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{
"title": "Deputy editor subpoenaed in connection with blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/deputy-editor-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-23T14:45:01.283931Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:17:46.621429Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:17:46.514959Z",
"date": "2022-03-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uubim\">The City of Minneapolis issued Minnesota Reformer Deputy Editor Max Nesterak a subpoena on March 18, 2022, in connection with a pending lawsuit against the city and multiple law enforcement officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"eqav8\">The Minneapolis Star Tribune <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-serving-subpoenas-on-journalists-in-lawsuit-over-2020-unrest-response/600157398/?refresh=true\">reported</a> that Nesterak was one of three journalists ordered to produce a broad range of materials and communications relating to their coverage of protests following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The subpoenas were filed in connection with an excessive use of force lawsuit filed by freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado, who was permanently blinded in one eye after police <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/\">shot her with a crowd-control munition</a> on May 29.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvnlh\">Nesterak, who declined to comment on advice from counsel, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1504919070575005699\">confirmed</a> on Twitter that he was one of the journalists served with a subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"48o4g\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1504919422787624961\">subsequent post</a>, Nesterak included a photo of the subpoena, which orders him to bring “all videos, photographs, recordings, communications, documents, or other items in your possession (including social media posts) that are related to you being hit in the chest as stated in your tweet from 11:32 p.m. on May 27, 2020.” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-hit-less-lethal-rounds-during-second-day-minnesota-protests/\">here</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">And I got hit in the chest by a rubber bullet from police. Covered me in dust that’s been making me cough for a half hour. I’m home now. <a href=\"https://t.co/sYShFOjvQO\">pic.twitter.com/sYShFOjvQO</a></p>— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1265863514754813952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 28, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uubim\">The subpoena also orders Nesterak to produce any images or documents pertaining to his coverage of the protests from May 26-31, 2020, and any communications he may have had with Tirado or her legal counsel, excepting anything that he has “a good faith basis to assert is protected by a legally recognized journalistic privilege.”</p><p data-block-key=\"185f9\"><a href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/03/18/minneapolis-city-attorney-subpoenas-reporters-in-police-brutality-suit\">According to MPR News</a>, the city issued similar subpoenas to <a href=\"/all-incidents/reporter-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Andy Mannix</a> of the Star Tribune and <a href=\"/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Jared Goyette</a>, who was a freelance journalist during the protests and now works for Fox 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"9t57l\">The City Attorney’s Office shared a statement with the Tracker that said the individuals subpoenaed were identified by Tirado as having relevant information.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ndg9\">“It is incumbent upon the City Attorney’s Office, as it would be any attorney, to obtain information relevant to their client’s case, whether or not the individuals possessing that information happen to be journalists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dgjbu\">In a statement shared with the Tracker, Reformer Editor-in-Chief J. Patrick Coolican said the outlet intends to fight the subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"8mhm3\">“This ham-handed effort to intimidate journalists with a burdensome legal action will not achieve its intended effect,” Coolican said. “Quite the contrary. We will continue to aggressively pursue our reporting, and protect our newsgathering rights from interference by government officials.”</p></div>",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-06-02 10:34:00+00:00) Subpoenas dropped following settlement in blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit"
],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Max Nesterak (Minnesota Reformer)"
],
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"dropped"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter subpoenaed in connection with blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-23T14:48:55.597992Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:18:04.137153Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:18:04.001747Z",
"date": "2022-03-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hozcv\">The City of Minneapolis issued Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Andy Mannix a subpoena on March 18, 2022, in connection with a pending lawsuit against the city and multiple law enforcement officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"cefrv\">The Star Tribune <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-serving-subpoenas-on-journalists-in-lawsuit-over-2020-unrest-response/600157398/?refresh=true\">reported</a> that Mannix was one of three journalists ordered to produce a broad range of materials and communications relating to their coverage of protests following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The subpoenas were filed in connection with an excessive use of force lawsuit filed by freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado, who was permanently blinded in one eye after police <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/\">shot her with a crowd-control munition</a> on May 29.</p><p data-block-key=\"419cp\">Mannix declined to comment on advice from counsel.</p><p data-block-key=\"fb23d\">According to the Star Tribune, the subpoenas order the journalists to produce any images or documents pertaining to their coverage of the protests from May 26-31, 2020, and any communications they may have had with Tirado or her legal counsel, excepting anything that he has “a good faith basis to assert is protected by a legally recognized journalistic privilege.” The journalists were also ordered to appear for depositions via Zoom videoconferencing in late March.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nljl\">Mannix was also asked for materials related to his thigh injury from a projectile that struck him while he was covering protests on May 26, 2020, the day after Floyd’s death. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-struck-projectiles-while-covering-minneapolis-protest/\">here</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I Was just shot with this in the thigh. <a href=\"https://t.co/igcJ3e7iQ4\">pic.twitter.com/igcJ3e7iQ4</a></p>— Andy Mannix (@AndrewMannix) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AndrewMannix/status/1265447846079315973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hozcv\"><a href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/03/18/minneapolis-city-attorney-subpoenas-reporters-in-police-brutality-suit\">According to MPR News</a>, the city issued similar subpoenas to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/deputy-editor-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Max Nesterak</a> of the Minnesota Reformer and <a href=\"/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-in-connection-with-blinded-photojournalists-lawsuit/\">Jared Goyette</a>, who was a freelance journalist during the protests and now works for Fox 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"2iu98\">In a statement shared with the Tracker, the City Attorney’s Office said: “The individuals subpoenaed were identified by Plaintiff Linda Tirado as having information relevant to her claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"borth\">“It is incumbent upon the City Attorney’s Office, as it would be any attorney, to obtain information relevant to their client’s case, whether or not the individuals possessing that information happen to be journalists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cs4r0\">Suki Dardarian, senior managing editor and vice president of the Star Tribune, said in a statement to the outlet, “We are reviewing the issue, but we expect to challenge the subpoena.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Mannix_subpoena.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"v53xi\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Andy Mannix, who was struck with a crowd-control munition while covering protests in Minnesota in May 2020.</p>",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-06-02 09:58:00+00:00) Subpoenas dropped following settlement in blinded photojournalist’s lawsuit"
],
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"tags": [
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"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Andy Mannix (Minneapolis Star Tribune)"
],
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"dropped"
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{
"title": "Tulsa multimedia journalist shot with pellet gun while preparing for live shot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tulsa-multimedia-journalist-shot-with-pellet-gun-while-preparing-for-live-shot/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-30T15:38:08.898107Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-03-31T16:34:45.623710Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-03-31T16:34:45.552200Z",
"date": "2022-03-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Tulsa",
"longitude": -95.99277,
"latitude": 36.15398,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1j784\">Katie Keleher, a multimedia journalist with NBC-affiliated station KJRH-TV, was shot with a pellet gun while reporting in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 16, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"eldkk\">KJRH <a href=\"https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsa-police-looking-into-pellet-gun-shootings\">reported</a> that Keleher was preparing for a live shot just before 10 p.m. near the corner of Reconciliation Way and Main Street when a group of people pulled up in a car. One of the individuals pointed a pellet gun out of the window and shot at Keleher and her photographer. </p><p data-block-key=\"ergs4\">“We picked that area because as journalists, we think about our safety first, and I felt safe in that spot,” Keleher told the station. “All of a sudden, I felt something hitting my back and I just froze. Just little pellets and I just remember my jaw dropping and I just froze in fear."</p><p data-block-key=\"aud1o\">Keleher <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KKeleherKJRH/status/1504846253670154284\">wrote on Twitter</a> that she was struck in the back with around five pellets, but that her photographer, whom she identified as Marisa, wasn’t hit. </p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The past couple of days are a lot to process. <br><br>I was shot at by a pellet gun while preparing for my 10pm live shot in downtown Tulsa Wednesday night. I was hit in the back about five times. My photographer, Marisa, was not hit. But she did catch it on camera. (1/4)</p>— Katie Keleher (@KKeleherKJRH) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KKeleherKJRH/status/1504846253670154284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 18, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1j784\">“Thankfully, the puffy jacket I was wearing softened the blow. If not for that, I would probably have bruises all over my back,” Keleher <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KKeleherKJRH/status/1504846254949515265\">wrote</a> in a follow-up tweet.</p><p data-block-key=\"70hsc\">Keleher told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that while the individuals would have seen the broadcast camera and lighting rig, she didn’t think she was targeted for being a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"76aup\">“Police video shows them driving down the street further and shooting at someone sitting outside of a restaurant, so I think it was just because I was standing there on the corner,” Keleher said. </p><p data-block-key=\"eqcpa\">The Tulsa Police Department said they are searching for a tan Nissan sedan in connection with the attack and released <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/100064589030710/videos/pcb.329100219252943/536522354529300\">footage</a> on Facebook on March 21 asking for the public’s help in identifying the shooters.</p><p data-block-key=\"9542k\">Michael Perry, senior director of external communication at KJRH’s parent company Scripps, told the Tracker that police have not updated the station with any information since the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"1dclr\"><a href=\"https://www.fox23.com/news/tulsa-police-say-dangerous-tiktok-trend-has-been-showing-up-city/GA7BTKYVJ5EGFMDFP272OZMNAA/\">According to Fox23</a>, multiple individuals have been shot with pellet guns in recent weeks and the incidents may be part of a social media trend. The TPD did not respond to requests about whether the incidents are related or provide further information.</p><p data-block-key=\"etab9\">“Police are saying this is part of a TikTok trend and I’ve seen it happening in other states, and I just don’t understand why anyone would think it was okay to do that, why it’s funny,” Keleher said. “I was pretty scared for a couple days after and it was definitely a terrifying and traumatizing experience and I was just standing on a corner trying to do my job.”</p><p data-block-key=\"alu12\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include comment from Katie Keleher.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b9332\">This frame from footage provided to Tulsa Police shows KJRH-TV journalist Katie Keleher moments before individuals in the car behind her shot at her with a pellet gun as she prepared for a live shot on March 16, 2022.</p>",
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"name": "Oklahoma",
"abbreviation": "OK"
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{
"title": "Judge will review her order forcing Berkshire Eagle editor to turn over reporting notes",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-will-review-her-order-forcing-berkshire-eagle-editor-to-turn-over-reporting-notes/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-30T21:19:31.726113Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-04-01T16:44:19.149201Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-04-01T16:44:19.037482Z",
"date": "2022-03-10",
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"city": "Springfield",
"longitude": -72.58981,
"latitude": 42.10148,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kq10s\">A Massachusetts Superior Court judge said during a Sept. 22, 2022, hearing that she would reexamine her previous decision forcing a Berkshire Eagle editor to turnover his confidential reporting notes as part of a clergy abuse lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvvse\">According <a href=\"https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/roman-catholic-diocese-of-springfield-bishop-christoper-weldon-first-amendment-confidential-sources-journalism-sexual-abuse/article_767da1aa-39d8-11ed-bc93-638710b58bda.html\">to the Eagle</a>, Larry Parnass, managing editor for innovation at the Berkshire Eagle, published more than a dozen news stories since 2019 on sexual abuse allegation cover-ups involving the Springfield Diocese. As part of a lawsuit, the diocese subpoenaed Parnass this March, seeking his testimony and a broad array of reporting materials it said were needed to verify the consistency of claims made to investigators and a review board. Attorneys for the Eagle objected to the order, arguing that turning over the materials would compromise a confidential source.</p><p data-block-key=\"8sg3m\">Parnass and the Eagles’ attorney, Jeffrey Pyle, did not respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"efarp\">In a ruling this summer, Judge Karin L. Goodwin upheld the subpoena but narrowed the scope to materials she believed did not include identifying information of confidential sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sqo\">During the September 2022 hearing, Pyle argued the diocese’s requests for information did not overcome the First Amendment and was not significant enough to violate a reporter’s confidential relationship with a source, <a href=\"https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/springfield-roman-catholic-diocese-clergy-abuse-rape-christopher-weldon-confidential-sources-first-amendment/article_8e411e68-3abc-11ed-83a3-c7cb7246442d.html\">the Eagle reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7a8c7\">“This story would never have been published by The Berkshire Eagle had not Mr. Parnass been able to ensure confidential sources of his promise not to reveal their identities, and in that respect, this case is much like many other cases that have involved award-winning, societally important journalism,” Pyle said during the hearing. “The stakes are very high here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bp0sj\">Goodwin said she would reexamine her previous ruling allowing the subpoena to move forward in part. She did not say when she would release that decision.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
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"updates": [
"(2022-10-03 19:04:00+00:00) Revising her own order, judge rules editor doesn’t have to turn over confidential reporting"
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{
"title": "Louisiana photojournalist assaulted during investigation of mistaken release of convict",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/louisiana-photojournalist-assaulted-during-investigation-of-mistaken-release-of-convict/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-10T18:58:25.822904Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-03-08T21:19:22.412886Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-03-08T21:19:22.277715Z",
"date": "2022-03-03",
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"city": "Tangipahoa Parish",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oen14\">WWL-TV photojournalist T.J. Pipitone and a colleague were assaulted by an individual while reporting on the mistaken release of a convicted pedophile in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, on March 3, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4d13\">In a <a href=\"https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/serial-child-molester-erroneously-set-free-returned-to-prison-wwl-tv-investigation/289-1ba35959-ccd5-4c36-ae4b-15089c7fa2ea\">report</a> for the broadcast station, reporter David Hammer said that he and the photojournalist had gone to the home of Brian David Matherne for comment after he was released more than seven years early from his nearly 30-year sentence. The journalists did not know at the time that Matherne had been imprisoned again after some victims alerted the state Department of Corrections of the error.</p><p data-block-key=\"3mb6u\">“Before we could approach the trailer, we were attacked by the owner of the property — Bruce Verdin — who was arrested by Tangipahoa Sheriff’s deputies,” Hammer said.</p><p data-block-key=\"958mj\">WWL-TV reported that Verdin, who is Matherne’s brother-in-law, attacked the journalists with a wrench and attempted to hit the photojournalist with his truck. In footage of the incident, Verdin can be seen repeatedly striking out at the journalists and their camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"e53su\">Hammer, who did not respond to requests for comment, identified himself and photojournalist T.J. Pipitone as the journalists attacked in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1499590167379730444\">tweet</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Had quite a day. My <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WWLTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWLTV</a> investigation got a serial child molester put back in prison after his erroneous early release. Then photographer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TJPIPITONE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TJPIPITONE</a> and I got attacked. See the details next at 10:00 on Channel 4.</p>— David Hammer (@davidhammerWWL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1499590167379730444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 4, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oen14\">In response to a note asking if they were OK, Hammer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1499686809000886276\">wrote</a> that they had suffered “just a couple bumps and bruises.” Pipitone also did not respond to messages requesting comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"drrjg\">The station reported that the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office arrested Verdin on three counts of aggravated battery and a count of aggravated destruction of property. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was not able to verify whether any of the journalists’ equipment was damaged in the assault.</p></div>",
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"name": "Louisiana",
"abbreviation": "LA"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-03-23 09:57:00+00:00) Louisiana photojournalist hit by car, knocked into ditch",
"(2023-03-06 16:19:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault of reporter, photojournalist"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Louisiana reporter assaulted during investigation of mistaken release of convict",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/louisiana-reporter-assaulted-during-investigation-of-mistaken-release-of-convict/",
"first_published_at": "2022-03-10T19:02:09.050373Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-26T15:00:35.542806Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-26T15:00:35.360291Z",
"date": "2022-03-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Tangipahoa Parish",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dxwer\">WWL-TV reporter David Hammer and a colleague were assaulted by an individual while reporting on the mistaken release of a convicted pedophile in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, on March 3, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"25tev\">In a <a href=\"https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/serial-child-molester-erroneously-set-free-returned-to-prison-wwl-tv-investigation/289-1ba35959-ccd5-4c36-ae4b-15089c7fa2ea\">report</a> for the broadcast station, Hammer said that he and a photojournalist had gone to the home of Brian David Matherne for comment after he was released more than seven years early from his nearly 30-year sentence. The journalists did not know at the time that Matherne had been imprisoned again after some victims alerted the state Department of Corrections of the error.</p><p data-block-key=\"4uguj\">“Before we could approach the trailer, we were attacked by the owner of the property — Bruce Verdin — who was arrested by Tangipahoa Sheriff’s deputies,” Hammer said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5h83v\">WWL-TV reported that Verdin, who is Matherne’s brother-in-law, attacked the journalists with a wrench and attempted to hit the photojournalist with his truck. In footage of the incident, Verdin can be seen repeatedly striking out at the journalists and their camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jiac\">Hammer, who did not respond to requests for comment, identified himself and photojournalist T.J. Pipitone as the journalists attacked in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1499590167379730444\">tweet</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Had quite a day. My <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WWLTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WWLTV</a> investigation got a serial child molester put back in prison after his erroneous early release. Then photographer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TJPIPITONE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TJPIPITONE</a> and I got attacked. See the details next at 10:00 on Channel 4.</p>— David Hammer (@davidhammerWWL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1499590167379730444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 4, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dxwer\">In response to a note asking if they were OK, Hammer <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1499686809000886276\">wrote</a> that they had suffered “just a couple bumps and bruises.”</p><p data-block-key=\"djt2u\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/davidhammerWWL/status/1502280403805249536\">tweet</a> a week after the incident, Hammer confirmed that Verdin smashed Hammer’s cellphone that he was using to film the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"5545o\">The station reported that the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office arrested Verdin on three counts of aggravated battery and a count of aggravated destruction of property. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was not able to verify whether any of the journalists’ equipment was damaged in the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"bp1rs\"><i>Editor’s note: This article has been updated with information concerning the damage to David Hammer’s cellphone during the incident.</i></p></div>",
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{
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{
"quantity": 1,
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"state": {
"name": "Louisiana",
"abbreviation": "LA"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-03-23 09:56:00+00:00) Louisiana reporter struck with pliers, phone damaged",
"(2023-03-06 16:17:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault of reporter, photojournalist"
],
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{
"title": "Utah Senate becomes third state legislature this year to limit journalists’ access",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/utah-senate-becomes-third-state-legislature-this-year-to-limit-journalists-access/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-28T17:57:10.334323Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T21:01:48.303268Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T21:01:48.210256Z",
"date": "2022-02-15",
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"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r06a4\">Republican leaders in the Utah State Senate pushed through a rule change limiting press access to the chamber, halls, lounge and committee rooms on Feb. 15, 2022, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.</p><p data-block-key=\"6giq9\">The <a href=\"https://le.utah.gov/~2022/bills/static/SR0001.html\">rule change</a> requires that journalists receive permission from a “Senate media designee” in order to have access to the Senate floor and adjacent hallways to conduct a specific interview and be escorted out of the area when it is completed. Journalists also must ask permission from the committee chair to film or take pictures from behind the dias. The resolution passed 17 to 5, the Tribune <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2022/02/15/republicans-utah-senate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m7su\">Traditionally, members of the press were allowed on the floor of both the House and Senate, as well as in some areas that are not open to the public, <a href=\"https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/2/9/22925708/utah-senate-rule-to-limit-press-access-capitol-hill-government-transparency-legislature-media\">according to Deseret News</a>. The policies changed during the coronavirus pandemic and the Senate vote made some of the restrictions permanent.</p><p data-block-key=\"9m9k1\">FOX 13 reporter Ben Winslow told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via email that there had been some rumblings that lawmakers were upset with one or more reporters for eavesdropping on conversations and “skulking” around the chamber.</p><p data-block-key=\"eshh0\">“Looking back over the years, this may have been building with a few complaints about reporters going into areas lawmakers felt they shouldn’t be in, and it’s not the first time we’ve had to challenge rules limiting press access,” Winslow wrote. “In COVID, access to the chambers unescorted was completely cut off and I don’t see it coming back.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ebt7n\">Sen. Mike McKell, the sponsor of the measure, cited security concerns as the primary concern behind the policy shift, according to the Tribune, though members of the press are required to submit to yearly background checks as part of the credentialing process.</p><p data-block-key=\"10fu5\">McKell also dismissed concerns that the change limits the media’s access, citing the Senate’s daily media availability.</p><p data-block-key=\"8n730\">“The Senate has a long-standing tradition of holding media availability. That’s not going to change. That happens every single day after floor time,” McKell told the Tribune. According to the newspaper, senators have spent an average of about 13 minutes taking questions during such sessions during the 2022 legislative session.</p><p data-block-key=\"dii9c\">McKell did not respond to requests for further comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ikvp\">According to the Tribune, other Senate Republicans noted that committee meetings and floor debates are now routinely livestreamed, a measure put in place during the pandemic.</p><p data-block-key=\"3im6h\">The policy change was met with criticism from <a href=\"https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2022/2/10/22926428/utah-legislature-senate-rules-sr1-reporters-need-permission-to-interview\">local</a> <a href=\"https://universe.byu.edu/2022/02/17/opinion-proposed-rules-for-utah-journalists-hurt-everyone/\">journalists</a> and national press freedom organizations, particularly as Republican legislators in both <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-removed-from-iowa-senate-floor-overturning-a-century-old-practice/\">Iowa</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-moved-from-kansas-senate-floor-to-public-gallery-for-new-legislative-session/\">Kansas</a> announced similar policy shifts limiting press access to the senate floor in 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"4pr06\">“Given that it can be difficult to locate any particular member of the Senate, rushing as they are between the floor, committee hearings and offices, this access has been crucial to journalists in their efforts to give their audience a full picture of what’s happening,” the Tribune’s Editorial Board <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/editorial/2022/02/04/reporters-lawmakers-both/\">wrote</a>. “Removing it can only serve to help senators avoid public scrutiny.”</p><p data-block-key=\"74hrh\">Winslow told the Tracker he spoke against the bill during the public comment period, highlighting that often he needs only 30 seconds to get clarification on a bill and that the rule is impractical.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqq4u\">“We sometimes roll into a committee hearing mid-way through a bill and how do I get the permission of the committee chair without interrupting everything?” Winslow wrote. “One senator said there was a logic to my argument there. They still voted to pass the rule.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e8i3l\">Winslow did note that, despite the new rules, none of his station’s photographers have been prevented from filming from locations they have used in the past.</p><p data-block-key=\"2k2l9\">“One committee chair saw us walk into his hearing mid-meeting and he stood up and walked over to motion the photographer up, which is a really nice sign that they still want us there,” Winslow wrote. He added that the policy change has built up momentum for formalizing a Capitol press corps that may ultimately lead to improved access and credentialing.</p><p data-block-key=\"b68uj\">Bridger Beal-Cvetko, a reporter at Salt Lake City-based newspaper The Deseret News, said he also hasn’t experienced any changes to access, but that he is concerned that the new rule paves a path for blocking access down the line.</p><p data-block-key=\"f5k0e\">“The worry that a lot of people have is that it’s great that they allow access most of the time, but if there’s a controversial bill or an unpopular discussion that’s happening they could decide not to give the same level of access, and that’s concerning to a lot of people,” Beal-Cvetko told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"d55uk\">The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-business-iowa-legislature-4688b35753bf6ec86c2d8224b6e5bb00\">reported</a> that the rule changes are now advancing through the Utah House.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "Utah",
"abbreviation": "UT"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-02-28 15:22:00+00:00) Utah House revises procedures around media access"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
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"State government: Legislature"
],
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
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"Change in policy or practice"
]
},
{
"title": "Subpoena for ABC News’ reporting materials on a ‘Real Housewives’ cast member quashed",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-for-abc-news-reporting-materials-on-a-real-housewives-cast-member-quashed/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-09T20:00:26.742349Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-05-09T20:03:15.898486Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-05-09T20:03:15.849821Z",
"date": "2022-02-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"geuyt\">On May 5, 2022, a United States District Court judge <a href=\"https://medialaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/05.05.22shah.pdf\">quashed a subpoena</a> issued to ABC News seeking footage, documents and journalist communications as part of a criminal lawsuit involving a cast member from the television show "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."</p><p data-block-key=\"e3qe9\">According to court documents, ABC News aired a documentary featuring cast member Jennifer Shah and her alleged involvement in a telemarketing fraud scheme. Shah issued a subpoena to ABC News on Feb. 11, 2022, requesting seven categories of documents, including all video footage, documents, interviewer notes and identification of all government agents and members of the prosecution who provided the news outlet with information.</p><p data-block-key=\"bcqd2\">According to court documents, Eileen Murphy, the senior editorial producer of the documentary, said thousands of documents and materials were collected as part of the reporting process. ABC News staffers also interviewed non-confidential and confidential sources but did not interview any prosecutors involved in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"cb4ev\">Lawyers for ABC News filed a motion to quash the subpoena on Feb. 25, 2022, stating the information requested was protected under journalists' privilege and was "unreasonable or oppressive" under <a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_17\">the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure, Rule 17</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8gtv7\">U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein heard oral arguments on April 25. In granting the motion to quash on May 5, Stein wrote that the request did not overcome journalistic privilege and did not meet the requirements set out in <a href=\"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/418/683/\">United States v. Nixon</a>, that materials must be “relevant, specifically identified, admissible, and not otherwise procurable by due diligence."</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"ABC News"
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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"quashed"
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},
{
"title": "Multimedia journalist assaulted while reporting from scene of Providence shootout",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multimedia-journalist-assaulted-while-reporting-from-scene-of-providence-shootout/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-17T20:25:34.182788Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-02-17T20:25:34.182788Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-02-17T20:25:34.120698Z",
"date": "2022-02-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Providence",
"longitude": -71.41283,
"latitude": 41.82399,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"55127\">WJAR-TV multimedia journalist Joanna Bouras was pushed into a concrete wall by an individual while reporting from the scene of a shootout in Providence, Rhode Island, on Feb. 10, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"d47jn\">The Providence Journal <a href=\"https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/crime/2022/02/11/providence-gunman-son-assaulted-journalist-television-reporter-police-say/6758418001/\">reported</a> that Bouras was covering a domestic disturbance that resulted in a gunfight between police and a 61-year-old man in the early hours of Feb. 10. A part of the house caught fire during the confrontation, and the man was found dead after the blaze was extinguished.</p><p data-block-key=\"3sb8g\">WJAR spokesperson Jessica Bellucci told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that police on the scene informed Bouras and photographer Bray Beardsley that the man’s family was on the way to the house and asked them to move their vehicle around the corner.</p><p data-block-key=\"42apm\">Shortly after 5 p.m., the man’s son — identified as Joshua Maclean — confronted Bouras as she was filming, yelling at her and pushing her hard enough to cause her “to fall into a concrete wall,” the Journal reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gat0\">“Bray did not see Joshua Maclean approaching because he had panned the camera to show the house in the background,” Bellucci said. “As the crew had chosen to set up close to police, officers responded in seconds, apprehending and arresting Maclean.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dqma3\">Bellucci confirmed that Bouras was not injured in the attack and plans to press charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"87lud\">Police Cmdr. Thomas Verdi told the Journal that Maclean has been charged with simple assault. Providence Police Department Public Information Officer Lindsay Lague told the Tracker they are only able to release police reports following in-person requests at their records bureau.</p><p data-block-key=\"68oc\">Bouras thanked the Journal for reporting on the story in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JoannaBouras/status/1492342327490367489\">tweet</a>, writing, “I want to be EXTREMELY clear, no one should EVER touch a TV Reporter or anyone who is trying to do their job.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thank you <a href=\"https://twitter.com/projo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@projo</a> for bringing light to this. I want to be EXTREMELY clear, no one should EVER touch a TV Reporter or anyone who is trying to do their job. <a href=\"https://t.co/QKeVWi79Px\">https://t.co/QKeVWi79Px</a></p>— Joanna Bouras (@JoannaBouras) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JoannaBouras/status/1492342327490367489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"55127\">Bouras did not respond separately to a request for further comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Rhode Island",
"abbreviation": "RI"
},
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{
"title": "Minneapolis to pay $100,000 settlement over public records lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minneapolis-to-pay-100000-settlement-over-public-records-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-11T17:06:07.699613Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-03-10T16:51:34.446451Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-03-10T16:51:34.357193Z",
"date": "2022-01-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3dbz4\">The City of Minneapolis approved a <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-to-pay-journalist-100k-settlement-over-public-record-requests/600140804/\">$100,000 settlement</a> on Jan. 27, 2022, over a public records lawsuit brought by Tony Webster, a local independent journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"3kmn5\">Webster told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was pleased with the outcome but believes the city missed an opportunity to enact changes to public records law.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekh2h\">"In a public records lawsuit, getting the records is of course a win, and paying the legal costs makes it all that much better," Webster said. "But at the same time, I'm disappointed. I wanted a court's finding that the City broke the law, and I wanted an order requiring them to make improvements to their processes to ensure that it doesn't happen again."</p><p data-block-key=\"fqi7m\">Webster said he started examining the disciplinary process for Minneapolis police officers in 2019. He filed public records requests with the Minneapolis Police Department but sued after waiting more than seven months and not receiving a single file.</p><p data-block-key=\"2nd28\">The police department eventually produced more than 3,300 disciplinary files through the lawsuit, which Webster used in published investigations on police accountability.</p><p data-block-key=\"36oa7\">The city council<a href=\"https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/MetaData/24663/2022A-0053_Id_24663.pdf\"> approved the settlement unanimously</a> and it was later signed by the mayor.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lmr8\">"I believe in the Public's right to know what their government is doing on their behalf," Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins told the Tracker. "Subsequently, I also believe that there are times when FOIA requests encompass large amounts of information that is not always easily accessed and compiled. I think that reasonable concessions could be made on behalf of some requesters to allow time to meet the requests being made."</p><p data-block-key=\"7e7pc\">Webster, who said the settlement amount will go toward paying legal fees, said he is still optimistic it will prompt widespread change.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vbjq\">“I'm hopeful that the settlement will send a signal to records officials that they need to take their obligations under the law more seriously,” he said. “There are consequences to thwarting the public's right to know.”</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"tags": [
"public records"
],
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"Other Incident"
],
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"Tony Webster (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Massachusetts city ordered to pay legal fees to news outlet for violating public records law",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/city-of-worcester-massachusetts-ordered-to-pay-legal-fees-to-news-outlet-for-violating-public-records-law/",
"first_published_at": "2022-02-04T17:18:59.477372Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-20T20:50:25.638900Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-20T20:50:25.359022Z",
"date": "2022-01-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Worcester",
"longitude": -71.80229,
"latitude": 42.26259,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vjnjz\">The City of Worcester was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in legal fees and $5,000 in punitive damages after a Massachusetts judge ruled on Jan. 26, 2022, that the city acted in bad faith when it violated public records statute by illegally withholding police records from the Telegram & Gazette in 2018.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7m5b\">Superior Court Judge Janet Kenton-Walker ruled in favor of the Telegram & Gazette in June 2021 and found that the city improperly withheld thousands of pages of police investigations and disciplinary records from the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"8uhee\">Telegram & Gazette Executive Editor David Norman said in the outlet’s <a href=\"https://www.telegram.com/story/news/courts/2021/06/11/worcester-police-public-records-law-telegram-gazette-superior-court/7547002002/\">article on the ruling that</a> it was “not a victory for the newspaper alone, but a victory for the people of Worcester. We will continue to work for them by holding those in power accountable.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cvl1\">In January, Kenton-Walker <a href=\"https://princelobel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Memorandum-of-Decision-and-Order-on-Ps-Motion-for-Permanent-Injuntion-....pdf\">ruled</a> that the city attempted to justify withholding the requested police department records by citing “cherry-picked” language from past litigation and “taking it out of context.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5df44\">“Counsel may not misrepresent to the court what cases and other materials stand for,” Kenton-Walker wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"6bl26\">The city was <a href=\"https://qmr.news/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Gatehouse-Litigation-Ruling-on-Legal-Fees-2022-01-26.pdf\">ordered</a> to pay a total of $100,949 to the Telegram & Gazette for attorneys fees and costs. The $5,000 in punitive damages will be deposited into a public fund to help improve municipal public records compliance. According to the <a href=\"https://www.telegram.com/story/news/courts/2022/02/01/judge-rules-city-of-worcester-acted-in-bad-faith-in-telegram-gazette-police-dept-records-lawsuit/9275946002/\">Telegram & Gazette</a>, this appears to be the first punitive penalty of its kind since the state passed <a href=\"https://malegislature.gov/laws/sessionlaws/acts/2016/chapter121\">an act to improve public records</a> in 2016.</p><p data-block-key=\"aa2gn\">“Hopefully this ruling will cause other public bodies to think twice before denying public records based on weak and strained legal arguments,” Jeffrey J. Pyle, the lawyer who represented Telegram & Gazette, told the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"flld3\">City Solicitor Michael E. Traynor said in a statement to the outlet that the city did not agree with the ruling but will not appeal the decision. “The city always acts in good faith and we maintain our position that we did so in this case,” he wrote. “However, the court has spoken and we will move on.”</p><p data-block-key=\"81eu5\">Traynor did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"fqqmd\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify the amount awarded to the Telegram & Gazette in Superior Court Judge Janet Kenton-Walker’s January 2022 ruling and to correct quotations from the ruling.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"pc9mk\">A portion of a public records lawsuit the Telegram & Gazette filed against the City of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2018. The city agreed to pay the newspaper $180,000 in March 2023 after a judge ruled it had wrongfully withheld the records.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-03-01 00:00:00+00:00) City of Worcester pays local newspaper $180,000 to settle public records lawsuit"
],
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"settled"
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"Telegram & Gazette"
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"tags": [
"public records"
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},
{
"title": "Tennessee state representative introduces resolution to reprimand AP for reporting",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tennessee-state-representative-introduces-resolution-to-reprimand-associated-press-for-reporting/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-25T18:56:18.815254Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:13:47.300787Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:13:47.195356Z",
"date": "2022-01-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Nashville",
"longitude": -86.78444,
"latitude": 36.16589,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"blvws\">A Tennessee state representative filed a joint resolution on Jan. 20, 2022, to reprimand The Associated Press following its investigation of racism in the United States military.</p><p data-block-key=\"4leqm\">The <a href=\"https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/HJR0709.pdf\">resolution</a> was introduced by Rep. Bud Hulsey, a Republican, in response to AP’s May 2021 investigation, “<a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/us-military-racism-discrimination-4e840e0acc7ef07fd635a312d9375413\">Deep-rooted racism, discrimination permeate US military.</a>” The resolution states AP journalists engaged “in the lowest form of yellow journalism and should be held accountable by the American public and their elected officials” with a reprimand from the General Assembly.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8es6\">Tennessee outlet <a href=\"https://www.wjhl.com/news/politics/tn-lawmaker-files-to-reprimand-the-associated-press/\">WJHL</a> said there are no other instances of state officials reprimanding news organizations. Hulsey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8knrf\">AP spokesperson Lauren Easton told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that “The Associated Press stands by its reporting,” and referred the Tracker to an AP article on Tennessee’s Black lawmakers efforts to “<a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/george-floyd-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-legislature-tennessee-27ccd42773f2aa0b212a4950966f5b1c\">raise awareness about structural racism</a>.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jta7\">Kat Stafford, the lead reporter on the AP investigation, tweeted on Jan. 21 that the resolution was a “career first” and that the AP stands behind the reporting.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A career first: A Republican state legislator in Tennessee introduced a resolution Thursday in response to our AP investigation of racism in the U.S. military. He accused us of “incendiary journalism” & wants the legislature to “reprimand the AP.” We stand by our reporting. <a href=\"https://t.co/PIWx7hbixa\">pic.twitter.com/PIWx7hbixa</a></p>— Kat Stafford (@kat__stafford) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/kat__stafford/status/1484646072823787522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 21, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"blvws\">Stafford also wrote that she and her colleagues spent nearly a year on the investigation and interviewed dozens of service members and experts. “We poured over copious documents & FOIAs. We did our homework.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3riav\">In response to Stafford’s tweets, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace echoed support for the investigation, tweeting “Indeed - we stand by our reporting, and our reporters.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Indeed - we stand by our reporting, and our reporters. <a href=\"https://t.co/KCnInXcJvh\">https://t.co/KCnInXcJvh</a></p>— Julie Pace (@JuliePace) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JuliePace/status/1485231633993289733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cqcqt\"><i>Note: This article was amended to include comment from the Associated Press.</i></p></div>",
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{
"title": "Radio reporter’s phone seized by North Dakota police, later returned",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/radio-reporters-phone-seized-by-north-dakota-police-later-returned/",
"first_published_at": "2022-01-26T15:11:19.960825Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:14:08.440271Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:14:08.287104Z",
"date": "2022-01-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Williston",
"longitude": -103.61797,
"latitude": 48.14697,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cg46m\">A North Dakota police investigator seized a cellphone belonging to Tom Simon, a Williston-based reporter for Coyote Radio 98.5 and Williston Trending Topics News Radio Live, during a school board meeting on Jan. 10, 2022. The phone was ultimately returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"arc1o\">Simon told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he had been covering the departure of the school district’s former superintendent since October 2021. Multiple individuals contacted Simon with details from a closed 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=\"8q1d7\">The BCI obtained a search warrant for Simon’s cellphone on Jan. 4 but waited six days — until the next school board meeting — to execute it. Simon told the Tracker that BCI police investigator Charissa Remus approached him during the Jan. 10 meeting and asked him to come with her to answer some questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"88hte\">While Remus asked him to identify his sources, Simon said a second agent seized his cellphone from the table where he had left it. Remus then presented Simon a copy of the signed search warrant and asked him to tell her the device’s passcode. Simon refused to identify his sources but provided the passcode, not knowing whether he had the right to refuse.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcg8q\">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=\"1g1mu\">The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/wayne-stenehjem-north-dakota-williston-radio-media-32e43bebdd3a8de406c75f7d3e425295\">reported</a> that North Dakota Newspaper Association Attorney Jack McDonald contacted state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem about the seizure the following day, and Stenehjem immediately ordered that the phone be returned to Simon.</p><p data-block-key=\"3n20q\">According to documents reviewed by the Tracker, Simon’s phone was returned to him just before 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 without having been searched or its contents downloaded. Simon’s attorney, Kevin Chapman, told the Tracker they are working with a computer expert to confirm whether the phone’s contents were accessed while it was in custody.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vjck\">“Having it returned quickly does not solve the problem,” Simon told the Tracker. “Once the veil of secrecy is pierced, the message to the sources or future sources is that law enforcement can still find out who they are, and that message is difficult to stomach.”</p><p data-block-key=\"961k2\">Simon said he was particularly concerned by the decision to hold off serving the warrant until it could be done in front of his presumed sources in order to intimidate them.</p><p data-block-key=\"18qtj\">Judge Benjamen Johnson also signed a search warrant sent to Verizon Wireless for Simon’s phone records, which the Tracker documented <a href=\"/all-incidents/search-warrant-issued-for-north-dakota-reporters-phone-records-amid-police-investigation/\">here</a>. On Jan. 11, Remus, the BCI agent, wrote a letter to Verizon telling them to “PLEASE DISREGARD IMMEDIATELY.” The police investigation has since been closed.</p><p data-block-key=\"402pn\">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=\"3khih\">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=\"7iv8h\">“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=\"ac949\">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=\"215pb\">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=\"aufk7\">“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>",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Simons.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ov9qf\">A portion of the search warrant for the cellphone belonging to radio reporter Tom Simon, who was reporting on a school board’s handling of the departure of the district’s former superintendent.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"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 Dakota",
"abbreviation": "ND"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tom Simon (KXWI-FM)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"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",
"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"State government: Legislature"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": [
"Change in policy or practice"
]
},
{
"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>",
"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,
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"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": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Kansas",
"abbreviation": "KS"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"State government: Legislature"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
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"type_of_denial": [
"Change in policy or practice"
]
},
{
"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",
"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"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,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": "Verizon Wireless",
"third_party_business": "telecom company",
"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "North Dakota",
"abbreviation": "ND"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tom Simon (KXWI-FM)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"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",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"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",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:24-cv-00307",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"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": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"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"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"encampment"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Veronica Coit (The Asheville Blade)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"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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"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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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"links": [],
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"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Adam Vary (BuzzFeed News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"upheld"
],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"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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"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"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": [
{
"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)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"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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"arresting_authority": "Sausalito Police Department",
"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",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"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": "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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"settled"
],
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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",
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"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": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Harris_subpoena.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:21-cv-03290",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
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"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": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": "Verizon",
"third_party_business": "telecom company",
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"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"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Amy Harris (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": []
}
]
