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{
"title": "Freelance journalist harassed, press badge briefly stolen at pro-Israel rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-harassed-press-badge-briefly-stolen-at-pro-israel-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-16T18:51:15.422638Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-14T16:09:06.343488Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-14T16:09:06.236708Z",
"date": "2023-10-08",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8u36z\">Freelance journalist Talia Ben-Ora, who also publishes under the name Talia Jane, was assaulted, harassed and her press credentials briefly stolen while reporting on a pro-Israel rally in New York, New York, on Oct. 8, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ogdi\">Ben-Ora told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was documenting two rallies in Manhattan. After filming and publishing excerpts from a pro-Palestinian rally, she said she headed to a rally in support of Israel rally that was scheduled for later in the day.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3236\">Within minutes of arriving at the demonstration, Ben-Ora said she was recognized by two men who began harassing her, calling her “bitch,” “cunt” and “terrorist.” One of the men also deliberately tripped her, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvh5j\">While some individuals tried to stop the harassment, the men drew supporters by claiming that Ben-Ora supports Hamas, the extremist organization that had launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, citing her coverage of the pro-Palestine rally earlier that day. Ben-Ora called the assertions “heinous slander,” and a deliberate attempt to provoke the crowd to violence.</p><p data-block-key=\"2m1er\">Ben-Ora said that New York Police Department officers intervened and ushered her toward the rally crowd, where she attempted to conduct interviews. The individuals harassing her followed, however, and officers told her that she needed to leave the area and escorted her up the block.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9ehc\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1711147630296707482/video/2\">footage</a> Ben-Ora captured while walking away from the demonstrations, multiple individuals can be seen shouting at her to leave as officers attempted to keep them away from her.</p><p data-block-key=\"15kas\">“I didn’t feel like the NYPD that had responded was successfully keeping anybody away from me,” Ben-Ora said. “So I was walking backward to make sure that no one ran up and tried to do anything.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eks9b\">Amid the chaos, a woman grabbed Ben-Ora’s press credentials out of her hand and walked away with them, but an officer was quickly able to retrieve them, she said. Ben-Ora continued to walk away from the demonstration, but shortly after she got on a nearby sidewalk, she was once again surrounded.</p><p data-block-key=\"3okao\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/taliaotg/status/1711147630296707482/video/3\">In her footage</a>, the group can be seen shouting at and filming Ben-Ora and a woman appears to repeatedly smack her cellphone, attempting to rip a cord from it or knock it from Ben-Ora’s hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"4coeq\">A portable charger and its attached cord fell out of her pocket, Ben-Ora said, and when she attempted to retrieve them the individuals stomped and stood on them. She told the Tracker she was able to eventually pick up the items and leave the area after police officers intervened. The items still work, she said, but sections of the protective coating of the cord were scrapped off.</p><p data-block-key=\"aqik3\">“I was there to actually try and report on both sides of the story and I was prevented from doing that,” she said.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hwy01\">Freelance journalist Talia Ben-Ora films New York Police Department officers interceding after she was harassed and assaulted while she reported on a pro-Israel demonstration in Manhattan on Oct. 8, 2023. Her press credentials were also briefly stolen.</p>",
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"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
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{
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"equipment": "press identification"
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Talia (Jane) Ben-Ora (Freelance)"
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{
"title": "Newspaper publisher shot after dispute over caricatures",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/newspaper-publisher-shot-after-dispute-over-caricatures/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-02T19:35:00.220525Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-02T19:35:00.220525Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-02T19:35:00.130849Z",
"date": "2023-10-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Hazleton",
"longitude": -75.97465,
"latitude": 40.95842,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bwzqo\">Journalist Bernardo Isaías Amaro Pérez, who publishes under Isaías Amaro, was shot in the arm Oct. 4, 2023, by a leader of a community organization in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, who had previously taken issue with his portrayal in Amaro’s publication.</p><p data-block-key=\"6d5rc\">Amaro, who was taken to a local hospital for treatment, is the publisher of the El Periodiquito, a Spanish-language newspaper that uses humor and caricature in its reporting, describing itself as “un periódico serio escrito en bromas” — a serious newspaper written in jokes.</p><p data-block-key=\"ai9bk\">In an interview with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Amaro said that he began reporting on Víctor Pérez Balbuena in June 2023. His articles included claims that Pérez was using his position as president of La Casa Dominicana de Hazleton to exploit community members. Pérez denied these allegations and <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doR7WgD-NwQ&t=28s\">accused Amaro of defamation</a> in a lengthy video.</p><p data-block-key=\"3pbg7\">Amaro later charged that, in response to the reporting, Pérez threatened him and local businesses distributing El Periodiquito with a gun; threatened to kill Amaro and a candidate for mayor while speaking on a radio show; and punctured Amaro’s car tires.</p><p data-block-key=\"bn3hg\">Pérez told law enforcement that he decided to confront Amaro over illustrations in El Periodiquito that featured him, his wife and his daughter, after Amaro attempted to distribute the newspaper where Pérez’s daughter works, <a href=\"https://local21news.com/news/local/hazleton-shooting-leaves-one-injured-suspect-in-custody\">according to WOLF-TV</a>. Pérez told police that Amaro exited his vehicle wielding a knife, and that he shot at the publisher to stop him from approaching.</p><p data-block-key=\"40big\">In his conversation with the Tracker, however, Amaro denied having any weapons and accused Pérez of cornering him at his art workshop and shooting at him multiple times while shouting that he would kill him. One of the rounds struck Amaro in the arm.</p><p data-block-key=\"bh8cg\">The Hazleton City Police Department said in a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=647274090842587&set=pcb.647274347509228\">press release</a> that Pérez fled the scene, but was arrested later that evening. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, including one with a deadly weapon, as well as reckless endangerment, according to court records reviewed by the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"adc1c\">Amaro said that he continues to be in fear for his life and has suffered sleeping problems since the shooting. He added that while he and his colleagues are working to publish the November edition of El Periodiquito, his injuries prevent him from drawing its characteristic illustrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"5nv62\"><i>Editor’s Note: Our interview with Isaías Amaro was translated from Spanish by Dagmar Thiel of Fundamedios, a partner of the Tracker.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Amaro.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"tgbpr\">Isaías Amaro, publisher of the satirical Spanish newspaper El Periodiquito, was shot by a leader of a community organization in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, when the man confronted him about his reporting on Oct. 4, 2023.</p>",
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"name": "Pennsylvania",
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"shot / shot at"
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"Assault"
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"Bernardo Isaías Amaro Pérez (El Periodiquito)"
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{
"title": "New York reporter abruptly dropped from online forum",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-reporter-abruptly-dropped-from-online-forum/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-25T20:01:48.037637Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-25T20:01:48.037637Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-25T19:55:50.132289Z",
"date": "2023-10-03",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jfkwt\">Freelance reporter Emily Swanson was removed from a Zoom meeting hosted by the New York Police Department on Oct. 3, 2023, after identifying herself as a reporter, she told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"9dc7q\">Swanson had received an emailed invitation on Sept. 29 to a “Community CompStat Forum” from an NYPD community affairs officer for the 41st Precinct in the Bronx. The forum was one of a series of meetings at which the NYPD presents crime statistics from its publicly available <a href=\"https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/crime-statistics/compstat.page\">CompStat</a> database, and was hosted by the Chief of Department Jeffrey B. Maddrey, the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed member.</p><p data-block-key=\"bg6jq\">The emailed invitation, reviewed by the Tracker, noted that “the purpose of the forum is for the NYPD to answer questions and address concerns the communities may have.” The NYPD also solicited questions from the public <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NYPDChiefOfDept/status/1708900586144387550\">on social media</a>. It was left unclear if the meeting was public or by invitation only.</p><p data-block-key=\"57u71\">Swanson said she had also attended other meetings held by the 41st Precinct, at which she had identified herself as a journalist in a sign-in book.</p><p data-block-key=\"7oaql\">When Swanson logged on to the Oct. 3 meeting, some attendees introduced themselves in the chat, so she posted her name and phone number and identified herself as a reporter from the Bronx Times, an outlet for which she freelances. She also asked the meeting’s host, whose username was “the chief of departments,” whether a recording of the meeting would be available to attendees later. She did not receive a response.</p><p data-block-key=\"5fe58\">After about 20 minutes, Swanson said, a notification popped up on her screen that she had been removed from the meeting by its host. “At first I thought it was some sort of glitch or technical thing,” she said. “It was pretty abrupt. It just seemed like they were kind of in the middle of presenting the data — nothing had been talked about that you couldn’t find on the website.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5462v\">When she clicked on the meeting link, she was unable to log back in to the meeting.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vcr9\">Swanson reached out to the NYPD’s Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information, or DCPI, to ask why she had been removed from the meeting, but did not receive a response. She later submitted a complaint to New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfu42\">A DCPI spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the Bronx Zoom meeting was by invitation only. “A review of the guest list determined the individual was not invited to this zoom meeting and therefore was removed.”</p><p data-block-key=\"37isc\">Regarding the invitation that Swanson did receive, DCPI reiterated that “this individual was not on the NYPD confirmed invitee list.” Community Affairs Officer Melvin Payamps of the 41st Precinct, who sent the email invitation to Swanson, did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Florida daily newspaper said feud led sheriff to disinvite it from news conference",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/florida-daily-newspaper-said-feud-led-sheriff-to-disinvite-it-from-news-conference/",
"first_published_at": "2024-03-25T21:15:04.579057Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-26T15:37:47.386266Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-26T15:37:47.268879Z",
"date": "2023-10-02",
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"city": "DeLand",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e2dnr\">The Daytona Beach News-Journal was purposely not invited to a news conference held by Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood on Oct. 2, 2023, according to the Florida news outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4eik\">The press conference announced the arrest of a 17-year-old alleged to have sold a fatal dose of fentanyl to a minor. When News-Journal Executive Editor John Dunbar emailed Chitwood’s media staff about it, they explained the lack of invitation was deliberate.</p><p data-block-key=\"46nrq\">“No oversight, sorry,” Chitwood’s Director of Public Affairs Andrew Gant replied. “The Sheriff is no longer inviting the NJ to his news conference or commenting for stories.”</p><p data-block-key=\"31e8q\">According to an <a href=\"https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2023/10/03/sheriff-mike-chitwood-bans-news-journal-from-press-conferences/71041359007/\">article</a> by the News-Journal, a “contingent of media” was present at the conference.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ek04\">The News-Journal was later left off the invite list for another conference <a href=\"/all-incidents/florida-paper-says-sheriff-disinvited-it-from-news-conference-for-second-time/\">on Feb. 29, 2024</a>. The sheriff’s office had announced via social media that Chitwood would be holding a news conference the following day about a break in a 20-year-old missing persons investigation. But <a href=\"https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2024/03/05/sheriff-chitwood-doesnt-invite-news-journal-to-press-conference/72810435007/?utm_source=Poynter+Institute&utm_campaign=18e7519c4a-03062024+-+The+Poynter+Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-03a789e9c7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D\">the newspaper said</a> Chitwood’s media staff did not send it an announcement with details about the briefing, nor did they reply to emails and texts from reporters.</p><p data-block-key=\"aspuq\">Two other Florida TV stations, WESH and WOFL, had news crews present at that briefing, but the paper said it was unclear how Chitwood communicated to them the time and place of the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1pv5\">The paper says the missing invitations are the result of a long-standing conflict between the daily paper and Chitwood that has also resulted in the Sheriff’s Office refusing to comment on any News-Journal stories.</p><p data-block-key=\"6i2js\">Chitwood, in a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/profile/100044203642856/search/?q=news-journal\">series of Facebook posts</a> going back to September, has been highly critical of News-Journal coverage of several high-profile criminal investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"9pb0p\">In a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sheriffchitwood/posts/pfbid0xTg2xH8jFYSMwHKBAhEBYPmaDWE6g15e1XEMrrytKqTZTup2aQVKrPyVoTh915WSl\">Sept. 21 post</a>, Chitwood wrote, “I don’t take Frank Fernandez’s calls or give him quotes for his BS stories anymore,” then added on <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sheriffchitwood/posts/pfbid0mNY8oGZDV9TKcAHrXksh5kfsqfrVHVUSU3wGrHUSP6EpVDoHbZ2G2kca5bw5oVkpl\">Sept. 26</a>, “This is nothing personal, strictly business, but the only real recourse I have is to unsubscribe from the News-Journal and quit commenting in it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3beht\">News-Journal Executive Editor John Dunbar, in an opinion piece after the Sept. 21 Chitwood post, <a href=\"https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/opinion/columns/2023/09/25/chitwood-feeds-reporter-to-the-social-media-wolves-for-doing-his-job/70953403007/\">wrote</a>, “The sheriff’s reaction is disturbing for a number of reasons. First, he’s falsely accusing an enormously dedicated and hard-working reporter of being one-sided and unprofessional. Nothing could be further from the truth. Second, his bullying behavior can lead to a chilling effect on anyone who dares to write something he doesn’t like. And third, he’s creating a scapegoat and invoking his followers to tell him ‘what they think.’ What happens if they respond with more than words?”</p><p data-block-key=\"84h2q\">Chitwood’s derogatory comments continued, however. In a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/sheriffchitwood/posts/pfbid0J6r6Co6C53CWSdBhvgbnueyNdeLKJ13AN8gwmhAfKE9FAVuMm6yoX8AZ3HwWJ4dzl\">March 5 post regarding</a> the Feb. 29 news conference, the sheriff wrote, “The Irrelevant Daytona Beach News-Journal smears my deputies, insults the law enforcement community, misleads the 5 readers it has left, and then cries foul when I quit responding. The News-Journal knew exactly when and where this press conference was, and they chose not to show up. If they did, I’d exercise my right to ignore their BS questions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"atnlt\">The same day, <a href=\"https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2024/03/05/sheriff-chitwood-doesnt-invite-news-journal-to-press-conference/72810435007/?utm_source=Poynter+Institute&utm_campaign=18e7519c4a-03062024+-+The+Poynter+Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-03a789e9c7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D\">Fernandez reported</a> that Chitwood opted not to include The News-Journal in the news conference even though Gant <a href=\"https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/11/editorial-sheriffs-screed-against-reporter-hurts-everyone-including-himself/\">told the Orlando Sentinel</a> that if a News-Journal reporter shows up to a news event, they won’t be turned away. “The News-Journal has the same access to that as anybody else,” Gant said. “They just don’t have exclusive access.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a4tkt\">The sheriff’s office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"630bb\">Grace Nezkwesi, legal fellow at the First Amendment Foundation, was reported as saying she did not believe that Chitwood could exclude one media outlet while allowing others to attend the briefings. “It does sound like a chilling effect and a restraint on your organization’s First Amendment Rights,” <a href=\"https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2024/03/05/sheriff-chitwood-doesnt-invite-news-journal-to-press-conference/72810435007/?utm_source=Poynter+Institute&utm_campaign=18e7519c4a-03062024+-+The+Poynter+Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-03a789e9c7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D\">she told the News-Journal</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"fo8vs\">“It’s a form of intimidation. I mean, he’s the sheriff. He’s a very powerful man and very popular in the county,” Dunbar told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mr2k\">Dunbar added that he was concerned that the decision could impact the News-Journal’s access to information regarding the upcoming hurricane season. “This is really an issue of public safety because we’re the newspaper of record,” Dunbar said. “We can’t be at odds.”</p><p data-block-key=\"66kd5\"><i>Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a comment from News-Journal Executive Editor John Dunbar.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6m1ro\">Sheriff Mike Chitwood of Volusia County, Florida, during an Oct. 2, 2023, news conference. The Daytona Beach News-Journal said it was purposefully not invited to the event.</p>",
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"targeted_institutions": [
"The Daytona Beach News-Journal"
],
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"Law enforcement: Local"
],
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
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"Government event",
"Press credential or media list"
]
},
{
"title": "IRS consultant charged with leaking tax returns to two news outlets",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/irs-consultant-charged-with-leaking-tax-returns-to-two-news-outlets/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-29T21:24:17.217907Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-01-29T22:10:12.552044Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-01-29T22:10:12.352061Z",
"date": "2023-09-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r1l0r\">Charles Littlejohn, a contractor for the Internal Revenue Service, was charged on Sept. 29, 2023, with disclosing tax returns without authorization, leaking the information to two news organizations.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3ill\">A U.S. Department of Justice <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/irs-consultant-charged-disclosing-tax-return-information-news-organizations\">press release</a> announcing the charges alleged that Littlejohn stole the tax return information associated with an unnamed “high-ranking government official” and disclosed it to an unidentified news organization. ABC News <a href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-charges-irs-consultant-allegedly-leaking-trump-wealthy/story?id=103610795\">reported</a> that an individual familiar with the matter confirmed that the government official was former President Donald Trump. Trump’s tax returns extending over more than two decades were <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/trump-taxes-takeaways.html\">leaked to The New York Times</a> in 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"eao8i\">The DOJ also alleged that Littlejohn stole tax return information for thousands of the country’s wealthiest individuals and shared it with a second unnamed news organization. Several news accounts reported that the unnamed news organization appeared to be ProPublica. That outlet published a series titled “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>” in June 2021, which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"5tlt3\">ProPublica and five of its journalists <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2023-08-22&date_upper=2023-08-22&targeted_institutions=ProPublica&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">were each served subpoenas</a> on Aug. 22 in connection with an ongoing lawsuit against the IRS by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.</p><p data-block-key=\"ditvv\">Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., is charged with one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted, the DOJ said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8vc4p\">IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel <a href=\"https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4230744-irs-consultant-accused-leaking-tax-returns-wealthiest-individuals/\">told The Hill in a statement</a> that any disclosure of taxpayer information is unacceptable, but declined to comment on the charges against Littlejohn.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2jgc3\">An IRS consultant was charged on Sept. 29, 2023, with leaking the tax returns of a high-ranking government official and those of thousands of the country’s wealthiest individuals to two news outlets.</p>",
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"(2024-01-29 00:00:00+00:00) IRS consultant gets five years for leaking tax returns to media"
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"ProPublica",
"The New York Times"
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"Department of Justice"
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"Leak Case"
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{
"title": "Reporter assaulted at Tennessee mayoral forum",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-at-tennessee-mayoral-forum/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-10T17:02:23.036560Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-10T17:02:23.036560Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-10T16:47:23.244189Z",
"date": "2023-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Franklin",
"longitude": -86.86889,
"latitude": 35.92506,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rvp6x\">WTVF-TV chief investigative reporter Phil Williams was assaulted while attempting to cover a mayoral forum in Franklin, Tennessee, on Sept. 27, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"9v483\">Williams said in a <a href=\"https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/chaos-erupts-at-franklin-mayoral-forum-as-gabrielle-hanson-supporters-to-block-nc5-from-event\">broadcast for the station</a> that he and a photographer had been invited by the organizer of the forum in the upscale community of Westhaven, where incumbent Mayor Ken Moore and candidate Gabrielle Hanson were speaking with residents.</p><p data-block-key=\"d248j\">As the journalists waited to enter the room alongside attendees, Williams reported that some of Hanson’s supporters attempted to block them from entering the room, standing shoulder to shoulder to try to keep their camera out.</p><p data-block-key=\"c54s2\">“One of them got a little testy with me,” Williams added.</p><p data-block-key=\"9b0po\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/nc5philwilliams/status/1707192446927491526\">footage</a> he captured and posted on social media, Williams confirms that a woman standing in front of him had struck his arm. Minutes later, she can be heard telling him, “Get your camera out of my face!” She then reaches out to grab his cellphone or knock it 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\">We were invited to a Franklin mayoral forum at Westhaven, but Gabrielle <a href=\"https://twitter.com/HansonforMayor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HansonforMayor</a> supporters became quite agitated and attempted to keep us from entering the room. One kept backing into me and then accused me of assaulting him. <a href=\"https://t.co/Y9blWj7qwY\">pic.twitter.com/Y9blWj7qwY</a></p>— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NC5PhilWilliams/status/1707192446927491526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 28, 2023</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rvp6x\">A Franklin Police Department officer immediately intervenes and tells the woman to “Stop touching him or you’re going to jail.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fkb68\">Other Westhaven residents standing near the woman can later be heard saying, “Nobody wants you here” and “He’s the only liberal hack here,” while pointing at Williams.</p><p data-block-key=\"as0md\">Neither mayoral candidate responded to requests for comment or to confirm whether they had agreed to the attendance of the WTVF news crew.</p><p data-block-key=\"16h25\">Williams <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NC5PhilWilliams/status/1707193645894430759\">wrote</a> in a subsequent post that in order to diffuse the situation he agreed to remain outside the room while his photographer filmed from inside, noting that it did make it difficult to continue reporting in real time.</p><p data-block-key=\"eod7q\">Williams did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2xy81\">A police officer in Franklin, Tennessee, intervenes on behalf of WTVF-TV chief investigative reporter Phil Williams after a woman attending a mayoral forum repeatedly attempted to grab or knock the phone from his hands on Sept. 27, 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Tennessee",
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"election"
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"Phil Williams (WTVF)"
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{
"title": "Police union sues Las Vegas Review-Journal over jail video",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-union-sues-las-vegas-review-journal-over-jail-video/",
"first_published_at": "2024-04-04T15:32:15.158549Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-03T19:45:18.215411Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-03T19:45:18.063521Z",
"date": "2023-09-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Las Vegas",
"longitude": -115.13722,
"latitude": 36.17497,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5jgo0\">A Nevada police union filed a lawsuit against the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sept. 27, 2023, seeking an injunction requiring the newspaper to unpublish or censor footage and photos from inside the Henderson Detention Center, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"f0860\">The Review-Journal <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/henderson-jailers-get-millions-in-overtime-but-still-make-critical-mistakes-2907703/\">published a story</a> on Sept. 20 about millions of dollars paid in overtime and mistakes made by overworked corrections officers. Two days later, the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers — a union representing Henderson officers, among others — sent a letter to the Review-Journal and Henderson city officials demanding that pictures and video obtained and published by the newspaper be edited to blur the officers’ faces, according to court filings. The union also called on the city to investigate the source of the leaked footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"51mu2\">“Frankly, it is quite distressing that both the newspaper and City have not already taken the steps outlined above,” NAPSO Executive Director Andrew Regenbaum wrote. “The officers who protect Henderson, indeed all peace officers throughout Nevada, should not have to worry that their safety and privacy would wantonly be jeopardized by the dissemination and cavalier use of their personal identities for ‘sensational’ motives.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cnqr7\">The newspaper declined to alter or replace its published work, defending its reporting as being in the public interest. NAPSO filed its lawsuit a few days later, asserting that the Review-Journal broke a <a href=\"https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-289.html#NRS289Sec025\">state law</a> dictating that images of officers in the possession of a law enforcement agency are confidential and “may be released” if the officer authorizes it or if the officer has been arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"f9qo8\">Benjamin Lipman, the newspaper’s chief legal officer, <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/police-union-sues-review-journal-over-henderson-jail-video-2913167/\">told the outlet</a> that the lawsuit is baseless. “The statute that the union is suing under does not put any restrictions on the public, and if it were to apply to the public, it would violate the protections provided by the First Amendment,” Lipman said.</p><p data-block-key=\"23a0m\">On Oct. 2, District Judge Mark Denton ruled against issuing a temporary restraining order, finding that the union had not proven that its members face irreparable harm or injury.</p><p data-block-key=\"f4e2p\">Two weeks later, Denton denied NAPSO’s request for an injunction that would have required the Review-Journal to take down or alter its video or photos. Executive Editor Glenn Cook commended the Oct. 16 decision in a <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/judge-sides-with-rj-in-legal-battle-over-police-video-2922862/\">statement to the newspaper</a>, saying, “Today’s ruling was affirmation that press freedoms are enshrined in the First Amendment for an important reason: The government and public employees can’t tell the media what to publish and not publish.”</p><p data-block-key=\"frd2n\">After joining NAPSO as a plaintiff in early October, the City of Henderson <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/investigations/henderson-to-pay-review-journal-20k-in-legal-battle-over-police-video-2965015/\">settled its claims</a> against the Review-Journal on Dec. 13, agreeing to pay the newspaper $20,000 in legal fees.</p><p data-block-key=\"2q08m\">On Dec. 21, Denton denied the newspaper’s motion to dismiss the case under the state’s <a href=\"https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-041.html#NRS041Sec660\">anti-SLAPP law</a>, which argued that the case was filed in an attempt to chill the Review-Journal’s First Amendment rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"1r7s7\">William Schuller, an attorney representing the union, told the Tracker that they are no longer seeking an injunction and are only pursuing a decision from the court on whether the law enforcement confidentiality statute applies to third parties, such as the Review-Journal.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebsb6\">“Either the media has an absolute right to publish anything it wants at any time in any manner with no restraints or it doesn’t,” Schuller said. “And our position, obviously, is that it doesn’t.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5i4dr\">The Review-Journal appealed Denton’s ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court on Feb. 8, 2024. Attorney Lipman told the Tracker that if upheld, Denton’s decision could create a large loophole in the state’s anti-SLAPP law, but he is hopeful that the Supreme Court will reverse the denial.</p><p data-block-key=\"coog6\">“I think our arguments are very strong and with that I have high hopes that we will prevail,” Lipman said. “It’s a shame that all of this time and money is being wasted on a case that is simply seeking to shut down the ability of the press and the public to discuss issues of public concern.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jl341\">A portion of the lawsuit filed by a Nevada police union against the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sept. 27, 2023, which sought an injunction requiring the newspaper to take down published footage from inside the Henderson Detention Center.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Nevada",
"abbreviation": "NV"
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"updates": [
"(2025-02-26 00:00:00+00:00) Court says suit against Las Vegas Review-Journal could be retaliatory"
],
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"Las Vegas Review-Journal"
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"Chilling Statement"
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},
{
"title": "New Hampshire reporter subpoenaed over defamation suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-hampshire-reporter-subpoenaed-over-defamation-suit/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-06T21:32:54.456250Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-06T21:32:54.456250Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-06T21:32:54.373378Z",
"date": "2023-09-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Concord",
"longitude": -71.53757,
"latitude": 43.20814,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jj9yz\">New Hampshire reporter Robert Blechl and a family-owned New England newspaper he works for were subpoenaed on Sept. 25, 2023, over Blechl’s coverage of a civil suit involving a local activist and an interstate waste management company, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"6pj3u\">The subpoenas, served to Blechl and the Caledonian Record, a daily covering northeastern Vermont and northern New Hampshire, were withdrawn on Oct. 6, the attorney representing them, Gregory Sullivan, told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ffn9\">According to an account by <a href=\"https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-10-13/nh-reporter-subpoenaed-in-ongoing-legal-battle-between-waste-company-and-activist?mibextid=S66gvF\">New Hampshire Public Radio</a>, lawyers for Casella Waste Systems Inc. claimed that a <a href=\"https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/local/casella-drops-defamation-lawsuit-against-dalton-landfill-opponent/article_763dc91b-54c8-5171-8e11-91909345872a.html\">May 18 article</a> by Blechl misrepresented the settlement of its defamation suit against Jon Swan, who had been fighting a proposed landfill in New Hampshire. A review of court documents indicates the firm was seeking testimony and all of Blechl’s notes and communications with Swan related to the litigation and his May 18 report.</p><p data-block-key=\"19aui\">In a Sept. 29 affidavit describing his newsgathering, however, Blechl said that Swan had refused to speak to him about the litigation, so Blechl had relied strictly on public records.</p><p data-block-key=\"88o1d\">Sullivan told the Tracker that in his Sept. 29 motion to quash the subpoenas, he argued that New Hampshire law protects the news media from having to share sources and that neither Blechl nor the Record possessed any of the information that Casella was seeking.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad6g1\">“It is well-settled law that requiring reporters and publishers to respond to subpoenas and to appear for depositions has a chilling effect on the news gathering and publishing processes,” Sullivan wrote in his motion. “When, as in this case, no valid basis for the subpoenas exists, the First Amendment and … the New Hampshire Constitution mandate the quashing of the issued subpoenas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"15sea\">According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, while New Hampshire does not have<a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/new-hampshire/\"> a shield law</a>, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has recognized a qualified constitutional privilege to protect the identity of confidential news sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"a6n9n\">Although the subpoenas were dropped after they were issued, Sullivan said the fact that they were instigated in the first place creates a chilling effect on the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"4rnkc\">“Anytime a news media organization, or one of its reporters, is subpoenaed, and it’s not a necessary subpoena, it is an unfortunate situation, certainly for the paper,” he told the Tracker. “It's a significant amount of money for a small newspaper to incur based upon what we felt were frivolous attempts to get information.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dqsnk\">Screenshot of the subpoena served on Caledonian Record reporter Robert Blechl on Sept. 25, 2023.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Hampshire",
"abbreviation": "NH"
},
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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},
{
"title": "New England newspaper subpoenaed over defamation suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-england-newspaper-subpoenaed-over-defamation-suit/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-06T21:24:41.674421Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-06T21:24:41.674421Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-06T21:24:41.576793Z",
"date": "2023-09-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Concord",
"longitude": -71.53757,
"latitude": 43.20814,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2j55o\">A family-owned New England newspaper and its New Hampshire reporter Robert Blechl were subpoenaed on Sept. 25, 2023, over Blechl’s coverage of a civil suit involving a local activist and an interstate waste management company, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbkjv\">The subpoenas, served to Blechl and the Caledonian Record, a daily covering northeastern Vermont and northern New Hampshire, were withdrawn on Oct. 6, the attorney representing them, Gregory Sullivan, told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"erqkg\">According to an account by <a href=\"https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-10-13/nh-reporter-subpoenaed-in-ongoing-legal-battle-between-waste-company-and-activist?mibextid=S66gvF\">New Hampshire Public Radio</a>, lawyers for Casella Waste Systems Inc. claimed that a <a href=\"https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/local/casella-drops-defamation-lawsuit-against-dalton-landfill-opponent/article_763dc91b-54c8-5171-8e11-91909345872a.html\">May 18 article</a> by Blechl misrepresented the settlement of its defamation suit against Jon Swan, who had been fighting a proposed landfill in New Hampshire. A review of court documents indicates the firm was seeking testimony and all of Blechl’s notes and communications with Swan related to the litigation and his May 18 report.</p><p data-block-key=\"dvpcm\">In a Sept. 29 affidavit describing his newsgathering, however, Blechl said that Swan had refused to speak to him about the litigation, so he had relied strictly on public records.</p><p data-block-key=\"3asc1\">Sullivan told the Tracker that in his Sept. 29 motion to quash the subpoenas, he argued that New Hampshire law protects the news media from having to share sources and that neither Blechl nor the Record possessed any of the information that Casella was seeking.</p><p data-block-key=\"d152o\">“It is well-settled law that requiring reporters and publishers to respond to subpoenas and to appear for depositions has a chilling effect on the news gathering and publishing processes,” Sullivan wrote in his motion. “When, as in this case, no valid basis for the subpoenas exists, the First Amendment and … the New Hampshire Constitution mandate the quashing of the issued subpoenas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9rlff\">According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, while New Hampshire does not have<a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/new-hampshire/\"> a shield law</a>, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has recognized a qualified constitutional privilege to protect the identity of confidential news sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"1q2nb\">Although the subpoenas were dropped after they were issued, Sullivan said the fact that they were instigated in the first place creates a chilling effect on the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"fp7h1\">“Anytime a news media organization, or one of its reporters, is subpoenaed, and it's not a necessary subpoena, it is an unfortunate situation, certainly for the paper,” he told the Tracker. “It's a significant amount of money for a small newspaper to incur based upon what we felt were frivolous attempts to get information.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qvedn\">Screenshot of the subpoena served on the Caledonian Record on Sept. 25, 2023.</p>",
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"name": "New Hampshire",
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{
"title": "Man leaves fake bomb outside Ohio newspaper offices",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-leaves-fake-bomb-outside-ohio-newspaper-offices/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-20T14:31:21.344529Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-23T15:27:54.580975Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-23T15:27:54.477728Z",
"date": "2023-09-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Elyria",
"longitude": -82.10765,
"latitude": 41.36838,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f37p2\">An Ohio man left a mailbox, lighter fluid and a note that said, “Bomb Don’t Touch,” outside the entrance to offices of The Chronicle-Telegram in the metro Cleveland area city of Elyria, Ohio, on Sept. 24, 2023, the newspaper <a href=\"https://chroniclet.com/news/366844/elyria-twp-man-charged-with-felony-in-threat-at-chronicle-telegram-sunday/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"egcjo\">Elyria police and firefighters, along with the Lorain County bomb squad, investigated the items and did not find any explosives.</p><p data-block-key=\"fqn8d\">The next day, local resident Robert S. Reynolds Jr. turned himself in at the Lorain County Sheriff's Office and admitted to leaving the items, the newspaper reported. He was charged by the Lorain County prosecutor with inducing panic, a felony, and taken into custody and held without bond.</p><p data-block-key=\"cht8s\">A detective told the paper that Reynolds threatened the publication because he “was upset about coverage of his family earlier this year in the Chronicle.” Reynolds’ father owns a drive-through restaurant in the adjacent Elyria Township; the paper has reported on several complaints by the restaurant’s customers about racist remarks allegedly made by both Reynolds and his father.</p><p data-block-key=\"5rsf0\">“He was mad about our work,” the Chronicle-Telegram’s managing editor, Julie Wallace, told the Tracker via email. She added that the paper has not made any changes to safety protocols since the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9gbn\">“Our building was remodeled and added onto in about 2008 and many safety precautions were added at that time,” Wallace said. “We are safe.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "Ohio",
"abbreviation": "OH"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"The Chronicle-Telegram"
],
"tags": [
"bomb / bomb threat"
],
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist assaulted filming Iranian delegation's New York visit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-assaulted-filming-iranian-delegations-new-york-visit/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-06T19:54:12.193869Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-06T19:54:12.193869Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-06T19:54:05.817304Z",
"date": "2023-09-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j69c7\">A correspondent for Iran International was assaulted on Sept. 20, 2023, in New York City by an official from the delegation of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to the London-based, Persian-language TV news service.</p><p data-block-key=\"c19a7\">Iran International <a href=\"https://www.iranintl.com/en/202309217257\">reports</a> that a protocol officer from Raisi’s entourage attempted to wrest correspondent Kian Amani’s cellphone from his hands as the journalist filmed the Iranian president departing a midtown Manhattan hotel. Raisi was in New York City that week for the U.N. General Assembly.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmort\">Iran International <a href=\"https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/1704698596128403521?s=20\">posted a video</a> of the encounter with footage from Amani’s phone and from another person, who recorded it from a different angle.</p><p data-block-key=\"caqss\">In Amani’s video, a man from Raisi’s delegation is seen approaching him while asking in Farsi why he is taking the video and demanding that he show his press credentials, according to a <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/middleeast/iran-international-journalist-attack-new-york-intl-hnk/index.html\">CNN account</a>. Amani tells the man in English not to touch him and identifies himself as a journalist before a scuffle ensues.</p><p data-block-key=\"5pq3l\">In the other video, the assailant is seen attempting to pry Amani’s phone from his hands before a number of people, identified as hotel staff by Iran International, begin to intervene.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ivc2\">“Don’t touch him!” a woman said repeatedly to the man struggling physically with Amani. The scuffle ceased and the assailant departed from the scene.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BREAKING</a> An Iranian official from President Raisi's delegation attacked Iran International's correspondent, Kian Amani, outside the Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza Hotel on Wednesday. Amani was capturing footage of them exiting the hotel. The security team finally… <a href=\"https://t.co/WH65JRb11P\">pic.twitter.com/WH65JRb11P</a></p>— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/IranIntl_En/status/1704698596128403521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 21, 2023</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jg9vr\">The next day, Abram Paley, the U.S. State Department’s deputy special envoy for Iran, <a href=\"https://x.com/USEnvoyIran/status/1704989989149233200?s=20\">posted a statement</a> condemning “the apparent harassment and intimidation of several journalists on US soil.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9p3jk\">A State Department official also <a href=\"https://www.iranintl.com/en/202309228107\">told Iran International</a> that they "have seen reports of threats, and assault on, an Iran International journalist by a member of the Iranian delegation. The behavior seen in the video footage is unacceptable."</p><p data-block-key=\"3ve21\">A representative from Iran International contacted by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker did not say if the incident was reported to police. The New York City Police Department also did not confirm if a report was filed. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Amani_screengrab_100623.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"azrro\">A journalist for Iran International, third from left, had his phone grabbed at by an Iranian official in New York on Sept. 20, during a visit by Iran’s president.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
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"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kian Amani (Iran International)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Judge orders journalist to turn over source communications",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-orders-journalist-to-turn-over-source-communications/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-24T18:29:45.173635Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-05T16:46:20.253039Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-05T16:02:54.899567Z",
"date": "2023-09-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Pittsburgh",
"longitude": -79.99589,
"latitude": 40.44062,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6phy9\">A Pennsylvania judge granted a motion on Sept. 14, 2023, to compel journalist Mike Elk to disclose his correspondence with former sources, according to court documents reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"f6gkv\">The motion by the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America and union officials Jon Schleuss, Fatima Hussein and Steve Cook was made as part of Elk’s defamation suit against the NewsGuild, the Pittsburgh NewsGuild and four individual defendants.</p><p data-block-key=\"74agq\">Elk subsequently objected to the NewsGuild’s requests on Oct. 16, so a ruling by the judge now awaits, Poynter <a href=\"https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2023/newsguild-seeks-a-reporters-confidential-sources-as-it-faces-defamation-suit/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"af3hm\">Elk, senior labor reporter and founder of the news site <a href=\"https://paydayreport.com/\">Payday Report</a>, had <a href=\"https://paydayreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Final-Complaint.pdf\">sued</a> the NewsGuild, the country’s largest journalists’ union, and other defendants in June 2021. He made claims against the NewsGuild for defamation, breach of contract, fraud and assault, alleging that the union mishandled its response to his investigation into sexual harassment allegations against then-president of the Pittsburgh NewsGuild Michael Fuoco. The NewsGuild and other defendants have denied Elk’s claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"8en1b\">In September 2022, the NewsGuild sought information on Elk’s investigation methods, as well as for the names of and his communications with the sources who told him about the harassment allegations.</p><p data-block-key=\"54bf0\">Elk was also asked to identify “every individual associated with the New York Times that you have communicated with regarding the lawsuit and the allegations” within his complaint (former New York Times columnist Ben Smith <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/06/business/media/pittsburgh-post-gazette-news-guild.html\">wrote</a> about Elk’s investigation in December 2020).</p><p data-block-key=\"ci54m\">After Elk refused to comply, the NewsGuild filed a <a href=\"https://www.poynter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Motion-to-Compel.pdf\">motion to compel discovery responses</a> from him, which the judge granted.</p><p data-block-key=\"6h138\">Elk argues in his responses to the NewsGuild that these communications are protected by the First Amendment and <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/pennsylvania/#a-shield-law-statute\">Pennsylvania Shield Law</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3arf\">In an emailed response to the Tracker’s request for comment, Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild, said: “We have no inherent interest in obtaining Elk’s communications regarding the New York Times reporting, other than to defend against Elk’s baseless legal claims. We have not sought, and will not seek any discovery from the New York Times or from any of its current or former reporters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e9hrr\">Elk told the Tracker he is scheduled to be deposed by the NewsGuild on Nov. 13.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-12-01 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist settles NewsGuild suit; No longer required to turn over source communications"
],
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"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mike Elk (Payday Report)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Miami mayor tries to grab phone from reporter’s hands",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/miami-mayor-tries-to-grab-phone-from-reporters-hands/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-21T20:33:05.960893Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-09-22T14:07:18.545970Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-09-22T14:07:18.432166Z",
"date": "2023-09-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Miami",
"longitude": -80.19366,
"latitude": 25.77427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"26wsy\">Miami Mayor Francis Suarez attempted to “snatch” the phone from Miami Herald investigative reporter Sarah Blaskey’s hands at City Hall on Sept. 9, 2023, after she asked him about a complaint being investigated by the state ethics commission.</p><p data-block-key=\"97g6q\">The Herald <a href=\"https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article279367734.html\">reported</a> that Blaskey approached Suarez in a hallway outside a city budget hearing and asked him about his multiday appearance at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix using tickets provided by a hedge fund executive. Suarez initially told Blaskey that once she made an appointment with his assistant he’d be happy to speak with her.</p><p data-block-key=\"ftp5b\">In <a href=\"https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article279370389.html\">footage of the interaction</a>, Blaskey then appeared to tilt her phone up in order to capture Suarez’s face, at which point the mayor noticed that he was being filmed and attempted to grab the device from her hands. A sergeant-at-arms who serves as his bodyguard intervened and acknowledged Blaskey’s right to record, according to the Herald.</p><p data-block-key=\"2u9a3\">Blaskey seemed visibly shaken by the interaction in her footage, but persisted in asking Suarez about whether he had been approached by federal investigators and how much he paid back for the tickets.</p><p data-block-key=\"f0105\">Following the incident, the mayor’s office <a href=\"https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/miami-mayor-francis-suarez-responds-to-video-of-heated-exchange-with-miami-herald-reporter/3113652/\">released this statement</a>: "Mayor Francis Suarez has repeatedly answered questions from the local newspaper about the Formula One (F1) event. Last Saturday, after having answered several questions on the subject, without prior notice and unnecessarily, the reporter placed her cell phone inches from the mayor's personal space, who was surprised and, as any human being would react, moved the device away from his face.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3uct3\">The mayor’s office did not respond to an emailed request for further comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"fb6ro\">In a <a href=\"https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/from-the-editor/article279469484.html\">column for the newspaper</a>, Herald Executive Editor Alex Mena condemned Suarez’s attempt to grab the phone from Blaskey, stating that, “Any kind of physical interaction with our reporters is not acceptable.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eveqv\">Mena also criticized the mayor’s response to the incident, noting that more than half of the outlet’s 55 requests for comment from the mayor have gone unanswered.</p><p data-block-key=\"7obe6\">“The mayor has since misrepresented to other news outlets his willingness to speak with our reporters, with his office issuing a statement saying the mayor has ‘repeatedly responded’ to the Miami Herald’s questions and that Saturday’s confrontation occurred after he answered ‘several questions on the topic,’” Mena wrote. “In fact, Suarez answered none of our questions that day — until our reporters confronted him with a camera rolling.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f4tgp\">Senior Managing Editor Dana Banker told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Suarez has not apologized to Blaskey, but agreed to meet with leadership from the Herald on Sept. 22.</p><p data-block-key=\"8bq3h\">“[Blaskey] was shaken up and understandably so,” Banker said. “We want to get with the mayor and talk this through tomorrow. ... It was 100% unacceptable and we’re going to make that clear.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fve6v\">Banker added: “At the end of the day we’re just going to keep digging and we’re going to let our reporting speak for itself. But it definitely is not going to chill anything we’re doing here at the Herald.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3a5ut\"><i>Editor's Note: This article has been updated to clarify that two ethics complaints were filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. One of the complaints, before the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, was dismissed after it was found to be legally insufficient. A second complaint is under investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q7yce\">Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, pictured here speaking at an event in February 2023, attempted to ‘snatch’ the phone from Miami Herald investigative reporter Sarah Blaskey when she asked him a question outside a budget hearing on Sept. 9, 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
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"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": "politician",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Florida",
"abbreviation": "FL"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sarah Blaskey (Miami Herald)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Chicago TV reporter attacked while livestreaming",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-tv-reporter-attacked-while-livestreaming/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-21T15:29:16.303109Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-09-21T15:29:16.303109Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-09-21T15:11:54.224225Z",
"date": "2023-09-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"byfuo\">A Univision Chicago journalist was assaulted and threatened by an unidentified man during a live shoot on Sept. 6, 2023. She was uninjured and police are searching for a suspect.</p><p data-block-key=\"7vcjg\">According to a <a href=\"https://cwbchicago.com/2023/09/chicago-univision-tv-news-reporter-assaulted-south-loop-live-stream.html\">report by CWBChicago</a>, the unnamed TV reporter and a camera operator were streaming on Facebook Live from a shopping center in the city’s South Loop around 7:45 p.m. when the man approached her, grabbed her, tried to grab her phone and said: “You know I could kill you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"960mj\">The Chicago Police Department Office of Communications also confirmed the report, adding that a witness intervened and the man fled the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"a5tqi\">The incident was filmed, according to CWBChicago, but it has since been taken down from the internet.</p><p data-block-key=\"4voin\">Raza Siddiqui, president of NABET-CWA Local 41, the union representing broadcast technicians in Chicago, said in light of this assault and at least two others in the Chicago area involving members of the media, he has now met with Univision representatives and camera operators regarding safety.</p><p data-block-key=\"ep4i3\">“We have discussed the measures we are going to take to make safety a priority in covering news in Chicago, along with empowering our news crews to know that they have the final discretion” to determine whether a scene is safe and to continue coverage, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via email.</p><p data-block-key=\"hndd\">For example, Siddiqui told the Tracker, stations may choose to forgo a live shot and rely on doing a “look live” — when a reporter appears to be live in the field but tapes their introduction or a part of their package in the studio or at another location.</p><p data-block-key=\"6s3mt\">He said the union is also planning on meeting with other broadcast unions to express concerns and consider safety steps.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l7q7\">The Sept. 6 assault is the third incident in a month in Chicago involving members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"7crc\">On Aug. 8, a WLS-TV <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wls-tv-photographer-assaulted-phones-stolen-vehicle-damaged/\">videographer</a> attending a press conference on Chicago’s West Side was robbed and two phones he had inside his vehicle were stolen. Then, on Aug. 28, a different Univision <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-reporter-photographer-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-chicago/\">reporter</a> and a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-photographer-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-chicago/\">cameraperson</a> were robbed at gunpoint and a TV station camera stolen while the crew was preparing to file a report from the city’s North Side about its robbery problem.</p><p data-block-key=\"9om7f\">There were no injuries and no suspects have been named in either case, police said. Neither police nor Siddiqui identified any of the news crews involved in the incidents.</p></div>",
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"name": "Illinois",
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{
"title": "Videographer assaulted at NY migrant housing protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-assaulted-at-ny-migrant-housing-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-15T14:29:42.104974Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-21T22:07:12.341268Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-21T22:07:12.223472Z",
"date": "2023-09-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1xscc\">A New York-based journalist said he was assaulted on Sept. 5, 2023, while covering a protest against a migrant shelter.</p><p data-block-key=\"751fv\">Lukasz Matyja <a href=\"https://twitter.com/L2FTV/status/1699221516548812970\">posted</a> that he was “mini assaulted/groped” and “accosted” while filming at the former St. John Villa Academy in Staten Island, where a crowd had gathered to oppose its use to house asylum seekers.</p><p data-block-key=\"12mst\">The independent videographer journalist, who documented the press violation with a<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-zF84Tdjc\"> video</a> shared on YouTube, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was not injured nor his equipment damaged. He did not file a police report and was not seeking to press charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"eob4e\">Matyja, who told the Tracker that he was wearing New York press credentials while covering the protest as a freelancer, said that he contributes breaking news footage of crime scenes, fires and unusual incidents to<a href=\"https://freedomnews.tv/\"> the news agency Freedomnews.TV</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gc8i\">The incident began when he started filming a photographer being criticized by the crowd for wearing a face mask. “As I was filming her, a man approached me, started licking his fingers and tried to smudge my camera lens,” Matyja said via email. “The man tried smudging my camera a few times and eventually I boxed him away from my camera with my body and swatted his hand away.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1i29o\">A group of people then surrounded Matyja. “That is when I got accosted by others. … People started bumping into me on purpose and screaming at me. After that, they chased me off of the event. I was called a ‘rat’ for filming that scene,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"f38nt\">Of the incident, Matyja wrote in a YouTube post that he wasn't hurt, but would need to attend to his camera. “I will most likely have to disinfect my camera really well now,” he wrote.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6vccf\">A man seeks to block news videographer Lukasz Matyja from capturing footage of protesters haranguing another photographer at a rally in Staten Island, New York.</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Lukasz Matyja (Freelance)"
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{
"title": "Media barred from identifying officer working DeSantis security",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/media-barred-from-identifying-officer-working-desantis-security/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-30T20:30:54.001585Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-30T20:30:54.001585Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-30T20:30:49.205351Z",
"date": "2023-08-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Miami",
"longitude": -80.19366,
"latitude": 25.77427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vl8kg\">A Florida circuit court judge issued a prior restraint on Aug. 30, 2023, barring members of the press from publishing anything that might identify an officer who had provided security for Gov. Ron DeSantis.</p><p data-block-key=\"fop9q\">The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by Grant Stern, the executive editor of the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats, after he and a columnist were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-occupy-democrats-journalists-barred-from-desantis-press-conference/\">barred by a plainclothes officer</a> from attending the governor’s Sept. 22, 2022, press conference at Miami Dade College.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg1n0\">The officer, who refused to identify himself at the time, filmed the pair of journalists on a cellphone and ordered a uniformed officer to remove them from the building. Stern made an on-the-spot records request for a copy of the recording and ultimately filed a formal records request to identify the plainclothes officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"e8jcl\">The Miami Police Department refused to identify the officer, asserting that he was working undercover, as distinct from simply in civilian clothes, and was therefore exempt from such disclosures. Stern filed the lawsuit in October 2022 challenging the decision.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bgip\">During a hearing on Aug. 30, 2023, Circuit Court Judge Migna Sanchez-Llorens told the parties she would reserve judgment on the distinction. Attorneys for the city then asked that — if the judge were to rule that the officer was working undercover — the images and videos filed as evidence in the suit be sealed, redacted or blurred out to protect his identity.</p><p data-block-key=\"8dn66\">Sanchez-Llorens noted an objection raised by Stern’s attorney but heard no arguments before ruling that Stern’s photograph and any other identifiers of the officer would be placed under seal until she ruled on the question of his status.</p><p data-block-key=\"4hj75\">The following day, the judge expanded the gag order to include all media and said that no one should disclose the identity of the officer. “This means that all persons shall refrain from releasing name, photos, or badge number of the undercover agent,” Sanchez-Llorens wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"25hve\">“[The judge] did all of that without briefing, motion, nothing,” Stern told the Tracker. “They [city’s attorneys] merely suggested, just to get a sense of the court, if they could get a further order after the ruling. That’s all they asked for. She went ahead and did the rest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dvm19\">Stern told the Tracker that there is virtually no limit on how long the judge can reserve judgment, and that he and other media will remain gagged until she issues a ruling.</p><p data-block-key=\"4gokl\">“This is two out of the three branches of Florida government now censoring this,” Stern said. “If the state doesn’t want you around they exercise every lever of government to prevent state officials from facing tough questions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9cu6a\">Stern subsequently filed a motion asking the judge to recuse herself from the case, arguing that not only did she issue her order without following proper procedure but had also prejudged that the officer was working undercover, showing bias in the case. Sanchez-Llorens denied the motion, which Stern has since appealed to the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"axs4l\">A portion of the order, filed Aug. 31, 2023, ordering Occupy Democrats’ Executive Editor Grant Stern and all other media not to publish photos or other identifying information for a police officer who had worked security for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.</p>",
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"status_of_prior_restraint": "pending",
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Florida",
"abbreviation": "FL"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
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"tags": [],
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"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats)"
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{
"title": "Univision reporter, photographer robbed at gunpoint in Chicago",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-reporter-photographer-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-chicago/",
"first_published_at": "2023-08-31T19:37:44.877626Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-09-21T15:51:42.879986Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-09-21T15:51:42.704876Z",
"date": "2023-08-28",
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"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1qfrh\">A Univision news crew was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 28, 2023, while reporting on a spike in armed robbery in the city’s North Side. A broadcast camera and the journalists’ personal belongings were taken but the station said they were uninjured, <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-chicago-tv-news-crew-robbed-20230828-nm6dm6kzabcwbmprlfyyd77cz4-story.html\">according to the Chicago Tribune</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bibv4\">The reporter and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-photographer-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-chicago/\">photographer</a> were preparing to do a live shot in the neighborhood of Wicker Park shortly before 5 a.m. when two vehicles approached them, the Tribune reported. The Chicago Police Department told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that three individuals donning ski masks and displaying firearms robbed them. The police said that the incident is under investigation and no arrests have been made.</p><p data-block-key=\"f49lv\">Univision Chicago Vice President of News Luis Felipe Godinez told the Tribune that the journalists were uninjured, though equipment was taken.</p><p data-block-key=\"453k\">“Mainly it was personal items, and they took a camera,” Godinez said, adding that the station is not identifying the journalists in order to protect their privacy.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dnuj\">When <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/08/28/tv-news-crew-robbed-in-wicker-park-while-reporting-on-spike-in-armed-robberies/\">contacted by Block Club Chicago</a>, the reporter — who asked to remain anonymous — confirmed that the camera was the only item of value stolen and called the robbery “total irony.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bujob\">“As a journalist, you never want to be the story, right? You’re reporting on the story but you never think that you can become the story,” he said. “So I guess it’s another reminder of how important it is to keep doing these stories and to keep pressure on our local authorities to try to prevent more events like that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"20geb\">The incident was the second robbery of journalists in Chicago in less than a month — a WLS-TV photographer was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wls-tv-photographer-assaulted-phones-stolen-vehicle-damaged/\">assaulted and robbed</a> while preparing to cover a news conference on Aug. 8, the station <a href=\"https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-shooting-east-garfield-park-reward-reverend-paul-jakes/13619841/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1htb5\">Raza Siddiqui, president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Local 41, which represents TV photographers in Chicago, <a href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2023/8/28/23850057/chicago-tv-news-crew-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-reporting-on-armed-robberies\">told the Chicago Sun-Times</a> that the union is arranging a safety meeting for members to voice concerns about the dangers they are increasingly facing.</p><p data-block-key=\"1d35d\">“We want to make sure that we provide a longer-lasting solution, that we work not only with management but our members, and make sure that we read some protocols that everyone is happy with and feels can be a workable solution,” Siddiqui said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5q8vg\">Some Chicago news stations have begun to implement additional security measures in the meantime, Siddiqui added, including hiring security for some TV crews.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"aljae\">Motorists and pedestrians navigate the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, in this 2020 file photo. A Univision news crew was robbed at gunpoint on Aug. 28, 2023, while preparing for a live shoot in the area.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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},
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"robbery"
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],
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"Unidentified reporter 5 (WGBO-DT)"
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{
"title": "Univision photographer, reporter robbed at gunpoint in Chicago",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-photographer-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-chicago/",
"first_published_at": "2023-08-31T19:39:21.677053Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-10-27T21:03:14.202440Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-10-27T21:03:14.045674Z",
"date": "2023-08-28",
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"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1op7u\">A Univision news crew was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 28, 2023, while reporting on a spike in armed robbery in the city’s North Side. A broadcast camera and the journalists’ personal belongings were taken but the station said they were uninjured, <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-chicago-tv-news-crew-robbed-20230828-nm6dm6kzabcwbmprlfyyd77cz4-story.html\">according to the Chicago Tribune</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"foftd\">The photographer and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-reporter-photographer-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-chicago/\">reporter</a> were preparing to do a live shot in the neighborhood of Wicker Park shortly before 5 a.m. when two vehicles approached them, the Tribune reported. The Chicago Police Department told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that three individuals donning ski masks and displaying firearms robbed them. The police said that the incident is under investigation and no arrests have been made.</p><p data-block-key=\"fgq57\">Univision Chicago Vice President of News Luis Felipe Godinez told the Tribune that the journalists were uninjured, though equipment was taken.</p><p data-block-key=\"4asg6\">“Mainly it was personal items, and they took a camera,” Godinez said, adding that the station is not identifying the journalists in order to protect their privacy.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffrps\">When <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/08/28/tv-news-crew-robbed-in-wicker-park-while-reporting-on-spike-in-armed-robberies/\">contacted by Block Club Chicago</a>, the reporter — who asked to remain anonymous — confirmed that the camera was the only item of value stolen and called the robbery “total irony.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1sf2j\">“As a journalist, you never want to be the story, right? You’re reporting on the story but you never think that you can become the story,” he said. “So I guess it’s another reminder of how important it is to keep doing these stories and to keep pressure on our local authorities to try to prevent more events like that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"60ul0\">The incident was the second robbery of journalists in Chicago in less than a month — a WLS-TV photographer was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wls-tv-photographer-assaulted-phones-stolen-vehicle-damaged/\">assaulted and robbed</a> while preparing to cover a news conference on Aug. 8, the station <a href=\"https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-shooting-east-garfield-park-reward-reverend-paul-jakes/13619841/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3pffk\">Raza Siddiqui, president of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Local 41, which represents TV photographers in Chicago, <a href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2023/8/28/23850057/chicago-tv-news-crew-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-reporting-on-armed-robberies\">told the Chicago Sun-Times</a> that the union is arranging a safety meeting for members to voice concerns about the dangers they are increasingly facing.</p><p data-block-key=\"cs0o7\">“We want to make sure that we provide a longer-lasting solution, that we work not only with management but our members, and make sure that we read some protocols that everyone is happy with and feels can be a workable solution,” Siddiqui said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ap4pj\">Some Chicago news stations have begun to implement additional security measures in the meantime, Siddiqui added, including hiring security for some TV crews.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xstb1\">Motorists and pedestrians navigate the Wicker Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, in this 2020 file photo. A Univision news crew was robbed at gunpoint on Aug. 28, 2023, while preparing for a live shoot in the area.</p>",
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{
"title": "ProPublica reporter subpoenaed over IRS suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-reporter-subpoenaed-over-irs-suit/",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6b25v\">ProPublica and five of its journalists — including reporter Paul Kiel — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"ev33b\">Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.</p><p data-block-key=\"89gl6\">A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"babra\">“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6us7t\">ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.</p><p data-block-key=\"2vea4\">A <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155.36.0.pdf\">joint status report</a> filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2023-08-22&date_upper=2023-08-22&targeted_institutions=ProPublica&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">journalists subpoenaed</a> as Kiel; former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "ProPublica senior data reporter subpoenaed over IRS lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-senior-data-reporter-subpoenaed-over-irs-lawsuit/",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vyhp6\">ProPublica and five of its journalists — including senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"decn0\">Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.</p><p data-block-key=\"bhiat\">A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"8dt7j\">“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ejc5b\">ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.</p><p data-block-key=\"1e8ce\">A <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155.36.0.pdf\">joint status report</a> filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2023-08-22&date_upper=2023-08-22&targeted_institutions=ProPublica&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">journalists subpoenaed</a> as Ernsthausen; former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Former ProPublica reporter subpoenaed over IRS lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-propublica-reporter-subpoenaed-over-irs-lawsuit/",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7rahu\">ProPublica and five of its journalists — including former reporter Mick Dumke — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"8eap5\">Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bl38\">A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"abref\">“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f8e2m\">ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcvhe\">A <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155.36.0.pdf\">joint status report</a> filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Dumke, who left the outlet in December 2022; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "ProPublica journalist subpoenaed over IRS lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-journalist-subpoenaed-over-irs-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-29T17:08:21.320043Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a3p71\">ProPublica and five of its journalists — including reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"d4ltr\">Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.</p><p data-block-key=\"3svru\">A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"2elt2\">“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4nhug\">ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.</p><p data-block-key=\"46ljv\">A <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155.36.0.pdf\">joint status report</a> filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2023-08-22&date_upper=2023-08-22&targeted_institutions=ProPublica&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">journalists subpoenaed</a> as Ngu, former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; and reporter Paul Kiel. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "ProPublica senior editor subpoenaed over IRS lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-senior-editor-subpoenaed-over-irs-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-29T17:11:29.940931Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-09-29T17:11:29.940931Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rfvzw\">ProPublica and five of its journalists — including senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"cf373\">Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.</p><p data-block-key=\"8stqs\">A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"5f35s\">“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hcfu\">ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.</p><p data-block-key=\"4e3td\">A <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155.36.0.pdf\">joint status report</a> filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2023-08-22&date_upper=2023-08-22&targeted_institutions=ProPublica&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">journalists subpoenaed</a> as Eisinger, former reporter Mick Dumke; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Independent journalist repeatedly assaulted while documenting LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-repeatedly-assaulted-while-documenting-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2023-12-06T20:49:52.341883Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ravdf\">Independent journalist Vishal Singh was repeatedly assaulted while reporting on a protest against the Los Angeles Unified School District on Aug. 22, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"7kkt1\">Singh, who uses they/he pronouns, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that demonstrators they characterized as anti-LGBTQ+ marched from City Hall to the district’s headquarters to call for greater limits on education about the LGBTQ+ community. The school board was holding its first meeting of the new school year that day, <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/who-are-the-people-behind-leave-our-kids-alone-and-why-do-they-want-to-limit-lgbtq-education/\">according to CBS News</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"99tfs\">While following the march, Singh deliberately kept at a distance from the participants, staying about a block behind.</p><p data-block-key=\"60v7r\">“As I was doing that, there were three separate incidents where I got kind of picked out and attacked, primarily by the same individual,” Singh said.</p><p data-block-key=\"27il5\">The first assault happened shortly after 11 a.m. In Singh’s <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwQaFGIJBHN/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D\">footage</a>, a demonstrator can be seen noticing Singh, then crossing the street to block their camera with a “Leave Our Kids Alone” T-shirt and telling them to “back the fuck up.” When a police vehicle beeps its siren, the man can be seen striking Singh and their cellphone with the shirt before turning and walking away.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8qs0\">An hour later on a freeway overpass near the school district headquarters, the same man approached Singh again, blocking them from filming and telling them to leave the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"54io1\">“You don’t think I know who the fuck you are?” the man says in <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CwQiSuApbsa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again\">Singh’s footage</a>. “And you think your camera is going to save you? And the cops, you think that’s going to save you?”</p><p data-block-key=\"ah49m\">The man then repeatedly shoves Singh to prevent them from walking toward the front of the march and in an attempt to knock the phone from their hands. Singh told the Tracker that 20 or 30 Los Angeles Police Department officers witnessed the attack and did nothing to intervene.</p><p data-block-key=\"sh5j\">“At one point, [the assailant] actually shoved me and pushed me into the cops and the cops didn’t do anything,” Singh said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ruc\">Singh told the Tracker that the man <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwQjFzEJtcz/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=7ed3e7f1-820d-49df-92a2-455af51c4e30\">continued to shove them</a> back across the bridge and into a construction site, calling them a homophobic slur and nearly pushing them to the ground atop fallen nails.</p><p data-block-key=\"2vegp\">“I basically just had to retreat,” Singh said. “I missed about an hour of the protest just trying to get to safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"94j6b\">They said they were eventually able to go around a different way to the front of the march to report from behind the police line.</p><p data-block-key=\"aa576\">Singh told the Tracker they called Adam Rose, the secretary of the LA Press Club and chair of the press rights committee, about the incident and filed a police report listing it as a hate crime. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told the Tracker via email that officers took a battery simple assault report and the investigation is still ongoing. </p><p data-block-key=\"9nh73\">“I know what’s happening to me isn’t just happening to me, and it’s making the whole temperature here in LA a lot more dangerous for other journalists,” Singh said. “It hurts everybody every time one of us gets assaulted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7fm6b\">Singh told the Tracker that they have largely stopped reporting on protests because of the targeted attacks.</p><p data-block-key=\"3nr36\">“I can’t even do a story if every single time I’m going to get attacked and that becomes the story,” Singh said. “It’s a disservice to me and it’s a disservice to what I’m reporting on.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9h8em\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with comment received from the Los Angeles Police Department after publication.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h3pdh\">Independent journalist Vishal Singh was assaulted multiple times while reporting on a march in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 22, 2023, organized by the protest group Leave Our Kids Alone in opposition to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ education.</p>",
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{
"title": "ProPublica receives 'sprawling' subpoena following tax evasion series",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-receives-sprawling-subpoena-following-tax-evasion-series/",
"first_published_at": "2023-09-29T16:35:44.603839Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zpkd1\">ProPublica and five of its journalists were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"3o1mk\">Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.</p><p data-block-key=\"307b7\">A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “<a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files\">The Secret IRS Files</a>,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.</p><p data-block-key=\"9pn6j\">“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dpm8i\">ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvk3m\">A <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155/gov.uscourts.flsd.625155.36.0.pdf\">joint status report</a> filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2023-08-22&date_upper=2023-08-22&targeted_institutions=ProPublica&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">journalists subpoenaed</a> as former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bevop\">Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, seen here speaking at a conference in 2022, subpoenaed ProPublica and five of its journalists on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.</p>",
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