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{
"title": "Devices illegally seized in investigation of reporter’s murder, Review-Journal argues",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/devices-illegally-seized-in-investigation-of-reporters-murder-review-journal-argues/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-27T17:41:09.041418Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-17T17:57:52.175048Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-17T17:57:52.017152Z",
"date": "2022-09-03",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Las Vegas",
"longitude": -115.13722,
"latitude": 36.17497,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vg957\">The Las Vegas Review-Journal filed a motion for a protective order on Sept. 26, 2022, arguing that authorities should be barred from searching the electronic devices seized as part of the investigation into the murder of reporter Jeff German.</p><p data-block-key=\"914sm\">German, who had covered crime and political corruption in Las Vegas for more than 40 years, was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/county-official-arrested-in-stabbing-death-of-las-vegas-journalist/\">stabbed outside his home</a> on Sept. 2. Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was arrested on suspicion of murder less than a week later and is being held without bail awaiting trial.</p><p data-block-key=\"387qk\">According to court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, both Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson contacted the Review-Journal, alerting the newspaper to the seizure of German’s devices and requesting a waiver to allow authorities to search them.</p><p data-block-key=\"dagbf\">The Clark County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2591i\">In total, officers seized an iPhone, three iMacs, a Macbook and an external hard drive from German’s home, according to the motion. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told the newspaper in writing on Sept. 16 that the devices had not been searched and would not be until the court issued an order authorizing the review.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gsmi\">Ashley Kissinger, an attorney representing the newspaper, sent a letter to the Metro Police Department, the Clark County public defender representing Telles and the District Attorney’s Office on Sept. 21 listing their concerns and requesting a call to further discuss the issue. Kissinger sent a follow up letter two days later proposing a resolution before resorting to filing a motion for a protective order.</p><p data-block-key=\"4dmv4\">When reached for comment, Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook provided a copy of the motion and declined to comment further.</p><p data-block-key=\"3tenr\">The letters and the motion filed on the Review-Journal’s behalf on Sept. 26 argue that German’s contacts, communications and work product are protected from seizure and review under Nevada’s shield law and the federal <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-661-privacy-protection-act-1980\">Privacy Protection Act</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7kctr\">“The Review-Journal appreciates the efforts of law enforcement to investigate the murder of Mr. German, and of all those seeking to ensure that justice is done for this horrific crime,” the motion states. “However, the newspaper has serious and urgent concerns about the protection of confidential sources and other unpublished journalistic work product contained in the Seized Devices.”</p><p data-block-key=\"967bt\">The motion further requests that the court allow the Review-Journal to review the devices, identify the newsgathering materials contained on them and determine whether it wishes to waive its privilege concerning any of the files.</p><p data-block-key=\"46pui\">The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the Tracker, <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2022/09/cpj-supports-las-vegas-review-journals-efforts-to-protect-slain-reporters-unpublished-source-material/\">expressed its support</a> for the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"59d5j\">“A murder investigation should not be used as a pretext to access unreported source material that should be protected by both the First Amendment and Nevada’s shield law,” CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen said in a statement. “If law enforcement were to gain access to decades of Jeff German’s unpublished work, including sensitive source material, it would make an already difficult situation even worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"flsd3\">According to the court filing, a hearing on the motion is scheduled for Sept. 28.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/German_motion.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7f134\">A portion of the motion filed on behalf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal seeking to protect the newsgathering materials contained on multiple devices seized from slain reporter Jeff German’s home in September 2022.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "A-22-859361-C",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "in custody",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": true,
"actor": "law enforcement",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 4,
"equipment": "computer"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "storage device"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Nevada",
"abbreviation": "NV"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-01-25 14:43:00+00:00) Review-Journal staff authorized to search slain reporter’s devices",
"(2022-10-19 12:05:00+00:00) Injunction to be heard by Nevada Supreme Court following police department appeal",
"(2023-10-05 15:04:00+00:00) Nevada top court says search protocol in Jeff German case violates privilege",
"(2022-10-05 11:34:00+00:00) Judge grants Review-Journal emergency protective order against searching slain reporter’s devices",
"(2022-12-16 14:30:00+00:00) Review-Journal files for sanctions after learning that police searched journalist’s phone",
"(2023-01-25 15:40:00+00:00) Judge denies sanctions against the Las Vegas police for search slain reporter’s phone",
"(2024-07-25 13:29:00+00:00) After many delays, slain journalist’s murder trial set for August",
"(2022-10-11 15:26:00+00:00) Judge grants injunction barring searching slain reporter’s devices until agreement reached",
"(2024-08-28 00:00:00+00:00) County official convicted in stabbing death of Las Vegas investigative journalist",
"(2022-11-15 13:47:00+00:00) Judges side with Review-Journal in series of rulings on seizure of slain reporter’s devices",
"(2024-10-16 12:39:00+00:00) County official sentenced to life for murder of Las Vegas investigative journalist"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jeff German (Las Vegas Review-Journal)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "County official arrested in stabbing death of Las Vegas investigative journalist",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/county-official-arrested-in-stabbing-death-of-las-vegas-journalist/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-08T14:30:50.435711Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-17T17:58:04.962738Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-17T17:58:04.812251Z",
"date": "2022-09-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Las Vegas",
"longitude": -115.13722,
"latitude": 36.17497,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pupxg\">On Sept. 7, 2022, Las Vegas police arrested a public official on suspicion of murdering a Las Vegas Review-Journal journalist, <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/police-arrest-county-official-in-reporters-stabbing-death-2635486/\">according to the outlet</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"30ni2\">Investigative reporter Jeff German was found fatally stabbed outside of his home on the morning of Sept. 3, with police saying they believe he was attacked the previous morning. In the <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/review-journal-investigative-reporter-jeff-german-killed-outside-home-2634323/\">report of his death</a>, Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said German had never communicated concerns about his personal safety or threats made against him.</p><p data-block-key=\"flmun\">On Sept. 6, LVMPD <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/police-release-images-of-suspect-in-reporters-slaying-seek-footage-2634614/\">released two images</a> during a news conference, including one of a suspect next to a vehicle. Later that evening, <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/police-arrest-county-official-in-reporters-stabbing-death-2635486/\">according to the Review-Journal</a>, reporters for the outlet observed Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles in his driveway next to a vehicle matching the description.</p><p data-block-key=\"akh1a\">German had published a series of <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/county-office-in-turmoil-with-secret-video-and-claims-of-bullying-hostility-2577147/\">investigations</a> into Telles beginning in May which revealed a hostile work environment characterized by bullying, retaliation and an “inappropriate relationship” between Telles and a staffer during his oversight of the public administrator’s office.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbcr3\">On Sept. 7, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department searched Telles’ home and arrested him that evening, <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/who-is-county-official-robert-telles-2635614/\">according to the Review-Journal</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">TELLES ARRESTED: Police have arrested Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles on Wednesday on suspicion of murder of Las Vegas Review Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, according to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/LVMPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LVMPD</a> Sheriff Joe Lombardo. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/RJNow?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RJNow</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/V4IqE7euZP\">pic.twitter.com/V4IqE7euZP</a></p>— James Schaeffer (@jamesmschaeffer) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jamesmschaeffer/status/1567691946965233664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 8, 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=\"pupxg\">“The arrest of Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal newsroom,” Executive Editor Cook said in a statement to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official. Journalists can’t do the important work our communities require if they are afraid a presentation of facts could lead to violent retribution. We thank Las Vegas police for their urgency and hard work and for immediately recognizing the terrible significance of Jeff’s killing. Now, hopefully, the Review-Journal, the German family and Jeff’s many friends can begin the process of mourning and honoring a great man and a brave reporter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bh5dt\">Telles is being held on suspicion of murder and has a court appearance scheduled on Sept. 8, according to online Clark County Jail records reviewed by the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"99ov7\">As of publication, LVMPD and the Review-Journal could not be reached for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/image_ExDg1DK.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ubmb1\">Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German, photographed on Las Vegas’ Strip in June 2021, was killed outside his home on Sept. 2, 2022. A county official has been charged with his murder.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": 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": "politician",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Nevada",
"abbreviation": "NV"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-09-08 14:22:00+00:00) Las Vegas police say evidence ties county official to murder of Review-Journal journalist",
"(2022-10-26 13:33:00+00:00) County official pleads not guilty in the murder of Las Vegas journalist",
"(2022-11-02 10:57:00+00:00) Trial date set for county official charged in the murder of Las Vegas journalist",
"(2022-10-19 13:37:00+00:00) County official charged with murder of Las Vegas journalist, faces possible death penalty",
"(2023-02-01 16:38:00+00:00) Trial postponed for county official charged in stabbing death of Review-Journal reporter",
"(2024-07-25 14:23:00+00:00) After many delays, slain journalist’s murder trial set for August",
"(2024-08-28 00:00:00+00:00) County official convicted in stabbing death of Las Vegas investigative journalist",
"(2024-10-16 12:39:00+00:00) County official sentenced to life for murder of Las Vegas investigative journalist",
"(2022-10-18 12:07:00+00:00) County official accused of stabbing death of Las Vegas journalist denied bail"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"killed"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jeff German (Las Vegas Review-Journal)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "California journalism adviser threatened with suspension, rescinded after appeal",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/california-journalism-advisor-threatened-with-suspension-rescinded-after-appeal/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-19T20:31:03.727845Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T15:11:45.503801Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T15:11:45.338455Z",
"date": "2022-09-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Lake Balboa",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ptx2y\">The suspension of a journalism adviser at a high school in Lake Balboa, California, was rescinded on Sept. 16, 2022 following a lengthy conflict with school administrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"156bb\">Daniel Pearl Magnet High School’s journalism adviser, Adriana Chavira, was given an unpaid three-day suspension on Sept. 1, after Chavira repeatedly denied school administrators' requests that she remove a librarian’s name from a fall 2021 student story about a vaccine mandate protest, the <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-08/los-angeles-daniel-pearl-high-school-journalism-advisor-faces-suspension\">Los Angeles Times reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cjag3\">Chavira, a former reporter and longtime journalism adviser at the high school, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she left the name in the story because the student journalists didn’t want it removed.</p><p data-block-key=\"7u2p8\">“It’s a student-run publication,” Chavira said. “I read the stories before they’re posted, but the students are the ones who ultimately write the headlines, post them and make it live. I don’t do that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cdmj8\">The <a href=\"https://www.thepearlpost.com/27098/showcase/school-staff-vaccine-mandate-sparks-protests-causes-librarian-to-leave/\">original report</a> about people protesting the school district’s vaccination mandate was published in November 2021. The article named a librarian who had refused to be vaccinated and left the school because of the mandate, causing the school library to close.</p><p data-block-key=\"8eue1\">Chavira said she received an email from the librarian in mid-November asking that her name be taken out of the story. Chavira forwarded the email to the Pearl Post’s student journalists, who consulted with the Student Press Law Center and decided not to remove the name given its newsworthiness.</p><p data-block-key=\"av322\">Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel for the SPLC, said that California has the oldest law protecting students’ First Amendment rights in the country. The law, <a href=\"https://splc.org/1977/02/california-student-free-expression-law-includes-adviser-protection-provision/\">Education Code 48907</a>, also protects journalism advisers from retaliation.</p><p data-block-key=\"7b91\">“It’s such an easy legal case,” Hiestand said. “And I really am befuddled by why the district has taken the stance that it has.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2dacp\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker before the suspension was rescinded, a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson said they were unable to address ongoing personnel matters. “We will continue to support our students and their journalistic endeavors at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School while also respecting the concerns of our school community.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fhsdf\">Chavira said she received her first email from school administrators threatening disciplinary action if the name wasn’t taken out of the story in January 2022. In a months-long back-and-forth, she said, the school would repeatedly give her deadlines to remove the name. She repeatedly ignored them, arguing that it was up to the students’ discretion.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kbto\">The suspension, which Chavira said would have been handed down in June 2022 if the school’s principal hadn't fallen ill at the end of the school year, came three weeks into the fall 2022 semester. According to Chavira, the school completely ignored the law protecting the student publication and framed the suspension as an issue of insubordination.</p><p data-block-key=\"1l18k\">Backed by the California Teachers Association, journalists and press freedom advocates around the country, Chavira’s suspension was rescinded following an appeal hearing on Sept. 16, <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-17/suspension-rescinded-for-l-a-journalism-teacher-who-refused-to-censor-student-article\">the Times reported.</a> Supporters also include the father of Daniel Pearl, the slain reporter after whom the school is named. In <a href=\"https://lapressclub.org/pearl-family-la-press-club-share-support-high-school-journalism-advisor/\">an LA Press Club statement</a>, Judea Pearl, who is also the president of his son’s namesake foundation, praised the journalism adviser for inspiring her students.</p><p data-block-key=\"2o9rf\">In her <a href=\"https://twitter.com/adrianachavira/status/1570981832350658563\">tweet</a> celebrating the successful appeal, Chavira thanked the many supporters.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">🧵My suspension has been rescinded! You have no idea how relieved I am! I am grateful to the many journalism organizations & people who supported my students & me throughout this ordeal. Yes, I wore this <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/FirstAmendment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstAmendment</a> shirt to my appeal meeting on Zoom today. (1/6) <a href=\"https://t.co/TaSZPaUS7U\">pic.twitter.com/TaSZPaUS7U</a></p>— Adriana Chavira (@adrianachavira) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/adrianachavira/status/1570981832350658563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 17, 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=\"ptx2y\">“The district should never have attempted to censor my students and discipline me,” Chavira wrote. “All along, I knew we were in the right and I'm proud of my students for holding their ground, too.”</p></div>",
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],
"tags": [
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"student journalism"
],
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"Other Incident"
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{
"title": "Judge quashes subpoena of opinion editor as part of Flint water suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-quashes-subpoena-of-opinion-editor-as-part-of-flint-water-suit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-30T21:20:30.396420Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:12:03.730019Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:12:03.600171Z",
"date": "2022-09-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Ann Arbor",
"longitude": -83.74088,
"latitude": 42.27756,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zdgol\">Two Detroit News editors were issued subpoenas on Sept. 1, 2022, as part of ongoing litigation around the contamination of the water system in Flint, Michigan. The subpoenas, which ordered Opinion Editor Brendan Clarey and Editor and Publisher Gary Miles to turn over documents and sit for depositions, were subsequently quashed.</p><p data-block-key=\"fr1ij\">The Detroit News had published an opinion piece on Aug. 31 that criticized a lawsuit brought against two engineering firms for their alleged role in the water crisis. Earlier that month, a federal judge had declared a mistrial in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"c6aps\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.3.pdf\">subpoenas</a>, issued by the plaintiff’s after the mistrial, sought all communications and newsgathering material related to the op-ed, which was written by the president of The American Tort Reform Association. The subpoenas also specifically sought information about the editorial process for the op-ed and whether one of the engineering firms was involved in placing the piece.</p><p data-block-key=\"7mc47\">Miles, who responded to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment, said that at first they didn’t know that Clarey had also been issued a subpoena because he was on family leave. The Tracker has documented Miles’ subpoena <a href=\"/all-incidents/two-detroit-news-editors-subpoenaed-as-part-of-flint-water-suit/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8b80b\">Miles said that before the op-ed was published, a reporter at the newspaper had contacted the plaintiffs’ attorney for comment on a separate news story, which concerned a possible public relations campaign being waged by the defendants.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs4uv\">Miles said that, while he doesn’t know the rationale of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, it’s possible they feared or suspected the news organization was being co-opted by defendants, because the op-ed ran before the news story was published.</p><p data-block-key=\"8vv5e\">Plaintiffs’ attorney Corey Stern issued the subpoenas and <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.5.pdf\">sent a letter</a> to The Detroit News’ attorneys on Sept. 1, accusing the newspaper of publishing defamatory claims about him and of conspiring with the defendants in the suit.</p><p data-block-key=\"6hj2a\">Attorneys for Clarey and Miles filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.0.pdf\">motion to quash</a> on Oct. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"9vd9e\">“The burden on Mr. Miles and Mr. Clarey to attend depositions and produce documents is great, as it potentially requires them to produce confidential, unpublished material and communications,” the motion stated. “Allowing access to these materials and communications from a journalist will severely inhibit the flow of accurate information to the interested public.”</p><p data-block-key=\"boltt\">District Judge Judith Levy <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2267.0_1.pdf\">ruled</a> in favor of the journalists on Nov. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"7urnd\">“While there are certainly some circumstances where it would be appropriate for a party to take third-party discovery from a media outlet,” Levy wrote in her ruling, “this is not one of them.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"heiej\">A portion of the motion filed on behalf of Detroit News editors Gary Miles and Brendan Clarey seeking to quash the subpoenas issued them by plaintiffs in an ongoing Flint water crisis lawsuit on Sept. 1, 2022.</p>",
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{
"title": "Two Detroit News editors subpoenaed as part of Flint water suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-detroit-news-editors-subpoenaed-as-part-of-flint-water-suit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-30T21:22:33.975137Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:12:20.772099Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:12:20.659204Z",
"date": "2022-09-01",
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"city": "Ann Arbor",
"longitude": -83.74088,
"latitude": 42.27756,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9u4y7\">Two Detroit News editors were issued subpoenas on Sept. 1, 2022, as part of ongoing litigation around the contamination of the water system in Flint, Michigan. The subpoenas, which ordered Editor and Publisher Gary Miles and Opinion Editor Brendan Clarey to turn over documents and sit for depositions, were subsequently quashed.</p><p data-block-key=\"5os4\">The Detroit News had published an opinion piece on Aug. 31 that criticized a lawsuit brought against two engineering firms for their alleged role in the water crisis. Earlier that month, a federal judge had declared a mistrial in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"3q2j\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.3.pdf\">subpoenas</a>, issued by the plaintiffs after the mistrial, sought all communications and newsgathering material related to the op-ed, which was written by the president of The American Tort Reform Association. The subpoenas also specifically sought information about the editorial process for the op-ed and whether one of the engineering firms was involved in placing the piece.</p><p data-block-key=\"brj5s\">Editor and Publisher Miles told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that before the op-ed was published, a reporter at the newspaper had contacted the plaintiffs’ attorney for comment on a separate news story, which concerned a possible public relations campaign being waged by the defendants.</p><p data-block-key=\"cm62c\">Miles said that, while he doesn’t know the rationale of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, it’s possible they feared or suspected the news organization was being co-opted by defendants, because the op-ed ran before the news story was published.</p><p data-block-key=\"dnr6u\">“They also might have simply seen the timing of the op-ed as another glaring example of the defendants trying to influence a prospective jury before it was seated for retrial,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebega\">Plaintiffs’ attorney Corey Stern issued the subpoenas and <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.5.pdf\">sent a letter</a> to The Detroit News’ attorneys on Sept. 1, accusing the newspaper of publishing defamatory claims about him and of conspiring with the defendants in the suit.</p><p data-block-key=\"5o2q2\">An attorney representing Miles sent a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.6.pdf\">letter to Stern</a> on Sept. 27, stating that Miles would not comply with the subpoena and that they’d file a motion to quash the request if the plaintiffs refused to withdraw it.</p><p data-block-key=\"hou4\">“You are attempting to use the discovery process in an ongoing litigation to investigate your own meritless defamation claims,” the letter said. “This is an improper use of the discovery process, and we are confident the Court will not endorse this type of fishing expedition in the context of the ongoing Flint Water Litigation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aeda5\">Miles told the Tracker that at first they didn’t know that Opinion Editor Clarey had also been issued a subpoena, as he was on family leave. The Tracker has documented Clarey’s subpoena <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-quashes-subpoena-of-opinion-editor-as-part-of-flint-water-suit/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6c0uu\">The plaintiffs refused to withdraw their subpoenas, and attorneys for Clarey and Miles filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2233.0.pdf\">motion to quash</a> on Oct. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"ao0em\">“The burden on Mr. Miles and Mr. Clarey to attend depositions and produce documents is great, as it potentially requires them to produce confidential, unpublished material and communications,” the motion stated. “Allowing access to these materials and communications from a journalist will severely inhibit the flow of accurate information to the interested public.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e87h7\">District Judge Judith Levy <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mied.308134/gov.uscourts.mied.308134.2267.0_1.pdf\">ruled</a> in favor of the journalists on Nov. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"2kcgl\">“While there are certainly some circumstances where it would be appropriate for a party to take third-party discovery from a media outlet,” Levy wrote in her ruling, “this is not one of them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6t8j9\">Miles told the Tracker he was pleased with the judge’s ruling, and he hopes that it will set a precedent for protecting journalists from being targeted with similar fishing expeditions.</p><p data-block-key=\"7t5ji\">“Even though there’s an expense to fighting off a subpoena like this, I think that’s ultimately the reward,” Miles said. “You can’t use the media to do your discovery, because the media has to have some manner of independence from the discovery in civil lawsuits so we’re not seen as an arm of one side or another.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bcj8z\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Detroit News Editor and Published Gary Miles on Sept. 1, 2022. The subpoena sought communications, work product and testimony in connection with an ongoing Flint water crisis lawsuit.</p>",
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"name": "Michigan",
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"Gary Miles (Detroit News)"
],
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"quashed"
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{
"title": "Independent journalist shot with pepper ball at Modesto protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-shot-with-pepper-ball-at-modesto-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-07T20:42:42.812265Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-06T16:44:57.613488Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-06T16:44:57.511067Z",
"date": "2022-08-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Modesto",
"longitude": -120.99688,
"latitude": 37.6391,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"m8qxb\">Independent journalist Jake Lee Green was shot with a crowd-control munition while documenting the clash of protesters and counterprotesters at a National Straight Pride Coalition event in Modesto, California, on Aug. 27, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpeut\">Green told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was on assignment for News2Share, a collective that sells footage to news outlets, to document the fourth annual “straight pride” parade outside of a Planned Parenthood. Though the event didn’t take place — because LGBTQ+ rights activists arrived before them to stop it — the demonstrators and counterprotesters began to clash, with some brawling in the street.</p><p data-block-key=\"2sh67\">The Modesto Police Department <a href=\"https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article264994959.html\">told The Modesto Bee</a> it declared the event an “unlawful gathering” after a bush caught fire. MPD officers and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies formed a line pushing the counterprotesters back, according to the Bee.</p><p data-block-key=\"acn83\">Green said he and other colleagues asked police officers where to be, and they were told they had to “go with the crowd.”</p><p data-block-key=\"skum\">“We kept constantly trying to let them know that we were press and even when we tried to cross the street to get out of the crowd so we could differentiate ourselves from them, the police ended up taking over the entire street and pushing the entire street out and away,” Green said.</p><p data-block-key=\"52jvo\">Green told the Tracker he had been photographing a group of young activists at the police line who were being struck with batons and shot with pepper balls during the forced dispersal at around 11:15 a.m. According to Green, that’s when an MPD officer shot him with a pepper ball munition.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"8u96p\">“I was focused on that group of people because I saw that [the officer] was shooting at them, I wasn’t actually necessarily paying attention to him although he was in the frame,” Green said. “And while I was focused on them he must have turned to me and shot toward my left pretty indiscriminately.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a83o9\">Green told the Tracker he was carrying a professional camera and had attached his press credentials to his hat so that they could be easily seen. He said that the officer wasn’t being careful enough to notice that he was a member of the press or did notice and decided to fire at him anyway.</p><p data-block-key=\"de8bs\">When things calmed down shortly after, Green checked his wound. “I thought, ‘OK, I’m bleeding a little bit but not too bad,’ and I continued to do my work throughout the day.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7qlmk\">MPD did not respond to a call requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Jake_Lee_Green.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bprv9\">Independent journalist Jake Lee Green was shot in the leg with a pepper ball, a type of crowd-control munition, while documenting a ‘straight pride’ event and counterprotest in Modesto, California, on Aug. 27, 2022.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"LGBTQ+ rights",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jake Lee Green (News2Share)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Student journalist hit with police baton, pepper-sprayed at Puerto Rico protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-pepper-sprayed-hit-with-police-baton-while-covering-protests-in-puerto-rico/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-14T14:09:24.980118Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-13T19:29:35.730473Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-13T19:29:35.664288Z",
"date": "2022-08-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"828f1\">Student journalist Diego Berrios told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was assaulted on Aug. 25, 2022, by a law enforcement officer while covering ongoing protests in San Juan, Puerto Rico.</p><p data-block-key=\"cuoci\">Berrios, a student at the University of Puerto Rico who reports for <a href=\"https://pulsoestudiantil.com/\">Pulso Estudiantil</a>, told the Tracker in Spanish that he was in the island’s historic district covering demonstrations denouncing LUMA Energy, the private company contracted to take over the island’s electricity grid.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ernh\">Reuters reported that hundreds of protesters <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/hundreds-protest-demand-puerto-rico-scrap-contract-with-power-grid-operator-2022-07-20/\">marched in the streets</a> in a call for government officials to end a 15-year contract with the energy company after years of recurring blackouts and rising power costs.</p><p data-block-key=\"dsh60\">Berrios said that evening he followed other journalists documenting protesters clashing with a line of police officers near a permanent barrier that had been erected after the <a href=\"https://www.latinorebels.com/2019/07/26/rossellofalls/\">2019 protests</a> that ousted the then-governor.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">[AHORA] Cientos de manifestantes acuden a la calle Fortaleza en protesta contra <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/LUMAEnergy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LUMAEnergy</a>. El reclamo principal de la protesta es la cancelación del contrato con la compañía de servicio energético. <a href=\"https://t.co/vPMrYMHng4\">pic.twitter.com/vPMrYMHng4</a></p>— Pulso Estudiantil (@PulsoEST) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PulsoEST/status/1562924017463562243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 25, 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=\"828f1\">“I was standing with all the other photojournalists and reporters when the police officers arrested a couple of protesters,” Berrios said. “That’s when one police officer released pepper spray into the crowd.”</p><p data-block-key=\"99qje\">Berrios told the Tracker he saw independent journalist Carlos Edill Berríos Polanco get hit directly with the irritant, an <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-pepper-sprayed-covering-protests-in-puerto-rico/\">incident the Tracker documented here</a>. The spray covered Berrios’ camera lens and the front of his T-shirt.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hiu7\">Police officers then ordered the crowd to disperse, Berrios said, and he followed the protesters away from the barricade. He identified himself as a journalist multiple times to police officers who were demanding that he leave the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"3hs6d\">“At that point, I was with a group of photojournalists documenting altercations between the police and the protesters,” Berrios said. “Suddenly, a line of officers started aggressively coming toward us, despite us telling them we were journalists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ul6c\">That’s also when Berrios captured the assault of NotiCel photojournalist Juan Costa by law enforcement, an incident the Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/noticel-photojournalist-assaulted-by-police-while-covering-protests-in-puerto-rico/\">here</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/LUMAEnergy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LUMAEnergy</a> | Fuerza de choque agrede a miembros de la prensa en la protesta de la calle Fortaleza. <a href=\"https://t.co/vgLhkl797S\">pic.twitter.com/vgLhkl797S</a></p>— Pulso Estudiantil (@PulsoEST) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PulsoEST/status/1562978397651075072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 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=\"828f1\">Berrios said he tried moving away from the advancing police officers to an area that had been cleared, but they continued to follow him.</p><p data-block-key=\"c74q9\">“I was backing away and even put a chair between the officer and me to create some space, but the officer caught up with me, hit my arm with his police baton, knocked my phone to the ground and then pushed me down.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f88pi\">As he got up and collected his phone, which sustained a small crack, Berrios said he touched the pepper spray-covered T-shirt and then wiped his eyes. He said he immediately went down in pain until demonstrators came and poured milk in my eyes to get the pepper spray out.</p><p data-block-key=\"29r90\">“It was my first time covering a protest that became violent, so I was really nervous — I was shaking,” Berrios said. “But I saw that other photojournalists stayed, so I felt like it was my job to stay, too.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b724q\">In a press conference held the following day, Police Commissioner Antonio López Figueroa expressed his regret for the incidents and said claims of violence by the police toward journalists would be investigated.</p><p data-block-key=\"kvot\">Berrios said he didn’t believe much would come from the commissioner’s statement.</p><p data-block-key=\"36t9l\">“I feel like our claims were not taken seriously because there haven’t been any consequences for the officers involved in incidents that night,” he said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "Puerto Rico",
"abbreviation": "PR"
},
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"tags": [
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Diego Berrios (Pulso Estudiantil)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist pepper-sprayed covering protests in Puerto Rico",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-pepper-sprayed-covering-protests-in-puerto-rico/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-09T17:53:04.936253Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-01T17:16:49.722701Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-01T17:16:49.563934Z",
"date": "2022-08-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wrppp\">An independent journalist was pepper-sprayed by law enforcement officers while covering protests on Aug. 25, 2022, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.</p><p data-block-key=\"c6hfh\">Carlos Edill Berríos Polanco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that protests in Puerto Rico’s historic district started off calmly, as individuals gathered to hear speakers denounce LUMA Energy, the private company contracted to take over the island’s electricity grid.</p><p data-block-key=\"scfh\">Reuters reported that hundreds of protesters <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/hundreds-protest-demand-puerto-rico-scrap-contract-with-power-grid-operator-2022-07-20/\">marched in the streets</a> in a call for government officials to end a 15-year contract with the energy company after years of recurring blackouts and rising power costs.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpt6u\">Berríos Polanco, who was <a href=\"https://www.latinorebels.com/2022/08/26/puertoricoprotestluma/\">reporting for Latino Rebels</a>, said police officers were present throughout most of the day but began acting aggressive later in the night, when protesters started moving toward a permanent police barricade that was set up after <a href=\"https://www.latinorebels.com/2019/07/26/rossellofalls/\">2019 protests</a> that ousted the then-governor.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">El <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PRPDNoticias?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PRPDNoticias</a> ataco a varios periodistas claramente identificados en la noche de ayer, incluyéndome a mi. El “goop” de pimienta que usaron me dio en el ojo cuando estaba documentando el uso excesivo de la fuerza. Pueden ver que ademas del carnet, dice PRESS en mi casco. <a href=\"https://t.co/yM4qMaHeYq\">pic.twitter.com/yM4qMaHeYq</a></p>— carlos (vibe describer) (@Vaquero2XL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Vaquero2XL/status/1563027777317904384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 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=\"wrppp\"><br/>By the evening, according to Berríos Polanco, the number of officers in riot gear had nearly doubled and there were clashes with individuals pushing against the barrier. Berríos Polanco said he was filming when an officer standing behind a police line started spraying the crowd with pepper spray.</p><p data-block-key=\"1siv\">Berríos Polanco said his equipment was not damaged by the irritant but believed the officer knowingly sprayed him.</p><p data-block-key=\"2qrci\">“For some reason, even though I was wearing my helmet with the word ‘PRESS’ and I had my ID around my neck, he decided to fill my face and cover my phone with pepper spray,” Berríos Polanco said.</p><p data-block-key=\"56v8s\">Berríos Polanco said he continued reporting after washing the irritant out of his eyes and donning a gas mask. Soon after, he said police officers deployed tear gas into the crowd and shoved a NotiCel photojournalist, Juan R. Costa, to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qmms\">Governor Pedro Pierluisi <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GovPierluisi/status/1563139292435689473\">condemned the violence on Twitter</a>, saying that every aggression reported that night would be investigated. Berríos Polanco said the statements don’t inspire much confidence.</p><p data-block-key=\"bg3ks\">“I feel like it's happened before and it'll probably continue to happen again, as long as police use such violent tactics to quell people just being like, ‘Hey, when are we going to get stable electricity again?’” Berríos Polanco said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"l9rp2\">Protests in San Juan, Puerto Rico, continued on Sept. 1, 2022, against the government’s energy provider. Reporter Carlos E. Berríos Polanco said police targeted him with pepper spray while covering an Aug. 25 protest.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Puerto Rico",
"abbreviation": "PR"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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},
{
"title": "NotiCel photojournalist assaulted by police while covering protests in Puerto Rico",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/noticel-photojournalist-assaulted-by-police-while-covering-protests-in-puerto-rico/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-14T13:50:41.231154Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-09-14T13:50:41.231154Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-09-14T13:50:41.170867Z",
"date": "2022-08-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Juan",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"um2e6\">A NotiCel photojournalist was assaulted on Aug. 25, 2022, by a law enforcement officer while covering a protest in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.</p><p data-block-key=\"9knno\">Juan R. Costa told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was covering the ongoing protests in the island’s historic district denouncing LUMA Energy, the private company contracted to take over the island’s electricity grid.</p><p data-block-key=\"66s74\">Reuters reported that hundreds of protesters <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/hundreds-protest-demand-puerto-rico-scrap-contract-with-power-grid-operator-2022-07-20/\">marched in the streets</a> in a call for government officials to end a 15-year contract with the energy company after years of recurring blackouts and rising power costs.</p><p data-block-key=\"7f4ov\">Only a small group of protesters remained by 9 p.m, Costa said, and the group headed toward a line of police officers behind a permanent barrier that was set up after the <a href=\"https://www.latinorebels.com/2019/07/26/rossellofalls/\">2019 protests</a> that ousted the then-governor. A scuffle ensued, he said, when some individuals began pushing the barrier and throwing water bottles and rocks at the police.</p><p data-block-key=\"6jpci\">Costa said one police officer responded by spraying the crowd and a group of reporters with pepper spray. Independent journalist Carlos Edill Berríos Polanco, who was in the group, told the Tracker he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-pepper-sprayed-covering-protests-in-puerto-rico/\">targeted and directly hit with the spray</a>. Costa’s camera was covered in the chemical irritant.</p><p data-block-key=\"f52it\">Shortly after, Costa was recording as police officers ordered the crowd to disperse. An officer told him to leave the area, but after he identified himself as a journalist, that officer allowed him to stay. Immediately afterward, two other police officers ordered him to move.</p><p data-block-key=\"7moqv\">“I again identified myself as press,” Costa said. “I have credentials, and obviously, I'm carrying two professional cameras.”</p><p data-block-key=\"49j0j\">One officer suddenly hit the photojournalist in the lower abdomen with his police baton, Costa said, then forcefully pushed him back, causing him to fall.</p><p data-block-key=\"53uru\">“I cannot stand up because of my equipment, and while I’m trying to get up, the same police officer keeps telling me, pointing his finger in my face, that I need to move. I tell him that I cannot move and ask him to please help me up,” Costa said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2qio2\">Costa, who recorded his assault, said the officer helped him up but started hitting him and pushing him toward a line of officers as he tried to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"bp46l\">Costa’s video of the assault spread widely, with one journalist posting the footage on Twitter, writing, “This is what police brutality against the press looks like.”</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 what police brutality against the press looks like. In solidarity with my friend and Puerto Rican photojournalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NotiJuan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NotiJuan</a>. <br> <a href=\"https://t.co/dj7MprNWpL\">pic.twitter.com/dj7MprNWpL</a></p>— Angélica Serrano-Román🇵🇷 (@angelicaserran0) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/angelicaserran0/status/1562984773361885184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 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=\"um2e6\">In a Twitter thread, Costa said that Police Commissioner Antonio López Figueroa called him to express regret for the incident and assure him that all claims of violence by the police toward journalists would be investigated.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Anoche recibí una llamada del comisionado de la Policía, Antonio López Figueroa, quien se expresó solidario con nuestro trabajo, se excusó por el incidente y me aseguró que van a investigar la agresión.<br><br>Le agradecí sus palabras. También por dar cara sin obligación de hacerlo.</p>— Juan R. Costa (@NotiJuan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NotiJuan/status/1563157889170423808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 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=\"um2e6\">The next day, the police commissioner <a href=\"https://www.wfla.com/tampa-hoy/america-latina/la-policia-es-amiga-de-la-prensa-comisionado-habla-sobre-agresion-a-periodista-en-protestas-contra-luma-en-puerto-rico/\">held a press conference</a> about the incidents. He said police officers were “a friend of the media” and confirmed that he had reached out to Costa.</p><p data-block-key=\"4v49e\">Costa urged that incidents like his are rare, but important to share.</p><p data-block-key=\"8046g\">“I did not feel that this was an attack by the police force, but rather by a rogue officer who disregarded the rules and took it upon himself to attack the press,” Costa said. “Sometimes these incidents do happen. And when they do, we press members take it upon ourselves to publicize it, to denounce it, and to make sure that everybody sees it. Because we're so invested in these kinds of incidents not happening to any of us.”</p></div>",
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"name": "Puerto Rico",
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"tags": [
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Juan R. Costa (NotiCel)"
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{
"title": "New Hampshire newspaper publisher arrested, charged with violating political ad laws",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-hampshire-newspaper-publisher-arrested-charged-with-violating-political-ad-laws/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-26T20:14:11.300158Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:11:19.004006Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:11:18.890242Z",
"date": "2022-08-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Londonderry",
"longitude": -71.37395,
"latitude": 42.86509,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5aph8\">The publisher of a New Hampshire-based weekly newspaper, the Londonderry Times, was arrested on Aug. 24, 2022, and charged with publishing political advertisements without correctly identifying them as ads.</p><p data-block-key=\"br0ik\">According to <a href=\"https://www.doj.nh.gov/news/2022/20220824-debra-paul-arrest.htm\">a press release</a> by Attorney General John M. Formella, publisher Debra Paul was charged with six misdemeanor counts of violating <a href=\"http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/lxiii/664/664-mrg.htm\">state laws on political advertisements</a>. Paul had previously been investigated and warned by the state’s Election Law Unit for failing to comply with state election law in 2019 and 2021. According to the statement, Paul was issued a final warning letter about properly labeling the ads in September 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pu3m\">In a statement emailed to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Paul condemned the state’s actions against the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"5rbfs\">“This is clearly a case of a small business needing to defend itself against overreaching government. To threaten a small business owner with jail time over something this insignificant is very heavy handed,” Paul wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"lva2\">Paul’s lawyer, Tony Naro, told the Tracker in an emailed statement that he could not make public statements about pending matters but denied any wrongdoing by Paul. Naro also said Paul arrived at the police station after making arrangements to turn herself in for processing before being released.</p><p data-block-key=\"736m8\">“The Londonderry Times does their absolute best to put out a quality publication with limited staff and a limited budget. Ms. Paul acted with no criminal intent, denies the allegations, and is presumed innocent. It is our intention to handle this matter exclusively in the court system where it belongs and not in the press. While this matter plays out in court, we ask for the public, and the media, to keep an open mind and not prejudge this case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"clr6p\">If convicted, Paul faces a maximum penalty of one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000 per charge. An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2022.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"arresting_authority": "New Hampshire Department of Justice",
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"state": {
"name": "New Hampshire",
"abbreviation": "NH"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-10-19 13:58:00+00:00) NH publisher pleads not guilty to charges of violating political ad law",
"(2023-12-07 00:00:00+00:00) New Hampshire newspaper publisher convicted, fined for mislabeling political ads"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Debra Paul (Londonderry Times)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Financial reporter subpoenaed for documents in California lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/financial-reporter-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-california-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-29T22:07:34.529704Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-29T22:24:04.215192Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-29T22:24:04.131662Z",
"date": "2022-08-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ulr5i\">Roddy Boyd, editor and founder of the investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism, was subpoenaed on Aug. 23, 2022, for documents in connection with a California wiretap and defamation lawsuit, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"66nvn\">The underlying <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.1.pdf\">lawsuit</a> was filed by investor Marc Cohodes in January 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Cohodes alleged in his complaint that the defendants used a private investigator to befriend him on false pretenses, then illegally record his phone calls and later disclose calls, emails and private conversations to damage his reputation.</p><p data-block-key=\"df2tl\">Boyd had earlier published an <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.6.pdf\">article</a> that detailed the investigator’s recording of Cohodes’ calls. In his story, which is no longer available on the news outlet’s website, Boyd admits agreeing to a request by the investigator, who had falsely represented himself, to introduce him to Cohodes in 2016.</p><p data-block-key=\"8vvuk\">Cohodes’ August 2022 <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.10.pdf\">legal order</a> sought all documents, including communications, in Boyd’s possession concerning the private investigator, the other defendants and Cohodes.</p><p data-block-key=\"348ao\">Boyd <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.11.pdf\">objected</a> to the subpoena on Aug. 30, 2022, arguing that he is protected by the First Amendment and the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-the-reporters-privilege-compendium/\">reporter’s privilege</a> from turning over the documents. He also objected that the subpoena was overly broad and vague, and sought to obtain materials available elsewhere.</p><p data-block-key=\"6d2pb\">The subpoena was narrowed and <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.12.pdf\">reissued</a> on <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-for-financial-reporters-documents-in-california-suit-quashed/\">Oct. 11, 2023</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"c862i\">Boyd did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"94gi7\">A portion of a subpoena issued to Roddy Boyd, editor and founder of the investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism, on Aug. 23, 2022, for documents related to a wiretap and defamation suit in California.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Roddy Boyd (Foundation for Financial Journalism)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Radio correspondent subpoenaed, testifies in Oath Keepers criminal trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/radio-correspondent-subpoenaed-testifies-in-oath-keepers-criminal-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2023-06-20T15:55:20.989989Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:27:30.901456Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:27:30.814487Z",
"date": "2022-08-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q2rbk\">On the Media correspondent Micah Loewinger was subpoenaed on Aug. 15, 2022, to testify in a criminal trial against multiple individuals involved in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. He took the stand in the case two months later.</p><p data-block-key=\"c5pc7\">In a May 2023 <a href=\"https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-otm-reporter-became-part-largest-january-6th-trials-on-the-media?tab=summary\">report</a> for OTM, Loewinger said that on Jan. 6 he was monitoring a conversation about the Stop the Steal rally on a push-to-talk walkie-talkie cellphone app called Zello and recorded real-time chatter with members of the Oath Keepers. The Southern Poverty Law Center <a href=\"https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keepers\">identifies</a> the militia movement as “one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the U.S. today.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3hgev\">Loewinger also published some details from the recording in an <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/13/zello-app-us-capitol-attack-far-right\">article for The Guardian</a> and spoke on <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-capitol-riots-oath-keepers-militia-2021-04-18/\">60 Minutes</a> about how the app was used to mobilize the attack on the Capitol.</p><p data-block-key=\"btsb9\">A few months after the riot, Loewinger said he was contacted about the recording by a Department of Justice attorney helping to lead the criminal prosecution against the Oath Keepers.</p><p data-block-key=\"elr9c\">“I thought maybe if I got this guy on the phone, I might be able to glean some useful information about the investigation that would help my own reporting, maybe even a juicy scoop,” Loewinger reported on OTM.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pgk2\">But when the prosecutor told him that the lead FBI agent was also interested in speaking with him, Loewinger said he became concerned they would use the Zello tape as a pretense to seize his phone and computer to gain access to his interviews and notes concerning the insurrection.</p><p data-block-key=\"1b3r\">After consulting with colleagues at WNYC, which produces OTM, Loewinger posted the <a href=\"https://soundcloud.com/user-403747081/jessica-watkins-on-stop-the-steal-j6-zello-channel-unedited\">full, nearly 2 1⁄2-hour-long recording</a> online so he wouldn’t have to act as a middleman. The prosecutor told Loewinger, however, that to use the recording as evidence in the trial someone would have to testify vouching for its authenticity.</p><p data-block-key=\"6g648\">“As the person who made the recording, I was the only one who could do it,” Loewinger said. “When the DOJ asked if I would testify voluntarily, my lawyer declined on my behalf, pointing to the importance of journalistic independence. Hence, the subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h2bf\">After weighing the possibility of fighting the subpoena and the risk of imprisonment were he to refuse to comply, Loewinger said he “begrudgingly” testified.</p><p data-block-key=\"85qnv\">Loewinger took the stand on Oct. 17, <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/fbi-agent-grilled-over-armed-rebellion-testimony/\">according to Courthouse News</a>. Daily Kos reporter Brandi Buchman tweeted live from the courtroom that afternoon, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Brandi_Buchman/status/1582092604505661442\">writing on Twitter</a> that the correspondent testified for approximately half an hour, describing how Zello works and how he captured the recording.</p><p data-block-key=\"ccj3e\">Separately, Loewinger noted In his report for OTM that when meeting with the lead prosecutor and an FBI agent, they asked him about records they had obtained from Zello, including details of when he used the app and whom he had messaged in the lead up to Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"5k8ft\">“Maybe I should know better, but I was shocked to see just how easy it was for the government to access some of the personal data related to my reporting,” Loewinger said.</p><p data-block-key=\"b4r2h\">Loewinger declined to comment when reached by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The Tracker was unable to confirm whether a subpoena was issued to Zello for Loewinger’s records.</p></div>",
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice",
"election",
"Election 2020"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Micah Loewinger (On the Media)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Iowa man convicted for threatening meteorologist, who later left TV news",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/iowa-man-convicted-for-threatening-meteorologist-who-later-left-tv-news/",
"first_published_at": "2023-07-17T15:32:50.584180Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-22T15:18:17.564236Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-22T14:37:49.009706Z",
"date": "2022-08-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Des Moines",
"longitude": -93.60911,
"latitude": 41.60054,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fhvhq\">An Iowa man was charged with harassment on Aug. 10, 2022, after sending threatening emails to KCCI-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Gloninger. The man pleaded guilty and was issued a fine. Gloninger later announced he was stepping down from his TV news post.</p><p data-block-key=\"94j4o\">Gloninger wrote <a href=\"https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/10/magazine/i-spoke-about-climate-change-tv-meteorologist-then-came-death-threat/\">in an article for The Boston Globe Magazine</a> in July 2023 that he started receiving the emails after his reporting began addressing the effects of climate change.</p><p data-block-key=\"bc50l\">“I saw it as my responsibility to our audience to connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather events in the region,” Gloninger wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ai05b\">The first threat was sent on June 21, 2022, <a href=\"https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/20/iowa-man-fined-for-harassing-tv-weatherman-over-climate-change/\">according to Iowa Capital Dispatch</a>. Gloninger later <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisGloninger/status/1548382916085817344\">tweeted</a> that in an email three days later, the man wrote, “What’s your home address, we conservative Iowans would like to give you an Iowan welcome you will never forget.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/climate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#climate</a> coverage has garnered negative feedback. But last month I received the first threat, followed by a flow of harassing emails. Police are investigating. It’s mentally exhausting & at times I have NOT been ok. If you’re facing this & need someone to talk to, I’m here. 1/ <a href=\"https://t.co/SGbZfEr1uT\">pic.twitter.com/SGbZfEr1uT</a></p>— Chris Gloninger (@ChrisGloninger) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisGloninger/status/1548382916085817344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 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=\"fhvhq\">The same individual continued sending the threatening emails — sometimes multiple times a week — until at least July 16, the Dispatch <a href=\"https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/09/20/iowa-man-fined-for-harassing-tv-weatherman-over-climate-change/\">reported</a>. Gloninger tweeted that police were investigating the harassment but that it was taking a toll.</p><p data-block-key=\"2lbqb\">“It’s mentally exhausting & at times I have NOT been ok,” Gloninger wrote. “The threat of course was concerning, but the stream of harassing emails is even more distressing. It means he is thinking about it constantly. He is angry about it and filled with hate.”</p><p data-block-key=\"br86v\">The man, Danny H. Hancock, was charged with third-degree harassment on Aug. 10, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Hancock pleaded guilty on Sept. 2 and was ordered to pay a $105 fine and approximately $75 in court fees.</p><p data-block-key=\"7129t\">On June 21, 2023 — exactly one year after receiving the first threatening email — Gloninger announced he was leaving broadcast news.</p><p data-block-key=\"46tjk\">“18 years. 7 stations. 5 states. I am bidding farewell to TV to embark on a new journey dedicated to helping solve the climate crisis,” Gloninger <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisGloninger/status/1671534139969863680\">wrote in a statement</a>. “After a death threat stemming from my climate coverage last year and resulting PTSD, in addition to family health issues, I’ve decided to begin this journey *now*.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A quick goodbye. More later. I’ll be focusing on my health, family and combating the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateCrisis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ClimateCrisis</a>. <a href=\"https://t.co/2pGipELgNN\">pic.twitter.com/2pGipELgNN</a></p>— Chris Gloninger (@ChrisGloninger) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChrisGloninger/status/1671534139969863680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2023</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=\"fhvhq\">Gloninger told the Tracker in March 2024 that he has noticed a mounting hostility toward members of the press since 2016.</p><p data-block-key=\"44o1s\">“The extremism since 2016 has left journalists in general, not just TV meteorologists, with a sense of being not safe doing the job that we’re doing,” Gloninger said. “There is an absolute correlation between Donald Trump taking office and people feeling emboldened, empowered and entitled to unleash whatever the hell they feel.”</p><p data-block-key=\"78sei\">In an <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/22/meteorologist-climate-death-threat-iowa/\">interview with The Washington Post</a> after his announcement, Gloninger said that he didn’t want to be the story, but that he felt it was important to speak about an issue that was affecting other climate journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"cttes\">“I’m trying to put it behind me,” Gloninger said. “But at the same point, I think it brings awareness to what journalists face day-to-day bringing the news.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d63e3\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include comment from former KCCI-TV meteorologist Chris Gloninger.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"environmentalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chris Gloninger (KCCI)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist removed from press conference with Philadelphia DA",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-removed-from-press-conference-with-philadelphia-da/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-20T20:42:21.737884Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T20:44:09.867125Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T20:44:09.792882Z",
"date": "2022-08-08",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Philadelphia",
"longitude": -75.16362,
"latitude": 39.95238,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"twjsk\">Independent reporter Ralph Cipriano says he was “stonewalled” by the Philadelphia district attorney for writing critical articles, eventually culminating in his physical removal from an Aug. 8, 2022, press conference in Pennsylvania.</p><p data-block-key=\"e7d4e\">Cipriano, a former Los Angeles Times and Philadelphia Inquirer reporter who publishes the <a href=\"https://www.bigtrial.net/\">Big Trial blog</a>, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he first started attending District Attorney Larry Krasner’s weekly press conferences in July after three years of no response from his requests for comment. Cipriano said that at every press conference, Krasner refused to take questions or call on him.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kfsq\">The district attorney’s office, which did not respond to requests for comment, holds weekly conferences to brief the media on local issues and events.</p><p data-block-key=\"6hhpd\">During an Aug. 8 press conference, the DA issued Cipriano a warning for not waiting until he was called to ask a question.</p><p data-block-key=\"7bujc\">“That is not how we proceed,” Krasner said during the media event, which was <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/philaDAO/videos/1000278124034259\">live streamed and posted on Facebook</a>. “Anyone who cannot observe those rules can leave and can leave now or be escorted out.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5k44e\">According to Cipriano, he tried asking questions two more times and was warned by the DA a second time then asked to leave. After being escorted out of the venue, Cipriano wrote on his blog that the treatment was personal.</p><p data-block-key=\"ee4ov\">“After four years of presiding over free-for-all press conferences, the D.A. now maintains that reporters no longer have the right to speak up and ask him a question.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fu5re\">Paula Knudsen Burke, a staff attorney for the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press, requested written policies and rules that govern the DA’s office interaction with the press during media events as part of a Right-to-Know Law filing. In a letter to Krasner on behalf of Cipriano, Knudsen Burke highlighted that his office could not locate any written policies or guidelines for interactions with the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"fh5ch\">“It is clear that there are no ‘rules’ or procedures governing access to press conferences held by your office,” Knudsen Burke wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejn3d\">She also objected to Cipriano’s removal from the press conference as unconstitutional under the First Amendment: “Government officials cannot make media access decisions based on the content of news coverage, media organizations’ interaction with government officials, or the agency’s perception thereof.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2h254\">Cipriano continued attending the DA’s weekly press conferences and <a href=\"https://www.bigtrial.net/2022/09/arrogant-da-krasner-takes-no-blame-for.html\">reported that Krasner called on him</a> to ask a question during <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/philaDAO/videos/607585204239961\">a Sept. 12 conference</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Law enforcement: Prosecutor"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ralph Cipriano (Big Trial)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "WCHS reporter attacked, camera damaged while reporting on abandoned cars",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wchs-reporter-attacked-camera-damaged-while-reporting-on-abandoned-cars/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-09T20:13:39.956929Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T14:10:56.267402Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T14:10:56.164785Z",
"date": "2022-08-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Putnam County",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a65dl\">WCHS Eyewitness News Reporter Bob Aaron was assaulted on Aug. 4, 2022, in Putnam County, West Virginia, while reporting on the sheriff's plan to remove abandoned cars on roads and yards.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sob3\">According to Aaron, who <a href=\"https://wchstv.com/news/local/eyewitness-news-reporter-attacked-while-covering-story-about-abandoned-cars\">reported the incident in a newscast</a>, he was nearly run over while filming the abandoned cars stationed along a main county road by a man who did not want him filming.</p><p data-block-key=\"170bf\">The reporter said the individual got out of his car and ripped the camera from his hands. Aaron, who did not respond to a request for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, reported that the man broke the camera light off and refused to return the camera until Putnam County Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"e841b\">WCHS reported that Putnam County Sheriff Bobby Eggleton announced his intention to enforce a clean-up plan to remove the vehicles from public and private locations, adding that some had not moved for more than 20 years. Eggleton told WCHS the announcement provoked an “emotional response from residents in the county” who feared authorities would take their property. Eggleton said in a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/100010413790942/videos/502861114978851/\">video posted to Facebook</a> that it was not a county ordinance but in accordance with state law.</p><p data-block-key=\"cb558\">The sheriff’s office could not be reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8aej1\">In an article about the altercation, WCHS said Aaron, 75, was doing fine and that there were pending charges against the man who attacked him.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
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"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "West Virginia",
"abbreviation": "WV"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-02-06 14:14:00+00:00) Man ordered to pay restitution for snatching, breaking reporter’s camera"
],
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"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Bob Aaron (WCHS-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Music journalist subpoenaed in criminal trial of singer R. Kelly",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/music-journalist-subpoenaed-in-criminal-trial-of-singer-r-kelly/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-16T18:03:53.785604Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-07-05T19:17:25.056563Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-07-05T19:17:24.946624Z",
"date": "2022-08-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v03q1\">Journalist Jim DeRogatis was issued a subpoena for testimony in the federal trial of R&B singer Robert “R.” Kelly in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 3, 2022. The judge quashed the subpoena on Sept. 7.</p><p data-block-key=\"e1b46\">DeRogatis — a reporter, music critic, author and an associate professor at Columbia College Chicago — has reported extensively on Kelly for The Chicago Sun-Times and The New Yorker, and in 2019 he authored the book “Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2kfe6\">DeRogatis told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that an individual delivered an unmarked videocassette with footage of Kelly and a 14-year-old girl to his home in February 2002. DeRogatis said that within four hours of receiving the footage, he and the editorial staff at the Sun-Times turned it over to police and it was subsequently used as evidence in Kelly’s state criminal trial in 2008.</p><p data-block-key=\"71rno\">The judge in the case compelled DeRogatis to testify during that first trial, but upon advice from counsel DeRogatis refused to answer any questions, reading instead a statement citing his Fifth and First Amendment rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"177ah\">DeRogatis told the Tracker that following the first trial, he was aware that he might again be called to testify in the federal case. In 2022, attorneys for Derrel McDavid — Kelly’s former business manager and co-defendant in the case — issued DeRogatis the subpoena, ordering him to appear to provide trial testimony on Sept. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"44hse\">In court filings reviewed by the Tracker, McDavid’s attorney’s cited interest in April 2019 emails between DeRogatis and Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Krull, the former lead prosecutor on the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"atad5\">DeRogatis told the Tracker he was on assignment for The New Yorker when he contacted Krull about the two federal investigations and in the course of the conversation had offered to send her a copy of his then-forthcoming book. Krull then emailed him from a non-governmental email address and he sent along a PDF of his book. DeRogatis said he never heard back from her and has not communicated with Krull since.</p><p data-block-key=\"16ia3\">DeRogatis and The New Yorker jointly filed <a href=\"https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/r-kelly-Jim-DeRogatis-quash-subpoena.pdf\">an emergency motion</a> to quash the subpoena or issue a protective order on Sept. 6. The motion argued that all of the information or knowledge that DeRogatis may have that would be pertinent to the case had been published in his reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ssuo\">During a hearing on Sept. 7, attorneys for McDavid told District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber that they wanted to show DeRogatis the cassette and ask him to confirm whether it was the same one he had received in 2002, according to DeRogatis. The prosecutors, who had not previously expressed an interest in questioning DeRogatis, told the judge they also hoped to ask the journalist to confirm the timeline of his reporting while at the Sun-Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"djq1e\">Seth Stern, the attorney representing DeRogatis at the hearing, confirmed to the Tracker that Leinenweber granted the motion to quash the subpoena that day. Stern said that the judge agreed that the testimony they were seeking was “cumulative, redundant, unnecessary.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A good day for the First Amendment. And anything I could possibly have been asked I’ve already reported. <a href=\"https://t.co/lwQeOcFL0w\">pic.twitter.com/lwQeOcFL0w</a></p>— Jim DeRogatis (@JimDeRogatis) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JimDeRogatis/status/1567531927455801344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 7, 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=\"v03q1\">“I would have sat on the stand and read my whole book if they had 10 or 15 hours,” DeRogatis said. “In 22 years of reporting on this case, I have not had a single correction, clarification, retraction or lawsuit. My reporting stands. I’m proud of that work.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5mu9c\">Stern said that while he was gratified with the outcome in this case, the subpoena itself can set a precedent that may chill future reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"b57mk\">“Absent a federal shield law, there’s really no certainty that a reporter getting a subpoena like this can have regarding whether they’ll need to testify or not,” Stern said. “Fortunately, in this case the judge made the right call, but you never know what’s going to happen in the next one.”</p><p data-block-key=\"621qa\">Kelly was convicted on three counts of child pornography and three counts of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual acts on Sept. 14, CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/14/us/r-kelly-chicago-federal-trial/index.html\">reported</a>. He was <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/06/29/1105551227/r-kelly-sentence-30-years\">sentenced to 30 years</a> in prison in June on racketeering charges in a second federal trial in New York. McDavid and Kelly’s second co-defendant, Milton Brown, were acquitted of all charges.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6mlx8\">A portion of the subpoena issued to music journalist James (Jim) DeRogatis seeking trial testimony in the federal case against singer R. Kelly. The subpoena was quashed on Sept. 7, 2022.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Illinois",
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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"quashed"
],
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},
{
"title": "Atlanta photojournalist files lawsuit following arrest, device search",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/atlanta-photojournalist-files-lawsuit-following-arrest-device-search/",
"first_published_at": "2024-07-15T13:57:08.985574Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-15T13:57:08.985574Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-15T13:50:23.555688Z",
"date": "2022-07-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Atlanta",
"longitude": -84.38798,
"latitude": 33.749,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jzei7\">Freelance photojournalist Ben Hendren was arrested while photographing the detention of protesters who allegedly damaged a construction site in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 29, 2022. Hendren filed a lawsuit against the officers and workers at the site in July 2024, alleging First Amendment violations and retaliation.</p><p data-block-key=\"5hd2\">Hendren told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was on assignment as a breaking news photographer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when at around 1 p.m. he heard on the Georgia State University Police Department scanner that there was an ongoing protest at a construction site. A few minutes later he heard that the demonstrators had been pulled over about half a mile away from the site and went to that location instead.</p><p data-block-key=\"dst01\">“When I arrived I parked my car and saw a few protesters in handcuffs sitting on the sidewalk,” Hendren said. “I grabbed my camera gear, walked up to the scene and identified myself as a journalist to one of the Georgia State University police officers. And then I started photographing the scene with my longest lens possible to give them room for their investigation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e1b3v\">Approximately 10 minutes later, Hendren said, he was grabbed from behind and placed under arrest without warning. He said he was wearing credentials and repeatedly told officers that he was on assignment for the newspaper, and was even able to retrieve his phone from his back pocket to call his editor, but the officers didn’t care.</p><p data-block-key=\"9s6ai\">After several hours, officers began photographing the detainees one-by-one. “When they got to me: I am not affiliated with them (the protesters) and I don’t want to be affiliated with them, so I put my head down to avoid being photographed for whatever purpose the photos were going toward,” Hendren said.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1dmt\">He was told that it wouldn’t go well for him if he didn’t comply and an officer came over and wrenched his head up by his hair so his face could be photographed.</p><p data-block-key=\"8g8e2\">Hendren told the Tracker he was eventually taken in a police transport van to the Georgia State University police precinct where he was Mirandized and interviewed by the Atlanta Police Department’s Homeland Security Unit. He said that the officers asked to look through his photos to confirm that he hadn’t been present at the construction site.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg94l\">“They asked to see the photos so I took them through all the photos I took,” Hendren said. “They asked to look through my cellphone — they wanted to look at my gallery of images and whatnot — so I opened my work phone and took them through it. They wanted me to open my personal phone too, which I refused and then I locked the other phone. That was the end of it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d2vjm\">Approximately 30 minutes after the interview police released him without charges, Hendren said, returned his equipment in evidence bags and drove him back to his vehicle. He said he was in custody for around seven hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebmth\">On July 1, 2024, Hendren filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.gand.331305/gov.uscourts.gand.331305.1.0.pdf\">lawsuit</a> against the officers as well as three construction workers who falsely reported that he had been involved in the protest and committed crimes at the construction site.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lnjb\">“The interference with Plaintiff’s photographing and his arrest were triggered by, and in retaliation for, his protected activity of taking pictures of public police activity, and therefore violated the First Amendment,” the lawsuit states.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ppsq\">According to the suit, protesters had targeted the construction site for GSU’s Convocation Center because the same company had been contracted to build the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City,” which has been the focus of ongoing protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"d2plm\">Hendren told the Tracker he hopes that filing the suit will show police that they can’t interfere with journalists who are doing their jobs without being held accountable.</p><p data-block-key=\"a6cqd\">“I hope it draws attention to this pervasive issue that we see: When there are either protests or movements that are critical of law enforcement we almost always see retaliation from law enforcement directed at members of the media for covering it,” Hendren said. “And when stuff like this happens to journalists, when you attack our rights, we won’t back down and we will defend our rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2024-07-12_at_2.59.02P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6mgqs\">A portion of the federal lawsuit freelance photojournalist Ben Hendren filed on July 1, 2024, against the officers who arrested him in July 2022 for photographing the detention of people protesting a construction site in Atlanta, Georgia.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Georgia State University Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2022-07-29",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:24-cv-02921",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
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"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
},
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"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
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"tags": [
"environmentalism"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ben Hendren (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "FOX 8 photojournalist attacked while reporting on NC dog kennel violations",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fox-8-photojournalist-attacked-while-reporting-on-nc-dog-kennel-violations/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-03T15:05:00.417304Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-19T14:07:03.480469Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-19T14:07:03.312654Z",
"date": "2022-07-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Thomasville",
"longitude": -80.08199,
"latitude": 35.88264,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2k497\">FOX8 photojournalist Derrick Deon Reid was assaulted by two men on July 28, 2022, while reporting on animal mistreatment claims at a dog boarding facility in Davidson County, North Carolina, according to news reports.</p><p data-block-key=\"f726f\">Reid, who was not identified by <a href=\"https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/2-men-accused-of-assaulting-fox8-photojournalist-covering-animal-mistreatment-in-davidson-county/\">FOX8 in a report about the assault</a>, was later identified by the Winston-Salem Journal. According to FOX8, Reid was gathering footage on an animal boarding facility previously fined for violating the state’s Animal Protection Act when Marshall Everhart and Zachary Everhart, one of the facility’s owners, attacked him.</p><p data-block-key=\"aj2ad\">According to an <a href=\"https://journalnow.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sheriff-fox-8-journalist-attacked-while-covering-story-about-kennel-fined-for-animal-mistreatment-in/article_fce41f12-0f53-11ed-8ae5-570f574356f3.html\">arrest warrant obtained by the Winston-Salem Journal</a>, Reid sustained broken or loosened teeth and possibly a broken jaw. The warrant also accuses Marshall Everhart of holding Reid against his will and damaging his camera equipment after trying to take the camera from him. Official documents state that he also damaged Reid’s vehicle, causing more than $200 in damage.</p><p data-block-key=\"25dfo\">The Davidson County Sheriff’s Department, which did not respond to a request for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, arrested Marshall Everhart after the incident, while Zachary Everhart turned himself in to the sheriff’s office. Officials charged both men with felony larceny, assault inflicting serious bodily injury, kidnapping and injury to personal property.</p><p data-block-key=\"5iqdj\">FOX8 did not respond to requests for comment from the Tracker. In a statement to the Winston-Salem Journal, FOX8 Vice President and General Manager Jim Himes declined to comment on Reid’s condition, citing federal privacy laws.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "vehicle"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-08-14 00:00:00+00:00) Two men found guilty of assault on photojournalist; first sentenced to 2.5 years"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Derrick Deon Reid (WGHP)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist assaulted while reporting at Portland park",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-while-reporting-at-portland-park/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-01T20:02:20.219023Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-09-29T13:39:49.447627Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-09-29T13:25:50.103509Z",
"date": "2022-07-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pw84u\">An unidentified photojournalist with KGW News was assaulted while on assignment in Lents Park in Portland, Oregon, on July 25, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"a18se\">The station <a href=\"https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/kgw-journalist-assaulted-southeast-portland-lents-park/283-7db135bd-e122-45b1-aa33-6d901545773d\">reported</a> that the photographer was covering an community outreach event hosted by the group PDX Saints Love, which was providing a cooling station and water from July 25 to 29 amid a heatwave in the region.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Right now <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pdxsaintslove?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@pdxsaintslove</a> and Portland Street Response are at Lents Park in SE Portland until 7pm. The plan is to hand out water/electrolytes/food and provide a cool spot every day this week from 11am-7pm. Organizers say they need more volunteers and always welcome ice donations. <a href=\"https://t.co/C39pUVVKvy\">pic.twitter.com/C39pUVVKvy</a></p>— Christine Pitawanich (@CPitawanichKGW) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CPitawanichKGW/status/1551636293368524800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 25, 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=\"pw84u\">According to the station, the photojournalist was finishing filming and was holding his camera by his side when one of the individuals attending the event became agitated and charged at him. The man jumped over a picnic table and chased the photojournalist toward his station vehicle, punching him before he was able to get into the car.</p><p data-block-key=\"2j4pn\">Though the photojournalist was able to enter the vehicle, KGW reported that the man opened the door before the journalist could lock it and punched him again. The event organizers then told the man to leave and he walked away.</p><p data-block-key=\"1s7nl\">The station reported that the unidentified photojournalist suffered several cuts and a bruised eye and received treatment by medics at the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"940sf\">A second KGW journalist at the scene, not named in the report, called 911 and told officers which direction the suspect had fled. Portland Police Bureau officers found the man nearby a short while later and placed him under arrest. Joshua David Sears was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault, which is punishable by a fine of up to $6,250, a year in jail or both.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ul4t\">In a statement to the outlet, KGW News Director Greg Retsinas said: “We are distressed at this unprovoked act of violence against our employees who were working to tell a positive story in the community. Thankfully, community members at the scene stepped in right away to assist and prevent more serious injury.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8ju6l\">Neither Retsinas or KGW reporter Christine Pitawanich, who tweeted about the event, responded to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-01-25 00:00:00+00:00) Photojournalist gets apology from assailant, drops assault charges"
],
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"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 25 (KGW)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Subpoena for CNN footage quashed in criminal case against Capitol rioter",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-for-cnn-footage-quashed-in-criminal-case-against-capitol-rioter/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-16T18:45:23.885706Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-28T18:59:29.448184Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-28T18:59:29.320095Z",
"date": "2022-07-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bqpit\">CNN was served a criminal trial subpoena on July 25, 2022, by a defendant facing charges stemming from his alleged participation in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The subpoena, which sought approximately two hours of raw footage from an interview with a Capitol Police officer, was subsequently quashed.</p><p data-block-key=\"etrol\">According to court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, defendant Kyle Fitzsimons is facing an 11-count indictment and is accused of having attacked multiple law enforcement officers near the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace.</p><p data-block-key=\"1io7g\">CNN broadcasted an interview with two Capitol Police officers on June 4, one of whom is believed to have been assaulted by Fitzsimons. The subpoena — which was issued on July 20, 2022, and served five days later — requests “any and all raw footage” from the officer’s interview.</p><p data-block-key=\"4v2ap\">According to CNN’s <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.228113/gov.uscourts.dcd.228113.83.0_3.pdf\">motion to quash</a> the subpoena, the officer does not mention Fitzsimons by name and Fitzsimons does not appear in any of the footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"39cbd\">CNN attempted to narrow the request for only the telecast footage but Fitzsimons’ counsel declined. The outlet did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"bf59m\">The outlet’s Aug. 10 motion to quash argued that the subpoena was a “fishing expedition,” and that Fitzsimons has no reason to believe that the outtakes from the interview will help his defense when the alleged acts were captured by Capitol surveillance cameras and the officers’ body cams.</p><p data-block-key=\"3rjb4\">“Allowing speculative discovery of the press here, on the basis that an unsworn statement in unpublished newsgathering information might theoretically become useful to the defense for purposes of impeachment, would expose a host of media organizations to similar speculative subpoenas in similar January 6 prosecutions,” the motion stated. “That would undeniably chill news reporting about this topic of clear national importance — the ‘violent breach of the Capitol’ that ‘was a grave danger to our democracy.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"2aldl\">District Judge Rudolph Contreras <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.228113/gov.uscourts.dcd.228113.91.0_1.pdf\">ruled</a> in favor of CNN on Aug. 14, finding that while Fitzsimons was able to specifically name the material sought, he failed to justify the request with more than hopes of what might be found in the outtakes.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebcou\">Fitzsimons’ trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 16.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"aimj0\">A portion of the subpoena issued to CNN seeking approximately two hours of raw footage from an interview with a Capitol Police officer in connection with the criminal trial of a Capitol rioter.</p>",
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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"targeted_institutions": [
"CNN"
],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"quashed"
],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Legal journalist may write about revenge porn case after prior restraint overturned",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/legal-journalist-may-write-about-revenge-porn-case-after-prior-restraint-overturned/",
"first_published_at": "2024-07-22T19:39:35.230209Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-22T19:39:35.230209Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-22T19:39:35.129312Z",
"date": "2022-07-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Antonio",
"longitude": -98.49363,
"latitude": 29.42412,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"n8hdx\">A magistrate judge ordered a legal journalist on July 18, 2022, not to write about a sealed revenge porn case in which some information was mistakenly made public. The ruling was overturned two weeks later.</p><p data-block-key=\"7fc7r\">Eugene Volokh — co-founder of the legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy, a law professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University — was singled out in the ruling by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth S. Chestney as the only person who was barred from writing about the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"de3hr\">The case, initially filed in 2019, involves a woman who ended an extramarital affair with a man, who she said then posted revenge porn to several adult websites. The case was sealed to protect her privacy. She and the defendant later settled, but the question of whether the case was improperly sealed remained.</p><p data-block-key=\"2brhj\">Volokh told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he initially noticed the case in an alert from Westlaw, a database of legal documents, and thought it raised First Amendment questions that he might want to write about, given his expertise as a free speech scholar.</p><p data-block-key=\"daghn\">Even though the case was sealed, the names of both the plaintiff and defendant were published in an opinion available on Westlaw, along with other documents that should have been sealed under the judge’s order. It’s not clear exactly why they were published, but Volokh said it appeared to be an error.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kql1\">“It was just a simple mistake,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"6nsrc\">Volokh moved to intervene in the case and have it unsealed. Chestney, the magistrate judge, agreed on July 18, 2022, to let him intervene but <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1038891/gov.uscourts.txwd.1038891.358.0.pdf\">ruled that Volokh could not write about the case</a> until a decision was made on unsealing the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"2iaod\">“Professor Volokh may not blog or write about this case until any renewed motion to unseal has been granted,” the ruling ordered.</p><p data-block-key=\"ular\">Volokh appealed the case to District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who on Aug. 3, 2022, <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1038891/gov.uscourts.txwd.1038891.363.0.pdf\">vacated the prior restraint language</a> and said the entire case should be unsealed. Volokh then published the plaintiff’s name in a blog post in August 2022 since, he said, it was also the name of the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"fmqf9\">A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/legal-journalist-may-publish-revenge-porn-plaintiffs-name-after-prior-restraint-overturned/\">second instance of prior restraint</a> emerged in the case after the plaintiff appealed its unsealing to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which <a href=\"https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/22/22-50707.0.pdf\">ruled that it should be partially sealed</a> with certain personal information redacted.</p><p data-block-key=\"3t3e7\">The case then returned to Chestney to determine what exactly should be redacted and whether the plaintiff could retroactively use a pseudonym, Jane Doe.</p><p data-block-key=\"47tqe\">Chestney ruled on June 20, 2024, in favor of the retroactive pseudonym, but then said that Volokh could not use the plaintiff’s name in future. That decision was also later <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1038891/gov.uscourts.txwd.1038891.457.0.pdf\">vacated</a> by Rodriguez.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnod2\">Volokh said he sees both instances in which the prior restraint was overturned as examples of the system working. But he noted that he was uniquely positioned to fight these violations.</p><p data-block-key=\"16lrr\">“I should also acknowledge that maybe if I weren’t a law professor, if I weren’t a specialist on the subject, if I had to pay a lawyer to challenge the prior restraints, maybe the situation might not have come out as well,” he told the Tracker.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2024-07-22_at_1.46.51P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hdg9f\">A portion of the July 18, 2022, court ruling that ordered legal journalist and professor Eugene Volokh not to write about a revenge porn case.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": "struck down",
"mistakenly_released_materials": true,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Eugene Volokh (The Volokh Conspiracy)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Journalist struck by man on scooter at L.A. County protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-by-man-on-scooter-at-la-county-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-01T17:39:33.781564Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-13T21:20:22.392052Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-13T21:20:22.293466Z",
"date": "2022-07-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Norwalk",
"longitude": -118.08173,
"latitude": 33.90224,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gfd0k\">Freelance journalist Vishal Singh was struck by a man riding an electric scooter on July 18, 2022, while covering a protest against a proposal for a school-based reproductive clinic in Norwalk, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"7i9qs\">A video posted on Twitter and shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker shows a man on a scooter driving past protesters before doubling back back to hit Singh, who was documenting the protest from the street. The collision resulted in Singh dropping his phone as he fell to the ground.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/CatalinaOffcl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@CatalinaOffcl</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SpecNews1SoCal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SpecNews1SoCal</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/LEXIT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LEXIT</a> helped organize this protest against the Norwalk School Board. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VPS_Reports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VPS_Reports</a> was struck by a man on a scooter who drove past protesters then turned back to hit him. <a href=\"https://t.co/k7rRjt0ChU\">pic.twitter.com/k7rRjt0ChU</a></p>— Sky Spider (@SkySpider_) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SkySpider_/status/1583569590709235712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 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=\"gfd0k\">Singh told the Tracker he was covering the protest as a contributor to the <a href=\"https://leftcoastrightwatch.org/\">Left Coast Right Watch</a>, an independent news organization covering far-right politics in the U.S. Singh said he was wearing visible press credentials from the National Press Photographers Association.</p><p data-block-key=\"1sc2a\">According to Singh, conservative values organization LEXIT was among the organizers of the demonstration after a school board agenda item <a href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/nlmusd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=CG9P7W634CF5\">proposed</a> adding a reproductive health clinic to a high school in the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. The district <a href=\"https://leftcoastrightwatch.org/articles/l.a.-county-high-school-clinic-project-canceled-after-far-right-disinfo-intimidation-campaign/\">dropped the proposal</a> after protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"cq15a\">Before he was struck by the scooter, Singh said he was harassed by protesters and threatened by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VPS_Reports/status/1549232508155244544?t=6bLwJ2X_nhbYu2UHHQhkMA&s=19\">members</a> of extremist groups. Given the chaos of the day, Singh said he initially believed the scooter incident was unintentional until he reviewed the footage several months later.</p><p data-block-key=\"6e50d\">“I saw that video, and I very much had a different feeling about what had happened,” Singh said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bd3bg\">After the incident, Singh said he was dizzy, suffered a migraine and a possible concussion. His phone was undamaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"2unah\">Singh told the Tracker he hasn’t covered any protests since the incident, adding it was a “turning point,” for him.</p><p data-block-key=\"bma28\">“It’s really frustrating and it hurts,” he said. “And the reason I still do it is because I think these stories need to be told. I want people to know what’s happening.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"actor": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"subpoena_type": null,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"protest",
"reproductive rights"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Vishal Singh (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist assaulted while on assignment in downtown Baltimore",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-while-on-assignment-in-downtown-baltimore/",
"first_published_at": "2022-07-21T18:05:29.921226Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-07-21T18:05:29.921226Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-07-21T18:05:29.867795Z",
"date": "2022-07-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Baltimore",
"longitude": -76.61219,
"latitude": 39.29038,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c4n10\">Kyle Dodd, a photojournalist with FOX45 News, was assaulted while on assignment with a colleague near downtown Baltimore, Maryland, on July 15, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"b6rbh\">The outlet <a href=\"https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/squeegee-kid-assaults-fox45-news-photojournalist\">reported</a> that Dodd and reporter Mikenzie Frost were working on a <a href=\"https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/squeegee-kid-if-mayors-office-wanted-to-get-us-off-the-corner-give-us-a-weekly-check\">story</a> about “squeegee kids” — youths who wash car windows at traffic lights in exchange for money — and Mayor Brandon Scott’s efforts to help get them into stable jobs.</p><p data-block-key=\"a84hn\">Dodd told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he had visited the intersection of President and Lombard streets the week prior to scope out the location. While most of the squeegee kids left when they noticed Dodd and his camera, he said one of the young men approached him and questioned why he was there. Dodd said he explained that he was a journalist and that he has the right to film in public locations.</p><p data-block-key=\"73qg9\">Dodd said that on July 15 he set up his camera at the intersection to film additional b-roll while Frost conducted a Zoom interview in their vehicle before attempting to interview the squeegee kids.</p><p data-block-key=\"24ktb\">“I set up probably about 100 feet away and started to get some shots of them, and as soon as they noticed me, the group of about a dozen of them decided to leave that intersection and go across the street,” Dodd said. “Then four of them broke off from that and started to approach me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ck0qs\">Dodd said he set up a wide shot on his camera to ensure that if anything happened it would be caught on camera and then walked up to them in order to keep them away from the gear while explaining who he was and what he was doing.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qs81\">In footage of the incident, the four young men can be seen walking toward the camera with Dodd in the center of the frame. The first of the squeegee kids to reach the camera — whom Dodd identified as the young man he had spoken to the week prior — appears to gesture at the equipment before saying, “This is ours bro, I ain’t gonna lie.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a8qgu\">Dodd said he picked up the equipment and tried to explain why he was filming, but his responses seemed to only escalate the situation as the young men told him that they did not want to be recorded. He was about to offer to leave the area when Dodd said one of the squeegee boys doused what he believes was a cold, sugary beverage on him and the camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"34ji\">“At that point, they think that they’ve sent their message,” Dodd said, “and then one of them, as they start to walk away, says, ‘Public space or not, stop playing or we’ll beat the shit out of you.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"2uo1q\">The photojournalist said the camera wasn’t damaged, needing only to be dried off in the car after the incident. Dodd added that he did not file a police report because at the time it didn’t seem serious, but after reflecting on it he realized how much worse it could have been.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nt2d\">“I really didn’t even see this guy even pull out a water bottle and throw it on me or anything,” Dodd said. “It could have been a rock, it could have been a gun, it could have been a lot worse. But at the time I really just wanted to get my job done, get the day done.”</p><p data-block-key=\"43tga\">Dodd said he and Frost agreed to leave the area and try reporting on a group of squeegee kids at a different intersection, where they were able to complete their piece.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Dodd.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"n09jj\">FOX45 News photojournalist Kyle Dodd, center, walks surrounded by “squeegee kids” upset with being filmed by the Baltimore news crew on July 15, 2022. One of the young men ultimately assaulted Dodd, dousing him with a liquid.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": 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,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Maryland",
"abbreviation": "MD"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kyle Dodd (WBFF)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Podcast host subpoenaed a second time for testimony in murder case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/podcast-host-subpoenaed-a-second-time-for-testimony-in-murder-case/",
"first_published_at": "2022-07-13T18:55:08.251135Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-27T13:52:33.655416Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-27T13:52:33.489781Z",
"date": "2022-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salinas",
"longitude": -121.6555,
"latitude": 36.67774,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"euxs4\">Freelance reporter and podcast host Chris Lambert was issued a second subpoena ordering him to testify during hearings around the 1996 disappearance and murder of a California Polytechnic State University student.</p><p data-block-key=\"b4ojl\">Lambert’s 2019 podcast, “Your Own Backyard,” chronicled his independent investigation of the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart. In the span of 10 episodes, he interviewed new witnesses whom law enforcement<a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/us-news-arrests-california-san-luis-obispo-9709acd23a734638d88e65013c0705ad\"> officers had cited as “valuable”</a> in their decision to arrest Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, two longtime suspects in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffdtk\">Attorneys for Paul Flores issued a subpoena to Lambert seeking testimony and reporting materials in August 2021, which San Luis Obispo County Superior Judge Craig van Rooyen dismissed, citing California’s journalist shield law. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented that case <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-for-podcast-host-testimony-in-murder-case-quashed/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lkl3\">The San Luis Obispo Tribune <a href=\"https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article263377093.html\">reported</a> that the case was moved to Monterey County Superior Court after van Rooyen ruled that pretrial publicity had made it unlikely that the defendants would receive a fair trial in the county.</p><p data-block-key=\"73def\">On July 10, 2022, Lambert tweeted a photo of a section of the subpoena, which shows that he was ordered both to appear to testify at a hearing as well as provide “items” listed in an attachment. While he did not specify what the items were, the first subpoena demanded confidential interview recordings, emails and notes gathered in the course of producing the podcast.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://t.co/8APhMy6P4s\">pic.twitter.com/8APhMy6P4s</a></p>— Your Own Backyard Podcast (@YOBPodcast) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/YOBPodcast/status/1546216558040457216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 10, 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=\"euxs4\">Lambert, who could not immediately be reached for comment, told The Tribune his attorney’s advised him against speaking further about the subpoena or providing additional details because of the gag order placed on the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"bie8j\">According to The Tribune, opening arguments in the case are scheduled for July 18.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"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": "testimony about confidential source",
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-07-15 19:24:00+00:00) Second subpoena for podcast host testimony, documents quashed"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chris Lambert (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"quashed"
],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "AJC subpoenaed as part of criminal investigation into 2020 presidential election",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ajc-subpoenaed-as-part-of-criminal-investigation-into-2020-presidential-election/",
"first_published_at": "2022-07-12T17:24:50.095386Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-15T13:41:42.326908Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-15T13:41:42.215119Z",
"date": "2022-07-05",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Atlanta",
"longitude": -84.38798,
"latitude": 33.749,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"m8skq\">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/politics/ajc-subpoenaed-by-fulton-prosecutors-for-audio-of-leaked-call/VWJWL6KXZFANZL6JWT5KGS7WEY/\">subpoenaed</a> in July 2022 by a Fulton County special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s possible interference in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results.</p><p data-block-key=\"di1v8\">The grand jury conducting the criminal investigation into Trump’s potential involvement is seeking audio recordings of a Jan. 11, 2021, phone call involving the former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Bobby Christine.</p><p data-block-key=\"4eq8h\">According to the AJC, Christine was appointed to the role by Trump on Jan. 4, after his predecessor could not find legitimate claims of election fraud. On Jan. 12, 2021, <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/news/trumps-pick-for-us-attorney-in-georgia-dismisses-election-fraud-claims-theres-just-nothing-to-them/7JMIL37WANHWXCZD4FTJXH4CIQ/\">AJC reported</a> on the leaked conference call between Christine and staffers. During the call, Christine said he had dismissed two election fraud cases filed by Trump’s supporters on his first day as a U.S. Attorney.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4rnc\">Prosecutors also <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/politics/fulton-grand-jury-subpoenas-giuliani-graham-trump-confidantes/POUNSTTUXZDGDB3D5LKA7TIQQM/\">issued subpoenas</a> to Trump associates including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.</p><p data-block-key=\"67nbp\">When reached for comment, an AJC editor said the outlet would be publishing a statement on the subpoena. Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"paoh5\">The Fulton County Elections and Administrative Divisions Office in Atlanta in 2021. County prosecutors investigating the 2020 presidential election subpoenaed The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.</p>",
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"state": {
"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-07-14 12:10:00+00:00) AJC publishes, then provides copy of leaked recording to prosecutors in response to subpoena"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020"
],
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"categories": [
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}
]
