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{
"title": "Journalists removed from Iowa Senate floor, overturning a century-old practice",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-removed-from-iowa-senate-floor-overturning-a-century-old-practice/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-10T19:20:53.491707Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-16T22:21:58.846572Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-16T22:21:58.721343Z",
"date": "2022-01-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Des Moines",
"longitude": -93.60911,
"latitude": 41.60054,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j5cc7\">Republican leaders in the Iowa Senate issued new rules moving reporters off the Senate floor and into a gallery upstairs, overturning a longstanding practice, the Des Moines Register reported on Jan. 7, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"ryb1e\"><a href=\"https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/07/republican-leaders-end-journalists-access-iowa-senate-chamber-press-benches/9129933002/\">According to the Register</a>, for more than a century journalists have been permitted to work at press benches along the front wall of the chamber which allow a clear view of debate and access to the senators. When the new session begins on Jan. 10, journalists will be seated in a public gallery on an upper level without access to the Senate floor.</p><p data-block-key=\"bzacs\">Senate Republican spokesperson Caleb Hunter said in an email to statehouse reporters that the Senate struggled with the changing definition of “media” when considering journalists’ access to the chamber, according to the Register.</p><p data-block-key=\"6tmsq\">"As non-traditional media outlets proliferate, it creates an increasingly difficult scenario for the Senate, as a governmental entity, to define the criteria of a media outlet," Hunter wrote. Hunter did not respond to an email requesting further comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"larct\">Iowa Capitol Press Association President Erin Murphy, Vice President Kathie Obradovich and Secretary Katarina Sostaric criticized the move in a <a href=\"https://www.iowacapitolpress.com/#h.klx6y2bw3raohttps://www.iowacapitolpress.com/#h.klx6y2bw3raohttps://www.iowacapitolpress.com/#h.klx6y2bw3rao\">statement</a> published by the association.</p><p data-block-key=\"ljwh6\">“Media access to the people who make laws is a critical component of representative government. Primarily for this reason, the Iowa Capitol Press Association is extremely disappointed in th Iowa Senate’s decision,” the statement said. “In moving reporters off the floor, the Iowa Senate becomes one of only a handful of state legislative chambers across the country to limit access in this way, according to information from the National Conference on State Legislatures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"68u3f\">The Iowa House has pledged to maintain press work stations on the chamber floor. The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/01/08/iowa-senate-journalists/\">reported</a> that, unlike the Washington press corps covering Congress and the White House, space for journalists at the Iowa Capitol is allocated by the party controlling each chamber. Both the Iowa House and Senate, as well as the governor’s office, are controlled by Republicans.</p><p data-block-key=\"vmesw\">Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls told the Post that Senate Democrats oppose the change and will introduce a measure to overturn it, but that it will be an uphill battle.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP22049076503047.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"u8i3o\">The view from the Iowa Senate gallery during the opening of the 2022 legislative session at the Statehouse in Des Moines. Ahead of the session, Senate Republicans issued new policies removing journalists from the chamber floor.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"State government: Legislature"
],
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
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"Change in policy or practice"
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},
{
"title": "Journalists moved from Kansas Senate floor to public gallery for new legislative session",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-moved-from-kansas-senate-floor-to-public-gallery-for-new-legislative-session/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-20T20:24:35.861197Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-16T22:19:02.426286Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-16T22:19:02.314994Z",
"date": "2022-01-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Topeka",
"longitude": -95.67804,
"latitude": 39.04833,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jm22p\">Republican leaders in the Kansas Senate issued new rules moving journalists off the Senate floor and into a gallery, overturning a longstanding practice.</p><p data-block-key=\"prgow\">Mike Pirner, the director of communications for Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, sent the new media rules to reporters on Jan. 4, 2022. A copy of the guidelines, which asks reporters to only use the specific designated section of the gallery, was shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"uf0n8\">The email also stated that when the public gallery is full they will provide floor access to journalists, and that photographers and videographers may seek permission for floor access during a session.</p><p data-block-key=\"iwuoc\">Kansas Reflector reporter Tim Carpenter, who has covered the statehouse for 15 years, said he was covering the second day of the new session from the Senate gallery when he saw the rules enacted. Pirner approached a pair of journalists working on the floor on Jan. 11 and told them they had to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"emwc4\">Carpenter said Pirner informed journalists that while they can come down to the floor when the Senate isn’t in session to take pictures or ask questions, they are not to disrupt senators completing their work and not to “loiter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m9v18\">Steve Morris, a Republican Kansas senator from 1993 to 2013, <a href=\"https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/13/there-is-no-compelling-reason-for-kansas-senate-to-restrict-journalists-from-floor-debates/\">criticized</a> the change in an op-ed for the Reflector, noting that reporters have had a place on the Senate floor for decades.</p><p data-block-key=\"oc68f\">“There is no compelling reason to change the time-honored policy of allowing their close access to debates and other public workings of the Senate,” Morris wrote. “Senate leadership’s decision to move Kansas Statehouse reporters farther away from the action sends the wrong message and won’t help the people of Kansas better understand the discussions and votes.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gq1ma\">In its <a href=\"https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article257331562.html\">editorial</a>, The Kansas City Star’s Editorial Board called the move “the latest front in GOP’s war on the press,” writing that journalists’ access to legislators in order to ask follow-up questions and fact-check is vital for accuracy and transparency.</p><p data-block-key=\"17pvi\">When reached for comment via email, Pirner rejected claims that the shift limits journalists’ access to senators, noting that the only change is where reporters can be seated while the Senate is in session.</p><p data-block-key=\"4z8f5\">“Immediately when the gavel comes down, reporters may come on the floor and talk to any Senator they wish — and do so,” Pirner told the Tracker. “Any report that we are denying access or banning reporters from accessing Senators is completely inaccurate.”</p><p data-block-key=\"g1nie\">According to Pirner, the Senate president moved the designated area for reporters due to spacing concerns and the rise in digital publications. The Iowa Senate Republicans offered similar reasoning when they <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-removed-from-iowa-senate-floor-overturning-a-century-old-practice/\">moved journalists from the Senate floor</a> to a gallery above this legislative session.</p><p data-block-key=\"42ai8\">In the Kansas Senate, Pirner said, there are six seats for journalists in the designated gallery; the floor held five.</p><p data-block-key=\"tzcra\">Carpenter dismissed Pirner’s arguments of overcrowding as “laughable,” noting that in the heyday of the Star and Wichita Eagle each had three or four journalists covering the statehouse; nowadays, he said, a single reporter represents both news outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"7yhgh\">“There’s nothing that they can do that stops me from covering the statehouse as I see fit,” Carpenter said. But, he worries about the possible escalation of restrictions that bar public scrutiny and enable corruption.</p><p data-block-key=\"oy5n6\">“That’s the danger of taking this ‘stay off the Senate floor’ thing to the next level and the next level and the next level,” Carpenter said. “Then you have a very serious problem because bad public policy is going to be made.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/KS_Senate.74aa61b4.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"r5opg\">The Kansas Senate chamber seen from the gallery where journalists are required to cover the legislative session, taken in 2025. Republican leaders in the state Senate issued new rules removing journalists from the floor of the Topeka chamber in 2022.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Kansas",
"abbreviation": "KS"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
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"State government: Legislature"
],
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
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},
{
"title": "Search warrant issued for North Dakota reporter’s phone records amid police investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/search-warrant-issued-for-north-dakota-reporters-phone-records-amid-police-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-26T15:13:32.007244Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-11-08T20:38:34.280404Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-11-08T20:38:34.209928Z",
"date": "2022-01-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Williston",
"longitude": -103.61797,
"latitude": 48.14697,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jvvxc\">A North Dakota police investigator obtained a search warrant for the phone records of Tom Simon, a Williston-based reporter for Coyote Radio 98.5 and Williston Trending Topics News Radio Live, on Jan. 4, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"315k2\">The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/technology-north-dakota-radio-williston-criminal-investigations-fa033988cf1debf480ed9b90969599ee\">reported</a> that Simon was covering a series of closed-door meetings about the school board’s handling of the departure of the district’s former superintendent. Simon told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that multiple individuals contacted him with details from an executive session of the school board. In the wake of his reporting, Williston police initiated an investigation at the behest of the school board president and enlisted the help of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation to identify Simon’s sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"cim3k\">Judge Benjamen Johnson signed a search warrant for the seizure of Simon’s cellphone and a second warrant issued to Verizon Wireless for the reporter’s cellphone records on Jan. 4. Both warrants were reviewed by the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"d3d70\">During a school board meeting on Jan. 10, BCI agents approached Simon, demanded that he identify his sources, presented him with the signed search warrant and confiscated his cellphone. The Tracker has documented that seizure <a href=\"/all-incidents/radio-reporters-phone-seized-by-north-dakota-police-later-returned/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vfv1\">Under the <a href=\"https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t31c01.pdf\">state’s shield law</a>, police cannot seize a journalist’s work product without a court hearing to determine if the “failure of disclosure of such evidence will cause a miscarriage of justice.” No such hearing was held in Simon’s case.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmu1f\">The AP reported that North Dakota Newspaper Association Attorney Jack McDonald contacted state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem about the seizure the following morning, and Stenehjem immediately ordered the phone returned. That same day, BCI police investigator Charissa Remus wrote a letter to Verizon telling the communications company to “PLEASE DISREGARD IMMEDIATELY.” The police investigation has since been closed.</p><p data-block-key=\"7isf3\">Stenehjem told the AP that some people involved in the chain of events did not know that Simon was protected by the shield law and expressed regret over the mistake.</p><p data-block-key=\"55sk\">In a statement shared with the Tracker, Stenhjem said, “This office reviewed the matter and determined that the phone was lawfully taken pursuant to a valid search warrant issued by a judge.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad5gj\">“The attorney general advised the agent that in light of a state statute that requires a further court warrant to view the contents of the phone in cases like this.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cd6er\">A spokesperson for Stenehjem’s office <a href=\"https://www.inforum.com/opinion/columns/port-it-makes-me-physically-nauseous-the-extent-to-which-they-were-pursuing-a-journalist\">told Fargo-based outlet InForum</a> that moving forward all current and future BCI agents will receive training on the state’s shield law and it will be incorporated into the curriculum at the Law Enforcement Training Academy.</p><p data-block-key=\"dbi1h\">Simon’s attorney, Kevin Chapman, told the Tracker he is researching potential civil rights claims but said they have not decided if or when they will file a lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"an4s9\">“There has to be a freedom of the press. Reporters should be able to feel free to go get the news and to do investigative journalism without law enforcement breathing down their necks and then pressuring them for their sources,” Chapman said. “This is a perfect example of overreaching on behalf of law enforcement into the rights of private citizens and it simply cannot stand.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Simons-Verizon.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jqn1m\">A portion of the search warrant issued to Verizon for phone records belonging to radio reporter Tom Simon, who was reporting on a school board’s handling of the departure of the district’s former superintendent.zf</p>",
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"name": "North Dakota",
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{
"title": "Journalist arrested while covering North Carolina homeless camp eviction",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-arrested-while-covering-north-carolina-homeless-camp-eviction/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-06T15:22:46.773274Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-06T16:32:22.515255Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-06T16:32:22.239780Z",
"date": "2021-12-25",
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"city": "Asheville",
"longitude": -82.55402,
"latitude": 35.60095,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u3fbv\">Veronica Coit, a reporter for the Asheville Blade, was arrested alongside another Blade reporter while covering a police eviction of a homeless encampment in Asheville, North Carolina, on Dec. 25, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"zphop\">The Blade <a href=\"https://ashevilleblade.com/?p=4121\">reported</a> that Coit, whose pronouns are they/them, arrived at Aston Park after reporter Matilda Bliss discovered that a significant police force had gathered there shortly before 10 p.m. A small encampment in the park was the latest focus of ongoing city efforts to clear Asheville’s homeless populations out of public areas, <a href=\"https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/12/21/asheville-police-clear-homeless-camp-demonstrators-aston-park-code-purple/8972702002/\">according to the Asheville Citizen Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"wz7z9\">As officers directed everyone in the camp to “move on” under threat of arrest, Coit and Bliss documented their actions from a distance, according to the Blade.</p><p data-block-key=\"ew1ar\">The outlet reported that one of the officers then pointed toward Coit and said “[they’re] taking pictures.” Five officers then advanced toward Coit and placed them under arrest. Several officers then told Bliss to immediately leave the park or face arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"21kz5\">Bliss told the Blade she identified herself as a member of the press multiple times before she, too, was placed under arrest. Blade founder and editor David Forbes told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that while Bliss was wearing a press pass issued by the outlet, Coit did not have their lanyard press pass that night.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Asheville police just arrested Blade reporters <a href=\"https://twitter.com/matilda_bliss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@matilda_bliss</a> and Veronica Coit. Both were on the ground covering the events at Aston Park, displaying press id <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/avlnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#avlnews</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/avlgov?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#avlgov</a></p>— Asheville Blade (@AvlBlade) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AvlBlade/status/1474951919030484995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nwy8y\">“According to the last things [Bliss and Coit] observed, and from sources they later spoke with, APD then grew even more violent, dragging campers out of tents and arresting them,” the Blade reported. “Our journalists were clearly targeted first to remove those who could quickly bring the brutality that followed to the public’s attention.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yfyxb\">Coit and Bliss were each charged with misdemeanor trespassing, which carries a penalty of up to 20 days in jail and a $200 fine. Coit did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ro9fi\">Forbes told the Tracker that Coit was released at approximately 12:15 a.m. on the 26th, but Bliss, whose phone was confiscated, was not released until approximately 1:50 a.m. The Asheville Police Department did not return a call requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dpx91\">The Committee to Protect Journalists <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pressfreedom/status/1475929456107831296\">condemned</a> the arrests in a statement on Twitter a few days after the incident:</p><p data-block-key=\"8ndyo\">“Authorities in #Ashville, NC should drop all charges against @AvlBlade reporters Veronica Coit and @matilda_bliss, who were arrested on December 25 We are deeply concerned that @AshevillePolice interfered with their reporting, and unnecessarily confiscated Bliss's phone.”</p><p data-block-key=\"uubid\">Forbes told the Tracker that the charges against Bliss and Coit are still pending and they both have hearings scheduled for March 8, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"xm4fp\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Veronica Coit, who was previously a freelancer for the Asheville Blade, is now a reporter for the news co-op.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Bliss_and_Coit.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"zqagx\">While documenting police engaging in a sweep of a homeless encampment in Asheville, North Carolina, on Dec. 25, 2021, two Asheville Blade journalists were arrested and charged with trespassing.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Asheville Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2021-12-26",
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"case_number": "1:24-cv-00307",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"actor": null,
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"state": {
"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-04-19 16:22:00+00:00) Reporters convicted on trespassing charges, immediately appealed for jury trial",
"(2023-06-16 14:37:00+00:00) Asheville reporter convicted of trespassing following five-day jury trial",
"(2023-05-03 12:41:00+00:00) Asheville journalist learns of park ban in lead up to jury trial",
"(2024-03-22 00:00:00+00:00) North Carolina reporter appeals trespassing conviction",
"(2025-02-19 00:00:00+00:00) Appeals court affirms trespassing conviction of North Carolina journalists",
"(2024-12-23 00:00:00+00:00) Journalists sue North Carolina city, police over trespassing arrest"
],
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"encampment"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Veronica Coit (The Asheville Blade)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter arrested, phone confiscated while covering NC homeless camp eviction",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-arrested-phone-confiscated-while-covering-nc-homeless-camp-eviction/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-06T15:20:11.838984Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-06T16:31:38.669959Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-06T16:31:38.351013Z",
"date": "2021-12-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Asheville",
"longitude": -82.55402,
"latitude": 35.60095,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nz3x6\">Asheville Blade reporter Matilda Bliss was arrested alongside a colleague while covering a police eviction of a homeless encampment in Asheville, North Carolina, on Dec. 25, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"ezflb\">Bliss, whose pronouns are she/they, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she had been at Aston Park multiple times throughout the day but had left to run an errand at approximately 9 p.m. Both Bliss and Blade reporter <a href=\"/all-incidents/journalist-arrested-while-covering-north-carolina-homeless-camp-eviction/\">Veronica Coit</a> returned to the park a little before 10 p.m. after receiving texts about a growing police force gathering at the park. A small encampment in the park was the latest focus of ongoing city efforts to clear Asheville’s homeless populations out of public areas, <a href=\"https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2021/12/21/asheville-police-clear-homeless-camp-demonstrators-aston-park-code-purple/8972702002/\">according to the Asheville Citizen Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ltge4\">As officers directed everyone in the camp to “move on” under threat of arrest, Coit and Bliss documented their actions from a distance, Bliss told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The Blade <a href=\"https://ashevilleblade.com/?p=4121\">reported</a> that one of the officers then pointed toward Coit and said, “[They’re] taking pictures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zodru\">Five officers then advanced toward Coit and placed them under arrest. Several officers then told Bliss to immediately leave the park or face arrest. Bliss repeatedly identified as a member of the press before she, too, was arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"tgu3v\">The Blade reported that Bliss was wearing a press badge issued by the outlet at the time of her arrest.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Asheville police just arrested Blade reporters <a href=\"https://twitter.com/matilda_bliss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@matilda_bliss</a> and Veronica Coit. Both were on the ground covering the events at Aston Park, displaying press id <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/avlnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#avlnews</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/avlgov?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#avlgov</a></p>— Asheville Blade (@AvlBlade) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AvlBlade/status/1474951919030484995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hh8hp\">“According to the last things [Bliss and Coit] observed, and from sources they later spoke with, APD then grew even more violent, dragging campers out of tents and arresting them,” the Blade reported. “Our journalists were clearly targeted first to remove those who could quickly bring the brutality that followed to the public’s attention.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eu1d6\">Coit and Bliss were each charged with second degree trespassing, which carries a penalty of up to 20 days in jail and a $200 fine.</p><p data-block-key=\"t3n1m\">Blade founder and editor David Forbes told the Tracker that while Coit was released shortly after midnight, Bliss was left handcuffed in a police car for more than two hours and was the last person released from custody. Forbes said that to the best of the journalists’ knowledge, Bliss was the only arrestee whose phone was confiscated.</p><p data-block-key=\"rcg13\">Bliss told the Tracker that when she was released at approximately 1:50 a.m. on the 26th, officers did not return her belongings, stating that they are being held as evidence and that it’s up to the district attorney to approve their release. The Asheville Police Department did not return a call requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"z677s\">The Committee to Protect Journalists <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pressfreedom/status/1475929456107831296\">condemned</a> the arrests in a statement on Twitter a few days after the incident:</p><p data-block-key=\"7t8ta\">“Authorities in #Asheville, NC should drop all charges against <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AvlBlade\">@AvlBlade</a> reporters Veronica Coit and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/matilda_bliss\">@matilda_bliss</a>, who were arrested on December 25. We are deeply concerned that <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AshevillePolice\">@AshevillePolice</a> interfered with their reporting, and unnecessarily confiscated Bliss's phone.”</p><p data-block-key=\"s3lf4\">Forbes told the Tracker that the charges against Bliss and Coit are still pending and they both have hearings scheduled for March 8, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci038\">“It was a hard experience but also I’m not going to back down either,” Bliss told the Tracker. “That’s the only way that this doesn’t happen to other people.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Bliss_and_Coit.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1pn8u\">While documenting police engaging in a sweep of a homeless encampment in Asheville, North Carolina, on Dec. 25, 2021, two Asheville Blade journalists were arrested and charged with trespassing.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Asheville Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2021-12-26",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:24-cv-00307",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
"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"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-06-16 14:29:00+00:00) Asheville reporter convicted of trespassing following jury trial",
"(2023-04-19 16:26:00+00:00) Reporters convicted on trespassing charges, immediately appealed for jury trial",
"(2024-03-22 00:00:00+00:00) North Carolina reporter appeals trespassing conviction",
"(2025-02-19 00:00:00+00:00) Appeals court affirms trespassing conviction of North Carolina journalists",
"(2023-05-03 12:43:00+00:00) Asheville reporter learns of cellphone search warrant, park ban in lead up to jury trial",
"(2022-03-11 09:55:00+00:00) Police return phone, belongings to reporter after obtaining search warrant",
"(2024-12-23 00:00:00+00:00) Journalists sue North Carolina city, police over trespassing arrest"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"encampment"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Matilda Bliss (The Asheville Blade)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Texas journalist files suit following arrest, equipment seizure",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-journalist-files-suit-following-arrest-equipment-seizure/",
"first_published_at": "2023-07-25T18:38:44.318333Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-27T16:41:48.498204Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-27T16:41:48.230335Z",
"date": "2021-12-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Damon",
"longitude": -95.73467,
"latitude": 29.29052,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"upvsy\">Independent journalist Justin Pulliam was arrested and his equipment seized while filming a mental health check by Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputies in Damon, Texas, on Dec. 21, 2021. He was charged with interference with public duties but the initial proceedings ended in a mistrial in March 2023. In the interim, Pulliam filed a federal lawsuit against the county.</p><p data-block-key=\"bj4a2\">Pulliam lives in Fort Bend County near Houston and independently reports on local government and law enforcement for his social media channels, including on YouTube and Facebook. <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.1898419/gov.uscourts.txsd.1898419.33.0_2.pdf\">According to his lawsuit</a>, Pulliam followed officers to a remote corner of the county where they were conducting a wellness check on a man whose case Pulliam had been following for several years.</p><p data-block-key=\"9fs3\">“Justin had recorded previous [sheriff’s office] interactions with the mentally ill man and believed officers had a history of unnecessarily escalating their responses to him,” the lawsuit stated.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hc8p\">Pulliam began filming from a gas station located approximately 130 feet from the man’s home after receiving permission from his mother, according to his <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po7ZVCRQHM8\">footage from the incident</a>. At some point, a deputy informed the other officers via radio that Pulliam had arrived, identifying him by name and as a “local journalist,” Pulliam’s lawsuit stated.</p><p data-block-key=\"83mr9\">Moments after two mental health advocates arrived at the scene, a deputy approached and first directed only Pulliam and then the advocates to go across the street. Pulliam began walking toward the street, but turned to resume filming when the advocates began speaking to the officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"adabu\">Seconds later, the officer again directed Pulliam to leave; Pulliam responded that he had a right to be there as long as the other bystanders were permitted to remain. As the officer began walking toward him while counting down from five, Pulliam’s footage shows him backing up further until the officer reached him and placed him under arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"fhmco\">During the booking process, Sheriff Eric Fagan and the chief deputy took Pulliam into a room and attempted to question him, according to his lawsuit. When he refused to speak without an attorney, both reportedly became agitated and indicated that the booking process would continue, according to the lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"d65n\">Pulliam was released after several hours once his $500 bail was posted. His equipment — which included a hand-held camera, body camera and cellphone — remained in police custody. The majority of the equipment was returned on Jan. 7, 2022, though the sheriff’s office continued to hold his body camera, memory cards and cellphone.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pqpc\">A week later, officers <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.1898419/gov.uscourts.txsd.1898419.33.1_1.pdf\">obtained search warrants</a> for the memory cards and body camera, arguing that they held evidence of Pulliam’s alleged interference with public duties. A grand jury indicted Pulliam on May 16, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"6olmr\">Pulliam’s case went to trial on March 28, 2023, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. It was ruled a mistrial after one of the six jurors held that Pulliam should be convicted while the other jurors voted to acquit, confirmed Christie Hebert, one of the attorneys at the public interest law firm Institute for Justice representing Pulliam in his federal suit.</p><p data-block-key=\"57hu0\">Wesley Wittig, second assistant district attorney for Fort Bend County, told the Tracker that no new trial date has been requested.</p><p data-block-key=\"410nk\">For Pulliam, it has been a life-altering experience. “It’s not just the arrest and one police officer,” Pulliam told the Tracker in July 2023. “It’s like the whole system is out to get you. And so that, taken as a whole, is very chilling. It makes me scared to really do much of any filming in this county.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fertj\">The Institute for Justice <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66612909/pulliam-v-fort-bend-county-texas/\">filed the civil rights lawsuit on Pulliam’s behalf</a> on Dec. 5, 2022, against the county, Sheriff Fagan and four others in the sheriff’s office. The suit alleges violations of Pulliam’s First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights by arresting him and seizing his equipment, as well as by <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-journalist-barred-from-briefing-by-sheriff-files-civil-rights-suit/\">barring him</a> from one of the sheriff’s press conferences in July 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kpqn\">On June 29, 2023, District Judge David Hittner denied the county’s motion to dismiss the majority of Pulliam’s claims. Hittner <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.1898419/gov.uscourts.txsd.1898419.48.0.pdf\">ruled that</a> Pulliam had sufficiently argued that he had been singled out for exercising his First Amendment rights and that the officers are not protected by qualified immunity at this time.</p><p data-block-key=\"avpq3\">The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment when reached in July 2023, citing the ongoing litigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvkom\">Hebert <a href=\"https://ij.org/press-release/citizen-journalist-wins-first-round-of-his-first-amendment-lawsuit-against-fort-bend-county-sheriff/\">said in a statement</a> following the ruling that Hittner recognized the gravity of Pulliam’s claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"9f8fi\">“The heart of the First Amendment is the right to speak out about government, and Fort Bend County does not get to pick and choose who will cover their activities,” Hebert said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6mq6t\">Hebert told the Tracker that the case is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in early 2024.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Justin-Pulliam-0599.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yq3pm\">Independent journalist Justin Pulliam was arrested by a Fort Bend County Sheriff’s deputy while documenting a mental health call on Dec. 21, 2021. A year later, Pulliam filed a civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff’s office.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "4:22-cv-04210",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in part",
"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": 2,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "external battery"
},
{
"quantity": 3,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "storage device"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-05-15 00:00:00+00:00) Charge against Texas journalist dropped more than two years after arrest"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Justin Pulliam (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist assaulted while documenting anti-vaccine protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-assaulted-while-documenting-anti-vaccine-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-22T14:16:56.211807Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-12-22T14:16:56.211807Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-12-22T14:16:56.171424Z",
"date": "2021-12-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was assaulted while documenting an anti-vaccination protest in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 18, 2021.</p><p>Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he arrived shortly after 1 p.m. to document an anti-vaccination mandate protest outside Getty House, the official home of Los Angeles' mayor. Approximately 10 protesters were gathered outside the residence, Beckner-Carmitchel said, and he initially intended on only documenting the demonstration for 30 minutes or so.</p><p>An individual approached the journalist at around 1:20 p.m., upset that he had been filmed at a previous protest, Beckner-Carmitchel said.</p><p>Beckner-Carmitchel, who told the Tracker he was wearing his National Press Photographers Association press credentials, said the man challenged him to a fight and accused him of publishing private information, or doxxing, multiple individuals.</p><p>“Why don’t you go back to what you were doing,” Beckner-Carmitchel can be heard saying in <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1472330992824176640\">footage from the interaction</a>. “I’m not here to disturb you, I’m not here to disrupt you.”</p><p>As police began to arrive at the scene, Beckner-Carmitchel <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1472336210848731136\">wrote on Twitter</a> that other individuals approached the man who was threatening him and convinced him to walk away and rejoin the protest.</p><p>Approximately 10 minutes later, Beckner-Carmitchel <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1472337196933730307\">wrote</a> that he was attempting to interview Derrick Gates, a Republican candidate for California’s 33rd Congressional District, when the man who threatened him earlier returned and slapped his phone from his hands.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Attempting to interview Republican candidate Derrick Gates; the man who has threatened me earlier slapped my phone out of my hands. No police response. <a href=\"https://t.co/9WytzjYZXO\">pic.twitter.com/9WytzjYZXO</a></p>— Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (@ACatWithNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ACatWithNews/status/1472337196933730307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>“It’s OK, buddy, it’s OK. I’m OK with it, really,” Gates can be heard telling the man. “He has a right to ask questions.”</p><p>Beckner-Carmitchel told the Tracker his phone was not damaged. He also said that a police cruiser was parked approximately 20 feet away from them during the incident, but officers did not approach them before or after and he did not file a police report.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "",
"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": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"coronavirus",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "As many as 20 journalists investigated by secretive CBP division",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/as-many-as-20-journalists-investigated-by-secretive-cbp-division/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-14T15:52:14.530468Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-12-14T15:52:14.530468Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-12-14T15:52:14.469152Z",
"date": "2021-12-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>As many as 20 journalists were investigated by a secretive U.S. Customs and Border Protection division beginning in 2017, according to a December 2021 report by Yahoo News.</p><p>The division, known as the Counter Network Division, would identify and vet individuals, including journalists, by pulling their email addresses, phone numbers and photos from their passport applications and running the information through multiple government databases.</p><p>Journalists known to have been investigated by the division include then-Politico reporter Ali Watkins, Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington, <a href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/news/operation-whistle-pig-inside-the-secret-cbp-unit-with-no-rules-that-investigates-americans-100000147.html\">according to the Yahoo News report</a>.</p><p>In June 2017, a CBP agent named Jeffrey Rambo <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/doj-secretly-seizes-phone-and-email-records-new-york-times-reporter-ali-watkins/\">contacted Watkins</a> as part of the division’s efforts to combat forced labor, but uncovered in the process that she had had a relationship with James Wolfe, then-director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee.</p><p>Rambo told Yahoo News the vetting procedures were standard and he was not a “rogue agent,” as he was described in a <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/customs-and-border-protection-examining-agents-questioning-of-national-security-reporter/2018/06/12/05dac696-6e74-11e8-afd5-778aca903bbe_story.html\">2018 Washington Post</a> article about his interaction with and investigation into Watkins.</p><p>“All these things are standard practices that — let me rephrase that. All of the things that led up to my interest in Ali Watkins were standard practice of what we do and what we did and probably what’s still done to this day,” Rambo told Yahoo News.</p><p>Rambo said the division’s investigation into Wolfe, referred to as Operation Whistle Pig, was focused only on whether the security director was leaking classified information to Watkins or other journalists. (Wolfe was subsequently <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/senate-intel-committee-staffer-james-wolfe-accused-lying-fbi-about-contacts-journalists/\">arrested and charged</a> with lying to the FBI about his interactions with reporters.)</p><p>According to an FBI counterintelligence memo, 15 to 20 national security reporters were also swept up in the investigation, Yahoo News reported. A memo from the National Targeting Center disclosed that the division reached out to reporters at HuffPost, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the AP.</p><p>“I’m deeply troubled at the lengths CBP and DHS personnel apparently went to try and identify journalistic sources and dig into my personal life,” Watkins told Yahoo News. “It was chilling then, and it remains chilling now.”</p><p>Rambo, his supervisor Dan White and his co-worker were ultimately investigated by the inspector general, which referred its findings to a federal prosecutor for possible charges of misusing government databases and lying to investigators, the AP <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-arts-and-entertainment-journalists-alejandro-mayorkas-congress-e5f5531a2c4e28157dd652bad0905d8f\">reported</a>. The Justice Department declined to prosecute them.</p><p>AP Executive Editor Julie Pace sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Dec. 13 urging the agency to explain why investigative reporter Mendoza was vetted through the government databases and identified as a potential confidential informant, the outlet <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-arts-and-entertainment-journalists-alejandro-mayorkas-congress-e5f5531a2c4e28157dd652bad0905d8f\">reported</a>.</p><p>“This is a flagrant example of a federal agency using its power to examine the contacts of journalists,” Pace wrote. “While the actions detailed in the inspector general’s report occurred under a previous administration, the practices were described as routine.”</p><p>Following Yahoo News’s initial report, Sen. Ron Wyden issued a <a href=\"https://news.yahoo.com/wyden-cbp-surveillance-184458020.html\">statement to Yahoo News</a> demanding that the DHS turn over the inspector general’s inquiry into the division’s operation. Wyden, a democrat, is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees CBP.</p><p>“If multiple government agencies were aware of this conduct and took no action to stop it, there needs to be serious consequences for every official involved, and DHS and the Justice Department must explain what actions they are taking to prevent this unacceptable conduct in the future,” Wyden said.</p><p>Rep. Bennie Thompson, democratic chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, <a href=\"https://homeland.house.gov/news/press-releases/thompson-statement-on-reports-of-cbp-surveillance-of-journalists\">issued a statement</a> calling for DHS to release information about the unit.</p><p>“If true, this abuse of government surveillance powers to target journalists, elected officials and their staff is deeply disturbing,” Thompson said. “The Inspector General must provide this report to Congress to enable critical oversight work."</p><p>According to Yahoo News, Justice Department policies on acquiring information from journalists pertain to issuing subpoenas, not searching through information already in the government’s possession.</p><p>“CBP vetting and investigatory operations, including those conducted by the Counter Network Division, are strictly governed by well-established protocols and best practices,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a written statement to Yahoo News.</p><p>This is not the first report of CBP monitoring journalists: In 2019, NBC 7 <a href=\"https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Source-Leaked-Documents-Show-the-US-Government-Tracking-Journalists-and-Advocates-Through-a-Secret-Database-506783231.html\">reported</a> that Department of Homeland Security officials in San Diego had created a database of journalists, activists and attorneys who were involved in some way with the migrant caravan and had created dossiers on each individual.</p><p>In 2020, DHS <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dhs-compiles-intelligence-reports-two-journalists-covering-black-lives-matter-protests/\">compiled intelligence reports</a> about the reporting and tweets of two journalists covering protests in Portland, Oregon, according to a Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-compiled-intelligence-reports-on-journalists-who-published-leaked-documents/2020/07/30/5be5ec9e-d25b-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html#click=https://t.co/UEJyzCoJS7\">article</a>. After the reports were made public, then-Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf ordered the office to cease all collection of information on journalists and announced an investigation into the reports.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media",
"The New York Times",
"Wall Street Journal"
],
"tags": [],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ali Watkins (Politico)",
"Arianna Huffington (HuffPost)",
"Martha Mendoza (The Associated Press)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Former BuzzFeed reporter ordered to submit documents in lawsuit against Kevin Spacey",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-buzzfeed-reporter-ordered-to-submit-documents-in-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-07T19:07:07.904675Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:20:50.491186Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:20:50.387797Z",
"date": "2021-12-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fubjy\">Former BuzzFeed News reporter Adam B. Vary was subpoenaed for documents and materials on Dec. 6, 2021, as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit against actor Kevin Spacey. On Aug. 9, 2022, a district judge granted a motion to compel Vary to partially comply with the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"7adrl\">According to a September 2020 <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18632797/6/1/rapp-v-fowler/\">civil complaint</a>, Anthony Rapp was a 14-year-old actor in a Broadway play in 1986 when Spacey befriended him and invited him to a party at his New York City apartment, where Rapp claims Spacey sexually abused him.</p><p data-block-key=\"8eajb\">Rapp approached journalist Vary, who was also a long-time friend, in 2017 about his claims against Spacey. Vary then wrote an article about the allegations <a href=\"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/anthony-rapp-kevin-spacey-made-sexual-advance-when-i-was-14\">published by BuzzFeed</a> in late October 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"dd7im\">Vary complied with a Nov. 4, 2021 subpoena requesting a deposition, which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented <a href=\"/all-incidents/former-buzzfeed-reporter-ordered-to-sit-for-deposition-in-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey/\">here</a>. He objected to the second subpoena, which requested documents, on the grounds that the materials were protected under shield law and reporter’s privilege. Vary was reissued an identical subpoena on Dec. 29, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"6462o\">Spacey’s attorney <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186.154.0.pdf\">filed a motion</a> on Feb. 9, 2022, to compel the journalist to provide additional testimony and submit his unpublished reporting materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"bdk5u\">According to documents reviewed by the Tracker, Vary was ordered to submit the withheld materials for an “in-camera” inspection on June 7 in a judge’s chambers to determine which documents were privileged and which were not.</p><p data-block-key=\"fmunm\">Vary submitted five USB sticks containing various documents, a copy of an opposition declaration, a log of confidential source information, a record of attorney-client communications and a transmittal letter of all materials submitted for inspection, <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186.222.0_1.pdf\">according to court documents</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7cikc\">New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled on Aug. 9 that Vary would have about a week to turn over documents that were not deemed confidential, including communications between him and Rapp before 2017, and any communications Vary had with a production company regarding a documentary on Spacey. Kaplan also ordered Vary to sit for an additional deposition on or before Sept. 9, 2022, requiring him to answer all questions he initially refused to answer during his first deposition as well as answer further questions about the newly produced documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"e188u\">Jean-Paul Jassy, Vary’s lawyer, told the Tracker in a statement that he was pleased the ruling protected Vary’s confidential reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffme2\">“The Court correctly concluded that Adam B. Vary acted as a professional journalist should. The Court denied most of Spacey's motion. Although we don't agree with all aspects of the Court's order, we appreciate that the Court rejected nearly all of what Spacey's attorneys requested, and the Court did not order the disclosure of any privileged material. Mr. Vary fully protected his confidential sources,” Jassy said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"Adam Vary (BuzzFeed News)"
],
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"upheld"
],
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},
{
"title": "San Francisco Chronicle photographer robbed at gunpoint in Oakland, cameras stolen",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/san-francisco-chronicle-photographer-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-oakland-cameras-stolen/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-06T18:17:39.459510Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T14:15:38.212092Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T14:15:38.107314Z",
"date": "2021-12-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Oakland",
"longitude": -122.2708,
"latitude": 37.80437,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"72z7s\">An unidentified San Francisco Chronicle photographer was robbed at gunpoint in West Oakland, California, on Dec. 3, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"42no9\"><a href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Chronicle-photographer-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-16673673.php\">The Chronicle</a> reported that the photographer was on assignment when multiple armed assailants stole two cameras before fleeing in a vehicle. An Oakland Police Department spokesperson said in a statement that the robbery was reported just before 3:30pm. Police officials also said the photographer was not injured during the incident. OPD did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I regret to report that a Chronicle journalist was robbed at gunpoint today while on assignment in West Oakland. We are relieved the photographer was not physically hurt. <a href=\"https://t.co/I9SJdVLq5M\">https://t.co/I9SJdVLq5M</a></p>— Demian Bulwa (@demianbulwa) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/demianbulwa/status/1466949301054029825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 4, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"piqbw\">“Any incident in which a person is robbed of their possessions at gunpoint is incredibly troubling,” Chronicle Editor in Chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz said in a statement following the incident. “We are relieved that our colleague was not physically injured. We are a part of this community, and we will not retreat from providing the news and information it needs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"0tivq\">This incident follows multiple<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/armed-robbers-steal-san-francisco-tv-crew-video-camera/\"> other</a><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bay-area-news-crew-approached-by-armed-individuals-ordered-to-hand-over-equipment/\"> armed</a><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/san-francisco-tv-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-recording-interview/\"> robberies</a> involving news organizations in the Bay Area this year.</p><p data-block-key=\"4mltx\">Most recently, on Nov. 24, a security guard hired for a KRON-TV news crew in Oakland <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bay-area-broadcast-security-guard-shot-killed-in-attempted-robbery-of-news-crew/\">was fatally shot</a> during an attempted armed robbery. Kevin Nishita was killed after confronting an assailant who tried to steal the crew’s camera equipment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
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"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 14 (San Francisco Chronicle)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist arrested, equipment seized while documenting homeless encampment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-equipment-seized-while-documenting-homeless-encampment/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-07T20:51:40.432682Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-06T21:42:33.909434Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-06T21:42:33.678360Z",
"date": "2021-11-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Sausalito",
"longitude": -122.48525,
"latitude": 37.85909,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ire6s\">Freelance photojournalist Jeremy Portje was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors and a felony while documenting a homeless encampment in Sausalito, California, on Nov. 30, 2021, according to an officer from the Sausalito Police Department.</p><p data-block-key=\"6hh5c\">Portje was filming for a documentary about homelessness in Marin County, <a href=\"https://pacificsun.com/sausalito-police-arrest-journalist/\">according</a> to the Pacific Sun, a weekly newspaper in the county. A witness identified as a volunteer at the encampment told the Pacific Sun that an officer was following Portje and deliberately stood in front of his camera as he tried to film.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkd6l\">The volunteer told the newspaper an officer grabbed Portje’s camera without provocation, and appeared to accidentally hit himself with the equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"j9vy1\">“The officer reacted to the camera hitting him,” the volunteer told the Pacific Sun. “He started punching Jeremy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"byief\">Portje attempted to defend himself from the blows but was quickly forced to the ground and placed under arrest, the newspaper reported. At some point during the altercation the officer threw Portje’s camera to the ground. No equipment damage was mentioned in initial reports of the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"r62nw\">In <a href=\"https://youtu.be/31XL-TFeyp0\">footage</a> of Portje’s arrest published by the Pacific Sun, the photojournalist can be heard saying, “Why are they doing this? Because I asked them questions?”</p><p data-block-key=\"ndcn9\">Neither Portje nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"forly\">Portje’s camera can be seen lying on the pavement behind him as two officers work to place him in handcuffs while a third keeps the growing crowd back as voices can be heard shouting “let him go” and “don’t hurt him.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cuycf\">An officer from the Sausalito Police Department told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Portje was arrested shortly after 5 p.m. and charged with resisting an executive officer, battery on a police officer and battery on a police officer with injury. If convicted on all charges, Portje faces up to $5,000 in fines, three years imprisonment or both.</p><p data-block-key=\"5lene\">Charles Dresow, a criminal defense attorney representing Portje, told the Pacific Sun the photojournalist spent the night in jail and was released the following morning on $15,000 bail.</p><p data-block-key=\"q80zh\">“My journalist client ended up on the ground,” Dresow said. “It’s clear the Sausalito police used force to arrest a journalist. To say this is an outrage of constitutional proportions is an understatement.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8scxw\">When reached for comment, Sausalito Mayor Jill Hoffman told the Tracker officers were called to the park to respond to a disturbance and that Portje had interfered with police activity, injuring a police sergeant in the process.</p><p data-block-key=\"ykngb\">“We have shown that we support and respect the right to free speech,” Hoffman said. “What is unacceptable is impeding a police investigation and injuring a member of our department.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9we9k\">Hoffman confirmed that Portje’s camera equipment was seized as evidence.</p><p data-block-key=\"fr6wu\">The Pacific Sun reported that the three officers who arrested him were the same officers who arrested two homeless people for camping in a park two weeks prior. According to the newspaper, Portje had recently made a public records request for the body camera footage from that incident.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2021-12-01",
"detention_date": "2021-11-30",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "3:22-cv-01029",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": true,
"actor": "law enforcement",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"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": "camera lens"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "storage device"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 3,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "external battery"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-12-09 12:33:00+00:00) Police obtain search warrant after seizing photojournalist’s equipment during an arrest",
"(2021-12-28 11:42:00+00:00) No charges for photojournalist arrested while reporting on Sausalito homeless encampment",
"(2024-07-23 00:00:00+00:00) California journalist settles federal suit against Sausalito and its police department",
"(2022-02-21 09:51:00+00:00) Photojournalist sues city, police following arrest while reporting on Sausalito homeless encampment"
],
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],
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"encampment"
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance journalist sues following House Committee’s subpoena of her phone records",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-sues-following-house-committees-subpoena-of-her-phone-records/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-20T16:16:15.551227Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:28:37.079140Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:28:36.955974Z",
"date": "2021-11-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"aspwq\">The U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol subpoenaed phone records belonging to freelance photojournalist Amy Harris on Nov. 24, 2021. Harris filed a suit against the committee in December calling for the subpoena to be quashed.</p><p data-block-key=\"ieacu\">According to Harris’ <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017d-c037-dac5-abff-e13f8bc00000\">lawsuit</a>, Verizon notified her on Dec. 2 that it had received a subpoena compelling the telecommunications company to produce: “<i>All</i> subscriber information and <i>all</i> call, text messaging, and other records of communications associated with Ms. Harris’ phone number for a period of almost three months between November 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tpvkc\">Harris, who is a member of the National Press Photographers Association, primarily focused on travel and music photography prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cut off from those subjects, the lawsuit states she began documenting protests following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020 and political protests leading up to the November election.</p><p data-block-key=\"r17dr\">Harris, who did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-projectile-tear-gas-while-covering-protests-louisville/\">struck with pepper balls</a> and tear gassed while covering protests in Louisville Kentucky on June 1.</p><p data-block-key=\"qfsyd\">Harris was actively working on a project documenting the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, and its leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, during the time frame covered by the subpoena, according to the suit, and was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"pc4ff\">In the lawsuit, Harris says that she lost her phone amidst the chaos that day but it was recovered by an unidentified Proud Boys member who left it at the Hyatt Hotel for her to pick up.</p><p data-block-key=\"k7b5x\">The House Select Committee, established on June 30 chaired by democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, issued a subpoena to Verizon for Harris’s phone records in November, ordering the company to turn over the documents by Dec. 8. Verizon notified Harris that unless it received a court document challenging the subpoena by Dec. 15, it would be forced to comply.</p><p data-block-key=\"5iao8\">In the lawsuit filed on Dec. 15, Harris’s attorneys argued: “Not only do the telephone records sought by the House Select Committee intrude on the personal and privileged communications of a private citizen, but they also seek information sufficient to reveal the identities of Harris’ confidential sources and would impermissibly intrude on her protected newsgathering activities.”</p><p data-block-key=\"kynib\">It was not immediately clear whether the House Select Committee was aware the number belonged to Harris prior to issuing the subpoena, Politico <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/15/photographer-sues-jan-6-committee-524922\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ezon9\">The suit highlights apparent hypocrisy in the committee’s actions, pointing to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s July policy barring using subpoenas, warrants or court orders to obtain reporters’ records. Additionally, Thompson <a href=\"https://homeland.house.gov/news/press-releases/thompson-statement-on-reports-of-cbp-surveillance-of-journalists\">issued a statement</a> on Dec. 13 stating the importance of not using government surveillance powers to target journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"uavyy\">The lawsuit calls for the subpoena to be quashed and for Harris to be awarded costs and attorneys fees. As of publication, no hearings have been scheduled in the case.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"eldqf\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Verizon for phone records belonging to freelance photojournalist Amy Harris, who was documenting the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, and their leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio.</p>",
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": "Verizon",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-12-05 10:25:00+00:00) Photojournalist withdraws lawsuit after House committee drops subpoena for her phone records"
],
"case_statuses": [
"withdrawn"
],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"white nationalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Amy Harris (Freelance)"
],
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"dropped"
],
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},
{
"title": "Bay Area broadcast security guard shot, killed in attempted robbery of news crew",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bay-area-broadcast-security-guard-shot-killed-in-attempted-robbery-of-news-crew/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-29T16:13:55.379653Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-03-21T18:58:17.435230Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-03-21T18:58:17.368824Z",
"date": "2021-11-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Oakland",
"longitude": -122.2708,
"latitude": 37.80437,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hris6\">An unidentified reporter for San Francisco-based broadcaster KRON4 News was robbed at gunpoint while reporting in downtown Oakland, California, on Nov. 24, 2021. The security guard accompanying the reporter was shot in the confrontation and later died from his injuries.</p><p data-block-key=\"2chhg\">KRON4 <a href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/kron4-security-guard-dies-from-injuries-after-attempted-armed-robbery/\">reported</a> that the news crew was covering a recent robbery where 12 thieves donning masks and hoods raided a nearby clothing store. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/oaklandpoliceca/status/1463665670852280321\">According to police</a>, an assailant attempted to steal the news crew’s camera equipment at 12:19 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"lpc5f\">The armed security guard, Kevin Nishita, was shot in the lower abdomen; the reporter was not physically injured. KRON4 reported that Nishita, a retired police officer, died from his injuries on the morning of Nov. 27.</p><p data-block-key=\"wo1jg\">Police and the broadcast station are offering a reward of $32,500 for information leading to an arrest of those involved in the shooting. The investigation is still ongoing as of press time, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KRON4WTran/status/1465331630965284867\">according to reporting</a> by KRON4 reporter Will Tran.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Monday.<br><br>The search continues for our friend Kevin Nishita’s killers. <a href=\"https://t.co/6qK4NtqoeC\">pic.twitter.com/6qK4NtqoeC</a></p>— Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KRON4WTran/status/1465331630965284867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 29, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xuj8e\">Jim Rose, KRON4’s vice president and general manager, said in a <a href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/gunman-who-shot-kron4-guard-in-oakland-still-at-large-25k-reward/\">statement</a> that the station regularly uses security guards to protect their reporters in the field. In a <a href=\"https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/kron4-security-guard-dies-from-injuries-after-attempted-armed-robbery/\">statement</a> released after Nishita’s passing, Rose said:</p><p data-block-key=\"pglch\">“We are devastated by the loss of security guard and our friend, Kevin Nishita. Our deepest sympathy goes to Kevin’s wife, his children, his family, and to all his friends and colleagues. This senseless loss of life is due to yet another violent criminal act in the Bay Area. We hope that offering a reward will help lead to the arrest of those responsible so they can face justice for this terrible tragedy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yjjxq\">Multiple <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/armed-robbers-steal-san-francisco-tv-crew-video-camera/\">other</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bay-area-news-crew-approached-by-armed-individuals-ordered-to-hand-over-equipment/\">armed</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/san-francisco-tv-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-recording-interview/\">robberies</a> took place in the Bay Area earlier this year.</p><p data-block-key=\"01lkt\">The station did not respond to a request for further comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-12-22 11:39:00+00:00) Two suspects arrested in fatal shooting of Bay Area broadcast security guard",
"(2022-03-16 14:58:00+00:00) Three suspects charged in fatal shooting of Bay Area broadcast security guard"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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"Unidentified journalist 5 (KRON-TV)"
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},
{
"title": "KATU camera operator assaulted, camera damaged amid Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/katu-camera-operator-assaulted-camera-damaged-amid-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-22T02:26:24.376128Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:35:00.599516Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:35:00.503008Z",
"date": "2021-11-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rzzia\">At least two members of a KATU News crew were assaulted by a group of individuals while covering unrest in Portland, Oregon, following a high-profile jury verdict in Wisconsin on Nov. 19, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gsd4\">Protests began after a jury <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/jury-finds-kyle-rittenhouse-not-guilty-in-kenosha-shootings-27f812ba532d65c044617483c915e4de\">acquitted</a> 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of first-degree intentional homicide and four other felony charges for killing two men and wounding a third in Kenosha in August 2020. At that time, the city was the site of heightened Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black resident, during a summer of ongoing civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota in May. In 2020, Downtown Portland saw more than 100 straight days of protests, many centered around the Multnomah County Justice Center.</p><p data-block-key=\"s9d49\">Protests were centered again around the justice center on Nov. 19. In a <a href=\"https://katu.com/news/local/police-declare-riot-near-justice-center\">video published by KATU</a>, an individual in black bloc — a technique of dressing in all black to avoid identification — can be seen crossing the street to where the news crew is standing and asks what the crew is filming. “The protest,” one of the journalists responds. The individual then asks why, to which the journalist responds, “To send a message for you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ur704\">“You’re not trying to send our message,” the individual says. “You’re not here trying to get our message.”</p><p data-block-key=\"z3tnk\">During the interaction, approximately six other people approach the news crew, which begins to move down the street away from the protest. An individual appears to reach out and grab the journalist who was answering the questions, but a voice can be heard saying, “Let them walk.” At some point during the interaction, a smoke bomb appears to be activated in the center of the group.</p><p data-block-key=\"cqrud\">Multiple individuals continued to walk alongside the crew, with one wrapping his arm around the first journalist, when a voice calls out “Stop filming,” to which a second person responds, “Yeah, we’re going to turn that camera off right now. We’re advising you to turn that camera off right now. Turn that fucking camera off right fucking now!”</p><p data-block-key=\"9uqya\">As the camera operator attempts to continue walking away, another individual runs up to him screaming that he will break the camera. In the ensuing scuffle, there is an audible crack of something breaking.</p><p data-block-key=\"k1qug\">KATU reported that the news crew was uninjured but the camera was damaged. Neither the station’s news director nor general manager could immediately be reached for comment. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker also documented the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/katu-journalist-assaulted-crew-harassed-in-portland-protest/\">assault of one KATU photojournalist and damage to their equipment here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"sakdq\">The following day, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty released a statement upholding the right of the press to film and condemning the attack on the KATU news crew:</p><p data-block-key=\"u89bi\">“I’m still learning the full details of what occurred last night but want to make it clear that attacking or intimidating the press is never acceptable, such as what happened to a KATU crew last night.”</p><p data-block-key=\"k8air\">In 2020, the Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&city=Kenosha&categories=Assault\">seven assaults of journalists covering protests</a> surrounding the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Find documented aggressions against journalists following the November 2021 Rittenhouse verdict <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-11-19&date_upper=2021-11-19&tags=court+verdict\">here</a> and at Black Lives Matter protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_268.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dl5mn\">Individuals approach a KATU camera operator demanding that he stop filming during a protest in Portland, Oregon, that followed the high-profile acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin on Nov. 19, 2021.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
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}
],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"case_statuses": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"court verdict",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 13 (KATU)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "KATU journalist assaulted, crew harassed in Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/katu-journalist-assaulted-crew-harassed-in-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-22T02:34:25.452322Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:36:37.118246Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:36:36.963684Z",
"date": "2021-11-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"viptx\">A KATU News crew was assaulted by a group of individuals while covering unrest in Portland, Oregon, following a high-profile jury verdict in Wisconsin on Nov. 19, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt09z\">Protests began after a Kenosha jury <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/jury-finds-kyle-rittenhouse-not-guilty-in-kenosha-shootings-27f812ba532d65c044617483c915e4de\">acquitted</a> 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of first-degree intentional homicide and four other felony charges for killing two men and wounding a third in August 2020. At that time, the city was the site of heightened Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black resident, during a summer of ongoing civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota in May. In 2020, Downtown Portland saw more than 100 straight days of protests, many centered around the Multnomah County Justice Center.</p><p data-block-key=\"i9g9c\">On Nov. 19, 2021, protests were centered again around the justice center. In a <a href=\"https://katu.com/news/local/police-declare-riot-near-justice-center\">video published by KATU</a>, an individual in black bloc — a tactic of dressing in all black to avoid identification — crosses the street to where the news crew is standing and asks, “What are you guys filming right now?” “The protest,” one of the journalists responds. The individual then asks why, to which the journalist responds, “To send a message for you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cyyd8\">During the interaction, approximately six other people approach the news crew, which begins to move down the street away from the protest. An individual appears to reach out and grab the journalist who was answering the questions, but a voice can be heard saying, “Let them walk.” At some point during the interaction, a smoke bomb appears to be activated in the center of the group.</p><p data-block-key=\"qlqoj\">Multiple individuals continued to walk alongside the crew, with one wrapping his arm around the first journalist, when a voice calls out “Stop filming,” to which a second person responds, “Yeah, we’re going to turn that camera off right now. We’re advising you to turn that camera off right now. Turn that fucking camera off right fucking now!”</p><p data-block-key=\"v5a5j\">As the camera operator attempts to continue walking away, another individual runs up to him screaming that he will break the camera. In the ensuing scuffle, there is an audible crack of something breaking.</p><p data-block-key=\"j41uk\">KATU reported that the news crew was uninjured but the camera was damaged. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/katu-camera-operator-assaulted-camera-damaged-amid-portland-protests/\">assault of the camera operator and the equipment here</a>. Neither the station’s news director nor general manager could immediately be reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dep49\">The following day, Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty released a statement upholding the right of the press to film and condemning the attack on the KATU news crew:</p><p data-block-key=\"9q762\">"I’m still learning the full details of what occurred last night but want to make it clear that attacking or intimidating the press is never acceptable, such as what happened to a KATU crew last night."</p><p data-block-key=\"riywr\">In 2020, the Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&city=Kenosha&categories=Assault\">seven assaults of journalists covering protests</a> surrounding the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Find documented aggressions against journalists following the November 2021 Rittenhouse verdict <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-11-19&date_upper=2021-11-19&tags=court+verdict\">here</a> and at Black Lives Matter protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_193.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"cebwb\">An individual dressed in black appears to detonate a smoke bomb after confronting a KATU news crew that was documenting protests in Portland, Oregon, following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Wisconsin on Nov. 19, 2021.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
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},
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"tags": [
"court verdict",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified journalist 4 (KATU)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Multimedia journalist pushed by police officer while covering riot in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multimedia-journalist-pushed-by-police-officer-while-covering-riot-in-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-23T16:20:46.811569Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T18:41:23.596665Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T18:41:23.504565Z",
"date": "2021-11-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4lbte\">Independent multimedia journalist Grace Morgan said that she was shoved by law enforcement officers while covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, following the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse on Nov. 19, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"rcvp2\">National protests began after a jury acquitted 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of first-degree intentional homicide and four other felony charges for killing two men and injuring a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"tli2v\">At the time, Kenosha was the site of ongoing Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black resident, nearly three months after George Floyd, a Black man, died at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota in May.</p><p data-block-key=\"c801t\">According to <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/kyle-rittenhouse-oregon-riots-wisconsin-kenosha-e882518fa19d0a078d865c71b4393143\">The Associated Press</a>, about 200 protesters gathered in Downtown Portland, near the Multnomah County Justice Center, and blocked streets, broke windows and damaged doors of city facilities. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1461991080522571780\">Portland police later tweeted</a> that objects had been thrown at officers and the demonstrations declared a riot.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Press Release: Riot Declared After Violent, Destructive Crowd Gathers Downtown (Photo) <br>Link: <a href=\"https://t.co/BQKwWdoDyF\">https://t.co/BQKwWdoDyF</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/Fq0KxV0VUQ\">pic.twitter.com/Fq0KxV0VUQ</a></p>— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1461991080522571780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 20, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wgdi5\">Morgan, who was documenting the demonstrations, filmed a group of individuals confronting armed law enforcement officers in a parking garage. She told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was walking on the sidewalk when a Portland police officer pushed her with with the body of his long form gun and told her to “get on the fucking sidewalk.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The garage doors keep dramatically opening and closing leading to bouts of short rushes and lots of yelling - an officer shoves me with his gun and tells me to “get on the fucking sidewalk”, while I am indeed on the sidewalk, and pushes me more so towards it. <a href=\"https://t.co/glRPcYgsQL\">pic.twitter.com/glRPcYgsQL</a></p>— Grace Morgan (@gravemorgan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/gravemorgan/status/1461931765228998656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 20, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0qhsr\">“He came running out of a parking garage and turned the corner, and sort of ran into me,” Morgan said. “I immediately put my hands up and said very loudly ‘I’m press, I’m press!’ and that’s when he shoved me backwards with his gun.”</p><p data-block-key=\"62c1r\">Morgan also said she was wearing a ballistic vest with “PRESS” clearly displayed on the front along with a reflective press badge and several other press credentials on a belt loop when the incident occured.</p><p data-block-key=\"h6a3a\">In 2020, the Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2020-01-01&date_upper=2020-12-31&city=Kenosha&categories=Assault\">seven assaults of journalists covering protests</a> surrounding the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. Find documented aggressions against journalists following the November 2021 Rittenhouse verdict <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-11-19&date_upper=2021-11-19&tags=court+verdict\">here</a> and at Black Lives Matter protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"court verdict",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Grace Morgan (Independent)"
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},
{
"title": "NY court issues prior restraint against The New York Times",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-court-issues-prior-restraint-against-the-new-york-times/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-19T17:39:08.503135Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-11T13:55:50.522971Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-11T13:55:50.450261Z",
"date": "2021-11-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "White Plains",
"longitude": -73.76291,
"latitude": 41.03399,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"untv2\">A Westchester County Supreme Court judge <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/63921_2020_Project_Veritas_v_Project_Veritas_ORDER_TO_SHOW_CAUSE_170.pdf\">issued an order</a> on Nov. 18, 2021, barring The New York Times from soliciting, acquiring or further disseminating leaked internal documents from conservative group Project Veritas.</p><p data-block-key=\"lkll4\">The prior restraint was issued as part of a pending libel suit Project Veritas filed against the Times in 2020, which accuses the newspaper of defaming the group in its reporting on a Project Veritas video that made unverified claims of voter fraud in Minnesota, the Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/18/business/media/new-york-times-project-veritas.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"5klpq\">The judge’s order specifically references a <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/us/politics/project-veritas-journalism-political-spying.html\">Nov. 11, 2021 article</a> about the Department of Justice’s investigation into the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley. The article also contained excerpts from memos prepared by a Project Veritas lawyer advising members of the group how to avoid breaking federal law while using questionable reporting methods.</p><p data-block-key=\"x5wad\">In issuing the prior restraint, Justice Charles Wood ordered the Times to appear before the state’s Supreme Court on Nov. 23 to “show cause” — to explain or prove why the court shouldn’t grant Project Veritas’s motion for an order directing the newspaper to “remove all references to or descriptions of Plaintiff Project Veritas’s privileged attorney-client information” and “return and/or immediately delete all copies.” Until it does so, the order directs the newspaper to “cease further efforts to solicit or acquire” any materials prepared by the Project Veritas lawyer, effectively preventing the outlet from reporting on the group.</p><p data-block-key=\"j1px0\">“This ruling is unconstitutional and sets a dangerous precedent,” Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/18/business/media/new-york-times-project-veritas.html\">wrote in a statement</a> published by the outlet. “The Supreme Court made that clear in the Pentagon Papers case, a landmark ruling against prior restraint blocking the publication of newsworthy journalism. That principle clearly applies here. We are seeking an immediate review of this decision.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1aff6\">In a <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/11/18/new-york-times-project-veritas/\">statement</a> published by The Washington Post, Elizabeth Locke, an attorney representing Project Veritas in its suit against the Times, denied that the order amounted to a prior restraint, citing the fact that some of the materials had already been published.</p><p data-block-key=\"j21p3\">Press freedom advocacy groups quickly refuted the assertion that the order was not prior restraint. Advocacy Director Parker Higgins of Freedom of the Press Foundation, where the Tracker is housed, <a href=\"https://freedom.press/news/prior-restraint-order-in-new-york-times-case-on-project-veritas-materials/\">noted</a> the order not only restricts the Times from publishing further and requests that what has been published be pulled from circulation, but also bars the newspaper from engaging in routine newsgathering activities.</p><p data-block-key=\"kmqws\">Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, also raised immediate concerns with the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"1z1tk\">“Prior restraints — which are orders not to publish — are among the most serious threats to press freedom,” Brown said in a <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/ny-times-prior-restraint-statement/\">statement</a>. “The trial court should have never entered this order. If it doesn’t immediately vacate the prior restraint, an appellate court must step in and do so.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/NYT_prior_restraint.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"08du9\">A portion of the order granting a motion directing The New York Times to cease efforts to solicit, acquire or further disseminate leaked internal documents from conservative group Project Veritas.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": "struck down",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-02-10 13:09:00+00:00) NY appeals court stays prior restraint against The New York Times"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
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},
{
"title": "Podcast producers release unaired materials after subpoena upheld",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/podcast-producers-release-unaired-materials-after-subpoena-upheld/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-25T16:07:46.913407Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-13T15:14:09.110384Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-13T15:14:08.940079Z",
"date": "2021-11-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Diego",
"longitude": -117.16472,
"latitude": 32.71571,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4vdd9\">After a San Diego federal judge upheld a subpoena seeking unpublished source material, the podcast producers and creators chose to instead publicly release hours of unaired interviews with a military contractor central to a massive U.S. Navy bribery scandal on Dec. 22, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"f5lns\">U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino authorized attorneys for six naval officers charged with criminal bribery to subpoena Audiation, the company that produced the podcast, for all recordings collected while creating “Fat Leonard” on Nov. 18, 2021. The recordings involved Leonard Glenn Francis, a military contractor accused of overcharging the Navy of at least $35 million and bribing uniformed naval officers in one of the <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2016/05/27/the-man-who-seduced-the-7th-fleet/?utm_term=.04e77cc7efda&itid=lk_inline_manual_2\">worst corruption scandals in Navy history</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7f9n\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2021-12-22/fat-leonard-podcaster-recordings\">San Diego Union-Tribune</a>, Sammartino <a href=\"https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-newland-5?q=United%20States%20v.%20Newland&PHONE_NUMBER_GROUP=P&sort=relevance&p=1&type=case\">denied a motion to quash the subpoena</a> made by Project Brazen, the creator of the podcast, on Dec. 21. Sammartino stated that the naval officers’ Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights superseded the producers’ First Amendment rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"9a1ut\">“Francis’ believability as a witness will be a crucial determination for the jury as he is the orchestrator and alleged briber of each of the defendants and was closely connected with all of the activities charged in the indictment,” Sammartino wrote in her decision.</p><p data-block-key=\"2q9tu\">Rather than releasing the material to the lawyers, Audiation and Project Brazen released 20 hours of unedited interviews with Francis.</p><p data-block-key=\"f4h4g\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today we are making public raw tapes of my interviews with Leonard Francis, the basis of our hit podcast Fat Leonard. We are doing this rather than just handing these tapes to defense lawyers of Navy officers who sought them by subpoena. Here’s a thread about the 1st Amendment.</p>— Tom Wright (@TomWrightAsia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TomWrightAsia/status/1473864623866748931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 23, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4vdd9\">“We disagree with this ruling and believe it sets a bad precedent for media freedom in the U.S.,” Tom Wright, the co-founder of Project Brazen, wrote on Twitter when announcing the release of the recordings. “Our job is to inform the public, as we have done about this huge Navy corruption scandal and the ensuing coverup.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Audiation"
],
"tags": [
"military"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
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"upheld"
],
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},
{
"title": "Family Court judge quashes subpoena issued to former Honolulu Civil Beat reporter",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/family-court-judge-quashes-subpoena-issued-to-former-honolulu-civil-beat-reporter/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-11T19:29:51.547358Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-08-12T14:31:29.094653Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-08-12T14:31:29.000906Z",
"date": "2021-11-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Kapolei",
"longitude": -158.0582,
"latitude": 21.33555,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"57d6r\">A Family Court judge in Kapolei, Hawaii, quashed a subpoena in 2022 that requested reporting notes, text messages and emails from former Honolulu Civil Beat reporter Kevin Knodell.</p><p data-block-key=\"6tiam\">Knodell was issued the subpoena on Nov. 17, 2021, after publishing articles <a href=\"https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/01/a-bitter-domestic-dispute-could-shake-up-how-the-navy-handles-abuse-cases-in-hawaii/\">detailing Navy service member</a> Jonathan Stremel’s claims that gender bias impacted a military investigation into child abuse allegations. Knodell extensively interviewed military officials, experts and Stremel’s wife’s lawyer, David Hayakawa, while investigating the claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"4muvk\"><a href=\"https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/08/how-a-messy-divorce-case-led-to-a-legal-battle-over-press-freedom-in-hawaii/\">According to Civil Beat</a>, Stremel subpoenaed Knodell during his divorce case, and asked a judge to sanction Hayakawa for sharing full documents with Knodell, arguing the files were confidential.</p><p data-block-key=\"nbom\">A <a href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22125480/2021-12-22-mtn-quash-subpoena_clean.pdf\">copy of the subpoena</a> shows Stremel demanded a list of items, including published and unpublished documents, encrypted text messages between Knodell and his sources, and communications between Knodell and his editors.</p><p data-block-key=\"80nkr\">Knodell, who now works for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he is glad the case is finally settled and he can move forward with his life and other reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"78mr7\">“From a precedent standpoint, I hope this can be cited in other cases where reporters are harassed or attempts to use them as witnesses in court proceedings are made,” Knodell said. </p><p data-block-key=\"7v30e\">Civil Beat General Manager Patti Epler told the Tracker that even though Hawaii doesn’t have a shield law and Knodell is no longer on staff, it was still in the news outlet’s best interest to fight against the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"5p522\">“The subpoena did not name Civil Beat, but there was no indication that it wouldn’t, and it didn’t seem right not to defend someone who had done good work for us and had done the reporting in good faith,” Epler said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6h62k\">In a “Behind the Story” article for Civil Beat about the subpoena, Epler wrote that Judge Elizabeth Paek-Harris <a href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22124843/7galdgammf3fvqhnsukxzq8yawbjgl4hl2bpu48m1svpcdzcghd7wbcxy2s4qxjscbhhkszn671ypv8q6zratpvnf4ttjt4raznapufdaxshcgtydtubzb9uodxrxlye78r4tvmxnxiron8v7gucyvut.pdf\">quashed the subpoena and denied any sanctions</a> against Hayakawa in a March 2022 hearing. Paek-Harris ruled that providing Knodell documents from the divorce case was not a violation of any court rule. The final order was issued in July.</p><p data-block-key=\"fdbqp\">Epler said Civil Beat would continue protecting its reporters from these legal orders.</p><p data-block-key=\"an9fo\">“It's really on us to defend our staff and argue against any kind of intrusion whether it's from the government or elsewhere.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9d2gb\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include comment from reporter Kevin Knodell.</i></p></div>",
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Hawaii",
"abbreviation": "HI"
},
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"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kevin Knodell (Honolulu Civil Beat)"
],
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"quashed"
],
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},
{
"title": "Project Veritas founder detained, phones seized amid FBI raid of his home",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/project-veritas-founder-detained-phones-seized-amid-fbi-raid-of-his-home/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-16T18:23:23.089764Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-10T15:04:57.375477Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-10T15:04:57.258931Z",
"date": "2021-11-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Mamaroneck",
"longitude": -73.73263,
"latitude": 40.94871,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rg8wr\">On Nov. 6, 2021, FBI agents raided the Mamaroneck, New York, home of conservative group Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe as part of an investigation into the reported theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s daughter, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/us/politics/ashley-biden-project-vertias-fbi.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"y142u\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> published on Project Veritas’ website, the search came two days after raids had taken place at the homes of multiple individuals affiliated with the group, which describes itself as a non-profit investigative organization. The group is known for its hidden-camera sting operations that typically target liberal politicians and nonprofits, as well as news organizations including CNN and NPR.</p><p data-block-key=\"h98j2\">O’Keefe, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment, said in an <a href=\"https://video.foxnews.com/v/6281036371001#sp=show-clips\">interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity</a> that the agents arrived at his home before dawn, placed him in handcuffs, seized two of his iPhones and searched his apartment for more than two hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"o57e2\">“On my phone were many of my reporter's notes, a lot of my sources unrelated to this story and a lot of confidential information to our news organization,” O’Keefe said. “If they can do this to me, if they can do this to this journalist and raid my home and take my reporter notes, they’ll do it to any journalist.”</p><p data-block-key=\"65rep\">In the Fox News interview, Paul Calli, one of the attorneys representing O’Keefe, said the search warrant cited misprision of — or knowingly helping to conceal — a felony, accessory after the fact and transporting materials across state lines as the basis of the warrant.</p><p data-block-key=\"p7jcb\">Calli denied allegations that his client or Project Veritas was involved in the theft of Biden’s diary. O’Keefe confirmed that Project Veritas was approached by individuals claiming to possess the diary in 2020, but said in his statement that they had declined to publish its contents and had turned the diary over to law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"w3wbm\">“It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” O’Keefe <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">said</a>, in reference to the judicial district in Manhattan. “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7n6v4\">Trevor Timm, the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, where the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is housed, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/trevortimm/status/1458497804310126593\">wrote on Twitter</a> that the raid of O’Keefe’s home was concerning.</p><p data-block-key=\"ceiyk\">“This is worrying from a press freedom perspective—unless & until DOJ releases evidence [Project] Veritas was directly involved in the theft,” Timm wrote. “Because if there is none, then the raids could very well be a violation of the Privacy Protection Act.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gz2q7\">The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 states that state and federal law enforcement cannot search for or seize journalistic work product or documentary materials under claims of probable cause if the alleged offense consists of the receipt, possession, communication or withholding of the materials or the information they contain.</p><p data-block-key=\"x4fgn\">“If you take it as true that they were given this diary by someone unknown to them and they chose not to publish it, this is kind of a classic journalistic situation,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “And what law enforcement should have done is issue a subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"brzcv\">Kirtley told the Tracker she agreed that regardless of the debates surrounding Project Veritas’ methods, the raid of O’Keefe’s home and the seizure of his phone could set a dangerous precedent.</p><p data-block-key=\"v3153\">“When we get in the business of government trying to decide when someone is a journalist and when someone isn’t, there’s always a danger that some definitions will be narrow and they will weed out a lot of people who deserve to have journalistic protections,” Kirtley said. “As troublesome as I find Project Veritas’ activities — and again, I do not defend any illegal conduct on their part at all — that is a separate question from whether or not they should be protected by these laws. And if they aren’t then I think all journalists are at risk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"l4pqv\">Another O’Keefe attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, told the Tracker that agents had executed the warrant despite O’Keefe’s attorneys having “indicated a willingness to cooperate and provide any information necessary.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ubide\">Dhillon <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pnjaban/status/1458904181540995079\">tweeted</a> on Nov. 11 that District Court Judge Analisa Torres had ordered that the Department of Justice halt its review of O’Keefe’s phones pending a ruling on their request for a special master — typically a retired judge without ties to the case — to be appointed to oversee the search of the devices.</p><p data-block-key=\"k3qa4\">"We are gratified that the Department of Justice has been ordered to stop extracting and reviewing confidential and privileged information obtained in their raids of our reporters, including legal, donor, and confidential source communications," Dhillon <a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/media/federal-judge-doj-project-veritas-james-okeefe-fbi-raid\">told Fox News</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mena\">In a <a href=\"https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-comment-fbi-raid-project-veritas-founder\">statement</a> released on Nov. 14, Brian Hauss of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern for the precedent that could be set by the case and urged the court to appoint a special master.</p><p data-block-key=\"4sf0m\">“Project Veritas has engaged in disgraceful deceptions, and reasonable observers might not consider their activities to be journalism at all,” wrote Hauss, who is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Nevertheless, the precedent set in this case could have serious consequences for press freedom. Unless the government had good reason to believe that Project Veritas employees were directly involved in the criminal theft of the diary, it should not have subjected them to invasive searches and seizures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"162bz\">As of publication date, the court had not yet ruled on a special master.</p><p data-block-key=\"ephx9\">The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York told the Tracker it does not provide comment on pending cases.</p><p data-block-key=\"nynka\">For the purposes of the Tracker, O’Keefe identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said the phones seized by the FBI contained his reporter’s notes. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"gf1qb\">Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe, speaking here at the Conservative Political Action Conference in early 2021, was detained by FBI agents at his home and his phones seized on Nov. 6.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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"(2023-12-21 00:00:00+00:00) Court allows government to review Project Veritas founder’s devices seized in raid"
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"dismissed"
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},
{
"title": "Former Project Veritas journalist detained, devices seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-journalist-detained-devices-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-01T17:44:55.187119Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-01T18:49:37.866827Z",
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"date": "2021-11-04",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bwts1\">On Nov. 4, 2021, FBI agents raided the New York City home of former Project Veritas journalist Spencer Meads as part of an investigation into the reported theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s daughter.</p><p data-block-key=\"57jjg\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> published on Project Veritas’ website, the search was one in a series of raids involving individuals affiliated with the conservative group, which describes itself as a nonprofit investigative organization. The group is known for its hidden-camera sting operations that typically target liberal politicians and nonprofits, as well as news organizations including CNN and NPR.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gg2g\">Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, whose <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/project-veritas-founder-detained-phones-seized-amid-fbi-raid-of-his-home/\">home was among those raided</a>, confirmed in an <a href=\"https://video.foxnews.com/v/6281036371001#sp=show-clips\">interview with Fox News</a> that Project Veritas was approached by individuals claiming to possess the diary in 2020, but said in a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> that they had declined to publish its contents and had turned the diary over to law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"26lpf\">“It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” O’Keefe said, in reference to the judicial district in Manhattan. “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ocuk\">In the early morning of Nov. 4, FBI agents broke down the door to Meads’ apartment and handcuffed him and his roommate for approximately 15 minutes, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Agents then searched the apartment for approximately three hours pursuant to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.8.1.pdf\">two search warrants</a> issued the previous day. According to the attached receipt for property, agents seized 13 cellphones, three laptops (one of which Meads later identified as belonging to his roommate) and two electronic storage devices.</p><p data-block-key=\"br97l\">Trevor Timm, the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, which operates the Tracker, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/trevortimm/status/1458497804310126593\">wrote on Twitter</a> that the raids were concerning.</p><p data-block-key=\"67p3j\">“This is worrying from a press freedom perspective—unless & until DOJ releases evidence [Project] Veritas was directly involved in the theft,” Timm wrote. “Because if there is none, then the raids could very well be a violation of the Privacy Protection Act.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9irbd\">The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 states that law enforcement officers cannot search for or seize journalistic work product or documentary materials under claims of probable cause if the alleged offense consists of the receipt, possession, communication or withholding of the materials or the information they contain.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gnhn\">“If you take it as true that they were given this diary by someone unknown to them and they chose not to publish it, this is kind of a classic journalistic situation,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “And what law enforcement should have done is issue a subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1l4gd\">Kirtley told the Tracker she agreed that regardless of the debates surrounding Project Veritas’ methods, the raids could set a dangerous precedent.</p><p data-block-key=\"a598f\">“When we get in the business of government trying to decide when someone is a journalist and when someone isn’t, there’s always a danger that some definitions will be narrow and they will weed out a lot of people who deserve to have journalistic protections,” Kirtley said. “As troublesome as I find Project Veritas’ activities — and again, I do not defend any illegal conduct on their part at all — that is a separate question from whether or not they should be protected by these laws. And if they aren’t then I think all journalists are at risk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"579v9\">Attorneys representing Meads, O’Keefe and a third staffer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-staffer-detained-devices-seized/\">Eric Cochran</a>, requested that the court appoint a special master — typically a retired judge without ties to the case — to be appointed to oversee the search of the devices seized from their homes.</p><p data-block-key=\"fn51\">“(T)he entire premise of utilizing a search warrant against a journalist to obtain newsgathering materials in connection with investigating the potential theft of property is grossly flawed,” Meads’ attorney Brian Dickerson <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.8.0.pdf\">wrote</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dds19\">District Court Judge Analisa Torres granted the motion on Dec. 8 and appointed a special master with the authority to review the materials to determine which ones were responsive to the search warrants and to rule on any privilege objections.</p><p data-block-key=\"vfam\">In mid-March 2022, according to court records, Microsoft notified Project Veritas that between January and April 2021, it had received a series of search warrants, subpoenas and orders from the government for email records connected to eight Project Veritas journalists, amounting to nearly 200,000 files, along with non-disclosure orders forbidding it from disclosing the demands. Microsoft threatened to file a lawsuit against the Justice Department over the non-disclosure orders, the New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/us/politics/project-veritas-emails.html\">reported</a>, at which point the Justice Department lifted the gag orders and Microsoft told Project Veritas about the warrants.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ikb7\">Project Veritas immediately applied to the court for an order forcing the government to stop reviewing the materials it had obtained from Microsoft and disclose who had reviewed the data, what they reviewed and when, arguing that the materials it had seized through the Microsoft warrants went far beyond the scope of the November 2021 search warrants. It does not appear from court records that the court ruled on this request.</p><p data-block-key=\"5t9dq\">Two individuals <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/us/politics/ashley-biden-diary-project-veritas-guilty.html\">pleaded guilty</a> in August 2022 to stealing Biden’s diary and selling it to Project Veritas. Federal prosecutors allege that after being approached about the diary, Project Veritas requested that the individuals steal additional belongings. Project Veritas maintains that it “was approached by sources who lawfully provided Ashley Biden’s diary and personal effects, representing that this property had been abandoned.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f002d\">In March 2023, the special master reported that about 1,000 documents were responsive to the November 2021 search warrants, only a small portion of which were determined to be potentially protected by attorney-client privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"5djp\">“The Government has established probable cause that the offenses under investigation were committed and that the seized devices contained evidence of that criminal conduct,” the special master wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"4g096\">The sources of the diary had already been identified and one was already cooperating with the government; therefore, the special master said, the typical assumption of confidentiality for communications between reporters and sources was moot. The seized materials were relevant to the government’s criminal investigation and not reasonably available from other sources and therefore were not covered by journalistic privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"5pdem\">Project Veritas objected on May 2 to the report. And a month later, Freedom of the Press Foundation co-authored <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24253862-143-letter-brief-of-amici-curiae-aclu-fpf-fire-in-re-search-warrant-dated-november-5-2021-no-21-mc-00813\">an amicus brief</a> in support of neither party, but asking the court “to affirm that the First Amendment protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess expressive materials of public concern, even if those materials were unlawfully obtained by a third party.”</p><p data-block-key=\"81rkd\">“It is undisputed that Project Veritas learned about the diary only after it was stolen,” the organizations wrote. “But the Report (perhaps inadvertently) suggests that the First Amendment does not protect Project Veritas’ subsequent receipt and possession of the diary, in addition to any other unlawful activity alleged here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c2c5m\">“The right to publish newsworthy information is of little use without the concomitant right to possess the information on which publication depends,” the brief argued. “Such a ruling would also undermine decades of precedents recognizing that constitutional protection for newsgathering, an obviously necessary antecedent to publication, is essential for the First Amendment’s Press Clause to have any effect.”</p><p data-block-key=\"spea\">On Dec. 21, the court overruled the objections and ordered that any of the materials not protected by attorney-client privilege on the special master’s list be turned over to investigators. Meads appealed the ruling and all three journalists asked the court to put a halt to the investigation while the appeal was pending; the court refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"f4i3p\">“The Court has already determined that disclosure of the Responsive Materials would not violate the First Amendment,” the judge wrote on Jan. 25, 2024. “The public interests in fairness and journalistic protections have been vindicated by the lengthy and robust process that the parties engaged in before the Special Master and the Court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a8h7i\">The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.82.0.pdf\">affirmed</a> the lower court’s order on July 23, rejecting Meads’ argument that it had incorrectly denied him the protection of journalistic privilege. Meads <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.85.0.pdf\">requested</a> a stay again on July 25, so that he could file a petition for a full panel hearing by the appellate court.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jgmc\">Meanwhile, RCFP had appealed the judge’s order that the search warrant affidavits be kept sealed. On April 16, the court ruled that the search warrant materials should be unsealed once the government’s investigation was finished, whether or not it ultimately brought charges against O’Keefe, Meads and Cochran.</p><p data-block-key=\"dp8bu\">For the purposes of the Tracker, Meads identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said the devices seized by the FBI contained information from his journalistic investigations as well as confidential source materials. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Meads_search_warrant.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6p43n\">A portion of one of the search warrants served on former Project Veritas journalist Spencer Meads when FBI agents came to his New York City apartment, detained him and seized more than a dozen devices on Nov. 4, 2021.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Federal Bureau of Investigation",
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{
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{
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},
{
"title": "Former Project Veritas staffer detained, devices seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-staffer-detained-devices-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-01T18:48:13.694714Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-01T18:48:13.694714Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-01T18:48:08.544054Z",
"date": "2021-11-04",
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"city": "Mamaroneck",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3oj5y\">On Nov. 4, 2021, FBI agents raided the Mamaroneck, New York, home of former Project Veritas journalist Eric Cochran as part of an investigation into the reported theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s daughter.</p><p data-block-key=\"68mt7\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> published on Project Veritas’ website, the search was one in a series of raids involving individuals affiliated with the conservative group, which describes itself as a nonprofit investigative organization. The group is known for its hidden-camera sting operations that typically target liberal politicians and nonprofits, as well as news organizations including CNN and NPR.</p><p data-block-key=\"ecsia\">Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, whose <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/project-veritas-founder-detained-phones-seized-amid-fbi-raid-of-his-home/\">home was among those raided</a>, confirmed in an <a href=\"https://video.foxnews.com/v/6281036371001#sp=show-clips\">interview with Fox News</a> that Project Veritas was approached by individuals claiming to possess the diary in 2020, but said in a <a href=\"https://www.projectveritas.com/news/fbi-and-southern-district-of-new-york-raid-project-veritas-journalists-homes/\">statement</a> that they had declined to publish its contents and had turned the diary over to law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"3igrt\">“It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed ‘crime’ of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” O’Keefe said, in reference to the judicial district in Manhattan. “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”</p><p data-block-key=\"an363\">In the early morning of Nov. 4, FBI agents knocked on Cochran’s door; he answered with a recording device in hand, which an agent quickly removed, his attorney recounted in a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950.8.0.pdf\">court filing</a> reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Cochran was handcuffed and detained for approximately 15 minutes, and agents searched his home for around two-and-a-half hours pursuant to a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950/gov.uscourts.nysd.569950.8.1.pdf\">search warrant</a> issued the previous day. According to the attached receipt for property, agents seized 22 storage devices, two cellphones and three computers, as well as multiple cords and adapters.</p><p data-block-key=\"ckl8\">Trevor Timm, the executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, which operates the Tracker, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/trevortimm/status/1458497804310126593\">wrote on Twitter</a> that the raids were concerning.</p><p data-block-key=\"9sgda\">“This is worrying from a press freedom perspective—unless & until DOJ releases evidence [Project] Veritas was directly involved in the theft,” Timm wrote. “Because if there is none, then the raids could very well be a violation of the Privacy Protection Act.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8cur8\">The Privacy Protection Act of 1980 states that law enforcement officers cannot search for or seize journalistic work product or documentary materials under claims of probable cause if the alleged offense consists of the receipt, possession, communication or withholding of the materials or the information they contain.</p><p data-block-key=\"4np0\">“If you take it as true that they were given this diary by someone unknown to them and they chose not to publish it, this is kind of a classic journalistic situation,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “And what law enforcement should have done is issue a subpoena.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1jlh8\">Kirtley told the Tracker she agreed that regardless of the debates surrounding Project Veritas’ methods, the raids could set a dangerous precedent.</p><p data-block-key=\"bpgfd\">“When we get in the business of government trying to decide when someone is a journalist and when someone isn’t, there’s always a danger that some definitions will be narrow and they will weed out a lot of people who deserve to have journalistic protections,” Kirtley said. “As troublesome as I find Project Veritas’ activities — and again, I do not defend any illegal conduct on their part at all — that is a separate question from whether or not they should be protected by these laws. And if they aren’t then I think all journalists are at risk.”</p><p data-block-key=\"elfk7\">Attorneys representing Cochran, O’Keefe and a third staffer, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-project-veritas-journalist-detained-devices-seized/\">Spencer Meads</a>, requested that the court appoint a special master — typically a retired judge without ties to the case — to be appointed to oversee the search of the devices seized from their homes.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bod3\">“(T)he entire premise of utilizing a search warrant against a journalist to obtain newsgathering materials in connection with investigating the potential theft of property is grossly flawed,” Meads’ attorney Brian Dickerson <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993/gov.uscourts.nysd.569993.8.0.pdf\">wrote</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"t15a\">District Court Judge Analisa Torres granted the motion on Dec. 8 and appointed a special master with the authority to review the materials to determine which ones were responsive to the search warrants and to rule on any privilege objections.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ablt\">In mid-March 2022, according to court records, Microsoft notified Project Veritas that between January and April 2021, it had received a series of search warrants, subpoenas and orders from the government for email records connected to eight Project Veritas journalists, amounting to nearly 200,000 files, along with non-disclosure orders forbidding it from disclosing the demands. Microsoft threatened to file a lawsuit against the Justice Department over the non-disclosure orders, the New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/22/us/politics/project-veritas-emails.html\">reported</a>, at which point the Justice Department lifted the gag orders and Microsoft told Project Veritas about the warrants.</p><p data-block-key=\"79maa\">Project Veritas immediately applied to the court for an order forcing the government to stop reviewing the materials it had obtained from Microsoft and disclose who had reviewed the data, what they reviewed and when, arguing that the materials it had seized through the Microsoft warrants went far beyond the scope of the November 2021 search warrants. It does not appear from court records that the court ruled on this request.</p><p data-block-key=\"b40mv\">Two individuals <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/us/politics/ashley-biden-diary-project-veritas-guilty.html\">pleaded guilty</a> in August 2022 to stealing Biden’s diary and selling it to Project Veritas. Federal prosecutors allege that after being approached about the diary, Project Veritas requested that the individuals steal additional belongings. Project Veritas maintains that it “was approached by sources who lawfully provided Ashley Biden’s diary and personal effects, representing that this property had been abandoned.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c1n31\">In March 2023, the special master reported that about 1,000 documents were responsive to the November 2021 search warrants, only a small portion of which were determined to be potentially protected by attorney-client privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"detek\">“The Government has established probable cause that the offenses under investigation were committed and that the seized devices contained evidence of that criminal conduct,” the special master wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"87h44\">The sources of the diary had already been identified and one was already cooperating with the government; therefore, the special master said, the typical assumption of confidentiality for communications between reporters and sources was moot. The seized materials were relevant to the government’s criminal investigation and not reasonably available from other sources and therefore were not covered by journalistic privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"9qj75\">Project Veritas objected on May 2 to the report. And a month later, Freedom of the Press Foundation co-authored <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24253862-143-letter-brief-of-amici-curiae-aclu-fpf-fire-in-re-search-warrant-dated-november-5-2021-no-21-mc-00813\">an amicus brief</a> in support of neither party, but asking the court “to affirm that the First Amendment protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess expressive materials of public concern, even if those materials were unlawfully obtained by a third party.”</p><p data-block-key=\"71nec\">“It is undisputed that Project Veritas learned about the diary only after it was stolen,” the organizations wrote. “But the Report (perhaps inadvertently) suggests that the First Amendment does not protect Project Veritas’ subsequent receipt and possession of the diary, in addition to any other unlawful activity alleged here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cqhi9\">“The right to publish newsworthy information is of little use without the concomitant right to possess the information on which publication depends,” the brief argued. “Such a ruling would also undermine decades of precedents recognizing that constitutional protection for newsgathering, an obviously necessary antecedent to publication, is essential for the First Amendment’s Press Clause to have any effect.”</p><p data-block-key=\"edm2p\">On Dec. 21, the court overruled the objections and ordered that any of the materials not protected by attorney-client privilege on the special master’s list be turned over to investigators. Meads appealed the ruling and all three journalists asked the court to put a halt to the investigation while the appeal was pending; the court refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"28jdv\">“The Court has already determined that disclosure of the Responsive Materials would not violate the First Amendment,” the judge wrote on Jan. 25, 2024. “The public interests in fairness and journalistic protections have been vindicated by the lengthy and robust process that the parties engaged in before the Special Master and the Court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cs6dd\">The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.82.0.pdf\">affirmed</a> the lower court’s order on July 23, and Meads quickly <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee/gov.uscourts.ca2.a006aa33-6ddf-44a5-a6a8-728975fbd6ee.85.0.pdf\">requested</a> a stay again in order to file a petition for a full panel hearing by the appellate court.</p><p data-block-key=\"2hles\">Meanwhile, RCFP had appealed the judge’s order that the search warrant affidavits be kept sealed. On April 16, the court ruled that the search warrant materials should be unsealed once the government’s investigation was finished, whether or not it ultimately brought charges against Cochran, Meads and O’Keefe.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gs09\">For the purposes of the Tracker, Cochran identifies as a journalist, has a track record of publication and said the devices seized by the FBI contained information from his journalistic investigations as well as confidential source materials. For more about how the Tracker counts incidents, see our <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\">frequently asked questions</a> page.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nvvhd\">A portion of the search warrant served on former Project Veritas journalist Eric Cochran when FBI agents came to his home in Mamaroneck, New York, handcuffed and detained him, and seized more than 30 pieces of equipment on Nov. 4, 2021.</p>",
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{
"title": "Former BuzzFeed reporter ordered to sit for deposition in lawsuit against Kevin Spacey",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-buzzfeed-reporter-ordered-to-sit-for-deposition-in-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-07T19:06:19.330496Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-01T16:26:20.101370Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-01T16:26:20.001853Z",
"date": "2021-11-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bp6kf\">Former BuzzFeed News reporter Adam Vary was subpoenaed for testimony on Nov. 4, 2021, as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit filed against the actor Kevin Spacey. On Aug. 9, 2022, a district judge granted a motion to compel Vary to partially comply with the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"apr1j\">According to a September 2020 <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18632797/6/1/rapp-v-fowler/\">civil complaint</a>, Anthony Rapp was a 14-year-old actor in a Broadway play in 1986 when Spacey befriended him and invited him to a party at his New York City apartment, where Rapp claims Spacey sexually abused him.</p><p data-block-key=\"677r7\">Rapp approached journalist Vary, who was also a long-time friend, in 2017 about his claims against Spacey. Vary then wrote an article about the allegations <a href=\"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/anthony-rapp-kevin-spacey-made-sexual-advance-when-i-was-14\">published by BuzzFeed</a> in late October 2017.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi8lo\">According to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Vary was issued two subpoenas by Spacey’s attorneys during the course of discovery. In this first subpoena, issued on Nov. 4, 2021, Vary was ordered to sit for a deposition. While he complied with the order the following month, Vary refused to answer questions about the BuzzFeed article or any unpublished materials he gathered in the course of reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"9h1sc\">Spacey’s attorneys issued a second subpoena in December 2021, requesting Vary provide documents, including copies of confidential communications and reporting materials. The Tracker documented that subpoena <a href=\"/all-incidents/former-buzzfeed-reporter-ordered-to-submit-documents-in-lawsuit-against-kevin-spacey/\">here</a>. In February 2022, Spacey’s attorneys <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186.154.0.pdf\">filed a motion to compel</a> Vary to sit for an additional deposition after his refusal to answer questions about the article during the first deposition.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2ck7\">New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186/gov.uscourts.nysd.548186.222.0_1.pdf\">ruled on Aug. 9, 2022</a>, that while Vary does not have to produce privileged materials, he must sit for a supplementary deposition on or before Sept. 9 to answer all questions he had refused to answer during his first deposition as well as questions about the newly produced documents.</p></div>",
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"name": "New York",
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{
"title": "Journalist subpoenaed by Facebook, seeking years of communications",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-by-facebook-seeking-years-of-communications/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-19T17:29:16.658901Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-09-19T17:29:16.658901Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-09-19T17:29:16.599153Z",
"date": "2021-11-01",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Seattle",
"longitude": -122.33207,
"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6h5c7\">Seattle-based journalist Eli Sanders reported that in November 2021, Facebook issued him a subpoena seeking nearly four years of his reporting records.</p><p data-block-key=\"9doe5\">The social media company was under investigation by the State of Washington for allegedly selling state political ads without maintaining data as is required under <a href=\"https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.17A.345\">state law</a>. Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a <a href=\"https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-sues-facebook-repeatedly-violating-washington-campaign-finance-law\">campaign finance lawsuit</a> against Facebook on April 14, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"7he9a\">According to his Substack newsletter, <a href=\"https://wildwest.substack.com/p/facebook-subpoenaed-my-reporting\">Wild West</a>, Sanders had requested that Facebook send him its political ad data. When the company refused to do so, he filed complaints with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.</p><p data-block-key=\"2n1or\">Sanders did not respond to emailed requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs33c\">Sanders wrote that in November 2020 the state informed him that he was being listed as a trial witness in the campaign finance lawsuit, citing his first-hand experience with Facebook’s failure to comply with state disclosure law. In November 2021, attorneys for the social media company issued him a subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"fivu\">According to Sanders, the subpoena sought documents from December 2017 to the present, including his reporting materials on Facebook political ads in the state, its failure to disclose information on those ads, communications with "any other person or entity" about the state's disclosure law, any communications between him and five other named sources from reporting on the topic across multiple years plus "anyone acting on their behalf."</p><p data-block-key=\"7u7m0\">Sanders wrote that he sought legal support from the Substack Defender program, and his attorney was able to reach an agreement with Facebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"4nkid\">According to court records on the <a href=\"https://dja-prd-ecexap1.kingcounty.gov/?q=node/411&199355=411110\">King County Superior Court system</a> reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, attorneys for the state and Facebook filed a joint stipulation on April 13, 2022, specifying that Sanders would only be asked to testify about his requests to Facebook for political ad data and not about his sources. The stipulation also detailed that Facebook — which was then under the newly named Meta umbrella — would drop its document subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"t0vr\">“What I could not understand was why Facebook, to prove its (ultimately failed) argument that Washington’s disclosure law can’t withstand constitutional legal scrutiny, would need to dig through years of my reporting records,” Sanders wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"asq68\">According to his newsletter, Sanders sat for a “relatively brief” deposition a few weeks later, in late April or early May. The judge in the case ruled on Sept. 2 that Facebook had repeatedly violated that state disclosure law, rejecting the company’s request to gut the finance transparency law, <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/02/facebook-political-ads-details/\">The Washington Post reported</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Washington",
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],
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"type_of_denial": null
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{
"title": "Federal judge upholds subpoena demanding unreleased materials from Chicago’s CBS2 News",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/federal-judge-upholds-subpoena-demanding-unreleased-materials-from-chicagos-cbs2-news/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-12T16:45:02.203636Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-13T21:17:50.995939Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-13T21:17:50.831555Z",
"date": "2021-10-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o7xfj\">A federal judge in Chicago, Illinois, upheld a subpoena on April 29, 2022, compelling CBS2 News to produce raw, unpublished video and audio footage as part of a lawsuit brought by a mother on behalf of her son.</p><p data-block-key=\"rbr4\"><a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/school-beating-ruling.pdf\">According to court documents</a>, the subpoena ordered CBS2 News to produce footage collected after a reporter interviewed the child, who was allegedly beaten in a school bathroom with belts provided by his teacher, and the child’s relative, who is accused of the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lhti\">The subpoena was originally issued to CBS2 News’ parent company, ViacomCBS, in June 2021 but was withdrawn on Oct. 21 after ViacomCBS objected, arguing that the media company was not the custodian of the footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"crn2d\">On Oct. 26, lawyers for the plaintiff reissued identical subpoenas to a <a href=\"/all-incidents/subpoena-seeking-unreleased-footage-issued-to-former-editor-at-cbs2-news/\">former CBS2 news editor</a>, <a href=\"/all-incidents/subpoena-seeking-unreleased-footage-issued-to-chicago-cbs2-news-reporter/\">reporter Dave Savini</a> and redirected ViacomCBS’ original subpoena to CBS Broadcasting, Inc. also known as CBS2 News, for footage gathered for <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMGjihk6I8\">a segment that aired</a> in February 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"d047m\">CBS2 objected to all of the subpoenas, stating that all materials were privileged newsgathering information. Attorneys for CBS2 also cited federal and <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/illinois/#:~:text=The%20Illinois%20Reporter's%20Privilege%20Statute,either%20that%20%E2%80%9Cdisclosure%20of%20the\">state reporter’s privilege statutes</a>, saying that collecting the files would be “unduly burdensome to produce.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fkl83\">Plaintiffs in the lawsuit then filed a motion to compel CBS2 to produce the footage but agreed to narrow the scope, demanding only the video and audio outtake recordings of interviews with the child and accused assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi6l3\">In her decision, United States Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan upheld the CBS2 subpoena and granted the motion to compel. Finnegan wrote that “there is no federal common-law reporter’s privilege applicable in this case, and CBS2 cannot withhold the requested audio/video outtakes on this basis.” The court ordered the outlet to produce the unreleased footage by May 13, 2022. The status of the other subpoenas is unknown.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"384sj\">A portion of the subpoena issued to CBS2 News seeking unpublished video and audio footage as part of a lawsuit against the Chicago Department of Education. — SCREENSHOT</p>",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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"(2022-10-20 00:00:00+00:00) Chicago CBS station ordered to turn over raw interview footage"
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