/?refresh=true\">reported</a> that Nesterak was one of three journalists ordered to produce a broad range of materials and communications relating to their coverage of protests following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The subpoenas were filed in connection with an excessive use of force lawsuit filed by freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado, who was permanently blinded in one eye after police <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/\">shot her with a crowd-control munition</a> on May 29.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvnlh\">Nesterak, who declined to comment on advice from counsel, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1504919070575005699\">confirmed</a> on Twitter that he was one of the journalists served with a subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"48o4g\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1504919422787624961\">subsequent post</a>, Nesterak included a photo of the subpoena, which orders him to bring “all videos, photographs, recordings, communications, documents, or other items in your possession (including social media posts) that are related to you being hit in the chest as stated in your tweet from 11:32 p.m. on May 27, 2020.” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-hit-less-lethal-rounds-during-second-day-minnesota-protests/\">here</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">And I got hit in the chest by a rubber bullet from police. Covered me in dust that’s been making me cough for a half hour. I’m home now. <a href=\"https://t.co/sYShFOjvQO\">pic.twitter.com/sYShFOjvQO</a></p>— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1265863514754813952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 28, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uubim\">The subpoena also orders Nesterak to produce any images or documents pertaining to his coverage of the protests from May 26-31, 2020, and any communications he may have had with Tirado or her legal counsel, excepting anything that he has “a good faith basis to assert is protected by a legally recognized journalistic privilege.”</p><p data-block-key=\"185f9\"><a href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/03/18/minneapolis-city-attorney-subpoenas-reporters-in-police-brutality-suit\">According to MPR News</a>, the city issued similar subpoenas to <a href=\"/all-incidents/reporter-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Andy Mannix</a> of the Star Tribune and <a href=\"/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Jared Goyette</a>, who was a freelance journalist during the protests and now works for Fox 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"9t57l\">The City Attorney’s Office shared a statement with the Tracker that said the individuals subpoenaed were identified by Tirado as having relevant information.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ndg9\">“It is incumbent upon the City Attorney’s Office, as it would be any attorney, to obtain information relevant to their client’s case, whether or not the individuals possessing that information happen to be journalists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dgjbu\">In a statement shared with the Tracker, Reformer Editor-in-Chief J. Patrick Coolican said the outlet intends to fight the subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"8mhm3\">“This ham-handed effort to intimidate journalists with a burdensome legal action will not achieve its intended effect,” Coolican said. “Quite the contrary. We will continue to aggressively pursue our reporting, and protect our newsgathering rights from interference by government officials.”</p></div>",
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"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-06-02 10:34:00+00:00) Subpoenas dropped following settlement in blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit"
],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"Black Lives Matter 1 year",
"Black Lives Matter 2020",
"protest"
],
"current_charges": [],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Max Nesterak (Minnesota Reformer)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": null
}
]
