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{
"title": "Boston reporter grabbed from behind while on camera",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/boston-reporter-grabbed-from-behind-while-on-camera/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-22T20:50:09.682772Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-22T20:50:09.682772Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-22T20:44:09.683578Z",
"date": "2023-11-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Boston",
"longitude": -71.05977,
"latitude": 42.35843,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tj8dv\">WHDH-TV reporter Grant Hermes was grabbed from behind by a passerby while setting up for a live shot outside the TD Garden arena in Boston, Massachusetts, on Nov. 18, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"46v3m\">Hermes, who was preparing to report on a hockey game inside the arena, <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz0EbfSuUHU/\">shared</a> a video on Instagram of the assault. In the video, a man approaches him from behind as Hermes stands in front of the TV camera, shouts “Yeah, boy! Whoo!” and grabs Hermes around the shoulders. Hermes shakes the man off and chases him out of frame.</p><p data-block-key=\"7stid\">Hermes wrote in a comment that accompanied the video that he and his photographer were fine after the incident. “But I wanna be clear how not ok this is,” he wrote, adding, “The people you see on TV are at work, at a job where people make threats at us regularly. So we don’t know when you yell at us, run into our live shots or grab us, we don’t know what you’re there to do.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1i1rg\">Hermes told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker by email that he didn’t know what the man was going to do next. “Thankfully he just ran off,” Hermes said.</p><p data-block-key=\"jntu\">“Our job can come with inherent dangers because we need to be where the news happens and it’s a privilege to be in those places,” Hermes said. “But a routine live shot isn’t what we should mean when we talk about danger.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Grant Hermes (WHDH-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance journalist detained while reporting on climate activists",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-detained-while-reporting-on-climate-activists/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-22T21:03:11.987506Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-22T21:03:11.987506Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-22T20:30:55.121518Z",
"date": "2023-11-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7v151\">Freelance journalist Will Allen-DuPraw was detained by security at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., while reporting on climate activists at the museum on Nov. 17, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"2upoe\">Allen-DuPraw told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for News2Share, a collective that sells footage to news outlets, to film as two protesters handed out flyers encouraging museum patrons to call on President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gfui\">Security officers told the protesters they needed to leave after approximately 20 minutes, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1725899309114126453\">Allen-DuPraw</a> said, and he continued to film as one of them refused to immediately leave and was walked out in handcuffs. Shortly after, Allen-DuPraw was handcuffed as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"534cs\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1725899296791249342\">footage</a> posted by News2Share co-founder and Editor-in-Chief Ford Fischer, Allen-DuPraw can be heard asking the detained protester whether he had any statements to make as a security officer led him away in handcuffs. As the man begins to answer, one security guard blocks the journalist’s camera while a second begins to place Allen-DuPraw under arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"a7q4r\">“All of the sudden I was pushed from behind up against a pillar in the museum,” Allen-DuPraw said. “He seemed to be more of an actual police officer, he was wearing a white shirt and had a badge.”</p><p data-block-key=\"29f65\">The National Gallery employs a mix of federal and private security staff and it was unclear which were involved in the detention.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfaqt\">Allen-DuPraw said he identified himself as a journalist and while he wasn’t wearing credentials, he had his National Press Photographers Association identification in his wallet.</p><p data-block-key=\"5su9b\">“Sir, I’m an independent journalist, you cannot put your hands on me, sir,” Allen-DuPraw said. “You have no reason to detain me, I’m on assignment right now recording and exercising my First Amendment rights.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">VIDEO THREAD: On Friday, as freelance journalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/wallendupraw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wallendupraw</a> filmed two climate activists and one bystander be handcuffed and detained over flyering in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, security handcuffed and detained him as well, apparently for filming. <a href=\"https://t.co/FKBiogCCQD\">pic.twitter.com/FKBiogCCQD</a></p>— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1725899296791249342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 18, 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=\"7v151\">The security officer is heard telling him that he will “come down” with the officers, they’ll identify him and then he can do whatever he wants to do. When Allen-DuPraw asks why he is being detained, the officer does not reply.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmuuc\">The National Gallery of Art did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"uja4\">Allen-DuPraw told the Tracker that he was led down to the basement conference room and, once there, he was patted down, his pockets emptied and his photo taken from the front and side by an officer. After approximately 30 minutes, he, the two protesters and the bystander were released without charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"4nflh\">Allen-DuPraw said that it was particularly alarming that — despite identifying himself as a journalist to multiple officers — no effort was made to verify his press credentials. “A lack of training was just evident,” he added.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Allen-DuPraw.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3m79v\">Freelance journalist Will Allen-DuPraw, center, was detained while on assignment for News2Share documenting climate activists distributing flyers at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 17, 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "National Gallery of Art Protection Services",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
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"assailant": "private security",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"tags": [
"environmentalism",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Will Allen-DuPraw (News2Share)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Freelancer tear-gassed, shoved while reporting on Atlanta forest protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelancer-tear-gassed-shoved-while-reporting-on-atlanta-forest-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-20T17:13:45.901450Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-20T17:13:45.901450Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-20T16:37:19.616094Z",
"date": "2023-11-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Atlanta",
"longitude": -84.38798,
"latitude": 33.749,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"y0n6i\">Freelance journalist Carlos Berríos Polanco was tear-gassed and pushed by police while documenting a demonstration against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Nov. 13, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"bc7r3\">Berríos Polanco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that approximately 500 protesters had gathered in Gresham Park for a “Block Cop City” protest march to the construction site for the center in a forest southeast of Atlanta.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">(2/x) Activists gathered in Gresham Park early in the morning carrying puppets, signs, banners, trees, and gardening tools. The intention was to peacefully march to the site, occupy it, and plant trees there in hopes of reforesting. Before marching, multiple speakers addressed... <a href=\"https://t.co/aRSjPO31HJ\">pic.twitter.com/aRSjPO31HJ</a></p>— carlos (vibe describer) (@Vaquero2XL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Vaquero2XL/status/1724556250682106290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 14, 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=\"y0n6i\">As the marchers moved onto Constitution Road, they were met by approximately 70 law enforcement officers and dozens of police vehicles, Berríos Polanco said. When officers launched the first tear gas canister, it landed at the feet of a group of at least 30 journalists — including Berríos Polanco — who were standing ahead of the march.</p><p data-block-key=\"3dsea\">“I think it was purposefully sent toward this group of journalists,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"41d4s\">Berríos Polanco said that the group was divided amid the resulting chaos, and he and approximately 10 other journalists were separated from the march. When they attempted to return, he said that DeKalb County Police and Georgia State Patrol officers stopped them under threat of arrest, stating that it was an “active crime scene.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8tdav\">“It was a very funny example of police just flying by the seat of their pants,” Berríos Polanco said. “One Georgia State Patrol officer told us to keep moving back while another one told us to keep moving forward. And at the exact same time, one had their hand aimed down the road and one had their hand aimed up the road.”</p><p data-block-key=\"816rd\">As he attempted to comply with the orders, Berríos Polanco said that an officer placed a hand on his backpack and pushed him in an apparent attempt to make him move faster. Berríos said that he and the other journalists were eventually allowed to move back toward the march and protesters ultimately returned to Gresham Park.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">(7/x) continually threatened with arrest if we didn't obey, even though we were doing our jobs and also standing on public property. We were eventually allowed back towards the march and stood in a gap between activists and police. <a href=\"https://t.co/PtsnpNaeE5\">pic.twitter.com/PtsnpNaeE5</a></p>— carlos (vibe describer) (@Vaquero2XL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Vaquero2XL/status/1724556271926325664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 14, 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=\"y0n6i\">Berríos Polanco told the Tracker he believes the incident was emblematic of how law enforcement officers have treated the journalists covering protests against the training center as though they were themselves activists.</p><p data-block-key=\"4d0rm\">“Even mainstream media outlets were shuffled off,” Berríos Polanco said. “Even Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one of the biggest outlets here, was not allowed to return to the march.”</p><p data-block-key=\"du0hu\">The DeKalb County Police Department acknowledged the Tracker’s request for comment via email, but did not provide a response. The Georgia Patrol did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
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{
"title": "Czech TV reporter, cameraman robbed at gunpoint in San Francisco",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/czech-tv-reporter-cameraman-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-san-francisco/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-20T21:30:28.746156Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-20T21:30:28.746156Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-20T21:30:24.861796Z",
"date": "2023-11-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7c9hi\">A Česká Televize (Czech Television) reporter and photojournalist were robbed at gunpoint while filming a report in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 12, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"2t8v1\">Correspondent Bohumil Vostal told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via email that he and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/czech-tv-cameraman-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-san-francisco\">photographer Milan Nosek</a> were recording across the street from City Lights Bookstore in the city’s North Beach neighborhood. Shortly before 5 p.m., three masked men got out of a car with weapons drawn and ordered them to hand over their equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vaav\">“One of them told me ‘not to make any problems’ or something like that,” Vostal said. “It was all so shocking we could not even react.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d290l\">Vostal said more than $19,000 of equipment was lost, including the crew’s video camera, a GoPro, multiple camera lenses, external batteries, SD cards, microphones and tripods.</p><p data-block-key=\"cf3o6\">“The worst is we lost material we filmed about San Francisco,” Vostal said. Footage from a tour around the city and interviews with a representative of the Transgender District and a gallery owner were lost.</p><p data-block-key=\"crai8\">The journalists quickly called the police and filed a report, but were forced to purchase replacement equipment in order to refilm and to cover the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit taking place in San Francisco at that time. Vostal told the Tracker the experience did impact how they approached their reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"db4sh\">“We were concerned about our safety afterwards and so we made our [live shots] for the Czech TV News Channel only with the police behind us or nearby our hotel,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"82vgi\">The San Francisco Police Department <a href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/11/13/camera-crew-robbed-san-francisco-city-lights/\">told the San Francisco Standard</a> that its robbery unit was investigating. SFPD did not respond to a request for additional information.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Vostal.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"oqo8m\">Česká Televize (Czech Television) reporter Bohumil Vostal and his cameraman were robbed at gunpoint in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 12, 2023, losing $19,000 in equipment and their footage, including of the Painted Ladies landmark pictured above.</p>",
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"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
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{
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"equipment": "recording equipment"
}
],
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"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"robbery"
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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{
"title": "Czech TV cameraman, reporter robbed at gunpoint in San Francisco",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/czech-tv-cameraman-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-san-francisco/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-20T21:30:09.600764Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-20T21:30:09.600764Z",
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"date": "2023-11-12",
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"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cleja\">A Česká Televize (Czech Television) photojournalist and reporter were robbed at gunpoint while filming a report in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 12, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvi9p\">Photographer Milan Nosek and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/czech-tv-reporter-cameraman-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-san-francisco\">correspondent Bohumil Vostal</a> were recording shortly before 5 p.m. across the street from City Lights Bookstore in the city’s North Beach neighborhood when three masked men approached them. With weapons drawn, the men ordered the journalists to hand over their equipment, Vostal told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via email.</p><p data-block-key=\"em0b9\">Vostal said more than $19,000 of equipment was lost, including the crew’s video camera, a GoPro, multiple camera lenses, external batteries, SD cards, microphones and tripods. Footage from a tour around the city and interviews with a representative of the Transgender District and a gallery owner were lost as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"eaacr\">The journalists quickly called the police and filed a report, but were forced to purchase replacement equipment in order to refilm and to cover the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit taking place in San Francisco at that time.</p><p data-block-key=\"dbgbc\">The San Francisco Police Department <a href=\"https://sfstandard.com/2023/11/13/camera-crew-robbed-san-francisco-city-lights/\">told the San Francisco Standard</a> that its robbery unit was investigating. SFPD did not respond to a request for additional information.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Nosek.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7ltwh\">Česká Televize (Czech Television) photographer Milan Nosek and reporter Bohumil Vostal were robbed at gunpoint in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 12, 2023, losing $19,000 in equipment, including the camera he is seen carrying earlier that day.</p>",
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{
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},
{
"quantity": 11,
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{
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{
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{
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "storage device"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Milan Nosek (Česká Televize [Czechia])"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist pushed, arrested at NYC pro-Palestinian march",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-pushed-arrested-at-nyc-pro-palestinian-march/",
"first_published_at": "2023-12-01T20:53:40.594798Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-14T16:17:50.755730Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-14T16:17:50.638709Z",
"date": "2023-11-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pz12y\">Independent journalist Ashoka Jegroo was pushed and arrested by police officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City on Nov. 11, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"qq5k\">Jegroo told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that as the crowd began to disperse near Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan, some demonstrators noticed a pole with American and United Nations flags and one climbed up to replace them with the Palestinian flag. Police then surrounded the pole, pushing everyone back, and prepared to arrest him once he climbed down.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rdmk\">After the protester was placed in handcuffs, Jegroo and other press and protesters followed as officers led the protester to a police van. In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AshAgony/status/1723568566425866270\">footage</a> Jegroo posted to social media, an NYPD officer is heard ordering Jegroo to back up and saying that he was pushing the journalist to get him to move.</p><p data-block-key=\"95t09\">“I’m at a reasonable distance,” Jegroo replies. Moments later, multiple officers appear to form a line forcing everyone back, and Jegroo is pushed again as officers order the crowd to get on the sidewalk.</p><p data-block-key=\"4pfj2\">Jegroo asks, “Why are you touching me?” Seconds later, he too is arrested.</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/FreePalestine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FreePalestine</a> protesters marched in Midtown Manhattan last nite.<br><br>As I was recording NYPD arrest a protester, cops began pushing folks. You can hear me tell cops “I’m at a reasonable distance.” Then you can hear me complain about being pushed & then you hear the cuffs put on me. <a href=\"https://t.co/d8ME4Aw1WX\">pic.twitter.com/d8ME4Aw1WX</a></p>— Ash J (@AshAgony) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AshAgony/status/1723568566425866270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 12, 2023</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pz12y\">Jegroo told the Tracker that he was held in a cell at NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza for two to three hours before being released with two citations for disorderly conduct. Both citations were signed by Inspector Frank DiGiacomo, the commanding officer for the department’s Technical Assistance Response Unit.</p><p data-block-key=\"5iva7\">“When I finally was released,” Jegroo said, “the cop who was escorting me out of the precinct and to the door outside, he remarked that, like, ‘Wow, the inspector himself filled out your tickets. That usually never happens, you must have done something. What did you do?’”</p><p data-block-key=\"470l7\">At an initial hearing on Nov. 29, the judge informed Jegroo that police had not properly filed the tickets so he was free to go. Jegroo said that as far as the court records show, the charges against him never happened, but he doesn’t know whether the department could choose to refile them at a later date.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ufbd7\">Independent journalist Ashoka Jegroo was arrested by New York Police Department officers while reporting on a pro-Palestinian march in Manhattan on Nov. 11, 2023. The two charges of disorderly conduct against him have since been dropped.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2023-11-11",
"detention_date": "2023-11-11",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"name": "New York",
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
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"Ashoka Jegroo (Independent)"
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},
{
"title": "Senator calls on Justice Department to investigate news outlets",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/senator-calls-on-justice-department-to-investigate-news-outlets/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-13T20:28:18.796967Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-14T16:11:02.217229Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-14T16:11:02.138311Z",
"date": "2023-11-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oihz0\">Sen. Tom Cotton on Nov. 9, 2023, called for the Justice Department to investigate multiple news outlets for their alleged employment of Hamas-affiliated journalists in the Gaza Strip.</p><p data-block-key=\"7jt9r\">The Arkansas Republican, in a letter to the U.S. attorney general, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sentomcotton/status/1722994349972095174\">alleged</a> that The Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times and Reuters had employed freelance journalists who had ties to the armed Palestinian militant group and prior knowledge of its Oct. 7 attack against Israel. The senator cited unspecified “reports” as the basis for his accusations, in apparent reference to <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-photographers-attack-200be1ba47361f1c1fc113cdaeb65d04\">since-debunked claims</a> pushed by pro-Israel watchdog group HonestReporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"d190h\">“Providing material support or assistance, including funding, to a terrorist organization such as Hamas is a federal crime,” Cotton wrote. “The Department of Justice must immediately open a national security investigation into these four media outlets to determine whether they or their leadership committed federal crimes by supporting Hamas terrorists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"20a4g\">In <a href=\"https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-demands-answers-on-journalists-embedded-with-hamas\">additional letters</a> to each of the news outlets, Cotton asked how many journalists employed by the news organizations were embedded with Hamas on Oct. 7 and how many are currently embedded. He also asked the outlets for an itemized total of their “funding” to Hamas and affiliates in Gaza over the past five years.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ei43\">The four news outlets <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/news-outlets-deny-hamas-attacks-advance-knowledge-gaza-photojournalists/\">categorically denied</a> having any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack and defended their reporting. The Times stood by its decision to work with freelancer Yousef Masoud, <a href=\"https://www.nytco.com/press/statement-on-yousef-masoud/\">writing in a statement</a> that there was no basis for HonestReporting’s claims.</p><p data-block-key=\"4hvcn\">“Our review of his work shows that he was doing what photojournalists always do during major news events, documenting the tragedy as it unfolded,” the statement read. “We are gravely concerned that unsupported accusations and threats to freelancers endangers them and undermines work that serves the public interest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8g0ij\">Both CNN and AP said, however, they have suspended their relationship with freelance photojournalist Hassan Eslaiah, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-photographers.html\">according to the Times</a>. Eslaiah told the outlet that he had no prior knowledge of the attack and had no ties to Hamas.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ot3q\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, which oversees the operation of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, <a href=\"https://freedom.press/news/disinformation-campaign-puts-journalists-lives-at-risk-in-gaza/\">characterized</a> HonestReporting’s claims as a “malicious disinformation campaign” that endangers the lives of journalists covering the war.</p><p data-block-key=\"1g1fk\">“It’s a virtual certainty that, despite HonestReporting’s about-face, its nonsense report will be cited to justify past and future attacks against journalists in what’s already by far the <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2023/11/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/\">deadliest war</a> for the press in modern memory,” FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"1fjms\">Cotton’s office did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment as of press time.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTSIBBNF.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"i65ke\">Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, seen here ahead of a briefing in Washington, D.C., in April 2023, wrote a Nov. 9 letter to the U.S. attorney general calling for an investigation into four news outlets for allegedly employing Hamas-affiliated freelancers.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"targeted_institutions": [
"CNN",
"Reuters",
"The Associated Press",
"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
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},
{
"title": "Student journalist reports being pushed while filming Princeton protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-reports-being-pushed-while-filming-princeton-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-28T14:01:18.624780Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-14T16:18:27.388432Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-14T16:18:27.307061Z",
"date": "2023-11-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Princeton",
"longitude": -74.65905,
"latitude": 40.34872,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8dahk\">Student journalist Alexandra Orbuch said she was pushed and stepped on by a fellow student while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest at Princeton University in New Jersey on Nov. 9, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"e219j\">Orbuch <a href=\"https://twitter.com/OrbuchA/status/1722796352474644511\">wrote on social media</a> that she was covering a student-led “<a href=\"https://www.theprincetontory.com/princeton-sjp-hosts-walkout-for-palestine-journalists-face-harassment/\">Walkout for Palestine</a>” in her capacity as a reporter for The Princeton Tory. Orbuch also <a href=\"https://www.theprincetontory.com/author/alexandra-orbuch/\">serves as its editor-in-chief</a> and has authored multiple news articles on antisemitism and op-eds in support of Israel and Zionism.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dcqp\">“I stood at a distance, gathering footage and audio of the protestors, but protesters continued to stalk and harass me,” she wrote. Footage from the incident shows participants deliberately using signs and flags to block Orbuch’s camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"79d51\">As the event continued, Orbuch <a href=\"https://twitter.com/OrbuchA/status/1722799564652990502\">wrote</a> that one individual became emboldened and ultimately pushed her and stepped on her foot.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I repeatedly told him that his level of closeness made me extremely uncomfortable, and I attempted to move away a number of times. He refused to leave me alone. It escalated to the point that he pushed me and stepped on my foot. Free speech is one thing. Assault is another. <a href=\"https://t.co/YA3HyVdrgB\">pic.twitter.com/YA3HyVdrgB</a></p>— Alexandra Orbuch (@OrbuchA) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/OrbuchA/status/1722799564652990502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 10, 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=\"8dahk\">The Princeton Committee on Palestine <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CzhnlFTr5sS/?hl=en&img_index=1\">posted a statement</a> to social media claiming that the protester that Orbuch publicly identified had kept a respectful distance and that Orbuch ran into him, then baselessly accused him of assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"a3atj\">Orbuch did not respond to multiple requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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},
{
"title": "Senators criticize VOA editorial guidelines on Israel-Gaza war, call for firings",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/senators-criticize-voa-editorial-guidelines-on-israel-gaza-war-call-for-firings/",
"first_published_at": "2023-12-12T19:26:16.848177Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-14T16:19:24.732779Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-14T16:19:24.637479Z",
"date": "2023-11-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4kopv\">Seven Republican senators on Nov. 7, 2023, criticized Voice of America’s editorial guidelines for covering the Israel-Gaza war and called for the firing of two staffers at the government-funded, editorially independent outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"dm4db\">The senators, in a <a href=\"https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NOV20231107-FINAL-BH-Letter-to-USAGM-on-Hamas.pdf\">letter</a> to Amanda Bennett, chief executive officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM — which oversees VOA — expressed “grave concern” about an Oct. 10 internal email sent by Carol Guensburg, the outlet’s associate editor for news standards.</p><p data-block-key=\"8bdq\">In the internal email, which came in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent <a href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war\">declaration of war</a>, and bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, Guensburg advised VOA reporters and editors not to refer to members of Hamas as “terrorists” in reporting, except when quoting others. The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/11/29/voice-of-america-hamas-israel-terrorist-militant-hagerty/\">reported</a> that Guensburg said Hamas’ attack on Israel could be referred to as “terrorist acts” or “acts of terror.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7o0np\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/10/voice-of-america-staff-ordered-not-to-call-hamas-terrorists/\">report</a> by The National Review, Guensburg’s email explained that, “This practice conforms with the VOA News Standards and Best Practices guide and current usage by the wires and major U.S. news organizations, bearing in mind that the language including terrorism is often used to demonize individuals and groups with whom the speaker disagrees. Useful alternatives are <i>militant group</i> or <i>militants</i> or <i>fighters</i>.”</p><p data-block-key=\"96rm3\">The senators called on Bennett to terminate Guensburg and Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House bureau chief, who suggested in a reply to Guensburg that VOA stories include the context that “the militant group’s attack was done in retaliation for Israel’s decades-long occupation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fj6cv\">The letter was led by Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and joined by Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, and John Barrasso of Wyoming. All sit on the Senate foreign relations or appropriations committees, which have <a href=\"https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/oversight/congressional-committees/\">oversight</a> over USAGM’s policies and funding.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4o2g\">While VOA’s <a href=\"https://www.usagm.gov/our-work/strategy-and-results/strategic-priorities/budget-submissions/\">budget</a> comes from a congressional appropriation, the outlet’s independence from government interference is enshrined in USAGM’s authorizing legislation, the <a href=\"https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/oversight/legislation/international-broadcasting-act/\">International Broadcasting Act</a>. The act established a “<a href=\"https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/firewall/\">firewall</a>” that guarantees all USAGM outlets, which also include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, full editorial autonomy in order to maintain their “professional independence and integrity.”</p><p data-block-key=\"brhga\">In their letter, however, the senators stated that, “As members of the Senate committees with jurisdiction over the policies and funding of [USAGM], we believe that VOA’s editorial policy against the use of the term ‘terrorist’ contradicts VOA’s principle of providing ‘accurate, objective, and comprehensive’ news. Indeed, we seriously question how VOA’s editorial policy advances the interests of the American taxpayers who generously fund this news organization every year.”</p><p data-block-key=\"90m98\">The senators noted that Hamas has been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department, and that President Joe Biden had <a href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/11/16/remarks-by-president-biden-in-a-press-conference-woodside-ca/\">referred to Hamas</a> as “terrorists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8lt3r\">Major news organizations have set <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/10/20/israel-gaza-strike-hospital-blast/\">varying</a> policies and standards with respect to terminology for covering the Israel-Gaza war, with some — such as <a href=\"https://www.apstylebook.com/topical_most_recent\">The Associated Press</a> and the <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-67076341\">BBC</a> — only using the word “terrorist” with attribution. AP’s guidelines explained, “The terms terrorism and terrorist have become politicized, and often are applied inconsistently.” BBC guidelines note that “our responsibility is to remain objective and report in ways that enable our audiences to make their own assessments about who is doing what to whom."</p><p data-block-key=\"9iiob\">But the senators argued that VOA uses the term “terrorist” to refer to other groups, and alleged that “VOA has created an editorial double standard in which it appears to accept the description of the Islamic State, Al-Qaida, and other officially designated terrorists groups as terrorists, but not Iran-backed Hamas, which explicitly seeks to destroy Israel and kill Jews.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4u2l\">The senators called on Bennett to review the directive and “hold accountable VOA leadership who issued this guidance for editorial double standards … including the immediate termination of Carol Guensburg and Patsy Widakuswara.”</p><p data-block-key=\"brnat\">In a Nov. 27 response to the senators, which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed, Bennett clarified that VOA and other USAGM organizations do not prohibit the use of the words “terror,” “terrorism,” or “terrorist.” She added that each of the entities’ best practices policy guidelines “counsels care and attention in the use of the words but do not place any restrictions on the appropriate use” of those words.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sct1\">Bennett also said that all USAGM news entities “are reviewing their policies as well as training and implementation of these policies. USAGM has retained an outside expert to review all practices and to make recommendations regarding future training or possible policy changes.”</p><p data-block-key=\"28a2s\">Sen. James Risch of Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Nov. 9 sent a separate letter to Bennett. In the letter, which was reviewed by the Tracker, Risch expressed “concern” about VOA’s editorial guidelines and sought “clarification” on the outlet’s policy. He asserted that Hamas’ attack “fit perfectly within the VOA style guide’s definition of both terrorist and terrorism,” adding that he looked forward to the outlet “accurately describing Hamas and its members as terrorists” in the future.</p><p data-block-key=\"efl8s\">In a related incident, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a <a href=\"https://www.nationalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/11.3.23-Issa-VOA-Terrorist-Editorialization-Letter.pdf\">letter</a> to VOA acting Director John Lippman on Nov. 3 criticizing VOA editorial guidelines and asking for a copy of Guensberg’s email, as well as “a copy of any attached guidance, along with all replies to the email and attachments” by Nov. 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"1s6h4\">In response to an emailed request for comment about the policy, a VOA spokesperson told the Tracker that “VOA has never banned the use of the word ‘terror’ or ‘terrorism.’ It has been used many times without quotes. Nothing has changed.” Hagerty’s press assistant did not respond to an emailed request about any next steps to follow up on the senators’ letter.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"zk2mk\">A view of Voice of America headquarters in Washington, D.C. Seven GOP senators on Nov. 7 called for the firing of VOA staffers over the outlet’s Israel-Gaza war editorial guidelines.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Carol Guensburg (Voice of America)",
"Patsy Widakuswara (Voice of America)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Subpoena quashed for reporter’s communications as part of Title IX lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-quashed-for-reporters-communications-as-part-of-title-ix-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2024-01-05T17:54:29.647594Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-01-05T17:54:29.647594Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-01-04T19:58:11.577125Z",
"date": "2023-10-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Sacramento",
"longitude": -121.4944,
"latitude": 38.58157,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r75fk\">California-based USA Today reporter Kenneth “Kenny” Jacoby was subpoenaed for source communications and other documents on Oct. 31, 2023, as part of a separate, ongoing lawsuit against multiple Louisiana universities. The subpoena was ultimately quashed on Dec. 21.</p><p data-block-key=\"7g4u4\">In a May 2021 <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2021/05/26/louisiana-officials-skirted-law-meant-curb-campus-sex-crimes/7048845002/\">article,</a> Jacoby reported that various Louisiana schools and police forces failed to share relevant information with each other after multiple women reported the same college student for sexual misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"4uhj7\">One of the women cited in Jacoby’s reporting filed a lawsuit against two university systems and a local government in May 2022, alleging negligence and violations of her rights under Title IX. According to the <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lamd.60517/gov.uscourts.lamd.60517.1.0.pdf\">complaint</a>, the woman — identified only as Jane Doe to protect her identity — learned from Jacoby’s article that the universities had been aware of her assailant’s history of sexual misconduct before the attack against her.</p><p data-block-key=\"1qpk6\">The board of supervisors of the University of Louisiana System initially issued Jacoby a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.caed.437229/gov.uscourts.caed.437229.4.0.pdf\">sweeping subpoena</a>, which listed 28 requests for his communications, reporting materials and unpublished work product around the article.</p><p data-block-key=\"19v1\">After Jacoby filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.caed.437229/gov.uscourts.caed.437229.1.0.pdf\">motion to quash</a> the subpoena on Nov. 13, the university system agreed to limit the request to just his texts with Doe and notes from their conversations, as well as an affidavit authenticating and contextualizing them. The university system argued that the communications would prove that Doe had learned the material facts underlying her allegations earlier than she claimed and had missed the statute of limitations to file the lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"6g8r5\">Jacoby <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.caed.437229/gov.uscourts.caed.437229.11.1.pdf\">provided an affidavit</a> confirming that, as records already turned over by Doe had shown, his first contact with her was in December 2020. According to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.caed.437229/gov.uscourts.caed.437229.11.0.pdf\">court records</a> reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the universities felt the affidavit was insufficient, while Jacoby maintained his objections to even the narrowed subpoena.</p><p data-block-key=\"aaf4e\">“As a journalist, I have ethical obligations to my sources. It is an essential aspect of my job to build trust with sources, even more so for highly sensitive subject matter like sexual assault,” Jacoby wrote in his affidavit. “I would not be able to do my job as an investigative reporter if sources did not believe that I would honor my confidentiality agreements. To me, this is both a legal matter and a matter of principle.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ds5rb\">A U.S. District Court judge <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.caed.437229/gov.uscourts.caed.437229.17.0_1.pdf\">granted</a> Jacoby’s motion to quash the subpoena on Dec. 21, finding that the university system had failed to meet the necessary standards to justify impinging on journalistic protections.</p><p data-block-key=\"48iv5\">“It is not enough that [the University of Louisiana System] hopes or even has a hunch that Jacoby’s documents will contradict Doe’s testimony and the other available evidence,” Magistrate Judge Allison Claire wrote in her decision.</p><p data-block-key=\"2jfi6\">When contacted by the Tracker, Jacoby declined to comment further because a second subpoena against him in the case is still pending.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"otvc0\">A portion of the subpoena issued to USA Today reporter Kenneth “Kenny” Jacoby on Oct. 31, 2023, ordering him to produce source communications, documents and unpublished work product in connection with a lawsuit against the University of Louisiana System.</p>",
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"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
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"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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"Kenneth “Kenny” Jacoby (USA Today)"
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},
{
"title": "Apparent cyberattack hits AP news website, causes brief outage",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/apparent-cyberattack-hits-ap-news-website-causes-brief-outage/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-16T16:15:15.250913Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-16T16:22:01.279646Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-16T16:22:01.149547Z",
"date": "2023-10-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tjprj\">The news website of The Associated Press was hit by an apparent denial-of-service attack on Oct. 31, 2023, causing a partial outage on the site.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lm07\">According to <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ap-news-site-disrupted-1da6a411ce5022555929e204bf5dc3c0\">the AP</a>, visitors to its apnews.com site on the afternoon of Oct. 31 were able to load the home page, but specific stories were either blank pages or error messages. The AP said the outage “appeared to be consistent with a denial-of-service attack.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ccqsj\">The AP said the issue was resolved by the morning of Nov. 1, and that the outage did not affect delivery systems to customers and its mobile apps.</p><p data-block-key=\"3f5h3\">A denial-of-service attack involves using a single connection to overwhelm a network server with data in order to disrupt its normal functioning and knock it offline. (A related type of attack, known as distributed denial of service, utilizes multiple sources to overwhelm the target server.) Both attacks are <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/criminal/file/442156/download\">federal crimes</a> under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.</p><p data-block-key=\"7316t\">The news agency’s report quoted Nicole Meir, an AP media relations manager, as saying, “We’ve experienced periodic surges in traffic but we’re still looking into the cause.” Meir added that the engineers would take care of one source of traffic, only to have it surge from another location.</p><p data-block-key=\"5i9th\">An account holder identifying themselves as the spokesperson for the hacking group Anonymous Sudan <a href=\"https://t.me/Crush_sd/9\">said</a> on Telegram Oct. 28 that the group would target Western news outlets in connection with their reporting on the Israel-Hamas war.</p><p data-block-key=\"3oc1e\">Anonymous Sudan posted <a href=\"https://t.me/xAnonymousSudan/204\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://t.me/xAnonymousSudan/189\">screenshots</a> on its Telegram channel showing error messages from the AP news site on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Beginning Oct. 27, the group also posted screenshots of error messages from news outlets including <a href=\"https://t.me/xAnonymousSudan/180\">CNN</a>, <a href=\"https://t.me/xAnonymousSudan/186\">The Washington Post</a>, the <a href=\"https://t.me/xAnonymousSudan/185\">New York Post</a> and Britain’s <a href=\"https://t.me/xAnonymousSudan/188\">Daily Mail</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4po8h\">The AP said that it had not been able to verify whether Anonymous Sudan was responsible for the attack. The news service did not immediately reply to an emailed request for updates on the incident.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTXZLAF.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"akbjw\">A man stands outside the New York headquarters of The Associated Press. The news agency was hit with an apparent denial-of-service attack on Oct. 31, 2023.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
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"The Associated Press"
],
"tags": [
"cyberattack"
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"Other Incident"
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},
{
"title": "Chicago-area reporter cited for seeking comment from local officials",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-area-reporter-cited-for-seeking-comment-from-local-officials/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-06T16:57:39.126922Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-06T22:01:25.078802Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-06T22:02:38.595967Z",
"date": "2023-10-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Calumet City",
"longitude": -87.52949,
"latitude": 41.61559,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"n5d7i\">Officials in Calumet City, Illinois, allege that a local reporter violated municipal ordinances by asking them questions about the city’s upkeep of stormwater infrastructure prior to massive flooding from heavy rains in the Chicago suburb in September 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"6m7na\">Daily Southtown reporter Hank Sanders, <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-calumet-city-water-pumps-before-flooding-st-1020-20231019-5zpcem4ea5a65bbij5nafmql6i-story.html\">who reported on Oct. 19</a> that Calumet City officials were informed last year by a consultant that the municipality’s stormwater facilities are in poor condition, is accused of “interference/hampering of city employees” by contacting them for follow-up coverage, <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-calumet-city-tribune-reporter-citations-20231102-ts6ugr2t6vdahap72yw2s7gkoi-story.html\">according to the Chicago Tribune</a>, whose parent company publishes both papers.</p><p data-block-key=\"v5rv\">Three citations issued to Sanders <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/06/us/chicago-reporter-officals-calumet-citation.html\">on Oct. 30</a> listed as complainants Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones, who is also an Illinois state representative; Jerico Thomas, the city’s public works commissioner; and city employee Megan Wilson, the Tribune added.</p><p data-block-key=\"925kh\">According to the paper, the notice referencing Wilson states that between Oct. 4-12, Sanders sent 14 emails and a Freedom of Information Act request to the Calumet City government regarding flooding. The notice referencing Jones noted that Sanders had called the city’s Department of Public Works “several times” since Sept. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m387\">City attorneys asked Sanders to cease contacting city employees about the matter while the records request is pending, but said despite the requests, “Hank Sanders continues to do so.”</p><p data-block-key=\"v8bc\">A U.S. Press Freedom Tracker request for comment from Calumet City officials did not immediately receive a response.</p><p data-block-key=\"a3fbh\">On his TikTok account, Sanders posted about the citations, calling them “<a href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@chicagotrib/video/7297544753120349483\">ridiculous</a>.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1jr2m\">Daily Southtown’s Executive Editor Mitch Pugh, in a statement published in the Tribune, called the citations “outrageous” and likened them to the Oct. 27 <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/alabama-publisher-charged-over-report-on-grand-jury-investigation/\">arrest of an Alabama reporter</a> and publisher for reporting on a local grand jury investigation <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/newsroom-personal-equipment-seized-in-kansas-raid/\">and the August police raid</a> on the Marion County Recorder and homes of the Kansas newspaper’s co-owners, executed while the Recorder was investigating Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody’s background.</p><p data-block-key=\"13h1o\">“They represent a continued assault on journalists who, like Hank, are guilty of nothing more than engaging in the practice of journalism. From places like Alabama to Kansas to Illinois, it appears public officials have become emboldened to take actions that our society once viewed as un-American,” Pugh said. “Unfortunately, in our current political climate, uneducated buffoonery has become a virtue, not a liability, but the Tribune will vigorously stand up for Hank’s right to do his job.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6tveo\">Don Craven, president, chief executive and general counsel of the Illinois Press Association, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/06/us/chicago-reporter-officals-calumet-citation.html\">told The New York Times</a> that he was optimistic that Calumet City would withdraw the citations. “We’re hopeful that our lawyer and their lawyer can have an adult conversation and understand that these are out of bounds and they’ll be withdrawn.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2023-11-06_165222.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"k6y8u\">A portion of one citation issued to Daily Southtown reporter Hank Sanders on Oct. 30, 2023, charging him with “interference/hampering of city employees” for allegedly harassing Calumet City, Illinois, officials when seeking comment for his reporting.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Calumet City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "charged without arrest",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-11-06 16:56:00+00:00) Citations against Chicago-area reporter dropped"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Hank Sanders (Daily Southtown)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Alabama publisher charged over report on grand jury investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/alabama-publisher-charged-over-report-on-grand-jury-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-01T18:17:04.716394Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-22T21:06:47.333106Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-22T21:06:47.133063Z",
"date": "2023-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Atmore",
"longitude": -87.49387,
"latitude": 31.02379,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3h8hh\">Atmore News co-owner and publisher Sherry Digmon was arrested in Atmore, Alabama, on Oct. 27, 2023, and charged with a felony for publishing an article on an ongoing grand jury investigation, the newspaper reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"437pe\">A reporter for the paper, <a href=\"/all-incidents/alabama-reporter-faces-felony-charge-for-article-on-grand-jury-investigation/\">Don Fletcher</a>, authored an <a href=\"https://atmorenews.com/2023/10/25/boe-investigations/\">article</a> on Oct. 25 concerning an Escambia County investigation into allegations of mismanagement of federal COVID relief funds by the county Board of Education. The article referenced statements made by District Attorney Steve Billy at an Oct. 12 school board meeting confirming that the superintendent would not be brought before a grand jury.</p><p data-block-key=\"cm6h4\">The article also reported that the outlet had obtained documents stating that Billy had issued a subpoena seeking copies of checks labeled as “COVID” payments or bonuses.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ktbt\">Atmore News <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/newsatmore/posts/pfbid02bk4ZCd6zP2vjx4fCVEhXW8RtNU2Cy1qaBAgVaEbWFVJctER8FbkfGhUJNybyUjkHl\">reported on Facebook</a> that both Digmon and Fletcher were arrested on Oct. 27, charged with <a href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2009/Title12/Chapter16/Chapter16.html#:~:text=Section%2012%2D16%2D215%20Grand,juror's%20questions%2C%20considerations%2C%20etc.\">revealing, disclosing or divulging grand jury information</a>, a felony, and released about six hours later after paying $10,000 bonds.</p><p data-block-key=\"3mv5f\">Fletcher, who took a call to the newsroom from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, confirmed that he and Digmon had an initial hearing on Oct. 30 but directed all further inquiries to their attorney, Earnest White. White declined to comment when reached on Oct. 31.</p><p data-block-key=\"19nmn\">Veronica “Ashley” Fore, a bookkeeper for the county school system, was also arrested and is charged with providing grand jury information to the media, <a href=\"https://www.fox10tv.com/2023/10/28/school-board-member-journalist-arrested-atmore/\">according to WALA-TV</a>. It was not immediately clear how Fore obtained the information.</p><p data-block-key=\"9u2ti\">Neither District Attorney Billy nor the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AtmoreNews-Arrests-Fletcher-Digmo.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5mx84\">Atmore News reporter Don Fletcher and publisher Sherry Digmon were arrested on Oct. 27, 2023, and charged with felonies for reporting on an ongoing grand jury investigation in Escambia County, Alabama.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Escambia County Sheriff’s Office",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2023-10-27",
"detention_date": "2023-10-27",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:24-cv-00425",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": "dropped",
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Alabama",
"abbreviation": "AL"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-11-20 00:00:00+00:00) Alabama publisher files federal suit against DA and sheriff over arrest",
"(2024-04-19 00:00:00+00:00) Criminal charges dropped against Alabama publisher",
"(2023-10-30 13:04:00+00:00) Alabama publisher placed under prior restraint as condition of bail"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sherry Digmon (Atmore News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Alabama reporter faces felony charge for article on grand jury investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/alabama-reporter-faces-felony-charge-for-article-on-grand-jury-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-01T18:09:18.890354Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-22T21:06:59.823563Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-22T21:06:59.637247Z",
"date": "2023-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Atmore",
"longitude": -87.49387,
"latitude": 31.02379,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mm2px\">Atmore News reporter Don Fletcher was arrested in Atmore, Alabama, on Oct. 27, 2023, and charged with a felony for his reporting on an ongoing grand jury investigation, the newspaper reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"fmt6m\">Fletcher authored an <a href=\"https://atmorenews.com/2023/10/25/boe-investigations/\">article</a> on Oct. 25 concerning an Escambia County investigation into allegations of mismanagement of federal COVID relief funds by the county Board of Education. The article referenced statements made by District Attorney Steve Billy at an Oct. 12 school board meeting confirming that the superintendent would not be brought before a grand jury.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kr8c\">The article also reported that the outlet had obtained documents stating that Billy had issued a subpoena seeking copies of checks labeled as “COVID” payments or bonuses.</p><p data-block-key=\"bli4e\">Atmore News <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/newsatmore/posts/pfbid02bk4ZCd6zP2vjx4fCVEhXW8RtNU2Cy1qaBAgVaEbWFVJctER8FbkfGhUJNybyUjkHl\">reported on Facebook</a> that both Fletcher and the newspaper’s publisher and co-owner <a href=\"/all-incidents/alabama-publisher-charged-over-report-on-grand-jury-investigation/\">Sherry Digmon</a> were arrested on Oct. 27, charged with <a href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2009/Title12/Chapter16/Chapter16.html#:~:text=Section%2012%2D16%2D215%20Grand,juror's%20questions%2C%20considerations%2C%20etc.\">revealing, disclosing or divulging grand jury information</a>, a felony, and released about six hours later after paying $10,000 bonds.</p><p data-block-key=\"fbanb\">When reached by phone, Fletcher confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the two had an initial hearing on Oct. 30 but directed all further inquiries to their attorney, Earnest White. White declined to comment when reached on Oct. 31.</p><p data-block-key=\"2f4vo\">Veronica “Ashley” Fore, a bookkeeper for the county school system, was also arrested and is charged with providing grand jury information to the media, <a href=\"https://www.fox10tv.com/2023/10/28/school-board-member-journalist-arrested-atmore/\">according to WALA-TV</a>. It was not immediately clear how Fore obtained the information.</p><p data-block-key=\"19fo3\">Neither District Attorney Billy nor the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"djnz2\">Atmore News reporter Don Fletcher and publisher Sherry Digmon were arrested on Oct. 27, 2023, and charged with felonies for reporting on an ongoing grand jury investigation in Escambia County, Alabama.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Escambia County Sheriff’s Office",
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"state": {
"name": "Alabama",
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"(2023-10-30 13:02:00+00:00) Alabama reporter placed under prior restraint as condition of bail",
"(2024-04-19 00:00:00+00:00) Criminal charges dropped against Alabama reporter",
"(2024-11-20 00:00:00+00:00) Alabama reporter files federal suit against DA and sheriff over arrest"
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"Don Fletcher (Atmore News)"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist says phone snatched at drag performance protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-says-phone-snatched-at-drag-performance-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-08T21:22:11.263920Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-08T21:22:11.263920Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-08T21:13:23.039249Z",
"date": "2023-10-25",
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"city": "San Fernando",
"longitude": -118.43897,
"latitude": 34.28195,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p4d0y\">Independent photojournalist Kelly Stuart’s phone was allegedly stolen by a protest organizer while she was using it to record a demonstration at a library in San Fernando, California, on Oct. 25, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"9tee6\">Approximately 50 people had gathered outside the San Fernando Library to protest a “Drag Queen Story Hour” with performer Pickle, The San Fernando Valley Sun <a href=\"https://sanfernandosun.com/2023/10/25/right-wing-protestors-prevent-drag-queen-storytime-at-san-fernando-public-library/\">reported</a>. The protesters blocked the entrances to the library and the event was ultimately canceled.</p><p data-block-key=\"8i2lv\">Stuart, who publishes her photos on her website and social media, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she has been reporting on the protest group Leave Our Kids Alone for the past year. She saw the group post a social media call to protest at the library and came to document the gathering.</p><p data-block-key=\"8k75j\">As police attempted to escort Pickle into the library, Stuart said the protesters crowded together shoulder to shoulder to prevent the performer’s entry. Stuart continued to document the scene, holding her cellphone aloft, when a man she identified as one of the organizers behind the protest group suddenly turned and grabbed the phone from her hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"66hbj\">“I tried to get it. I kind of jumped across his body and put one arm over his shoulder and I reached but he took the phone and put it down on his right side,” Stuart said.” I don’t know whether he threw it or passed it off to someone, but it was gone.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1kgl6\">Stuart told the Tracker that police witnessed the altercation and briefly detained both of them, took down their information and released them. She attempted to file a police report about the theft of her phone that day and ultimately was able to do so the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"5e4al\">The San Fernando Police Department acknowledged via email the Tracker’s request for a copy of the report, but did not provide one as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"em7d2\">Stuart told the Tracker that the day her phone was taken, she “bricked” it, or rendered it unusable, because it contained reporting notes and source communications.</p><p data-block-key=\"24o9b\">“I’m lucky that I was given a phone [after the theft], because if I was not I wouldn’t be able to report right now,” Stuart said. “Even if I’m not uploading those videos, for my safety I usually mount my phone to my camera. I wouldn’t go out and shoot without a phone.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lmtlz\">Protesters surround drag performer Pickle at the San Fernando Library in California on Oct. 25, 2023. Photojournalist Kelly Stuart, who captured this image, had her phone snatched from her hand shortly after, while filming the protest.</p>",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
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"tags": [
"LGBTQ+ rights",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kelly Stuart (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist detained, cited at Reno rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-detained-cited-at-reno-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-27T15:20:45.073629Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-14T16:08:55.645032Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-14T16:08:55.542127Z",
"date": "2023-10-20",
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"city": "Reno",
"longitude": -119.8138,
"latitude": 39.52963,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q61to\">Freelance photojournalist Eric Marks was handcuffed and issued a citation while documenting a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Reno, Nevada, on Oct. 20, 2023, according to a news report.</p><p data-block-key=\"b9cq9\">This Is Reno <a href=\"https://thisisreno.com/2023/10/journalist-detained-and-threatened-with-arrest-by-reno-police-at-downtown-protest/\">reported</a> that Marks, whose <a href=\"http://ericmarksphotography.com/about-me/\">website</a> says he freelances for the digital news outlet as well as the Reno News & Review, was among multiple members of the press documenting the Reno Rally for Palestine in front of the Bruce R. Thompson Federal Building and Courthouse. The outlet published his <a href=\"https://thisisreno.com/2023/10/photos-locals-rally-to-support-palestinians-in-gaza/\">photo-essay</a> from the rally.</p><p data-block-key=\"52cib\">Marks told the outlet that while members of the press have often reported on protests from the median on Virginia Street, that day the police ordered them to walk across the street despite oncoming traffic. Marks said he refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"4q6cr\">A police spokesperson told This Is Reno that Marks was told to go to the east sidewalk, toward the courthouse, and was warned to avoid the median. Marks said he followed their directions, but that officers ordered them to walk into traffic twice, which This Is Reno confirmed in video from the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bii7\">An officer then grabbed Marks, twisted his arm behind his back and rushed him across the street before handcuffing and detaining him for 30 minutes in a nearby parking garage, according to the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"e1ckl\">Marks told This Is Reno that officers told him he was under arrest and ultimately gave him a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a marked crosswalk, the state’s jaywalking law.</p><p data-block-key=\"7qm5o\">Marks did not respond to requests for comment. The Reno Police Department did not immediately respond to a voicemail requesting additional information.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Eric_Marks_being_detained_by_RPD_.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j4r02\">Freelance photojournalist Eric Marks was detained and cited under Nevada’s jaywalking law while documenting a pro-Palestinian gathering in Reno on Oct. 20, 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Reno Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
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"state": {
"name": "Nevada",
"abbreviation": "NV"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-10-25 12:35:00+00:00) Freelance photojournalist pays Reno rally jaywalking fine"
],
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Eric Marks (This Is Reno)"
],
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},
{
"title": "California journalist restored to district attorney’s media list",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/california-journalist-restored-to-district-attorneys-media-list/",
"first_published_at": "2023-12-13T22:29:27.018536Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-14T18:55:28.254595Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-14T18:55:28.158715Z",
"date": "2023-10-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Berkeley",
"longitude": -122.27275,
"latitude": 37.87159,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nljbo\">Journalist Emilie Raguso, who operates the crime and safety news site The Berkeley Scanner, was removed from the media list of the Alameda County, California, district attorney multiple times in 2023 in alleged retaliation for her coverage. Raguso was reinstated after the office came under <a href=\"https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/12/01/editors-desk/pamela-price-alameda-county-das-office-first-amendment/\">public scrutiny</a> for barring her from a November press conference.</p><p data-block-key=\"5d29u\">Raguso told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that though she launched The Scanner in 2022, she has covered crime and courts for more than a decade. But since she published an article in January that included criticisms of DA Pamela Price’s administration, Raguso said Price has declined all of her requests for comment or interviews and otherwise attempted to obstruct her coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"ecas\">“From then on, they were really uninterested in talking with me and were pretty antagonistic about some things,” Raguso said. “So I’ve continued to try to get interviews and include their perspective, but it’s been challenging.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8nbk1\">Raguso added that when she attended Price’s first press conference in March, she thought everything had proceeded normally. She said she later learned from multiple individuals that Price had wanted to remove her, but some of her employees were able to convince Price not to.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vq75\">In emails shared with the Tracker, an employee at the DA’s office told Raguso in June that her removal from the media list was a simple error, part of a general effort to remove out-of-date recipients, and that she had been added back. By October, however, Raguso realized that she had once again stopped receiving notice of upcoming press events.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbl1\">Raguso told the Tracker that she emailed the DA’s office on Oct. 20 to be readded to the mailing list and to clarify why she kept being removed. She received a response to her inquiry on Nov. 1, when Communications Director Haaziq Madyun wrote to her that the mailing list was “under review.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2arnv\">When Raguso attempted to attend Price’s Nov. 29 press conference, however, she was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/california-journalist-barred-from-district-attorneys-press-conference\">barred at the door</a> due to unspecified “safety issues.” Following public outcry — including a <a href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-11-30-DA-Price-re-Free-Press.pdf\">letter</a> penned by the First Amendment Coalition — Price’s office released a statement that Raguso would be added back to the media list and allowed to attend the DA’s press conferences.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekg25\">“During several transitions of the DAO communications staff over the summer, the DAO media list was modified and reduced to a limited number of news outlets,” the statement said. “Miss Raguso, among others, including the Bay City News Service, was not included in the updated media list, an oversight now being corrected.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fhn0d\">Bay City News Service Managing Editor Dan McMenamin told the Tracker that it was not aware it had stopped receiving emails from the DA’s office until Raguso was barred from the press conference. When contacted by the news outlet, the DA’s office initially said it had an incorrect — and nonexistent — email address for it on record, McMenamin said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1u02u\">The DA’s statement also noted that Price would be leading an effort to establish “clear and transparent media credentials guidelines that balance the need for public safety alongside accommodating today’s journalists. This critical work is long overdue.” Price’s office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7gtm\">Raguso told the Tracker that apparent hostility from Price’s office and supporters has affected her reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"cljfo\">“I have worked hard to be professional and careful in all my dealings with the DA's office,” Raguso said, “and have taken pains to skip quite a few stories that were absolutely newsworthy — solely because of the complaints by her supporters that the coverage has been unfair or overly critical.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Raguso_1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"42peo\">The office of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who is pictured above, repeatedly removed journalist Emilie Raguso from its media list in 2023 in alleged retaliation for critical coverage.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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},
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"Law enforcement: Prosecutor"
],
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
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"Emilie Raguso (The Berkeley Scanner)"
],
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"Press credential or media list"
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},
{
"title": "Reporter assaulted by security for Ghanaian national soccer team",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-by-security-for-ghanaian-national-soccer-team/",
"first_published_at": "2023-11-16T16:05:41.388157Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-16T16:05:41.388157Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-15T18:57:26.454165Z",
"date": "2023-10-14",
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"city": "Charlotte",
"longitude": -80.84313,
"latitude": 35.22709,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"anuvb\">Sports journalist Seidu Adamu was assaulted by a private security guard for the Black Stars, Ghana’s national soccer team, at a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Oct. 14, 2023.</p><p data-block-key=\"ck79m\">Adamu, a U.S.-based journalist for sports website 442 Ghana, <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02jCDH3sYbh7xwBs2qcvKdhsDhSEeR6JkoYzZ6taWNDTeNiEWAt4FfsBz44L8V6V9el&id=100094411999653\">wrote on</a> <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0MmqonC4JsVemohs1ceR5mrWMfyLX5Q8EdEaHbW7JVyXHxmSify9Y56uvuBte7CARl&id=100094411999653\">social media</a> that he was covering the team’s activities ahead of its match against Mexico that day. Shortly after he greeted the team’s manager and a FIFA employee, he wrote that one of the Black Stars’ security guards attacked him without warning in the lobby of the team’s hotel and attempted to strangle him.</p><p data-block-key=\"256fp\">“I did not sustain any major injury as a result of the attack, but I still feel some pain in my neck and arm and bruises around my ears,” Adamu wrote. “To have yourself strangled in the neck by a near 7-foot tall, 350-pound [man] is no Joke.”</p><p data-block-key=\"27c2u\">He did not respond to multiple requests for additional comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ns6v\">Adamu posted that he had filed a report with local police concerning the attack, and that he would no longer travel to Tennessee to cover the Black Stars’ match against the U.S. men’s national team on Oct. 17.</p><p data-block-key=\"4nc8l\">The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has listed the case as inactive, according to a copy of the incident report shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"4i8vr\">The Sports Writers Association of Ghana — of which Adamu is a member — condemned the attack in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FelixRomark/status/1713935511222403121\">statement</a> and said that its president, Kwabena Yeboah, lodged a complaint with the Ghana Football Association.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg3kb\">“Mr. Yeboah also took the opportunity to emphasize the need for the [GFA] leadership to hold their errant official accountable, given that he had previously been implicated in similar acts of aggression towards journalists in the course of their duties,” the statement said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1uf8c\">During a <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E63vrFAIQE\">radio show for CITI 97.3 FM</a>, a radio station that broadcasts from Ghana, multiple sports reporters criticized the GFA for <a href=\"https://3news.com/ghana-fa-criticised-for-silence-on-alleged-journalist-attack-in-black-stars-camp/\">not releasing a statement</a> condemning the attack and said that the SWAG statement was toothless.</p><p data-block-key=\"c5340\">“I think that statement is inadequate, I think that statement is lightweight and I think that statement does not in any way protect journalists from a future that involves these types of incidents,” show host Benjamin Nketsia said. “At this point we need to advise ourselves about attending GFA programs.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nix86\">Ghana’s national soccer team takes the field in a friendly match against Mexico on Oct. 14, 2023. A security guard for the team allegedly assaulted sports journalist Seidu Adamu earlier that day at the team’s hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina<i>.</i></p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "private security",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Seidu Adamu (442gh [Ghana])"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Subpoena for financial reporter’s documents in California suit quashed",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/subpoena-for-financial-reporters-documents-in-california-suit-quashed/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-29T22:23:00.601161Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-29T22:26:36.638169Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-29T22:26:36.560883Z",
"date": "2023-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"807x3\">Roddy Boyd, editor and founder of the investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism, was issued a subpoena on Oct. 11, 2023, for documents in connection with a California wiretap and defamation lawsuit, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"2rl6h\">He had first been served a wider-ranging legal order in August 2022. But after it was narrowed, a motion to compel Boyd to comply was set aside on Aug. 7, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"dv3df\">The underlying <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.1.pdf\">lawsuit</a> was filed by investor Marc Cohodes in January 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Cohodes alleged in his complaint that the defendants used a private investigator to befriend him on false pretenses, then illegally record his phone calls and later disclose calls, emails and private conversations to damage his reputation.</p><p data-block-key=\"2874l\">Boyd had published an <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.6.pdf\">article</a> in May 2021 that detailed the investigator’s recording of Cohodes’ calls. In his story, which is no longer available on the news outlet’s website, Boyd admits agreeing to a request by the investigator, who had falsely represented himself, to introduce him to Cohodes in 2016.</p><p data-block-key=\"9e7ge\">On <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/financial-reporter-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-california-lawsuit/\">Aug. 23, 2022</a>, Cohodes filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.10.pdf\">subpoena</a> seeking all documents in Boyd’s possession, including communications, concerning the investigator, the other defendants and Cohodes.</p><p data-block-key=\"q5ac\">Boyd <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.11.pdf\">objected</a> to that subpoena on Aug. 30, 2022, arguing that he is protected by the First Amendment and the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-the-reporters-privilege-compendium/\">reporter’s privilege</a> from turning over the documents. He also objected that the subpoena was overly broad and vague, and that it sought to obtain materials available elsewhere.</p><p data-block-key=\"3i7ns\">A narrowed subpoena was <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.12.pdf\">reissued</a> on Oct. 11, 2023, seeking communications between Boyd and the investigator, as well as Boyd’s documents related to the investigator’s recording of Cohodes’ communications and the May 2021 article.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tuuq\">Boyd filed another <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.13.pdf\">objection</a> on Oct. 23, asserting that his activities are protected by the First Amendment, the reporter’s privilege and the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/north-carolina/\">shield law</a> of North Carolina, where he is based. He also argued that the subpoena would impose undue time and expense burdens, and that the documents are available from other sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"fg3ut\">Cohodes filed a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.2.0_2.pdf\">motion to compel</a> Boyd to comply with the subpoena on Jan. 16, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He argued that the materials related to the introduction of the investigator to Cohodes were not related to newsgathering, and that the remaining documents should be produced because there is a compelling need for them, they are relevant to the case and they cannot be obtained elsewhere.</p><p data-block-key=\"fbjni\">On Jan. 30, Boyd <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.11.0.pdf\">asked</a> the court to deny that motion, which Magistrate Judge Kimberly Swank did <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nced.207349/gov.uscourts.nced.207349.14.0.pdf\">on Aug. 7, 2024</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3loir\">Boyd welcomed the ruling in a social media <a href=\"https://x.com/FFJ_report/status/1828085741941055885\">post</a>. He did not respond to a request for further comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Boyd_Cohodes_10.11.23.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"uwxwv\">A portion of a subpoena issued to investigative reporter Roddy Boyd on Oct. 11, 2023, for documents and communications related to a wiretap and defamation suit in California. The subpoena was quashed on Aug. 7, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Roddy Boyd (Foundation for Financial Journalism)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Judge again bars media from publishing on expelled student or his lawsuit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-again-bars-media-from-publishing-on-expelled-student-or-his-lawsuit/",
"first_published_at": "2023-10-11T19:21:57.276749Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-01T21:45:51.368586Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-01T21:45:51.276995Z",
"date": "2023-10-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Asheville",
"longitude": -82.55402,
"latitude": 35.60095,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8tdnl\">A U.S. district judge in Asheville, North Carolina, issued a second temporary restraining order on Oct. 10, 2023, barring members of the press from publishing about a former student who is suing the University of North Carolina System and multiple university administrators, <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ncwd.111064/gov.uscourts.ncwd.111064.57.0.pdf\">according to court records</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkd94\">The plaintiff, who filed <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ncwd.111064/gov.uscourts.ncwd.111064.1.0.pdf\">the suit</a> on Feb. 15 under the pseudonym Jacob Doe, alleges that he was wrongfully expelled from UNC-Chapel Hill after being accused of sexual assault by four undergraduate women.</p><p data-block-key=\"b5jn6\">When filing the suit, Doe simultaneously filed the motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, requesting that no information be released by the defendants or published by the media. Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-bars-media-from-publishing-on-expelled-student-suing-unc-system/\">granted that temporary restraining order</a> on Feb. 22, citing possible irreparable harm to the plaintiff.</p><p data-block-key=\"hdhc\">Immediately after the restraint went into effect, however, the parties jointly <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ncwd.111064/gov.uscourts.ncwd.111064.15.0.pdf\">filed to withdraw</a> the motion and Reidinger dissolved the order on March 1.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7vg7\">Doe refiled his motion seven months later, after UNC informed him that it had received a public records request seeking to identify him, according to court records. On Oct. 10, District Judge Max Cogburn Jr. granted the motion.</p><p data-block-key=\"ag0vo\">As with the initial prior restraint, the university is barred from disclosing any information about the disciplinary proceedings at the heart of the lawsuit. UNC is also required to instruct news outlets that they are barred from publishing any information about Doe or his disciplinary proceedings that they may receive.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Asheville_prior_restraint2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"owxmn\">Students sit on library steps at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018. As part of a 2023 lawsuit against UNC, a judge issued a new restraining order barring media from publishing information about a former student or his expulsion.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": "dropped",
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "North Carolina",
"abbreviation": "NC"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-11-28 10:45:00+00:00) Judge ends restraining order; allows press to publish on UNC suit"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"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>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Ben-Ora.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "press identification"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Talia (Jane) Ben-Ora (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Judge sets aside Texas magazine’s subpoena in murder case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-sets-aside-texas-magazines-subpoena-in-murder-case/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-10T15:09:23.069074Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-10T15:17:47.528770Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-10T15:17:47.449097Z",
"date": "2023-10-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Dallas",
"longitude": -96.80667,
"latitude": 32.78306,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"l0b90\">Dallas-based D Magazine was subpoenaed to turn over communications in connection with a Texas murder case on Oct. 5, 2023, according to court filings. The order was set aside by a judge on Nov. 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"65g9h\">For a May 2017 <a href=\"https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2017/may/ira-tobolowsky-lawyer-murder-something-evil-happened/\">story</a> in the monthly magazine about the high-profile death of Dallas lawyer Ira Tobolowsky, contributing editor Jamie Leigh Thompson corresponded via email with a main suspect, Steven Aubrey.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2fi3\">After Aubrey’s <a href=\"https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2022/04/29/man-arrested-for-killing-texas-attorney-by-setting-him-on-fire-in-2016-police-say/\">arrest</a> on murder charges in 2022, prosecutors in Dallas County subpoenaed D Magazine for copies of communications between Thompson, the magazine’s staff and Aubrey.</p><p data-block-key=\"9rth0\">In the magazine’s Oct. 19, 2023, motion to set aside the subpoena, filed in Dallas County District Court, it argued that the communications sought by prosecutors were protected as privileged under the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/texas/\">Texas Code of Criminal Procedure</a>. That statute shields journalists and news outlets from turning over confidential and nonconfidential information except in narrow circumstances.</p><p data-block-key=\"4n9mp\">District Judge Hector Garza granted the motion on Nov. 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"dlnla\">Texas prosecutors <a href=\"https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/da-drops-charges-against-litigant-charged-with-murder-of-prominent-dallas-lawyer#google_vignette\">dropped</a> the charges against Aubrey in January 2024; however, they left open the possibility of reinstating the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"61fn0\">Dallas County prosecutors also issued subpoenas in connection with the case to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/maryland-reporter-subpoenaed-to-testify-in-texas-murder-trial/\">Thompson</a> in July 2023, and in October 2023 to Fort Worth television station <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-tv-station-subpoenaed-in-murder-case-order-set-aside/\">KTVT</a>. The station’s order was set aside in November, and the charges against Aubrey were dropped before a court could rule on the substance of Thompson’s challenge.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nbit\">D Magazine did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/D_Mag.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"tnic3\">A portion of Texas prosecutors’ Oct. 5, 2023, subpoena for D Magazine to turn over the communications of journalist Jamie Leigh Thompson and its staff with the defendant in a murder case. The order was set aside in November.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"D"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Texas TV station subpoenaed in murder case; order set aside",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-tv-station-subpoenaed-in-murder-case-order-set-aside/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-10T15:15:50.744806Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-10T15:18:53.361143Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-10T15:18:53.257023Z",
"date": "2023-10-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Dallas",
"longitude": -96.80667,
"latitude": 32.78306,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"iecan\">Fort Worth, Texas, television station KTVT was subpoenaed to turn over video footage in connection with a murder case on Oct. 5, 2023, according to court filings. The order was set aside by a judge on Nov. 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"1u81i\">The subpoena asked for video footage related to a <a href=\"https://youtu.be/sQadeCXZnbM?si=e4EZEF5k7zEhRA7E\">news story</a>, “I Team: A Dallas Murder Mystery…1 Year Later,” that aired in April 2017. The story examined the high-profile 2016 death of Dallas lawyer Ira Tobolowsky.</p><p data-block-key=\"ctcb8\">A separate subpoena, also issued Oct. 5, 2023, asked for a copy of all communications between reporter Ginger Allen and Steven Aubrey, who was arrested on murder charges in the case in 2022 and who pleaded not guilty. That subpoena was withdrawn by the state Oct. 19, Marc Fuller, an attorney for the station, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"eddpd\">The station argued in an Oct. 20 motion to set aside its subpoena that the video footage — which consisted of interviews with the victim’s family members and video of the property where he died, filmed a year later — was not essential to the prosecution’s case and therefore protected under the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/privilege-compendium/texas/\">Texas reporter’s shield law</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9727r\">Dallas County District Judge Hector Garza granted that motion on Nov. 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bdv\">Texas prosecutors <a href=\"https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/da-drops-charges-against-litigant-charged-with-murder-of-prominent-dallas-lawyer#google_vignette\">dropped</a> the charges against Aubrey in January 2024; however, they left open the possibility of reinstating the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"ac4sd\">Dallas County prosecutors also issued subpoenas in connection with the case in July 2023 to D Magazine contributing editor <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/maryland-reporter-subpoenaed-to-testify-in-texas-murder-trial/\">Jamie Leigh Thompson</a>, and in October 2023 to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-sets-aside-texas-magazines-subpoena-in-murder-case/\">D Magazine</a>. The outlet’s order was set aside in November, and the charges were dropped before a court could rule on the substance of Thompson’s challenge.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3oi4\">KTVT did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"oh38s\">A portion of Texas prosecutors’ Oct. 5, 2023, subpoena for Fort Worth television station KTVT to turn over video footage in connection with a murder case. The order was set aside in November.</p>",
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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",
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"city": "Hazleton",
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"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>",
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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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{
"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",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
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"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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