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{
"title": "Philadelphia Inquirer reporter one of three journalists detained by police past curfew",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/philadelphia-inquirer-reporter-one-three-journalists-detained-police-past-curfew/",
"first_published_at": "2020-06-17T02:55:55.868353Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T18:27:20.987289Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T18:27:20.884820Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Philadelphia",
"longitude": -75.16362,
"latitude": 39.95238,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ei4vv\">Kristen Graham, a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was temporarily detained on June 1, 2020, by police while returning home from reporting post-curfew, her paper<a href=\"https://www.inquirer.com/news/live/philadelphia-protest-curfew-news-live-george-floyd-minneapolis-looting-stores-police-20200602.html\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"a1nta\">Graham was one of three journalists similarly detained that night in Philadelphia. Reporter Jeff Neiburg and photographer Jenna Miller of Wilmington’s The News Journal and Delaware Online were also arrested by Philadelphia police as they attempted to return home after the 6 p.m. curfew, the outlet<a href=\"https://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/editorials/2020/06/02/reporters-must-not-charged-detained-they-cover-protests-editorial/3123063001/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6yyu\">Their respective outlets said the three journalists were reporting on protests that began in Minnesota on May 26 and spread across the country, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"gu8h8\">Graham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning education reporter, volunteered to cover the protests that day, she said in a<a href=\"https://www.inquirer.com/news/george-floyd-protests-philadelphia-jouranlist-arrested-kristen-graham-20200602.html\"> personal account</a> written for the Inquirer. Police deployed tear gas around 5 p.m. into a crowd near Graham. She continued to report despite the stinging in her eyes.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbzo5\">As the curfew set in by 6 p.m. and the protesters dissipated, Graham wrote that she decided to walk back to her car near the Inquirer office. After passing dozens of police officers, one approached her to ask where she was going. The officer urged her to keep her press credentials prominently displayed. So she did.</p><p data-block-key=\"4a69v\">After she photographed some police buses near City Hall, another officer told her she was not allowed there. So Graham turned around to walk the other way around the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"pu01g\">A minute later, she wrote, two officers confronted her and put her hands behind her back. Despite Graham trying to explain she was a reporter, the officers cuffed her in zip ties. Graham told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the officers placed her helmet and phone inside her backpack.</p><p data-block-key=\"sxg9w\">The<a href=\"https://www.phila.gov/documents/emergency-order-to-implement-curfew/\"> curfew order</a> explicitly excludes working media as essential personnel. But Graham told the Tracker that the officers “brushed aside” her explanation that she was working as a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"ycw6j\">Graham wrote in her account for the Inquirer that she was brought to an empty bus that soon was filled with more than 20 women, including Miller from The News Journal. Like Graham, Miller and Neiburg were detained near City Hall and brought to buses segregated by gender, Neiburg said in an <a href=\"https://975thefanatic.com/episodes/delware-onlines-jeff-neiburg-breaks-down-the-protests/\">interview</a> with the local radio station 97.5 The Fanatic. The journalists, with the other detainees, were then driven to the 22nd District Headquarters.</p><p data-block-key=\"qywg4\">Graham told the Tracker that she was brought into the station for processing. But a police supervisor told the officers there was no room and ordered her taken back to the bus.</p><p data-block-key=\"z3kxz\">For two hours, the journalists remained on the buses, their outlets reported. In her Inquirer account, Graham described how the buses were not air conditioned and one woman urinated herself after not being allowed to use the bathroom. Another woman had a medical emergency and was eventually taken to receive medical care.</p><p data-block-key=\"tvdgf\">An officer informed the detainees on Graham and Miller’s bus they would be issued citations for violating the curfew and released by the end of the night, both journalists <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jennamargaretta/status/1267635481317183488\">said</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"0pvba\">Graham wrote in the Inquirer that she was eventually able to maneuver her hands in order to send texts to her husband and editor on her smartwatch. A lawyer for the Inquirer contacted city officials. Around 9 p.m., the journalists were released without charge but with an apology from officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"ioq8g\">City spokesperson Mike Dunn told the Tracker that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is “extremely troubled” by the detentions and has called some of the journalists. Both Mayor Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw “are strongly committed to allowing press access so the public can be fully informed,” Dunn said.</p><p data-block-key=\"yz1hj\">Toward that end, Dunn said Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw ordered an investigation into the detentions. And police protocols that ensure “properly credentialed press are essential workers and not subject to restrictions of a curfew, as long as they are not impeding public safety or police operations […] have been reiterated repeatedly in internal communications to officers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"p89xz\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred total incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country related to the death of George Floyd. Find all of these cases <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
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"tags": [
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"protest"
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"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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{
"title": "Asbury Park Press journalist arrested covering protests, released the next day",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/asbury-park-press-journalist-arrested-covering-protests-released-next-day/",
"first_published_at": "2020-06-09T13:52:37.487049Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:51:02.217180Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:51:02.098917Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Asbury Park",
"longitude": -74.01208,
"latitude": 40.22039,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"175vk\">Gustavo Martínez Contreras, a multimedia journalist with the New Jersey daily Asbury Park Press, was arrested while covering an anti-police violence protest in Asbury Park on the night of June 1, 2020. He was released after spending the night in custody.</p><p data-block-key=\"nozcd\">The city of Asbury Park had imposed an 8 p.m. <a href=\"https://www.cityofasburypark.com/DocumentCenter/View/1578/20200601_Disaster-Declaration?bidId=\">curfew</a> ahead of planned protests, part of the national wave of unrest since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. The curfew, <a href=\"https://www.app.com/story/news/2020/06/01/curfew-set-asbury-park-ahead-justice-george-floyd-protest/5311591002/\">which explicitly excluded credentialed media</a>, did not stop protesters from <a href=\"https://www.app.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2020/06/01/app-reporter-apparently-arrested-asbury-park-george-floyd-protest/5314750002/\">marching</a>, according to the Asbury Park Press.</p><p data-block-key=\"2r4ja\">Throughout the night, Martínez <a href=\"https://twitter.com/newsguz/status/1267632790536728577\">posted</a> videos of the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/newsguz/status/1267632700996886528\">protest</a> in Asbury Park on Twitter. In his last <a href=\"https://twitter.com/newsguz/status/1267638156368719874\">video</a>, Martínez captured his own arrest while livestreaming.</p><p data-block-key=\"cdbex\">The video, posted around 10 p.m., shows a suddenly tense scene compared to his previous footage. Asbury Park police began to enforce the curfew by advancing in riot gear and making arrests. A police officer shoved Martínez, apologized with no explanation, and returned attention to protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"nc3g4\">Minutes later on the feed, Martínez filmed police arresting two young protesters when two police officers approached him shouting “Go home” and “This shit is fucking over.” A third police officer off-screen said “Fuck him, he’s the problem” and tackled Martínez to the ground. “You're under arrest. Put your fucking hands behind your back," the officer said. The video then cut out.</p><p data-block-key=\"e93ro\">In a personal <a href=\"https://www.app.com/story/news/local/emergencies/2020/06/03/gustavo-martinez-contreras-arrest-george-floyd-protest-asbury-park/3126798001/\">account</a> on the Press website, Martínez wrote that one police officer yelled “take down his fucking phone” and slapped it out of his hand. Police escorted him to a van transporting arrested protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ue11\">On the way to the van, an officer asked Martínez what was hanging around his neck, Martínez wrote. His press badge, he replied. It was one of several times Martínez identified himself as a journalist to the police before, during, and after his arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"xlk1w\">The van took the prisoners to Belmar Police Department. Martínez told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a plainclothes officer asked him if he knew about or had any interaction at the protest with the radical left-wing activist movement antifa, a group President Donald Trump vowed to declare a terrorist organization, even though he reportedly may lack the legal authority to do so. Martínez said he was familiar with the group because of his work as a journalist. He said the officer warned him to avoid antifa because it is a terrorist organization.</p><p data-block-key=\"9gwxw\">Martínez was released the following morning after five hours in custody, he wrote. Police returned his belongings, including his phone, backpack, safety goggles, and helmet.</p><p data-block-key=\"k9h9q\">Martínez had been booked on charges of failing to obey an order to disperse, according to a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MCProsecutors.Office/posts/3019661608116684?__tn__=-R\">summons</a> posted on the Monmouth County Prosecutor Office’s Facebook page. The charges were quickly dropped by morning. The police request to dismiss the charge, also posted on the prosecutor’s Facebook page, claimed that Martínez had failed to identify as a reporter, which Martínez disputes.</p><p data-block-key=\"cotmt\">The Asbury Park Police and the Belmar Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"y74of\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/1267823567476908034\">On Twitter</a>, New Jersey State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal pledged to “figure out why this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again [because] in America, we don’t lock up reporters for doing their job.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t2gu6\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred total incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country related to the death of George Floyd while in police custody. Find all of these cases <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": null,
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"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": "Asbury Park Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-06-02",
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "3:20-cv-08710",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-06-08 10:27:00+00:00) Reporter settles civil suit against New Jersey police",
"(2020-07-13 07:14:00+00:00) Reporter sues New Jersey police following investigation that cleared officers of wrongdoing"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter detained while covering Oakland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-detained-while-covering-oakland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-06-04T12:52:03.832079Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:50:41.721133Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:50:41.627883Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Oakland",
"longitude": -122.2708,
"latitude": 37.80437,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qdffd\">Police briefly detained KPIX 5 News reporter Katie Nielsen while she was documenting protests in Oakland, California, on June 1, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"m8zax\">Protests that began in Minnesota on May 26 spread across the country, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"9irr9\">Nielsen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was documenting a peaceful protest organized by Oakland Tech High School students. Approximately 15,000 people had gathered with a plan to march to the Oakland Police Department on 7th Street, but were stopped by a police barricade a block away.</p><p data-block-key=\"widt5\">“Protesters started yelling. Officers masked up, and as soon as a protester threw something across the police line, they fired back with tear gas and flash bangs,” Nielsen said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ky7i\">Police gave dispersal warnings as the 8 p.m. curfew approached; Nielsen said that about a dozen protesters were still in the area at curfew, and police rushed in to make arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"bj399\">“I was grabbed by an officer and told to put my hands behind my back. I kept repeating that I was a reporter and had my credentials right here, visible,” Nielsen said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ar62\">A second officer approached her, but walked away after he heard that she was a reporter. The initial officer continued to walk her into the middle of the intersection and handcuffed her.</p><p data-block-key=\"a6c4k\">“The photographer I was with, Erin Baldassari, was not just a few feet away shooting everything that was happening to me,” Nielsen said. “They just held me there standing in the middle of the intersection.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police rushed in and started arresting everyone present <a href=\"https://t.co/jATY8xjasM\">pic.twitter.com/jATY8xjasM</a></p>— Erin Baldassari (@e_baldi) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/e_baldi/status/1267652640529235970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rfocl\">Five to ten minutes later, a police lieutenant approached Nielsen, verified her credentials and released her without charges, she said. Nielsen said she was only in custody for a few minutes, but, “it was enough to keep us from reporting and shooting the arrests that were happening with the protesters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4tly3\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KatieKPIX/status/1267716744870678533\">an interview</a> on KPIX 5 News after the incident, Oakland Police spokesperson Johnna Watson apologized to Nielsen for the arrest.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here is the 11pm story about the protest, my detainment, and a statement from OPD regarding the incident. <a href=\"https://t.co/mg9FRaYnz0\">pic.twitter.com/mg9FRaYnz0</a></p>— Katie Nielsen (@KatieKPIX) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KatieKPIX/status/1267716744870678533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1equ0\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting damage of equipment and multiple journalists arrested or struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas while covering related protests across the country. Find all of these cases <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Nielsen_Erin_Baldassari_-_KQED2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"evjtk\">Police in Oakland, California, detain KPIX 5 News reporter Katie Nielsen on June 1, 2020. The interaction was captured by another photographer with whom Nielsen was documenting protests in the city.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Oakland Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
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"Katie Nielsen (KPIX-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Australian cameraman assaulted by police amid chaotic crackdowns in DC",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/australian-cameraman-assaulted-by-police-amid-chaotic-crackdowns-in-dc/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-19T15:36:10.717252Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:55:33.622134Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:55:33.535061Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"479qo\">A news crew for Australia’s 7News was assaulted by law enforcement while covering protests against police violence in Washington, D.C., on June 1, 2020, a chaotic day for demonstrations throughout the nation’s capital.</p><p data-block-key=\"d4472\">Cameraman Tim Myers and correspondent Amelia Brace were reporting live on-air amid a group of protesters facing a police line when officers rushed the crowd. An officer wearing riot gear can be <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1267592137735991296?s=20\">seen pushing</a> Myers with a shield and hitting his camera. As Myers and Brace fled the scene, an officer can be seen swinging a baton at Brace.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Watch the shocking moment <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/7NEWS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#7NEWS</a> reporter <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AmeliaBrace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AmeliaBrace</a> and our cameraman were knocked over by a police officer LIVE on air after chaos erupted in Washington DC. <a href=\"https://t.co/R8KJLnfxPN\">pic.twitter.com/R8KJLnfxPN</a></p>— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1267587976986427393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pcrer\">“They were quite violent and they do not care who they’re targeting at the moment,” Brace told in-studio anchors during a <a href=\"https://7news.com.au/sunrise/on-the-show/scary-moment-as-sunrise-reporter-caught-up-in-us-violence-c-1073136\">subsequent report for 7News</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"llbbk\">“We were trying to move on. The last thing we ever want is to get in the way, but there was just no opportunity,” she continued. “There was really no choice but to try to hide in that corner, hoping that they pass by ... as you can see in those pictures, they did not.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lv0hg\">Brace also told the anchors that a rubber bullet hit her “on the backside” and that another round struck Myers on the neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"1d5xs\">7News did not respond to requests for comment or make its journalists available for interviews.</p><p data-block-key=\"tdkue\">D.C. is notable for the<a href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/05/protests-washington-dc-federal-agents-law-enforcement-302551\"> large number of different police forces</a> that operate within its borders. The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia did not respond to requests for comment on these incidents as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"y0q7b\">Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the country after a viral video showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"8s699\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"(2023-05-24 00:00:00+00:00) Investigation finds that officers used excessive force against Australian photojournalist, correspondent"
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"shot / shot at"
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"authors": [],
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{
"title": "Independent photojournalist sues following arrest, assault at Des Moines protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-sues-following-arrest-assault-at-des-moines-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2022-08-16T20:16:18.860235Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-07T14:26:12.947179Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-07T14:26:12.827292Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Des Moines",
"longitude": -93.60911,
"latitude": 41.60054,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0nskf\">A photojournalist was tackled to the ground and arrested while documenting protests in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 1, 2020. Mark Nieters, who publishes under Ted Nieters, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the city, the chief of police and the officer involved in the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vulu\">The protest was one in a series of national demonstrations against police brutality sparked by the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As the protests continued nightly, Iowa’s Polk County Board of Supervisors implemented a 9 p.m. curfew on May 31 <a href=\"https://www.kcrg.com/2020/05/31/polk-county-announces-curfew-following-weekend-violent-protests/\">due to</a> “the violent outbreak of civil unrest” in Des Moines.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hshf\">According to Nieters’ <a href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20437484/mark-nieters-complaint.pdf\">lawsuit</a>, protesters had gathered at the Iowa Capitol on June 1 for an event called “Together We Can Make a Change: A Call to Action.” The formal event ended at 8:15 p.m., but several hundred people marched to the Des Moines Police Department and some ultimately looped back to the Capitol. Police engaged the crowd at around 11:45 p.m., according to the lawsuit, issuing an order to disperse and throwing tear gas canisters and flashbangs toward the protesters. Nieters confirmed the details of the filing to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, and his attorney was not immediately available for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"bauat\">Nieters had left the complex before officers began attempting to disperse the crowd, and was walking alone on Locust Street toward an Embassy Suites located across the street from City Hall. He stopped in one of the hotel’s driveways and began taking photos as officers ran past City Hall in his direction. One of the officers, identified as Brandon Holtan and named as a plaintiff in the suit, ran directly toward Nieters.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8387\">“As Defendant Holton approached, Mr. Nieters placed his hands in the air and stated that he was a journalist. Mr. Nieters perceived that Defendant Holton was going to run directly into him and so Mr. Nieters turned his back and tried to brace himself,” the lawsuit states.</p><p data-block-key=\"taij\">Holtan then tackled Nieters to the ground and pepper-sprayed him in the eyes. Nieters confirmed to the Tracker that while this was happening he identified himself as a journalist and said that he had his National Press Photographers Association press card in his back pocket.</p><p data-block-key=\"5iiq8\">In addition to the press card — which Holtan located and examined — the lawsuit states that Nieters was carrying two cameras and wearing a bright blue helmet at the time of the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"eg1o0\">“Despite observing confirmation that Mr. Nieters was working as a photographer, Defendant Holton proceeded to tightly zip-tie Mr. Nieters’ hands together behind his back and arrest him,” the lawsuit said.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0jvb\">In an email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Nieters said that the Des Moines Police officers repeatedly acted recklessly and without regard for the law or common sense.</p><p data-block-key=\"9logb\">“I believe I was targeted for being recognizable and in front while covering protests,” Nieters said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vqp1\">Nieters confirmed to the Tracker that he was held in police custody for 12 hours, during which time he wasn’t allowed to make any calls to arrange for bail or alert anyone to his whereabouts until after his initial court appearance at around 12:30 p.m. Afterward, he was charged with failure to disperse and released.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpo94\">According to Nieters’ lawsuit, officers lied about the course of events in both the affidavit supporting the charges and in a report about the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"8im0l\">On the morning of June 2, Gov. Kim Reynolds held a <a href=\"https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/06/02/des-moines-police-pepper-spray-journalist-iowa-george-floyd-protest-des-moines-register-reporter/3126478001/\">news conference</a>, where Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens answered a few questions about the protests. Bayens said law enforcement’s response to the protests had been defined by “restraint, restraint, restraint,” adding that law enforcement did not have “any desire to see anyone that is there in a peaceful capacity or as a member of the media to get caught up with that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"alm9h\">According to the Register, Nieters had to appear multiple times in court before the charge against him was ultimately dropped on Aug. 13, with all of his court costs to be paid by the prosecutors.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lgbl\">Nieters told the Tracker he was relieved by the outcome, but was alarmed by the prosecutor’s continued pursuit of charges against a Des Moines Register reporter who was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pepper-sprayed-arrested-amid-protests-des-moines/\">arrested while covering protests</a> the day before his arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"b5fo1\">“It was a relief but also bothersome because Andrea Sahouri was still being charged for her journalism and neither of us were doing anything wrong,” Nieters said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ngfo\">Sahouri was ultimately acquitted of all charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gj88\">Nieters filed his <a href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20437484/mark-nieters-complaint.pdf\">lawsuit</a> against Officer Holtan, Chief of Police Dana Wingert and the city of Des Moines on Dec. 23, seeking compensation for his injuries and violations of his constitutional rights as well as injunctive relief.</p><p data-block-key=\"bruki\">City attorneys moved Nieters’ case from state to federal court in February 2021 and filed a motion for summary judgment in April 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"bof9h\">On July 19, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22127564-nieters-order\">ruled</a> in favor of the Des Moines Police Department on the federal claims, finding that Holtan had “arguable probable cause” to arrest Nieters because of his proximity to the protesters not complying with orders to disperse.</p><p data-block-key=\"74pul\">“Even if Holtan was mistaken in believing Nieters heard the dispersal orders and was following an unlawful assembly, such a mistake was objectively reasonable given the information Holtan received about a 'large' group traveling on Locust Street,” Ebinger wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"7mavb\">She added that Nieters turning away from Holtan as he approached could reasonably have been interpreted as an attempt to flee. Ebinger declined to rule on Nieters’ state claims, however, saying they should be decided by Iowa courts.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcilr\">Gina Messamer, the photojournalist’s attorney, appealed the decision to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 27. Messamer <a href=\"https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2022/08/05/courts-rule-three-des-moines-police-misconduct-lawsuits/10231495002/\">told the Register</a> that she expects the state proceedings to remain on hold until the appeal process is completed.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qbjei\">A still of police body camera video showing photojournalist Mark "Ted" Nieters after he was tackled to the ground, pepper-sprayed and arrested while documenting protests in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 1, 2020.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Des Moines Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2020-06-02",
"detention_date": "2020-06-01",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "4:21-cv-00042",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Iowa",
"abbreviation": "IA"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-10-11 13:40:00+00:00) Appeals court revives journalist’s unlawful seizure, excessive force claims",
"(2024-08-21 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist settles suit against city of Des Moines for $100,000"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mark “Ted” Nieters (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reuters reporter assaulted while covering DC protests on June 1",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reuters-reporter-assaulted-while-covering-dc-protests-on-june-1/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-19T15:42:04.048465Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:57:06.748451Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:57:06.649899Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"o225t\">Reuters journalists Jonathan Landay and Andy Sullivan were assaulted by unknown individuals on June 1, 2020 while covering protests in Washington, D.C.</p><p data-block-key=\"1p71z\">Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the country after a viral video showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"xdocs\">Sullivan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the demonstrations that he and Landay encountered on June 1 were nonviolent. He said they witnessed “no vandalism or anything of that nature.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f36b5\">But at about 8 p.m., a group of unknown individuals approached Landay and Sullivan near the intersection of 14th Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW, Sullivan said. One of the individuals asked “in an aggressive way” if Sullivan was a police officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"6xhij\">Voice of America journalist Ani Chkhikvadze was near the scene and captured video of three males wearing black T-shirts swinging their fists at Landay as he ducked away from the assailants.</p><p data-block-key=\"fzldd\">Chkhikvadze, who reports for VOA’s Georgian language service, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/achkhikvadze/status/1267621129465876480?s=20\">tweeted that she accidentally caught footage</a> of the attack while she covered the protests. She posted two versions of the video, and in the longer one Landay is heard explaining that the individuals who tried to punch him asked “What are you doing down here?”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Group of people at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCprotests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DCprotests</a> attacked <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Reuters?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Reuters</a> journalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonathanLanday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JonathanLanday</a>. I accidentally caught it on camera - while covering the protests. According to him he was asked why he was there, he replied “I am here to tell you story” / which is when he was attacked. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VOANews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VOANews</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/EWZtqGcjGQ\">pic.twitter.com/EWZtqGcjGQ</a></p>— Ani Chkhikvadze (@achkhikvadze) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/achkhikvadze/status/1267621129465876480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ailfm\">In the video, Landay tells Chkhikvadze that he replied: “I’m here to tell your story.” The assailants began swinging for Landay after he replied, Chkhikvadze wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"7scip\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/achkhikvadze/status/1267628177674899461?s=20\">In the video, Landay is seen</a> wearing a black flak vest with “PRESS” emblazoned in white block letters on the front, and he has press credentials hanging from a lanyard hanging around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ngvd\">Sullivan, a White House correspondent for Reuters, told the Tracker that the assailants took a “few swings” at him and at Landay but that ultimately “no damage was done.” He said that other protesters stepped in to intervene, giving the journalists time to retreat.</p><p data-block-key=\"8asly\">“I started all this by accident by trying to interview these guys,” Sullivan <a href=\"https://twitter.com/andysullivan/status/1267645771018616832\">said in a retweet</a> of Chkhikvadze’s video. “Sorry @JonathanLanday!”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I started all this by accident by trying to interview these guys. Sorry <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonathanLanday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JonathanLanday</a>! <a href=\"https://t.co/GGpoVcDkAt\">https://t.co/GGpoVcDkAt</a></p>— Andy Sullivan (@andysullivan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/andysullivan/status/1267645771018616832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3h07x\">Landay said in a reply to Sullivan’s tweet that Sullivan got between him and the assailants and “had me walk away.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qobdi\">“Good comrade indeed,” Landay tweeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gol9\">Sullivan told the Tracker that throughout the evening of June 1 he saw the same group of individuals assault a cyclist and confront motorists.</p><p data-block-key=\"yjwdz\">Landay, a national security correspondent for Reuters who has reported from conflict zones, told the Tracker that he witnessed the assailants “pushing and shoving” people several blocks away on T Street NW between 14th and 15th streets NW.</p><p data-block-key=\"ge5js\">Landay said he tried to point out the assailants to Metropolitan Police Department officers who were cordoning off 14th Street, informing them that he had video recordings of his own assault. But he said police “just ignored me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m1xwg\">The Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"eio77\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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},
{
"title": "KMTV reporter detained and zip-tied by National Guard while covering Omaha protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-reporter-detained-and-zip-tied-by-national-guard-while-covering-omaha-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-20T18:08:28.408595Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-11-19T16:38:02.521361Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-11-19T16:38:02.471629Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Omaha",
"longitude": -95.94043,
"latitude": 41.25626,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Kent Luetzen, a reporter for Omaha-metro area CBS affiliate KMTV, said he was briefly detained by National Guard officers while covering a June 1, 2020 protest in Omaha, Nebraska, against police violence.</p><p>Protests against police violence had spread across the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd. On June 1, demonstrations in Omaha also protested a decision by Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine to not charge a white bar owner, who had shot and killed 22-year-old Black man James Scurlock two days earlier,<a href=\"https://omaha.com/news/local/fourth-day-of-omaha-protests-brings-more-clashes-after-curfew-but-also-signs-of-unity/article_cc3bf57a-341b-53cb-b975-b525f4b61813.html\"> according to the Omaha World-Herald</a>.</p><p>After an 8 p.m. curfew went into effect June 1, the Omaha World-Herald reported that at least 150 protesters remained on downtown streets. According to<a href=\"https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Mayor-Governor-to-speak-at-2-PM-on-Saturday-nights-protest-vandalism-shooting-570905771.html\"> Mayor Jean Stothert's proclamation</a>, as reported by WOWT 6 News, members of the media were exempt from the curfew.</p><p>Luetzen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and his colleague, Maya Saenz, were covering protests at Howard Street and South 13th Street when they were aggressively confronted by National Guard officers. In a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/KentLuetzen/status/1267638956801380353?s=20\"> video</a> posted to Twitter at 9:07 p.m., both reporters repeatedly scream, "We are media! We are media!" as a National Guard officer grabs Luetzen.</p><p>Luetzen told the Tracker he was briefly put into zip-ties even though he had his press credentials hanging around his neck and a KMTV logo on his hat. He said he was released shortly after the Guard officer verified his identity.</p><p>According to Luetzen, reporter Saenz was told to leave, but not zip-tied. At the same time on the same block, one of their colleagues, Jon Kipper,<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-journalists-caught-arrests-omaha/\"> was tackled and also briefly detained</a>.</p><p>Approximately half an hour later, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-reporter-detained-while-covering-omaha-protest/\">Luetzen</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/omaha-news-anchor-detained-by-police-shoved-by-national-guard-while-covering-protest/\">Saenz</a> were both briefly detained by Omaha police.</p><p>The Nebraska National Guard did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p>The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p></div>",
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"arresting_authority": "National Guard",
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"state": {
"name": "Nebraska",
"abbreviation": "NE"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kent Luetzen (KMTV-TV)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "KMTV reporter detained while covering Omaha protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-reporter-detained-while-covering-omaha-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-20T18:02:52.555108Z",
"last_published_at": "2021-10-06T13:11:57.817205Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2021-10-06T13:11:57.771454Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Omaha",
"longitude": -95.94043,
"latitude": 41.25626,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Kent Luetzen, a reporter for Omaha-metro CBS affiliate KMTV, said police ordered him to lie on the ground and threatened him with arrest while he was covering a protest in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 1, 2020.</p><p>Protests against police violence had spread across the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd. On June 1, demonstrations in Omaha also protested a decision by Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine to not charge a white bar owner, who had shot and killed 22-year-old Black man James Scurlock two days earlier,<a href=\"https://omaha.com/news/local/fourth-day-of-omaha-protests-brings-more-clashes-after-curfew-but-also-signs-of-unity/article_cc3bf57a-341b-53cb-b975-b525f4b61813.html\"> according to the Omaha World-Herald</a>.</p><p>Around 9:30 p.m., Luetzen said protesters had spread out after police made a series of arrests in the downtown area. He told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and colleagues from his station — including KMTV reporter Maya Saenz — were walking away from the main demonstration area after being told repeatedly that they would be arrested if they didn’t leave. At the intersection of Leavenworth Street and South 15th Street, they came across four Omaha police officers who had detained two people.</p><p>"They made us get on the ground and put our hands behind our backs," Luetzen said. "Even though we work with them daily and they knew my co-worker, they still made us get down, put our chests to the ground."</p><p>Luetzen said he had his press credentials around his neck and a KMTV logo on his hat. He said that Saenz told the officers that they were all working journalists and were leaving the area. After Saenz’s clarification, he said, the officers let them leave.</p><p>About half an hour earlier, while covering the demonstration in another area, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-reporter-detained-and-zip-tied-by-national-guard-while-covering-omaha-protest/\">Luetzen was briefly put into zip-ties</a> and detained by National Guard officers.</p><p>When asked for comment about Luetzen’s detainment, Lt. Sherie Thomas, a spokesperson for the Omaha Police Department, told the Tracker that Police Chief Todd Schmaderer had ordered “an overall review of the protests.” Thomas later said that the department sent “clear communication” to news outlets “to make sure employees had visible badges showing that they work for the media” and to “wear highly visible vests.”</p><p>The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/\"> documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents involving journalists</a> covering protests across the country.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Omaha news anchor detained by police, shoved by National Guard while covering protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/omaha-news-anchor-detained-by-police-shoved-by-national-guard-while-covering-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-20T17:59:49.313454Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T15:53:37.154758Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T15:53:37.056881Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Omaha",
"longitude": -95.94043,
"latitude": 41.25626,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vqoxe\">Maya Saenz, a news anchor for Omaha-metro area CBS affiliate KMTV, said she was shoved by National Guard officers while covering a June 1, 2020 protest in Omaha, Nebraska, against police violence.</p><p data-block-key=\"4wjeu\">Protests against police violence had spread across the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd. On June 1, demonstrations in Omaha also protested a decision by Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine to not charge a white bar owner, who had shot and killed 22-year-old Black man James Scurlock two days earlier,<a href=\"https://omaha.com/news/local/fourth-day-of-omaha-protests-brings-more-clashes-after-curfew-but-also-signs-of-unity/article_cc3bf57a-341b-53cb-b975-b525f4b61813.html\"> according to the Omaha World-Herald</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3whr\">After an 8 p.m. curfew went into effect June 1, the World-Herald reported that at least 150 protesters remained on downtown streets. According to<a href=\"https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Mayor-Governor-to-speak-at-2-PM-on-Saturday-nights-protest-vandalism-shooting-570905771.html\"> Mayor Jean Stothert's proclamation</a>, as reported by WOWT 6 News, members of the media were exempt from the curfew.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pf96\">Saenz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she and her KMTV colleague, Kent Luetzen, were covering protests near Jackson Street and South 13th Street when they were aggressively confronted by National Guard officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"yzg1v\">“Guardsmen quickly ran towards the middle of the street and started grabbing protesters and throwing them on the ground and then placing zip-ties around their wrists,” she said. “I started recording on my cellphone and recorded when one guardsman shoved my colleague and I against a wired fence and attempted to arrest both of us and place zip-ties around us. We yelled, ‘We’re media! We’re media!’ and that’s when they let us go, but several others barked at us to leave the scene.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hzydw\">In a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/KentLuetzen/status/1267638956801380353?s=20\"> video</a> posted to Twitter at 9:07 p.m., both reporters repeatedly scream that they are media as a National Guard officer grabs Luetzen. Saenz said she was wearing a shirt with a KMTV logo in the top corner as well as her media credential on a lanyard around her neck. “During the forceful encounter with the guardsmen, my lanyard tore,” she said. “After that, I put it in my pocket.”</p><p data-block-key=\"58kpx\">Luetzen told the Tracker he was briefly <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-reporter-detained-and-zip-tied-by-national-guard-while-covering-omaha-protest/\">put into zip-ties</a>, but quickly released. At the same time on the same block, one of their colleagues, Jon Kipper,<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-journalists-caught-arrests-omaha/\"> was tackled and also briefly detained</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"fnn51\">Approximately half an hour later, Luetzen and Saenz were briefly detained by Omaha police.</p><p data-block-key=\"izslf\">Around 9:30 p.m., Luetzen said protesters had spread out after police made a series of arrests in the downtown area. He told the Tracker that he and colleagues from his station, including Saenz, were walking away from the main demonstration area after being told repeatedly that they would be arrested if they didn’t leave. At the intersection of Leavenworth Street and South 15th Street, they came across four Omaha police officers who had detained two people.</p><p data-block-key=\"aejqd\">"They made us get on the ground and put our hands behind our backs," Luetzen said. "Even though we work with them daily and they knew my co-worker, they still made us get down, put our chests to the ground."</p><p data-block-key=\"eeq12\">Luetzen said he had his press credentials around his neck and a KMTV logo on his hat. He said that Saenz told the officers that they were all working journalists and were leaving the area. After Saenz’s clarification, he said, the officers let them leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"1s9if\">The Nebraska National Guard did not respond to an immediate request for comment. When asked for comment about <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kmtv-reporter-detained-while-covering-omaha-protest/\">Luetzen’s detainment</a>, Lt. Sherie Thomas, a spokesperson for the Omaha Police Department, told the Tracker that Police Chief Todd Schmaderer had ordered “an overall review of the protests.” Thomas later said that the department sent “clear communication” to news outlets “to make sure employees had visible badges showing that they work for the media” and to “wear highly visible vests.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5u0yj\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/\">documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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{
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"name": "Nebraska",
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},
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"categories": [
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"Assault",
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{
"title": "MSNBC journalist hit with incendiary device while reporting live in Seattle",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/msnbc-journalist-hit-with-incendiary-device-while-reporting-live-in-seattle/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-06T19:08:24.748605Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-14T18:06:04.185797Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-14T18:06:04.103616Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Seattle",
"longitude": -122.33207,
"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wvvqf\">Journalist Jo Ling Kent was hit on the arm with an exploding incendiary device while reporting live from protests in Seattle, Washington, on June 1, 2020. Kent was uninjured, according to social media posts.</p><p data-block-key=\"62tc7\">Kent, a correspondent for the TV networks NBC and MSNBC, was covering protests against racial injustice and police brutality that moved through the city of Seattle on the evening of June 1, according to the journalist’s posts on Twitter.</p><p data-block-key=\"c7joj\">The protest was among the many demonstrations that broke out in response to police violence and in support of Black Lives Matter following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"ztd3h\">Starting at around 6 p.m., Kent tweeted <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent/status/1267621239415177216\">photos</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent/status/1267630214265237504\">videos</a> of <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent/status/1267654343802552322\">large crowds</a> moving towards Seattle’s east precinct and through the Capitol Hill neighborhood.</p><p data-block-key=\"1xrvj\">At 7:49 p.m., she <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent/status/1267649597599432705\">tweeted</a> that protesters were “proceeding peacefully” through the streets. But less than an hour later, at 8:27 p.m., Kent wrote that “Tensions are rising near the east precinct in Seattle.” Her <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent/status/1267659170129383431\">tweet</a> accompanied a photo of a police officer holding a baton and facing a protester.</p><p data-block-key=\"do965\">Shortly after, at 9:19 p.m., Kent was reporting live on MSNBC from a sports field in Capitol Hill. In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1267678912022302720\">video</a> of the broadcast posted to Twitter by MSNBC, fireworks are seen going off in the background while Kent reports that police officers are “now advancing on protesters.” Seconds later, an incendiary device explodes and hits Kent on her left arm. She is then hustled away by the network’s security team to the back of the field, where she continues to report until the anchor cautions her to leave the area and a crowd of people start running and yelling. Kent and her team then run off and the video ends.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WATCH: <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jolingkent</a> is hit with fireworks during live broadcast as protests in Seattle, Washington, quickly escalate. <a href=\"https://t.co/0KdpGXzhH6\">pic.twitter.com/0KdpGXzhH6</a></p>— MSNBC (@MSNBC) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1267678912022302720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"krwgv\">Kent, who did respond to messages via Twitter and emails seeking comment, later <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jolingkent/status/1267692572467585025\">tweeted</a> that “Thankfully, our whole team is ok and safe. I’m totally fine - my jacket sleeve got singed and that’s it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"68lxu\">As Kent was leaving the scene after being hit she reported on air that “there is severe tear gas and fireworks being deployed by Seattle police.” In its caption with the post of the recording to Twitter, MSNBC wrote that Kent was “hit with fireworks during live broadcast as protests in Seattle, Washington, quickly escalate.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m67bx\">Dozens of commenters on both MSNBC and Kent’s posts <a href=\"https://twitter.com/bobmangold/status/1267681485382995969\">wrote</a> they thought the device, which was seen emitting smoke after exploding and hitting Kent, resembled a tear gas canister or a flash-bang grenade, rather than a firework.</p><p data-block-key=\"r18u2\">The Seattle Police Department did not respond to an email seeking comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Washington",
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},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jo Ling Kent (MSNBC)"
],
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{
"title": "7News van windows smashed during Boston protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/7news-van-windows-smashed-during-boston-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-24T15:12:33.001862Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:58:20.741251Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:58:20.650869Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Boston",
"longitude": -71.05977,
"latitude": 42.35843,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kzh1l\">Windows of a WHDH 7News van were smashed while a news team from the local TV station was covering protests in Boston, Massachusetts, in the early hours of June 1, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"rtokd\">Demonstrations in Boston began as protesters gathered in cities across the country, sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, in police custody. Thousands of people joined Boston protests on May 31 against police brutality and racial injustice. Late that night, after hours of peaceful demonstrations, protests escalated into violence as some participants smashed windows and set fires across the city,<a href=\"https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/06/01/damaged-boston-businesses-protests\"> WBUR</a> reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"spls3\">Nathalie Pozo, a reporter for 7News, posted on<a href=\"https://twitter.com/NathalieWCVB/status/1267384056142053377\"> Twitter</a> that her news team had covered the protests for six hours and was wrapping up its work for the night when the station’s van was attacked. Video she posted shows the vehicle driving by a group of people when the driver’s side window suddenly bursts, spraying glass into the cab. Another object hits and breaks the windshield.</p><p data-block-key=\"etawj\">A voice can be heard asking if the driver is okay, and the driver responds, “Yeah, I got glass in my eye.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As our night was coming to an end...This happened. Thankfully we are all ok. After six hours of covering peaceful <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/GeorgeFloydProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GeorgeFloydProtests</a> in Boston- It took a turn, from powerful messages to vandalism & looting <a href=\"https://twitter.com/7News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@7News</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/7News?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#7News</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/photogsap?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@photogsap</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/KSY80n2tep\">pic.twitter.com/KSY80n2tep</a></p>— Nathalie Pozo (@NathalieWCVB) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NathalieWCVB/status/1267384056142053377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nikru\">In her tweet, Pozo said the news crew was okay but noted that after hours of covering peaceful protests, the demonstrations “took a turn, from powerful messages to vandalism & looting.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aebwu\">WHDH 7News did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"f2ykw\">According to a report about the incident filed with the Boston Police Department and reviewed by the Tracker, the news station’s van was surrounded by about 30 people, who were trying to break into the vehicle. The windshield and windows on the passenger and driver’s side were smashed before the van was able to drive away, the document states.</p><p data-block-key=\"qipn6\">7News<a href=\"https://whdh.com/news/21-boston-police-cruisers-7news-van-damaged-during-violent-clash/\"> reported</a> that the window was shattered when someone threw a large rock. A photograph included in Pozo’s video shows a rock and shards of glass on the seat of the van. Other photographs show graffiti on the side of the van and another window of the vehicle entirely missing.</p><p data-block-key=\"i7x5x\">The police report noted that one person had been pelted with glass and would seek medical attention independently.</p><p data-block-key=\"be8bh\">Det. Sgt. John Boyle, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department, said that the incident remains under investigation as of February 2021 and no arrests have been made.</p><p data-block-key=\"u3glc\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering these protests across the country. <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\"> Find these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
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}
],
"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
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"WHDH"
],
"tags": [
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],
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"Equipment Damage"
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},
{
"title": "Commercial Appeal journalist pushed by Memphis police officer at protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/commercial-appeal-journalist-pushed-memphis-police-officer-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-02-01T16:28:53.881009Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:57:57.849611Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:57:57.771099Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Memphis",
"longitude": -90.04898,
"latitude": 35.14953,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"b7ik5\">Reporter Katherine Burgess of the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, was pushed by a police officer with a riot shield while covering a Black Lives Matter protest at Memphis City Hall on North Main Street on June 1, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"x3jc4\">The protest, in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, began in the daylight hours of <a href=\"https://wreg.com/news/watch-live-crowds-gather-at-national-civil-rights-museum-for-protest/\">May 31 at the National Civil Rights museum</a>. In a long-running thread on Twitter, Burgess posted video and text showing the movement of the protesters and occasional confrontations with Memphis police.</p><p data-block-key=\"l4jp8\">In the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KathsBurgess/status/1267331459926446082\">footage</a> Burgess posted to her personal Twitter account, a Memphis police officer is seen pushing Burgess back with a riot shield near City Hall. One of the officers tells Burgess to “back up” a few times, as she attempts to document arrests of protesters in an area closed off by police. In the video, she says several times that she is “media” and asks “Why are you pushing me away from the scene?” More than a dozen officers can be seen, most with riot gear and a few holding billy clubs.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police moved abruptly to arrest peaceful protesters I was with. Then they pushed me back and forced me to move down the mall. They made 3-4 arrests. They had one man on the ground. <a href=\"https://t.co/X6uQoYye4S\">pic.twitter.com/X6uQoYye4S</a></p>— Katherine Burgess〽️ (@KathsBurgess) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KathsBurgess/status/1267331459926446082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"phz37\">“After I was pushed with riot shields and told to "go home" by police officers when trying to film several arrests, then followed in an intimidating fashion up the mall outside City Hall,” Burgess told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"fm2bn\">Moments after the incident, Burgess said she called the Commercial Appeal’s executive editor, Mark Russell, to share her experience. According to Burgess, Russell expressed his disappointment with how officers treated his staff. In a call with the Tracker, Russell said he sent a letter to Memphis Police and city and county officials, saying that Burgess was “just doing her job” when she was pushed. Russell noted that since that communication, his staff has not had any issues with local law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o9qa\">Memphis Police, Tennessee State Highway Patrol and the Shelby County’s Sheriff Office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2lglg\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">Find these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Tennessee",
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"tags": [
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"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"Katherine Burgess (Commercial Appeal)"
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{
"title": "Reuters White House correspondent assaulted while covering DC protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reuters-white-house-correspondent-assaulted-while-covering-dc-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-17T17:06:04.002941Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:54:28.454379Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:54:28.367174Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0m3un\">Reuters journalists Andy Sullivan and Jonathan Landay were assaulted by unknown individuals on June 1, 2020 while covering protests in Washington, D.C.</p><p data-block-key=\"vzsvz\">Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the country after a viral video showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"fy6s8\">Sullivan, a White House correspondent for the outlet, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the demonstrations that he and Landay encountered on June 1 were nonviolent. He said they witnessed “no vandalism or anything of that nature.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tnp8r\">But at about 8 p.m., a group of unknown individuals approached Sullivan and Landay near the intersection of 14th Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW, Sullivan said. One of the individuals asked “in an aggressive way” if Sullivan was a police officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"i3db5\">“I approached him to start a discussion and maybe get an interview,” Sullivan said in an email to the Tracker. “Bad idea!”</p><p data-block-key=\"l3qq0\">Voice of America journalist Ani Chkhikvadze was near the scene and captured video of three males wearing black T-shirts swinging their fists at Landay as he ducked away from the assailants.</p><p data-block-key=\"bds47\">Chkhikvadze, who reports for VOA’s Georgian language service, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/achkhikvadze/status/1267621129465876480?s=20\">tweeted that she accidentally caught footage</a> of the attack while she covered the protests. She posted two versions of the video, and in the longer one Landay is heard explaining that the individuals who tried to punch him asked “What are you doing down here?”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Group of people at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCprotests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DCprotests</a> attacked <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Reuters?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Reuters</a> journalist <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonathanLanday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JonathanLanday</a>. I accidentally caught it on camera - while covering the protests. According to him he was asked why he was there, he replied “I am here to tell you story” / which is when he was attacked. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VOANews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VOANews</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/EWZtqGcjGQ\">pic.twitter.com/EWZtqGcjGQ</a></p>— Ani Chkhikvadze (@achkhikvadze) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/achkhikvadze/status/1267621129465876480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"s8ex8\">In the video, Landay tells Chkhikvadze that he replied: “I’m here to tell your story.” The assailants began swinging for Landay after he replied, Chkhikvadze wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ce91\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/achkhikvadze/status/1267628177674899461?s=20\">In the video, Landay is seen</a> wearing a black flak vest with “PRESS” emblazoned in white block letters on the front, and he has press credentials hanging from a lanyard hanging around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"m5iqs\">Sullivan told the Tracker that the assailants took a “few swings” at him and at Landay but that ultimately “no damage was done.” He said that other protesters stepped in to intervene, giving the journalists time to retreat.</p><p data-block-key=\"zc935\">“I started all this by accident by trying to interview these guys,” Sullivan <a href=\"https://twitter.com/andysullivan/status/1267645771018616832\">said in a retweet</a> of Chkhikvadze’s video. “Sorry @JonathanLanday!”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I started all this by accident by trying to interview these guys. Sorry <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JonathanLanday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JonathanLanday</a>! <a href=\"https://t.co/GGpoVcDkAt\">https://t.co/GGpoVcDkAt</a></p>— Andy Sullivan (@andysullivan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/andysullivan/status/1267645771018616832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tuu1g\">Sullivan told the Tracker that throughout the evening of June 1 he saw the same group of individuals assault a cyclist and confront motorists.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgvcz\">Landay, a national security correspondent for Reuters who has reported from conflict zones, told the Tracker that he witnessed the assailants “pushing and shoving” people several blocks away on T Street NW between 14th and 15th streets NW.</p><p data-block-key=\"625y4\">Landay said he tried to point out the assailants to Metropolitan Police Department officers who were cordoning off 14th Street, informing them that he had video recordings of his own assault. But he said police “just ignored me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fmi8d\">The Metropolitan Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"wwwyq\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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{
"title": "Videojournalist detained during Sacramento protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videojournalist-detained-during-sacramento-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-01T20:54:06.897821Z",
"last_published_at": "2020-12-01T21:13:34.973547Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2020-12-01T21:13:34.930399Z",
"date": "2020-06-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Sacramento",
"longitude": -121.4944,
"latitude": 38.58157,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p>Jeoffrey Zingapan, co-founder of Black Zebra Productions, was briefly detained while on assignment for the Sacramento Bee covering demonstrations in Sacramento, California, on June 1, 2020.</p><p><a href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article243401291.html\">According to the Bee</a>, June 1 was the first night of a citywide curfew. In a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1915290438605058&ref=watch_permalink\">FacebookLive video</a> on Black Zebra’s page captured by Zingapan’s reporting partner shortly after 11 p.m., Zingapan can be seen standing on a public sidewalk surrounded by several Sacramento Police Department officers. According to the Bee, officers detained him while he was filming an arrest on the public sidewalk.</p><p>Zingapan, who appears to be wearing a yellow safety vest, was placed in handcuffs and questioned by officers for at least five minutes after the livestream began.</p><p>Zingapan and Black Zebra Productions did not respond to messages requesting comment.</p><p>The Bee <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/21595906224/posts/10157733093296225/?d=n\">posted a statement</a> following Zingapan’s arrest on Facebook: “We want to be clear: The Bee supports Black Zebra — and all media — to independently report and produce journalism. Detaining working journalists is not acceptable.”</p><p>The outlet also confirmed that it had hired the Black Zebra reporting team and issued them Sacramento Bee credentials so they could produce documentaries on demonstrations in the city for the news outlet.</p><p>According to the Bee’s post, the police department assured them that moving forward the Black Zebra team would “be afforded the same freedoms to report as other media outlets.”</p><p>The Sacramento Police Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"arresting_authority": "Sacramento Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Denver Post reporter aimed at with weapon amid protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/denver-post-reporter-aimed-at-with-weapon-amid-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-18T18:19:31.914185Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:26:41.540727Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T16:26:41.453907Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Denver",
"longitude": -104.9847,
"latitude": 39.73915,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sfefq\">Denver Post reporter Alex Burness and a second reporter were aimed at with a crowd-control weapon by law enforcement while covering protests in Denver, Colorado, on the evening of May 31, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"n6fqx\">The protests were sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for 7 minutes and 46 seconds during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"ol58y\">Earlier in the night, Burness was struck multiple times with crowd-control munitions. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented that case <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/denver-police-train-less-lethal-rifle-two-colorado-reporters-shortly-after-one-was-hit-projectiles/\">here</a>. Burness later ran into Denverite and Colorado Public Radio reporter Esteban Hernandez near the state capitol building, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"pxqjb\">The lights around the capitol were off, creating an “uneasy” atmosphere, Burness said. A large crowd of protesters had amassed on the north side of the building. Police moved toward protesters, firing tear gas. Burness and Hernandez decided to leave the area, heading away from the tear gas toward the capitol’s south side.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pan8\">There, they encountered a line of officers standing across a two-lane street. Burness saw an opening that would have allowed them to leave the area without crossing the police line. “We shouted to them ‘Press!’ several times,” Burness said. Both had press credentials around their necks and Hernandez wore a neon yellow vest with ‘PRESS’ written on it in large letters. “One of the officers points that we have to head the other way, back towards where the tear gas is coming from.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qumqo\">Burness and Hernandez continued to shout “Press! Press! Press!” to get the officers to allow them to pass through the open area, but police refused. In a show of force, one lifted what Burness described as a rifle used to shoot less-lethal projectiles, and pointed it directly at the journalists.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A cop just shouted at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/EstebanHRZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EstebanHRZ</a> and me to walk in other direction — toward an epic amount of tear gas. We shouted “press!” and Esteban is even wearing a neon press vest. Cop points weapon right at us. We were forced back into the chaos and we both took a ton of gas to the face.</p>— Alex Burness (@alex_burness) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/alex_burness/status/1267319325846917120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gdlo2\">“There is no doubt in my mind that those officers knew we were press. We were 40 feet away from the guy, we’re shouting press, he’s looking directly at us, he knows what’s up, he still did that,” Burness said, calling the incident “a flagrant disregard for our press rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6dz60\">The two retreated back toward the capitol lawn, where they were engulfed in a cloud of tear gas. Burness, wearing ski goggles and an N95 mask, said he couldn’t see at more than five percent for several minutes. “It was very intense, extremely unpleasant, and crucially, totally unnecessary,” he said. Reached via direct message on Twitter, Hernandez declined to comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"lkur9\">Multiple law enforcement agencies were operating in the area at the time, Burness said, including the Colorado Army National Guard, Denver Police, the Colorado State Patrol and sheriffs’ departments from various counties across the state. Burness said he believes the officer who trained his gun at them was with the Colorado State Patrol.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4hte\">The Tracker reached out to the Colorado State Patrol, which declined to comment on the incidents, saying they involved the Denver Police Department. A request for comment to the Denver Police Department was not immediately returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"2vwys\">Burness said that while he has lingering bruises from being hit, “I’m much more shaken up by how our rights were disregarded.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m0bdl\">“Even though there certainly has been much more interest on Twitter and from people who care about me about me being shot at with these foam bullets, the other incident to me, from a press freedom perspective, is significantly more troubling,” Burness said.</p><p data-block-key=\"d8gcn\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Colorado",
"abbreviation": "CO"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "VOA journalist shot at with crowd-control munitions while covering DC protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/voa-journalist-shot-at-with-crowd-control-munitions-while-covering-dc-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-19T15:04:58.487189Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:34:20.620314Z",
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"date": "2020-05-31",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"avbc4\">Voice of America journalist Jason Patinkin was shot at with crowd-control munitions while covering a chaos-filled night of protests in Washington, D.C., on May 31, 2020, the third evening of widespread demonstrations in the nation’s capital after the death of George Floyd.</p><p data-block-key=\"bz1mn\">The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"ygcnr\">Patinkin said in an <a href=\"https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/voa-journalist-says-police-fired-toward-press-protesters-dc\">article</a> published by VOA on June 4 that he’d been leaving protests near Lafayette Square around 11 p.m. with another news crew when he heard a loud bang and saw a flash-bang device land near their feet. He then said he saw an officer raise a weapon and fire in their direction. In footage of the incident posted by VOA, the projectile appears to ricochet off the ground. Patinkin told his employer that he felt something hit his flak jacket, near his left shoulder.</p><p data-block-key=\"zfq7t\">Patinkin told VOA that his press credentials were displayed and that it was unclear which agency the officers were with.</p><p data-block-key=\"k11wk\">“I’ve covered lots of places where there’s been conflict and civil unrest. I’ve seen a lot of disproportionate response and I think that a lot of what the police around the White House have been doing certainly qualifies as both disproportionate and indiscriminate,” <a href=\"https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/covering-us-protests-journalists-find-unexpected-threats\">Patinkin told VOA in a later article</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"hplg6\">VOA did not respond to further requests for comment on this incident as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"jhh4e\">D.C. is notable for the <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/05/protests-washington-dc-federal-agents-law-enforcement-302551\">large number of different police forces</a> that operate within its borders. Requests for comment from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police were not returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbrpp\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "MLive photographer hit with rubber bullets in Detroit; officer charged",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/mlive-photographer-hit-with-rubber-bullets-in-detroit-officer-charged/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-29T15:28:31.316796Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-08T16:27:43.468801Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-08T16:27:43.361800Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
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"city": "Detroit",
"longitude": -83.04575,
"latitude": 42.33143,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vg5rc\">MLive photojournalist Nicole Hester was covering demonstrations in Detroit, Michigan, when she was struck alongside other photographers by crowd-control munitions fired by police on May 31, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"mr6ls\">The protests that evening were in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"97k94\">Hester, along with <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-photographers-hit-rubber-bullets-detroit-officer-charged/\">Matthew Hatcher</a>, on assignment for Getty Images, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photographer-hit-with-rubber-bullets-in-detroit-officer-charged/\">Seth Herald</a>, on assignment for Agence France-Presse, encountered at least two officers while trying to return to their car in the Kennedy Parking Garage downtown around midnight, according to Herald and Hatcher.</p><p data-block-key=\"lpnku\">The photographers told the Committee to Protect Journalists — a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — that they put their hands in the air and identified themselves as members of the press. They said they thought the police signaled that they could cross the street when the officers opened fire.</p><p data-block-key=\"9s5s6\">Hester was hit with as many as a dozen pellets in the face, arms, legs and chest, leaving welts and narrowly missing an eye, according to the <a href=\"https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/05/mlive-photographer-among-journalists-fired-upon-with-pellets-by-detroit-police-officer-during-protest-coverage.html\">article</a> by her employer. Hatcher sent pictures to CPJ that showed his injuries: a busted, bleeding lip and welts on his nose, forehead and torso.</p><p data-block-key=\"9l367\">After police fired on the journalists, Herald told CPJ, he asked one of the officers if he believed in freedom of the press. The officer answered that he didn’t know, Herald said.</p><p data-block-key=\"3nw6g\">According to the MLive article, one of the officers told Hester: “Maybe you’ll write the truth some day, lady!”</p><p data-block-key=\"nh2xb\">The three journalists then continued to the parking garage and passed another group of officers. One told them that if he saw their faces again, he would lock them up, according to MLive and interviews with Herald and Hatcher.</p><p data-block-key=\"cadbh\">The trio arrived to find the parking garage locked and had to leave their car overnight, walking several blocks to get a ride-share home, Hatcher told CPJ.</p><p data-block-key=\"oyzzw\">On July 20, Detroit Police Corporal Daniel Debono was charged with three counts of felony assault for shooting non-lethal rounds at Hester, Herald and Hatcher, <a href=\"https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/07/charges-issued-against-detroit-police-officer-accused-of-shooting-rubber-pellets-at-3-photographers-covering-protests.html\">according to MLive</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"xk5jz\">In the article, the vice president of content for MLive Media Group said that they “are pleased that the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office investigated this thoroughly, and that this is moving forward toward justice."</p><p data-block-key=\"sq8sc\">The Detroit Police Department did not respond to phone or emailed requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"3dmn3\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"fkolu\">Detroit police fire tear gas at protesters on May 31, 2020, during protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd. The day before, photojournalist Nicole Hester was hit with rubber bullets while covering the protests.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Michigan",
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"updates": [
"(2021-10-26 14:09:00+00:00) Charges dismissed against officer who fired rubber bullets at MLive photographer",
"(2023-03-16 00:00:00+00:00) Detroit police officer who fired rubber bullets at photojournalist to stand trial",
"(2024-10-21 00:00:00+00:00) Case dropped against Detroit officer who shot rubber bullets at photojournalists"
],
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{
"title": "Journalist assaulted while covering protests in Birmingham",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-assaulted-while-covering-protests-in-birmingham/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-18T17:57:27.814907Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:26:23.747580Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T16:26:23.665951Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Birmingham",
"longitude": -86.80249,
"latitude": 33.52066,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kc8u7\">AL.com social media manager Madison Underwood was assaulted while covering protests against police violence in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 31, 2020, according to eye-witness reports and social media posts.</p><p data-block-key=\"kq37x\">Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May. They were sparked by a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"jxyjk\">Underwood, who didn’t respond to emails requesting comment, was attacked while trying to protect <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/unknown-assailants-attack-reporters-covering-protests-birmingham/\">broadcast reporter Stephen Quinn</a> from a group of unidentified individuals.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7ulz\">The journalists were covering the protests and looting in the city’s downtown, near the site of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park. Two days later, the statue was <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/06/02/867659459/confederate-monument-removed-after-birmingham-mayors-vow-to-finish-the-job\">removed</a> by order of Mayor Randall Woodfin in response to the protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"l6sm0\">At around 10:45 p.m., an unidentified individual knocked the phone Quinn had been using to livestream out of his hand; other individuals stole his wallet, tripped him and attempted to hit him.</p><p data-block-key=\"4d9m5\">When Underwood attempted to help Quinn, he was knocked to the ground, kicked and punched repeatedly by several unidentified men who had surrounded the journalists. In a message posted to Twitter about the incident shortly after, Underwood said his nose was swollen and bleeding.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">That was terrible. I'm glad my colleagues are okay. I'm okay. My nose is swollen and bleeding. My phone is gone. I'm thankful to the folks who dragged me out of there, who checked on me, who said nice things. Not sure why that went bad so quickly. <a href=\"https://t.co/1evjmimm4u\">https://t.co/1evjmimm4u</a></p>— Madison Underwood (@MadisonU) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MadisonU/status/1267323334859112448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6ybhn\">In a livestream <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/aldotcom/videos/vb.9586347482/297910334549112/?type=2&theater\">video</a> of the incident recorded by AL.com journalist Ivana Hrynkiw, the incidents are shown occurring over about three minutes. AL.com said in a tweet and a later <a href=\"https://www.al.com/news/2020/06/watch-as-george-floyd-protests-around-alabama-turn-violent.html\">article</a> that its reporters, including Hrynkiw, who was heard on the livestream screaming as the attack occurred, left the scene after the attack and were OK.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To everyone who has reached out- we are okay. Thank you. Thank you. ❤️</p>— Ivana Hrynkiw Shatara (@IvanaSuzette) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/IvanaSuzette/status/1267311435253723136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0zv3d\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Alabama",
"abbreviation": "AL"
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{
"title": "Minnesota State Patrol officers shoot at CBS logistics manager in Minneapolis",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minnesota-state-patrol-officers-shoot-at-cbs-logistics-manager-in-minneapolis/",
"first_published_at": "2021-11-18T19:29:26.742687Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T17:13:36.757956Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T17:13:36.657705Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"earim\">CBS News logistics manager Kevin Ward and his news crew were shot at with crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while documenting protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after curfew went into effect on May 31, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"914od\">The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"up858\">Protesters were marching that day on the Interstate 35W Bridge in downtown Minneapolis, <a href=\"https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/31/breaking-semi-truck-appears-to-drive-through-protest-marchers-on-i-35w-bridge/\">according to local CBS affiliate WCCO</a>. Sound engineer John Marschitz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he noticed the protesters from the window of the Courtyard hotel where they were staying, and he and his team quickly gathered their equipment to film from the hotel’s parking garage. The team consisted of Ward, Marschitz, camera technician Tim Horstman and field director Michael Hopkins. See the Tracker’s documentation of these incidents <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Minneapolis&date_lower=2020-05-31&date_upper=2020-05-31&targeted_institutions=174\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"gl65j\">“That’s where we started watching everything happen and there were press down below us yelling, ‘Press! Press!’ and [law enforcement] still kept firing at them,” Marschitz said, referring to members of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minnesota-state-patrol-officers-threaten-reporter-for-german-outlet/\">a Deutsche Welle news crew</a> who were shot at as they identified themselves as press, cut their live shot short and drove away. “We were up in the garage and when we went over to the little brick wall they would shoot up at us, even though we had the camera propped up over, if we looked over they would shoot at us.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c8hy0\">When asked if the CBS News crew was specifically targeted, Marschitz said they were the only ones on that level of the garage when officers opened fire with rubber bullets and marker rounds.</p><p data-block-key=\"s5ife\">Both Marschitz and Horstman said none of the CBS journalists were struck by the munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"m1v79\">Neither Ward nor the Minnesota State Patrol responded to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"uv8kp\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
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{
"title": "Minnesota State Patrol officers threaten cameraman for German outlet",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minnesota-state-patrol-officers-threaten-cameraman-for-german-outlet/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-18T20:41:41.103320Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:30:24.619341Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T16:30:24.532259Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
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"city": "Minneapolis",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"plsba\">A Deutsche Welle news team was threatened and aimed at with weapons by Minnesota State Patrol troopers while documenting protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after curfew went into effect on May 31, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"5u5cp\">The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"2yzx7\">At 8:08 p.m., eight minutes after curfew — from which members of the media were<a href=\"http://news.minneapolismn.gov/2020/05/31/curfew-starts-8-p-m-sunday-night-stay-in-your-home/\"> specifically exempted</a> — DW correspondent Stefan Simons and cameraman Maximilian Förg were standing near a fence running alongside Interstate 35W in Minneapolis. State police officers stood in a line on the highway, where two hours earlier a truck had plowed into a crowd of protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2ekx\">As Simons began his live shot, several members of the Minnesota State Patrol, clad in tan riot gear, bounded up the hillside towards the journalists. “Hey, we’re press, guys, from D.C.,” Simons shouted. “We’re all press here.” Despite this, at least one officer in riot gear pointed his gun at him through the fence.</p><p data-block-key=\"0s7nc\">"Come on guys we have permission to be out here! Stop it!” Simons continued, as the officer continued to train his weapon at him. “Sir, the governor of Minnesota exempts press,” he said, referencing the curfew.</p><p data-block-key=\"40q8l\">Simons and Förg cut their live shot short, got into their car, and drove away. Video of the encounter aired live on DW, and was later<a href=\"https://www.dw.com/en/dw-team-in-minneapolis-met-with-police-hostility/av-53648098\"> posted</a> on the website.</p><p data-block-key=\"mzuoj\">Simons told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that just prior to the live shot, officers had fired off canisters of tear gas in their direction, followed by several rounds of projectiles. “We all took cover behind my car,” he said. Other members of the media were present in the vicinity, Simons said, but he did not know their names or outlets. When Simons and Förg drove away, the officers fired some sort of projectile at their vehicle, which pinged the door but did not damage it, Simons said.</p><p data-block-key=\"oyagl\">A day prior, on May 30, police<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN8ISwuiX68\"> fired projectiles</a> at Simons and his crew and threatened them with arrest. That incident was<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-target-dozens-journalists-covering-protests-minneapolis-tear-gas-pepper-spray-rubber-bullets/\"> captured separately</a> by the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"z2hji\">The attacks garnered the attention of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who told reporters at a<a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-06-02-20/h_a387d67883dc0c680ac3bd2e5d8a47f9\"> press conference</a> in Berlin on June 2 he would be reaching out to the U.S. government about the matter. Deutsche Welle is an international English-language news station funded by the German government.</p><p data-block-key=\"jpm2j\">"With regard to the incidents involving Deutsche Welle, of which we have also been made aware, we will contact U.S. authorities to find out more about the circumstances," Maas<a href=\"https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-take-up-dw-reporter-incident-with-us/av-53658672\"> said</a>. "We remain firmly committed: Journalists must be able to carry out their task, which is independent coverage of events, without endangering their safety."</p><p data-block-key=\"ri0jl\">"Democratic states under the rule of law have to meet the highest standards when it comes to protecting freedom of press," Maas said.</p><p data-block-key=\"gt3rk\">Simons, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Germany, characterized the treatment of the media in Minneapolis as “shocking.” “I have not actually ever seen the foreign minister of Germany having to take that kind of stance with an ally,” Simons said. “There is nobody who expects this from the United States.”</p><p data-block-key=\"jxpu7\">A request for comment emailed to the Minnesota State Patrol was not immediately returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"ko69z\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Editor, radio host repeatedly shoved while covering Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/editor-radio-host-repeatedly-shoved-while-covering-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-12-10T16:18:23.313811Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T21:11:21.052251Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T21:11:20.954367Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
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"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pdfb3\">Cory Elia, an editor at Village Portland and host of a KBOO podcast, was repeatedly shoved by police while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, on May 31, 2020, <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6983308-COMPLAINT-07-08-20-FINAL.html\">according to his lawsuit</a> against the city and Mayor Ted Wheeler, among others.</p><p data-block-key=\"5xq78\">Elia was covering one of the many protests that broke out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"xhjhv\">In Portland, protests over the death of Floyd began on May 29, prompting Wheeler to declare an 8 p.m. curfew that lasted three days.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7kd1\">On the night of May 31, protesters gathered near the Multnomah County Justice Center and marched toward Pioneer Courthouse despite the curfew, according to<a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/05/police-declare-civil-disturbance-amid-clash-with-protesters-in-downtown-portland-live-updates.html\"> the Oregonian</a>. Shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew took effect, the Portland police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and used tear gas and other crowd-control munitions to disperse the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"es7dj\">Elia and his colleague Lesley McLam filed a<a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/07/two-independent-journalists-file-suit-against-portland-police-county-sheriffs-deputies-and-state-police.html\"> civil lawsuit</a> against the city, the state, and multiple law enforcement officers on July 8, citing <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?case_number=3:20-cv-01106\">multiple press freedom violations</a> against the journalists. Elia declined to comment, citing an upcoming deposition.</p><p data-block-key=\"ylr54\">According to the complaint, Elia and a journalist with weekly alternative newspaper <a href=\"https://www.streetroots.org/\">Street Roots</a> were reporting together downtown and were attempting to leave the area when a demonstrator ran past them. Immediately after, a flash-bang grenade exploded within feet of where the pair of journalists were standing and, while temporarily blinded and disoriented, five officers surrounded them.</p><p data-block-key=\"hsklv\">“[The officers] threatened to arrest them if they did not move ‘NOW!’” the complaint said. “They held out their press passes and yelled ‘PRESS! PRESS!’ and reminded the police officers that press were exempt from the curfew order.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gah8c\">According to the complaint, the officers deliberately pushed both journalists after they identified themselves, and caused Elia to stumble into his bike, injuring his ankle.</p><p data-block-key=\"1oh4b\">After the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon filed a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">class-action lawsuit</a> at the end of June, the city agreed to a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">preliminary injunction</a> to not to arrest or harm any journalists or legal observers of the protests or impede their work.</p><p data-block-key=\"ifm6l\">The Portland Police Bureau has said it wouldn't comment on incidents involving journalists covering the protests, citing ongoing litigation.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-07-29 13:18:00+00:00) Independent journalist receives $50,000 to settle lawsuit stemming from arrest, assaults at protests in 2020",
"(2022-04-28 00:00:00+00:00) City of Portland pays two journalists $55,000 to settle lawsuit stemming from arrests, assaults at protests in 2020"
],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Cory Elia (KBOO-FM)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance videographer assaulted while covering DC protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-videographer-assaulted-while-covering-dc-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-19T15:03:36.301475Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:32:55.260577Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T16:32:55.179512Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hk9g7\">Freelance videographer Roddy Hafiz was shot at with crowd-control munitions during a chaos-filled night of protests in Washington, D.C., on May 31, 2020, the third evening of widespread demonstrations in the nation’s capital after the death of George Floyd.</p><p data-block-key=\"zfe1e\">The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.</p><p data-block-key=\"69xfn\">Hafiz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that shortly after 6 p.m. he had begun to document protesters next to Lafayette Square, near the White House. In a clip reviewed by the Tracker, camo-clad military police can be seen firing chemical agents into the crowd, which was then forced to retreat by a row of advancing U.S. Park Police officers mounted on horseback. Hafiz told the Tracker that as the crowd headed toward Constitution Avenue, officers fired one projectile at his feet and another at eye level, so close to his head that he could feel a rush of air pass him. He said that he identified himself to them as a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"i298j\">“I’m, like, ‘Hello, I’m media. You can see me holding a camera. Don’t point your weapons at me,’” Hafiz told the Tracker. “‘If you’re gonna shoot tear gas, obviously shoot it over me. Use whatever protocols you guys have been taught.’ I don’t think it’s to shoot at journalists point-blank, eye level.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aw2pu\">D.C. is notable for the <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/05/protests-washington-dc-federal-agents-law-enforcement-302551\">large number of different police forces</a> that operate within its borders. Requests for comment from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police were not returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"v9v1l\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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{
"title": "DC police threaten Turkish VOA reporter, news team with batons",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dc-police-threaten-turkish-voa-reporter-news-team-with-batons/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-19T15:10:13.678792Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:35:08.197833Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T16:35:08.101832Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fomym\">Police brandished batons and forcibly moved three journalists for Voice of America’s Turkish service — after they identified themselves as members of the press — while they covered protests against police violence in Washington, D.C., on May 31, 2020, <a href=\"https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/covering-us-protests-journalists-find-unexpected-threats\">according to a VOA report</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"nptcj\">Reporters Uzeyir Yanar and Mehtap Yilmaz and camera operator Tezcan Taskiran were reporting that Sunday night on demonstrations near St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square, near the White House.</p><p data-block-key=\"xtzx9\">Yilmaz told VOA that at about 10:30 p.m., police officers at the scene raised batons and advanced on her, her colleagues and others standing in the area and ordered them to leave, despite the fact that Yilmaz’s colleagues were carrying video cameras and that the team identified themselves as journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"t63d3\">“There was a harsh intervention of the police against journalists during the protests. Although we showed our press cards, we were drastically removed from the protests in front of the White House,” Yilmaz told VOA.</p><p data-block-key=\"he3wh\">A spokesperson for VOA declined to comment to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker on the incident. The agency also declined to make Yanar, Yilmaz or Taskiran available for interviews.</p><p data-block-key=\"775d9\">Yilmaz was one of several VOA journalists, some of whom have covered conflicts around the globe, who told the news service they were surprised by the violence they encountered at the hands of both police and demonstrators taking part in this year’s protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"f1muc\">It isn’t clear from Yilmaz’s published account of the May 31 incident which law enforcement agency approached the news crew.</p><p data-block-key=\"c0zeu\">The same day that VOA journalists were forced from the area around St. John’s Church, fire was set to a nursery room in the basement of the church’s parish house. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which didn’t spread to other parts of the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"aftje\">On June 1, St. John’s became the backdrop for a controversial photo op for President Donald Trump. National Guard troops used tear gas and pepper balls to clear protesters from the area before Trump posed for cameras while holding up a Bible.</p><p data-block-key=\"k02mj\">Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Movement have been held across the country after a viral video showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"96mgn\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Broadcast reporter hit with pepper balls and tear gas during Tulsa protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-hit-with-pepper-balls-and-tear-gas-during-tulsa-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-24T16:49:59.150920Z",
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"date": "2020-05-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Tulsa",
"longitude": -95.99277,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wafal\">Two journalists for KTUL, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s ABC affiliate station, were hit with pepper balls fired by police while covering protests against police violence on the night of May 31, 2020, according to social media and a <a href=\"https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/chief-franklin-says-police-not-targeting-media-during-protests/article_900c8ead-abc2-5a2f-9e22-35ad501bc548.html\">news</a> report.</p><p data-block-key=\"j46kr\">The Tulsa protests were part of national demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. May 31 was also the 99th anniversary of what’s known as the Tulsa race massacre, when a racist white mob killed hundreds of Black residents in the then-thriving Black business community.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hqu9\">Reporter Ethan Hutchins and photojournalist Jacob Aranda were covering a standoff between police and protesters outside a gas station at the intersection of East 36th Street and South Peoria Avenue at around 10 p.m. Footage that <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=709626329854354&ref=watch_permalink\">streamed live</a> on the station’s Facebook page shows people milling about near the gas station, with flashing police lights down the road in the distance.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ngsm\">“So something is happening here, we’re not exactly sure,” a female voice, presumably from the KTUL studio, says. “We do have three crews that are there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"opu7u\">As popping noises erupt, some projectiles can be seen flying through the air, leaving smoke trails. “We see something beginning,” she says.</p><p data-block-key=\"i2mls\">“Hey, guys, A.J., pull back,” said Hutchins on the broadcast. “Kim, oh, Kim, I just got shot, excuse me, with a pepper ball,” a likely reference to Kim Jackson, the weekend anchor at KTUL who had been speaking.</p><p data-block-key=\"vauyg\">“Police officers have thrown a flash-bang, they have thrown a flash-bang, and my photographer and I, Jacob and I, have gotten hit with pepper balls,” said Hutchins, who declined to comment for this article. “The demonstrators have walked off now. We’ll toss it back to you real quick.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bubw0\">A portion of the same broadcast later posted on the station’s Twitter account:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">⚠️VIEWER WARNING: This was a live, uncensored event⚠️ Tulsa police fired pepper balls and tear gas into a crowd of protesters overnight at 36th and Peoria. Channel 8's <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TylerButlerKTUL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TylerButlerKTUL</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ehutchinsnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ehutchinsnews</a> were live on air when it happened. <a href=\"https://t.co/2r9zTbSiXS\">pic.twitter.com/2r9zTbSiXS</a></p>— NewsChannel 8 | KTUL (@KTULNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KTULNews/status/1267388909937405952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e1wen\">The footage changes to another reporter on the ground, Tyler Butler, in a mask, who says, “I see Ethan, he’s OK. They’re just catching their breath. As you can see, all that smoke there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"723ds\">“We saw a canister of tear gas that one of the protesters kicked backwards,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"nqbuq\">The footage then zoomed in on a gas station shrouded in smoke with some people squatting behind parked cars.</p><p data-block-key=\"iom8h\">When contacted about this incident, Danny Bean of the Tulsa Police Department communications unit, described it as “a peaceful protest that escalated into an unlawful assembly” and that journalists were not targeted by police.</p><p data-block-key=\"t0pnb\">The police response was “to agitators in certain crowds throwing objects at police officers and private property being vandalized. When this begins to occur officers will take action to disperse the crowd, including the use of pepper balls in some cases,” Bean wrote in an email to the Tracker. “At no point was Ethan, or any other member of the media, targeted by TPD. Ethan and his cameraman were inside of the crowd that was being dispersed where TPD introduced pepper balls.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lyp6r\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oklahoma",
"abbreviation": "OK"
},
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"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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{
"title": "Sacramento Bee reporter shoved to the ground while covering protests in California capital",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/sacramento-bee-reporter-shoved-to-the-ground-while-covering-protests-in-california-capital/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-29T18:25:29.033319Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T16:26:05.212435Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T16:26:05.111813Z",
"date": "2020-05-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Sacramento",
"longitude": -121.4944,
"latitude": 38.58157,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h9xwi\">Two Sacramento Bee journalists were assaulted and their work equipment damaged and stolen while covering protests against police violence in downtown Sacramento, California, on May 31, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"ivlqu\">SacBee reporter Sam Stanton was reporting that night with colleague photojournalist Paul Kitagaki Jr. The pair had been following protests at the state Capitol, which law enforcement had dispersed with flash-bang grenades and tear gas at around 11:30 p.m. As the crowd broke up, Stanton and Kitagaki left the area, soon walking past a 7-Eleven a block from the Capitol that appeared to be being looted, according to Kitagaki.</p><p data-block-key=\"wx7q3\">Kitagaki told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in a phone interview that the city was loud that night and the journalists didn’t hear as two men ran up behind them, hitting them, in Stanton’s words, “full speed from behind.” Stanton was thrown to the ground, hitting his knee and head, and his work iPad in his backpack was smashed on impact. Kitagaki had a camera yanked off his shoulder, breaking his right hand in the process. The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-sacramento-bee-journalists-hit-behind-their-equipment-damaged-and-stolen-while-covering-protests/\">Kitagaki’s assault and equipment damage here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1k98t\">Kitagaki told the Tracker that he got the impression that the attackers, who quickly ran away after the assault, were looters, unassociated with the protesters, and that he and Stanton were targeted because of the camera equipment he was carrying.</p><p data-block-key=\"iglnv\">Stanton said he “was just roughed up” and he and Kitagaki intended to continue working that night. However, within 10 minutes of Stanton <a href=\"https://twitter.com/StantonSam/status/1267342165337796608\">tweeting</a> about the attack, all Sacramento Bee reporters and photographers were pulled out of the area. Reporter Alex Yoon-Hendricks tweeted the newspaper <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ayoonhendricks/status/1267344884236644353\">was concerned</a> for its journalists’ safety, as looting had escalated and police were hard to find.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">All <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sacbee_news?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@sacbee_news</a> reporters and photographers have been pulled out of downtown/midtown Sacramento. Right now, groups of mostly young men are smashing windows, stealing. Few cops along J and K St. Some people were walking dogs right next to people in ski masks breaking into cars. <a href=\"https://t.co/qrjUNoCdk5\">https://t.co/qrjUNoCdk5</a></p>— Alex BOOn-Hendricks 🐝 (@ayoonhendricks) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ayoonhendricks/status/1267344884236644353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2020</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kte05\">Stanton <a href=\"https://twitter.com/StantonSam/status/1267345652339503104?s=20\">tweeted</a> at 11:42 p.m., “I have never willingly left the scene of a news story because of personal peril in my 38 years in the business. But when my editor ordered me to leave tonight, I did it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"88z1l\">Kitagaki reported the assault to the police the following day, and Kitagaki and Stanton were both interviewed about the attack. The Sacramento Police Department did not respond to a request for comment for this story.</p><p data-block-key=\"k4y4y\">Protests in Sacramento and across the United States have surged in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following a viral video that showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of a Black man, George Floyd, during his arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kq18\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"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": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "computer"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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}
]
