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{
"title": "KSTP News 5 crew’s cable cut during live shot, interrupting broadcast",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kstp-news-5-crews-cable-cut-during-live-shot-interrupting-broadcast/",
"first_published_at": "2020-07-29T20:51:33.424798Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T15:30:15.293276Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T15:30:15.208185Z",
"date": "2020-07-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Anoka",
"longitude": -93.38718,
"latitude": 45.19774,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6qzz3\">The cable connecting a KSTP 5 News crew’s camera to its live truck was cut during a live shot outside a bar in Anoka, Minnesota, on July 20, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"k9qg3\">Reporter Kirsten Swanson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that her crew was working on a general assignment <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KirstenKSTP/status/1285353216641839104/photo/1\">piece</a> about bars and restaurants warned by the state’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division after failing to comply with coronavirus safety guidelines.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9dqh\">While the news crew, based in Saint Paul, was in an Anoka bar speaking with the owner, Swanson said they noticed a patron who went in and out several times, but specified that the man hadn’t acted aggressively toward them.</p><p data-block-key=\"ai4nk\">“Right before six o’clock, when my photographer went to set the camera up, the patron asked him, ‘Is that camera live? What are you guys doing?’” Swanson said. Her photographer explained they were preparing for a live shot and that they were reporting on the bar. The man scowled at the photographer, she said, before going back inside.</p><p data-block-key=\"yo8ui\">Swanson went on-air shortly after 6 p.m., and she introduced their piece before the recorded package began playing. Within seconds, however, she said they received word from their producer and the technician in the KSTP truck parked up the block that their live shot had dropped.</p><p data-block-key=\"s6oam\">“Being in this business for a long as we have, you know technology sometimes doesn’t work so we didn’t really think anything of it,” she said. When they went to see what had gone wrong, the technician began rolling in the cable that connects the camera and the truck but only half of it came back.</p><p data-block-key=\"l50ge\">“The tech stopped and looked down and said, ‘Oh my god, someone cut the cable,’” Swanson said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Boy, this is a new low. Someone saw us going live on Main Street in Anoka and CUT the cable that runs from the truck to our camera. Shot dropped. Thanks <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JackieCainTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JackieCainTV</a> for finishing the story up. <a href=\"https://t.co/F25OvCaC6L\">pic.twitter.com/F25OvCaC6L</a></p>— Kirsten Swanson (@KirstenKSTP) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KirstenKSTP/status/1285353216641839104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 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=\"g68mm\">Swanson said they filed a police report for the damages, and that security cameras captured footage of what happened.</p><p data-block-key=\"xz7ue\">The Anoka Police Department did not respond to an email requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/KSTP_cable.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xqjz7\">An unidentified man cut the cable connecting a KSTP 5 News crew's camera and live truck, interupting their broadcast on July 20, 2020.</p>",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"KSTP-TV"
],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
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},
{
"title": "Videographer hit with crowd-control munitions while covering Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-hit-with-crowd-control-munitions-while-covering-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-01T18:26:41.551502Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:40:43.623684Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:40:43.541725Z",
"date": "2020-07-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1g066\">Independent videographer Mason Lake said he was hit with crowd-control munitions by federal law enforcement officers while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, during the early morning hours of July 20, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"0rk34\">Lake said federal officers hit him nine times with pepper balls, including three times in the head. He said he was clearly identifiable as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"idvl9\">The Portland-based journalist was filming one of the many protests that broke out 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, while in police custody.</p><p data-block-key=\"mwsc8\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July.</p><p data-block-key=\"2og0b\">Around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. on July 20, Lake was filming from the front lines of a protest near Southwest Salmon Street and Southwest Third Avenue downtown, where the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse is located, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"cm668\">Video <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MasonLakePhoto/status/1285352167990157312\">posted by Lake on Twitter</a> shows federal agents stationed in front of the courthouse advancing on the protesters and shooting munitions. As flash-bang grenades and tear gas canisters go off, a smoking canister can be seen flying back toward the officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"etjbz\">Lake said that federal officers hit him nine times with <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/05/less-lethal-weapons-protests/?arc404=true\">pepper balls</a>, which are projectiles roughly the size of paintballs that discharge an irritant when they hit a person. He was wearing a gas mask to protect himself from the pepper and tear gas, with the word “press” clearly displayed on his helmet and vest, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5hzz5\">“I felt three at my legs, and then three in my chest, and three in my face and visor,” Lake told the Tracker. “They targeted right for my face.”</p><p data-block-key=\"newwq\">Lake said the pepper balls interfered with his ability to document the protest. “That pepper stuff fades in and becomes a chemical burn, so I ended up leaving,” he said. “They’re paintballs filled with pepper. When they hit you, it’s like cutting onions times 10.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lsog0\">While a <a href=\"https://www.vox.com/2020/7/20/21328387/portland-protests-unmarked-arrest-trump-wold\">number of federal agencies</a> had officers in Portland in July, it wasn’t clear to Lake which agency the officers were from. The Department of Homeland Security, which coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"hjzrq\">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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"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": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mason Lake (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist hit with projectiles fired by federal agents while covering Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-journalists-hit-projectiles-fired-federal-agents-while-covering-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-09T15:10:06.206197Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:26:21.279370Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:26:21.173110Z",
"date": "2020-07-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"158co\">Independent journalist Donovan Farley wrote that he was hit with projectiles fired by federal law enforcement officers while he was covering protests in Portland, Oregon, on July 19, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"kgazm\">Farley was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"z8dx3\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Farley is involved in the class action <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">lawsuit</a>, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon, which led to the TRO.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hmd5\">Farley wrote on Twitter that he took a projectile in the ribs.</p><p data-block-key=\"pla0d\">“No one there was aggressive and I was just filming and holding up my press pass, fed essentially shot my pass,” he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DonovanFarley/status/1285106726740480002\">tweeted</a> at 11:58 p.m.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My press pass was on my right hand this is where the munition hit me on the right side. He obviously shot directly at my press pass. <a href=\"https://t.co/ppyS04w3Iy\">pic.twitter.com/ppyS04w3Iy</a></p>— Donovan Farley (@DonovanFarley) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DonovanFarley/status/1285107209085480960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 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=\"ggyv0\">“My press pass was on my right hand this is where the munition hit me on the right side. He obviously shot directly at my press pass,” Farley wrote in a followup <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DonovanFarley/status/1285107209085480960\">tweet</a> with a picture of the wound on his rib.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ddxcy\">He had to cut his reporting short because he was having trouble breathing, according to a later <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DonovanFarley/status/1285116792583544833\">tweet</a>. Farley didn’t respond to a request for further comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"s922c\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Donovan Farley (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist injured by crowd-control munitions used by federal agents in Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-injured-by-crowd-control-munitions-used-by-federal-agents-in-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-30T20:10:45.720164Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:27:11.718081Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:27:11.629799Z",
"date": "2020-07-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6nglp\">Photojournalist Alex Milan Tracy said he was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal law enforcement officers during a protest in Portland, Oregon, on July 19, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"g0ad3\">Tracy was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"o0x6l\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Tracy gave declarations in support of the class action lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon, that led to the TRO.</p><p data-block-key=\"i6l9e\">Shortly before midnight on July 19, Tracy was documenting federal officers as they launched a “barrage of tear gas” at protesters outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, according to his ACLU <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/aclu_or_dhs_tro_declarations_packet072020.pdf\">declaration</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"68j9g\">“As I was taking video and photographing the chaos, a federal agent shot me in my left ankle joint with an impact munition round,” wrote Tracy, adding that he had been standing away from the protesters. “At the same time, I was consumed with tear gas and hit with pepper-balls on my right elbow.”</p><p data-block-key=\"emotw\">Tracy posted a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlexMilanTracy/status/1285112506030022656\">video</a> on Twitter capturing the moment he was hit. “I take a hit on my left ankle joint. Thanks to<a href=\"https://twitter.com/SmileItsNathan\"> @SmileItsNathan</a> and street medics for helping me out,” he tweeted, referencing fellow freelance photojournalist Nathan Howard.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I take a hit on my left ankle joint. Thanks to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SmileItsNathan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SmileItsNathan</a> and street medics for helping me out. <a href=\"https://t.co/pTeW3rZNK3\">pic.twitter.com/pTeW3rZNK3</a></p>— Alex Milan Tracy (@AlexMilanTracy) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlexMilanTracy/status/1285112506030022656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 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=\"4l8j2\">Howard, who was also shot by pepper balls after midnight, posted a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SmileItsNathan/status/1285106514374594560\">video</a> of Tracy being treated by medics. “Journalist<a href=\"https://twitter.com/AlexMilanTracy\"> @AlexMilanTracy</a> is hurt. Less lethal to leg. Medics with him now. He says he's ok,” he tweeted. Howard’s assault was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalists-hit-projectiles-while-covering-portland-protest/\">documented by the Tracker here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"62pfs\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Oregon",
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},
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"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Projectiles hit independent journalist covering Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/projectiles-hit-independent-journalist-covering-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-10-04T16:43:54.667999Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:27:27.351818Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:27:27.261713Z",
"date": "2020-07-19",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u79ft\">Independent journalist Jake Johnson was hit with projectiles fired by federal law enforcement officers while they were covering protests in Portland, Oregon, on July 19, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"m74lx\">Johnson was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"f1vc4\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Johnson is involved in the class action <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\">lawsuit</a>, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon, which led to the TRO.</p><p data-block-key=\"adezl\">On the night of July 19, Johnson was hit in the stomach by a projectile fired by a federal officer. He was standing in Chapman Square, near the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, when he was hit by an agent retreating toward the courthouse. At that point, most of the protesters were on Southwest Main Street or in Lownsdale Square, a park area next to Chapman Square and across from the courthouse.</p><p data-block-key=\"hppli\">Toward the end of a video taken by journalist Robert Evans and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FancyJenkins/status/1285267827616657409\">retweeted</a> by Johnson at 10:38 p.m., Johnson can be seen standing on a diagonal path that runs through Chapman Square.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You can watch me get shot here in addition to two hours and 38 minutes or so of other high quality content and commentary from <a href=\"https://twitter.com/IwriteOK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@IwriteOK</a>. You can see me get shot if you start watching at 2:33:00 I get shot around halfway through that minute. 1/2 <a href=\"https://t.co/KmdFV935jl\">https://t.co/KmdFV935jl</a></p>— Jake “wear a mask” Johnson (@FancyJenkins) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FancyJenkins/status/1285267827616657409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 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=\"8hn9u\">“I’m walking down the diagonal path very slowly because I’m not trying to startle any officers by rushing at them. I’m giving them plenty of time to see I’m approaching slowly, they can see that I’m press, the park is lit up,” Johnson told the Tracker, noting that his helmet says “press” on five sides.</p><p data-block-key=\"s5ao0\">Around 2:33:30 into Evans’s video, Johnson can be heard groaning as he gets hit in the stomach. He then kneels down to try and retrieve the projectile. “Based on the injury and the bruising pattern, my best guess is that it was a rubber bullet,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8jsen\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, also didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Independent photojournalist hit projectiles fired by Portland federal agents",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-independent-photojournalists-said-portland-federal-agents-hit-them-crowd-control-munitions/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-25T21:46:30.501424Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-12T14:43:37.754356Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-12T14:43:37.662962Z",
"date": "2020-07-19",
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"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ty7yz\">Independent photojournalist John Rudoff said he was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal law enforcement officers while he was covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, on July 19, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"hmvtt\">Rudoff was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"1z1n3\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Rudoff gave declarations in support of the class action lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon, that led to the TRO.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2h99\">Rudoff was hit in the shoulder with a projectile while documenting federal agents emerging from the courthouse and shooting tear gas and munitions, he said in his <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/aclu_or_dhs_tro_declarations_packet072020.pdf\">declaration</a> for the ACLU.</p><p data-block-key=\"u0itw\">“Suddenly, and for no reason, a federal agent shot me in my right shoulder, inches from my head,” Rudoff wrote, adding that he believes he was hit with a 40mm rubber bullet. “The pain was so bad that I had to retreat into the park and stop documenting for around 15 minutes while I recovered.”</p><p data-block-key=\"l79ve\">Rudoff said he felt targeted as press. “I have body armor that has ‘press’ on it in several-inch-high letters front and back, and a helmet that has ‘press’ on it in inch-high letters front and back,” he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “I intentionally stand away from crowds as best I can, and intentionally I’m dressed in light-colored clothing as much as possible.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qwm1t\">In the declaration, he also noted that he had two large professional cameras with him and was wearing a National Press Photographers Association press pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"i2yym\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6mzbp\">Federal law enforcement at a July 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon. Journalist John Rudoff was documenting one of the nightly protests later that month when he was shot with a rubber bullet.</p>",
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"name": "Oregon",
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"(2025-03-05 00:00:00+00:00) Journalists settle with Portland, Oregon, over 2020 protest violations"
],
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"settled"
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{
"title": "Student journalist says federal agents threw crowd-control munitions at her during Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-says-federal-agents-threw-crowd-control-munitions-her-during-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-14T21:17:30.859159Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:26:38.190336Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:26:38.096414Z",
"date": "2020-07-19",
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"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8puba\">Eddy Binford-Ross, a 17-year-old student journalist, said federal agents threw a stun grenade and tear gas canister at her on July 19, 2020, while she was covering protests in Portland, Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"yzs9p\">Binford-Ross, editor in chief at her high school student newspaper in Salem, Oregon, was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"n5l1g\">July 19 marked the 53rd day of protests in Portland, Binford-Ross <a href=\"http://clypian.com/2020/07/20/wall-of-moms-faces-off-with-federal-officers/\">reported</a> in her school paper, The Clypian. The protests had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> with the arrival of federal law enforcement in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Binford-Ross is a plaintiff in the class action <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/aclu_or_dhs_tro_declarations_packet072020.pdf\">suit</a>, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"6jkwj\">The mood at the demonstrations had felt positive at the start of the night, Binford-Ross told the Tracker. She was covering the second night of protests by the “Wall of Moms” outside the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse downtown, a nightly flashpoint for confrontations between protesters and federal agents.</p><p data-block-key=\"icgix\">Just before 10 p.m., law enforcement issued a warning to protesters who had been attempting to dismantle the fence around the courthouse, which the federal government considered crucial to its presence, according to a document <a href=\"https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-federal-courthouse-fence-taxpayer-cost/\">obtained by Oregon Public Broadcasting</a>. When the moms formed a barrier between protesters and the fence <a href=\"http://clypian.com/2020/07/20/wall-of-moms-faces-off-with-federal-officers/\">to de-escalate tensions</a>, federal officers rushed out of the courthouse and pointed guns at protesters from the other side of the fence.</p><p data-block-key=\"qh2a8\">It was just before midnight when the stun grenade was thrown towards Binford-Ross, she said. After some protesters had taken down parts of the fence, agents deployed stun grenades and tear gas to push protesters back into the street. Binford-Ross had already begun to retreat into Chapman Square and was away from most protesters when the multi-port stun grenade landed near her. When she tried to move away, an agent threw a tear gas canister in her path.</p><p data-block-key=\"h29ce\">“It was really inhumane,” Binford-Ross said. “It would be one thing if I was running towards officers, but I was running away from them, I was trying to get away from that situation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1hraa\">Her mother, Warren Binford, accompanied her and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/childrightsprof/status/1285302066718535682?s=20\">tweeted</a> a video of the moment the stun grenade exploded. “The US #BorderPatro<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/BorderPatrol?src=hashtag_click\">l</a> threw this stun grenade at me & my minor daughter, both US citizens, while she was covering this local story,” her mother wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The US <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/BorderPatrol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BorderPatrol</a> threw this stun grenade at me & my minor daughter, both US citizens, while she was covering this local story again last night about the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Feds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Feds</a> in <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Portland</a> for her high school newspaper <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Clypian?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Clypian</a>. This was the 2nd time in 3 days the Feds have thrown.... <a href=\"https://t.co/IBh0n73tzJ\">pic.twitter.com/IBh0n73tzJ</a></p>— Warren Binford (@childrightsprof) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/childrightsprof/status/1285302066718535682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 20, 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=\"ppvl0\">Another <a href=\"https://twitter.com/childrightsprof/status/1285307856808374272\">tweet</a> shows the stun grenade marked “BORTAC,” which is an acronym for the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit.</p><p data-block-key=\"0vwt9\">In addition to having press identification, Binford-Ross had added additional press markings since being targeted with crowd-control munitions <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-covering-portland-protests-says-federal-agents-threw-flash-bang-grenade-toward-her/\">the day before</a>, including a helmet marked “press” on all four sides and pants with “press” written with reflective tape spelling down the leg</p><p data-block-key=\"t2srh\">While she’d felt more prepared to cover that night’s demonstrations since beginning her protest coverage in Portland two nights before, she still has moments when the odors of tear gas come to her at random times. “It definitely takes a mental and emotional toll,” said Binford-Ross, who covered more than 30 BLM protests in Portland and Salem for the school paper over the summer. Her tweets about the protests were used by ABC, Reuters, Yahoo News and other outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"mzv8m\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Portland Mercury reporter says they were assaulted by Portland police while covering protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/portland-mercury-reporter-says-they-were-assaulted-portland-police-while-covering-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-11T17:55:52.500842Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:28:38.385281Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:28:38.280837Z",
"date": "2020-07-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6ge8k\">Blair Stenvick, a reporter for the Portland Mercury, said they were assaulted by police on July 18, 2020, while covering protests in the Oregon city against police brutality and racial inequality.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ew4n\">Stenvick suffered abrasions and an ankle injury after getting pushed by police during a bull-rush of a crowd of protesters, despite a recent <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">court order</a> that had specifically prohibited Portland police from harming or impeding journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"vq02d\">The night of July 18 marked a string of continuous demonstrations in Portland for at least the <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/07/19/892771802/protests-grow-on-52nd-night-as-portland-responds-to-federal-officers\">previous 50 days</a> following the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"6kpvw\">As one group of protesters returned to the main focus of ongoing demonstrations, the Multnomah County Justice Center and the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse downtown, Stenvick went to cover another protest outside the Portland Police Association office in North Portland.</p><p data-block-key=\"v33d5\">As soon as Stenvick arrived, the situation escalated. Individuals had <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1284727495669866498\">set a fire</a> inside the PPA office, prompting the Portland police to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1284728812547174400\">declare a riot</a> just before 11 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"kinns\">In an interview with the Tracker, Stenvick describes seeing police use rubber bullets and smoke canisters. “I was always having to walk the line of trying to look out for my own safety but still being able to document things as well as I could,” Stenvick said.</p><p data-block-key=\"05qbd\">At that point, Stenvick backed away and followed directions by police. While taking pictures from the outskirts of the gathering, Stenvick noticed that protesters had suddenly started running. Stenvick looked back and saw police in riot gear bull-rushing protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"y79km\">“I could tell in that moment that I was already in danger, and so I started running also, following police orders,” Stenvick told the Tracker. “Also putting my hands up in the air just to show that I wanted to comply with orders and not be a threat to them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"df8zz\">Stenvick said they yelled to the police, “I’m press! I’m press!” before being shoved to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"9n016\">“[It was] unnecessary [for them] to hit me because I was already running away, and wasn’t there as a protester,” said Stenvick, who had also been wearing a press pass. “Very clearly I wasn’t a threat to them, so [there] was a mix of ... anger, shock and disbelief.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6690h\">At around 11 p.m., Stenvick <a href=\"https://twitter.com/blairstenvick/status/1284729965087318022?s=21\">tweeted</a> a picture of their abrasions on the knee and hand.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Police just cleared the crowd. I was running full speed easy and got pushed from behind by a PPB officer. Fortunately I just got scraped. <a href=\"https://t.co/zoKmIEUIvS\">pic.twitter.com/zoKmIEUIvS</a></p>— Blair Stenvick (@BlairStenvick) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BlairStenvick/status/1284729965087318022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 19, 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=\"2n9ql\">While Stenvick didn’t report this specific incident to police, they are involved in a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon in June. The Portland Mercury is one of several plaintiffs in the case, which led to the city agreeing to <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-16_preliminary_injunction.pdf\">a preliminary injunction</a> in July to not to arrest or harm any journalists or legal observers of the protests or impede their work. Stenvick provided testimony about a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/portland-while-reporting-protests-city-journalists-tear-gassed-threatened/\">separate incident</a> as part of the preliminary injunction.</p><p data-block-key=\"hizct\">Derek Carmon, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, was unable to comment on this incident due to the ongoing litigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"d48mm\">After the incident, Stenvick resolved to use the experience as a lesson about empathy. “Journalists ... use their own life experiences to relate to other people, so just seeing for myself — even just in that one instance — what it’s like to be unjustly treated by a police officer, I think that’s helpful for me to have some tiny little piece of understanding when covering these issues,” Stenvick told the Tracker.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Blair Stenvick (Portland Mercury)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Freelance journalist struck in leg by projectile while covering Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-struck-leg-projectile-while-covering-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-01T19:21:05.996721Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:28:21.288007Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:28:21.169844Z",
"date": "2020-07-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a0608\">Freelance journalist Laura Jedeed said she was hit in the leg by a projectile fired by federal law enforcement while she covered a protest in downtown Portland, Oregon, on July 18, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"5kzvb\">Jedeed, a contributor to Portland Monthly and Willamette Weekly, was covering one of many protests that had broken 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. 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=\"py8sg\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July.</p><p data-block-key=\"tcdff\">In the early morning hours of July 18, Jedeed was covering a demonstration near the Mark O. Hetfield federal courthouse, where federal officers were stationed. Throughout the night, she told the Tracker, demonstrators “would hang out in front of the courthouse. And then without warning, the feds emerge, [tear] gas the hell out of people and then go back in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"595ns\">In one instance around 12:30 a.m., federal officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets, driving protesters north of the courthouse. “They were firing everything and the kitchen sink at protesters retreating down the street,” Jedeed said.</p><p data-block-key=\"uurc8\">While Jedeed was on Southwest Second Avenue, north of the courthouse, a projectile hit her in the leg. “This was while they were peppering the people who were fleeing with rubber bullets. [But] I don’t know what I was struck with,” she said. “I felt it hit me. And I kept running. After they were done chasing us, I looked down and saw I was bleeding quite a lot.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ih6f4\">A picture of the wound Jedeed <a href=\"https://twitter.com/1misanthrophile/status/1284504424853893121\">posted on Twitter</a> later that morning, shows her bloody leg with a small hole in it.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I want to clarify that although I'm not sure what I was shot with, it wasn't live ammo. Maybe a rubber bullet?<br><br>Whatever it was, I'm definitely gonna have a cool scar to remind me of how Trump's private army conducts itself <a href=\"https://t.co/IuZgdbbD0Y\">https://t.co/IuZgdbbD0Y</a></p>— Laura Jedeed (Misanthrophile) (@1misanthrophile) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/1misanthrophile/status/1284504424853893121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"c8fg1\">Jedeed said she was clearly marked as press, wearing a press badge and a neon yellow vest with the words “press” on it. However, she said she didn’t think she was specifically targeted, calling the law enforcement response “indiscriminate.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3t1ah\">Jedeed wasn’t sure what federal agency fired the projectile that struck her. The Department of Homeland Security, which coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Laura Jedeed (Freelance)"
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},
{
"title": "Student journalist covering Portland protests says federal agents threw a flash-bang grenade toward her",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-covering-portland-protests-says-federal-agents-threw-flash-bang-grenade-toward-her/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T18:29:06.786031Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:28:56.713392Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:28:56.627506Z",
"date": "2020-07-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dh5z9\">Eddy Binford-Ross, a 17-year-old student journalist, said federal agents threw a flash-bang grenade toward her on July 18, 2020, while she was covering protests in Portland, Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"nj6ys\">Binford-Ross, editor in chief at her high school student newspaper in Salem, Oregon, said flash-bang grenades landed near her on two separate occasions that night — one before midnight on July 17 and one after — but only the second one seemed targeted at her. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documents assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering protests across the country in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd, considers a targeted crowd-control incident an assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"upynr\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Binford-Ross is a plaintiff in the class action <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/aclu_or_dhs_tro_declarations_packet072020.pdf\">suit</a>, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"zv3uj\">July 17 was the first night Binford-Ross had covered the Portland protests since federal agents had been deployed to the city. The first flash-bang grenade incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m., she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ga8rv\">Demonstrators had gathered around 7 p.m. at the Multnomah County Justice Center for a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JoAnnPDX/status/1284247841850814464\">candlelight vigil</a>. Binford-Ross was outside the Justice Center when federal agents started ordering people to move. “Anyone who stepped into the street [got] shot with their crowd-control munitions,” she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"rpomb\">Binford-Ross moved down a block, where she met two acquaintances from Salem who were livestreaming the events. They were half a block away from protesters when a federal agent threw the flash-bang grenade over the wall near her. “There wasn’t any warning or anything...it was like 10 feet away from us...it was a blinding shock,” Binford-Ross said, adding she was temporarily deafened.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ttz1\">The second flash-bang grenade was thrown sometime after 1:30 a.m., as federal agents were advancing on protesters in Chapman Square. Binford-Ross was standing off to the side away from the protesters, she said, wearing press identification around her neck and carrying a large camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"hvaby\">As federal agents advanced on the crowd with guns drawn, one of them threw a flash-bang grenade towards her that exploded near her feet, stunning and deafening her again. “They shot right towards me...it came within 10 feet of me again,” Binford-Ross said.</p><p data-block-key=\"3uhzq\">She was recording at the time, and her mother, Warren Binford, posted the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/childrightsprof/status/1284558309744242690?s=20\">video</a> on Twitter. “These are concussive devices & they targeted a child,” her mother wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our young daughter (a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/studentjournalist?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#studentjournalist</a>) had this <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/flashbang?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#flashbang</a> shot at her by the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Feds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Feds</a> & <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portland</a> police last night even though she was staying on the perimeter, wearing her press credentials & completely law abiding. These are concussive devices & they targeted a child. Shame! <a href=\"https://t.co/DWUk2ef86H\">pic.twitter.com/DWUk2ef86H</a></p>— Warren Binford (@childrightsprof) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/childrightsprof/status/1284558309744242690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"7ux2w\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"m1lnn\">“It doesn't seem like something that would happen in the U.S.,” Binford-Ross said. “It felt like something you would experience in a war zone, especially when the people who are shooting the munitions towards you are unidentifiable federal agents, from undisclosed federal agencies and they’re in camo, like soldiers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4omsn\">Binford-Ross, who covered more than 30 BLM protests in Portland and Salem for her school paper, The Clypian, over the summer, said she never planned on a career in journalism until she saw the value of reporting during this time. “It was a real lesson in perseverance and dedication and also personal safety,” said Binford-Ross, who said her tweets about the protests were used by ABC, Reuters, Yahoo News and other outlets.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Eddy Binford-Ross (The Clypian)"
],
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},
{
"title": "CBS Chicago journalist reports assault by police during Columbus statue protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbs-chicago-journalist-reports-assault-by-police-during-columbus-statue-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-30T19:51:39.917699Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:30:28.935065Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:30:28.853233Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"keeo4\">Chicago-based journalist, reporter Marissa Parra of CBS Chicago said she was assaulted by police while covering demonstrations in Grant Park on July 17, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"etzo7\">Parra was documenting the scene surrounding the park’s Christopher Columbus statue, where <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-police-christopher-columbus-protest-20200718-ea62bmy6ujgh7cbeofrpwbakse-story.html\">reports estimated</a> that at least 1,000 people had gathered, eventually attempting to topple the monument to the 15th-century explorer.</p><p data-block-key=\"vnkxe\">Removal of Columbus monuments around the country has been a<a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christopher-columbus-statue-removed-cities/\"> focal point</a> for many nationwide groups given the explorer’s history of colonization and violence toward Indigenous people.</p><p data-block-key=\"7rayi\">During the demonstrations in Chicago, which included a rally in support of Black and Indigenous people, police and protesters clashed. Forty-nine officers, according to the Chicago Police Department, were injured, with 18 sent to the hospital, while demonstrators filed at least 20 complaints for excessive force and other grievances with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8s2w\">Marissa Parra told the Tracker in an interview that she showed up at the park just before 8 p.m. She said she saw individuals gathered around the statue, that it was covered and an individual was attempting to pull it down with a rope.</p><p data-block-key=\"fl2b7\">Not long afterward, clashes between police and individuals turned violent. A video <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=632150167434123&ref=watch_permalink\">she filmed</a> shows police using batons to strike demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"s908t\">She said she was filming live among the demonstrators when she was struck by a police baton. The blow knocked the phone out of her hand. Parra tweeted footage of the incident, writing: “You can see him kick it after it lands on the street. Heard a different officer say a few min later, ‘don’t touch her- she’s media.’”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Here’s a clip of a Chicago Police Officer using his baton to swat my phone out of my hand while I was doing a live hit<br><br>You can see him kick it after it lands on the street. <br><br>Heard a different officer say a few min later, “don’t touch her- she’s media”<a href=\"https://twitter.com/cbschicago?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cbschicago</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/GaYz4UeF65\">pic.twitter.com/GaYz4UeF65</a></p>— Marissa Parra (@MarParNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarParNews/status/1284306440971325440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"zdx97\">“It feels like it was … very intentional … I had my press badge around my neck ... he didn’t try to tell me to move or push me out of the way of anything. He hit my phone ... and then the fact that he kicked it across the ground ... that to me says everything. That was a show of force,” she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"37f1i\">Parra filed a complaint with COPA as well and has yet to hear back. The office didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Tracker as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ponm\">“Honestly, the only next step is to just keep doing what I was doing before, with more passion than before,” Parra said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejwx0\">Later that evening, Parra was assaulted by an individual who attempted to take her phone to prevent her from filming, an incident the Tracker has documented here.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmt5n\">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. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Marissa Parra (WBBM-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Portland journalist says federal agents shot projectiles at him during protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/portland-journalist-says-federal-agents-shot-projectiles-him-during-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-11T16:50:00.655676Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:29:29.548387Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:29:29.464094Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uh8w0\">Independent journalist Garrison Davis said federal law enforcement officers shot crowd-control munitions at him on two different occasions on July 17, 2020, while he was covering protests outside a federal building in downtown Portland, Oregon.</p><p data-block-key=\"qzln8\">The Portland-based journalist was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"88zj2\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23.</p><p data-block-key=\"ic693\">In the early hours of July 17, Davis was filming federal agents returning to the building, which houses the local offices of the Internal Revenue Service and other federal departments. “They just started shooting at the press with mainly pepper bullets because we could see them breaking on the fence,” Davis told the Tracker, referring to the fence that was in place to prevent protesters from entering the closed city parks.</p><p data-block-key=\"9j8qm\">At 1:07 a.m., Davis <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1284036971623415808\">tweeted</a> a video showing officers shooting pepper balls towards him and other journalists from across the intersection of Southwest Madison Street and Southwest Third Avenue. “DHS shooting at press. There were no protesters behind me. I have press on my helmet and am holding out my press pass,” he wrote in the post. Davis told the Tracker that none of the pepper balls made direct contact with him, but landed around him.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">DHS shooting at press. There were no protesters behind me. I have press on my helmet and am holding out my press pass. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Teargas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Teargas</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/blacklivesmatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blacklivesmatter</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/protest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#protest</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portland</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/oregon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#oregon</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/blm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blm</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/acab?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#acab</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PortlandProtest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PortlandProtest</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/justicecenter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justicecenter</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/riotribs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#riotribs</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/gVnp0NPsmv\">pic.twitter.com/gVnp0NPsmv</a></p>— Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1284036971623415808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 17, 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=\"cever\">Later, when Davis returned to the same area to cover that evening’s protests, federal agents staged at the federal building fired on the crowd. A pepper grenade hit his hand and the iPhone he was using as a camera, he told the Tracker. One of his fingers was bloodied, and he was coated in pepper dust, as Davis documented in a video he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1284356643744919552\">tweeted</a> at 10:17 p.m.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I am alright, just covered in some type of dust and my hand is sore. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/blacklivesmatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blacklivesmatter</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/protest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#protest</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portland</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/oregon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#oregon</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/blm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blm</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/acab?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#acab</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PortlandProtest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PortlandProtest</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PDXprotest?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PDXprotest</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/justicecenter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justicecenter</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Feds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Feds</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/dMA5NjxD2w\">pic.twitter.com/dMA5NjxD2w</a></p>— Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1284356643744919552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"a4lnn\">Davis said his phone was covered in pepper dust, which became activated when his hands got sweaty. “So that was awful and I had to get medical care because it was really bad,” he said. “It took multiple days to wash off all the pepper dust.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3uq6\">Given the size of the crowd, Davis doesn’t believe he was targeted as press in that instance. A member of the <a href=\"https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/portland-press-corps-protests.php\">Portland Press Corps</a> that uses the group’s Twitter handle @45thabsurdist was also affected by the grenade and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/45thabsurdist/status/1284359597680029696\">posted</a> footage of when it hit.</p><p data-block-key=\"be05k\">“It was an explosion that covered<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie\"> @hungrybowtie</a> and me with a powder that is fine until it contacted sweat or water which is when it started burning. Stay away from those,” wrote @45thabsurdist in a follow-up <a href=\"https://twitter.com/45thabsurdist/status/1284373814634147840\">tweet</a>, referring to Davis’ Twitter handle.</p><p data-block-key=\"lnmlr\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"tags": [
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"chemical irritant",
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"shot / shot at"
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{
"title": "Freelance journalist arrested while covering Portland protests, despite injunction against police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-arrested-while-covering-portland-protests-despite-injunction-against-police/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-08T18:26:24.631769Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:29:12.404208Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:29:12.245880Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ai2l0\">Freelance journalist Andrew Jankowski was arrested by police officers while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, on July 17, 2020, a day after a judge issued a<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/press-releases/judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-aclu-case-protect-journalists-and-legal-observers\"> preliminary injunction</a> to block the Portland Police Bureau from arresting or targeting journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"uvkza\">Jankowski was covering the protests that broke out in Portland in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. For more than six weeks, nightly protests had taken hold in downtown Portland, escalating tensions and violence between protesters, Portland police and federal officers. 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=\"2xewx\">In the early morning hours of July 17, Jankowski was covering a protest at Southeast 47th Avenue and East Burnside Street, outside of the Penumbra Kelly Building, which houses the PPB’s crime-prevention and neighborhood-involvement units as well as space for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Jankowski told the Tracker he recalled two dispersal orders from Portland police officers ordering protesters to move west.</p><p data-block-key=\"anfhp\">“I guess they [officers] decided that we weren’t moving fast enough and did what’s come to be known as a bull rush,” Jankowski. “Out of nowhere, they run at people and start shoving.”</p><p data-block-key=\"p7iz7\">As protesters and officers scattered in different directions, Jankowski felt someone push him. He believed it was an officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"1a0x7\">“I yelled ‘Media!’ while I ran, and even screamed the word as they twisted my wrist behind my back to take away my phone,” Jankowski wrote in an<a href=\"https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/07/28/28680513/a-journalist-in-jail-what-i-experienced-after-being-arrested-by-portland-police\"> article</a> for the Portland Mercury. “People from across the street saw I was wearing a press pass. I tried making it easier for the officer to zip tie me, and was told to stop resisting.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gy1zx\">He said he had thought ahead to wear a protective vest, which absorbed most of the impact, but he still sustained cuts and scrapes on his hands. Officers also grabbed his backpack, which was later destroyed.</p><p data-block-key=\"2j91m\">A<a href=\"https://twitter.com/econbrkfst/status/1284083268858437632?s=20\"> video</a> documented and tweeted by Nicholas Lee, an independent photographer and videographer, shows Jankowski being held by officers at around 12:50 a.m. A few seconds into the video, officers can be seen shining a bright light into Lee’s lens, hampering him from capturing the footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"o3znt\">As Lee continues to film, he shouts, “Are you press?” Jankowski responds with a “Yes” and his name. A bystander can be heard asking, “Have they told you why they are arresting you?” to which Jankowski replies “No.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gwkqf\">Jankowski said he believed the officers answered the question about his charges only because protesters were demanding it. But at that moment, he was still in shock and couldn’t fully understand what the officers were saying. The PPB <a href=\"https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=250994\">announced</a> later that morning that Jankowski was booked for disorderly conduct and interfering with a peace officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"0241o\">“I don’t know if I was targeted, but once they knew who I was, they still weren’t letting me go,” Jankowski said, noting that he had a large press pass taped to his chest. In a<a href=\"https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/07/28/28680513/a-journalist-in-jail-what-i-experienced-after-being-arrested-by-portland-police\"> photograph</a> Jankowski shared with the Portland Mercury, he can be seen with a sign taped on his chest that had “freelance journalist” written across the top along with logos of the Portland Mercury and other news outlets.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kcnl\">The officers brought Jankowski to the Penumbra Kelly building, where they removed the press pass from his chest, cutting through the line that read “Freelance journalist,” he said. He was finally processed at 3:44 a.m. at the Multnomah County Justice Center and released about six hours later, with the two charges pending.</p><p data-block-key=\"88ezr\">“Through their questions, I came to realize that the officers questioning me didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand, how freelance journalism works,” he wrote. “I felt they were trying to provoke, intimidate, and belittle me when they asked why an arts writer was reporting on protests.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9y39j\">PPB spokesman Derek Carmon declined to comment on Jankowski’s arrest, citing continuing litigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"d51ex\">When Jankowski went to court in September, he learned that the district attorney had declined to prosecute him, but that the case could still be reopened in the future. He also received a notice from the PPB regarding a complaint that he had allegedly filed. He said that while he hasn’t filed a dispute, he is currently working with a lawyer to potentially file a civil case.</p><p data-block-key=\"l1hbu\">Since the incident, Jankowski has gone to physical therapy for his wrist and wore a brace for several months, he said. In the Portland Mercury, he wrote about experiencing “bizarre trauma responses,” claustrophobia and paranoia.</p></div>",
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"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
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"tags": [
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"protest"
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Suit alleges federal officers targeted photographer amid Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/suit-alleges-federal-officers-targeted-photographer-amid-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2022-05-09T18:59:07.126390Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:30:47.679246Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:30:47.599231Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7a62u\">Documentary photographer Rian Dundon was on assignment for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project on July 17, 2020, when a federal officer targeted him with crowd-control munitions while he was covering protests in downtown Portland, Oregon, according to a lawsuit the photographer filed in 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"2vakk\">Protests had been held in Portland on almost a nightly basis since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. The Portland protests had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">documented assaults, arrests and other incidents</a> involving journalists covering BLM protests across the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"j7bl\">Dundon <a href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21717893-photogsuitagainstfeds\">filed a lawsuit</a> against the regional director of the Department of Homeland Security, which coordinated the federal presence in Portland, and more than 100 federal officers in April 2022. Dundon declined to comment on advice from counsel.</p><p data-block-key=\"40io3\">According to the suit, Dundon was standing alone on the sidewalk of SW Madison Street between 3rd and 4th avenues, while the nearest group of protesters was half a block away outside the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building.</p><p data-block-key=\"7t62r\">Dundon noticed several federal officers positioned among the shrubbery around a nearby plaza so he approached to take a picture through the chain-link fence separating the sidewalk from the park.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ksq4\">“When he raised his camera to photograph the scene, a DHS agent trained his weapon on Plaintiff and fired several rounds of pepper balls, striking the fence and sidewalk near his feet,” the lawsuit states. “The pepper balls exploded on contact and released a powder into the air. They came in direct contact with Plaintiff, causing him injury.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1j467\">The lawsuit alleges that the officers violated Dundon’s First and Fourth Amendment rights and restricted his ability to cover the protests. Neither Dundon’s attorneys nor DHS responded to requests for additional information.</p><p data-block-key=\"f8amq\">“Targeting journalists was not a quirk of the federal enforcement efforts, it was one of its objectives,” the suit alleges. “DOJ and DHS agents could have completed the objectives of their response without causing harm to Plaintiff.”</p><p data-block-key=\"47nel\">Dundon is seeking noneconomic, economic and punitive damages in the lawsuit.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"boq51\">A portion of the lawsuit documentary photographer Rian Dundon filed against a regional director of the Department of Homeland Security, others alleging he was assaulted twice while covering protests in Portland in July 2020.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Rian Dundon (Economic Hardship Reporting Project)"
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},
{
"title": "CBS Chicago reporter assaulted by individual while filming Columbus statue protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cbs-chicago-reporter-assaulted-individual-while-filming-columbus-statue-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-13T13:03:48.106951Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:30:08.885646Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:30:08.790050Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9dajo\">CBS Chicago reporter Marissa Parra was assaulted by an individual while covering demonstrations in Grant Park on July 17, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"tvzwj\">Parra was documenting the scene surrounding the park’s Christopher Columbus statue, where <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-police-christopher-columbus-protest-20200718-ea62bmy6ujgh7cbeofrpwbakse-story.html\">reports estimated</a> that at least 1,000 people had gathered following a rally for Black and Indigenous people, eventually attempting to topple the monument to the 15th-century explorer.</p><p data-block-key=\"za5kn\">Removal of Columbus monuments around the country has been a<a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christopher-columbus-statue-removed-cities/\"> focal point</a> for many nationwide groups given the explorer’s history of colonization and violence toward Indigenous people.</p><p data-block-key=\"j1zdd\">When Parra arrived at the park a little before 8 p.m., there was a group assembled around the statue. “People were trying to knock it down and climb on top of it all together at once,” Parra told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. She tweeted a video of individuals trying to pull down the statue:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Protesters are currently trying to pull down the Columbus statue in Grant Park <a href=\"https://twitter.com/cbschicago?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cbschicago</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/DAGcrsYzvD\">pic.twitter.com/DAGcrsYzvD</a></p>— Marissa Parra (@MarParNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarParNews/status/1284290086411132929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"csmpj\">“It’s a big moment for many reasons … but as I’m trying to [film] that, someone comes up to me, and people are trying to block my view, and I just hear, ‘Don’t record him, stop recording, put your phone down,’” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"n49so\">She posted the moment when some of the protesters approached her, blocking her view:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">And on the other side, here were a few protesters who first blocked my camera and then proceeded to try to take it out of my hands — this was not live<br><br>Afterwards, a few other protesters came to ask if I was okay and if I would refrain from filming protesters’ faces <a href=\"https://twitter.com/cbschicago?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@cbschicago</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/wQy8rD6iwa\">pic.twitter.com/wQy8rD6iwa</a></p>— Marissa Parra (@MarParNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarParNews/status/1284307604823515137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"ah2g3\">Parra said she refused to stop recording and, moments later, was attacked.</p><p data-block-key=\"sf5r4\">“It ended up with me and another girl, a white woman dressed all in black ... rolling on the ground together,” Parra told the Tracker. “My hands were clenched around the phone. She was trying to get the phone from my hand … her fingernails dug into my skin enough to draw blood.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m5fsx\">Parra said she tried to de-escalate the situation and eventually moved from the location she was filming, but protesters followed her.</p><p data-block-key=\"7zimv\">“I’m trying to figure out how do I keep doing my job while not becoming part of the story,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5qh1i\">She said other protesters had approached her later to ask if she was OK, but to refrain from filming protester faces.</p><p data-block-key=\"so5x1\">At that same protest, a Chicago police officer also knocked her phone out of her hand with a police baton, Parra said, an incident the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-journalists-report-assaults-police-during-columbus-statue-protests/\">Tracker has documented here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ad6h\">While she walked away with minor injuries, the incident, she said, warranted a larger discussion about what’s at stake when covering stories in this current socio-political climate.</p><p data-block-key=\"wvd22\">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. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
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"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Marissa Parra (WBBM-TV)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Chicago journalist assaulted by police during Columbus statue protests; files suit against officer",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-journalists-report-assaults-police-during-columbus-statue-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-13T12:53:23.864937Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-03T23:59:20.363619Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-03T23:59:20.266223Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"w5to6\">Colin Boyle, a photojournalist for Block Club Chicago said he was assaulted by police while covering demonstrations in Grant Park on July 17, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"tbswf\">Boyle was documenting the scene surrounding the park’s Christopher Columbus statue, where <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-police-christopher-columbus-protest-20200718-ea62bmy6ujgh7cbeofrpwbakse-story.html\">reports estimated</a> that at least 1,000 people had gathered, eventually attempting to topple the monument to the 15th-century explorer.</p><p data-block-key=\"v77h7\">Removal of Columbus monuments around the country has been a<a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christopher-columbus-statue-removed-cities/\"> focal point</a> for many nationwide groups given the explorer’s history of colonization and violence toward Indigenous people.</p><p data-block-key=\"6zq7d\">During the demonstrations in Chicago, which included a rally in support of Black and Indigenous people, police and protesters clashed. Forty-nine officers, according to the Chicago Police Department, were injured, with 18 sent to the hospital, while demonstrators filed at least 20 complaints for excessive force and other grievances with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.</p><p data-block-key=\"p2png\">Boyle told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he’d arrived at Grant Park around 8 p.m., making his way around the area, taking pictures and following police orders. He was wearing a helmet emblazoned with the word “press” and had his police-issued press badge around his neck. About 15 minutes later, he said, police cleared out Columbus Drive, which bisects the park, and things seemed to be winding down.</p><p data-block-key=\"oialt\">He said that as he began to exit the park he encountered Officer Kerry Pozulp. Boyle said he held up his press badge, and when the officer saw it, he swore at him, chiding him for presenting his press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"nught\">“I said, ‘Is there a problem? Can you repeat?’” Boyle told the Tracker. Boyle said Pozulp then grabbed him from behind and started to shove him. Boyle said he then pulled out his phone to film. When he called out for help to nearby officers, Pozulp replied, “Yeah, you’re gonna need help.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5gpeu\">Boyle tweeted video of the assault shortly afterward:</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was just assaulted by an officer for crossing the road to my bicycle while holding up my press badge and he called me a "smart ass" for doing so, accused me of wanting to start a problem. I yelled help, he said "you're gonna need help" before throwing me. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Chicago_Police?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Chicago_Police</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/XYuJe19IQm\">pic.twitter.com/XYuJe19IQm</a></p>— Colin Boyle (@colinbphoto) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/colinbphoto/status/1284301680524382208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"45wvg\">He said he walked away without injury and immediately reported the incident to police nearby. “I had the worst-case scenarios running through my mind,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"lfn8u\">After Boyle tweeted the video, the CPD responded on Twitter with a statement that read, in part, “We remain committed to ensuring members of the press are able to do their jobs safely. This incident occurred when Chicago Police officers were dispersing the crowd to protect public safety and all those involved.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\"> <a href=\"https://t.co/3nZrZLuERz\">pic.twitter.com/3nZrZLuERz</a></p>— Chicago Police Communications & News Affairs (@CPD_Media) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CPD_Media/status/1284315155489337344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 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=\"wq7ho\">Boyle filed a formal complaint with COPA. When asked for comment, Jennifer Rottner, the director of public affairs at COPA, said she had nothing additional to share, as the case is under investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"wmosi\">Boyle also filed a <a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/14HxwOiLpeapDnmAh3gp0OcQMBJQHVU-u/view?usp=sharing\">lawsuit</a> against the city of Chicago and Officer Pozulp, alleging that Pozulp committed eight offenses, including use of excessive force, assault and battery. The case has since been <a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BBWccE5adtIxC0Sj2CSdkMQZDSlB60Mp/view?usp=sharing\">settled and dismissed</a>, according to Boyle’s lawyer, Matt Topic.</p><p data-block-key=\"hqm8y\">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. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX7LJBJ.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xgwuw\">The Christopher Columbus statue in Chicago’s Grant Park was officially removed on July 24, 2020.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
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"case_number": "1:20-cv-05234",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
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"actor": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
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"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Colin Boyle (Block Club Chicago)"
],
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{
"title": "Videojournalist arrested, equipment seized and damaged during Austin protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videojournalist-arrested-equipment-seized-and-damaged-during-austin-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2020-12-08T21:42:34.422792Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-03T18:13:25.123295Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-03T18:13:24.933480Z",
"date": "2020-07-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Austin",
"longitude": -97.74306,
"latitude": 30.26715,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ib8z3\">Independent videojournalist Hiram Gilberto Garcia was arrested and his equipment seized while covering protests in Austin, Texas, on July 17, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"8iz1b\">Garcia, who posts his livestreams and interviews on Facebook and his <a href=\"https://www.imhiram.com/\">website</a>, was documenting protests against police brutality in front of the Austin Police Department Headquarters downtown when officers tackled him to the ground and punched him, KXAN News <a href=\"https://www.kxan.com/austin-george-floyd-mike-ramos-protests/streamer-who-films-racial-injustice-protests-one-of-4-arrested-at-downtown-austin-demonstration/\">reported</a>. Garcia’s livestream from that evening can be seen <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/109279534148720/videos/585602608820133\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"hh4j1\">According to an affidavit obtained by KXAN, Austin Police Department officers were arresting another man and had warned Garcia to get back when the videojournalist began reaching between the officers. An officer then pushed Garcia back, the affidavit alleges, and Garcia attempted to turn and run into the crowd. Officers then took Garcia to the ground in the APD parking garage and placed him under arrest, according to the affidavit.</p><p data-block-key=\"187uw\">In Garcia’s footage from that night, he appears to be filming the arrest of a protester when an officer repeatedly pushes him back from the individual under arrest. The officer then points at Garcia and can be heard saying, “Grab him!”</p><p data-block-key=\"v2enk\">A video of Garcia’s arrest was <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/1548330021/videos/10216672669759661\">posted on Facebook</a> that night. In the video, multiple officers can be seen wrestling Garcia to the ground while individuals can be heard shouting “Get off of him” and “Give us Hiram back!” Approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds into the video, Garcia appears to free his right arm before officers immediately restrain him again. An officer can be seen punching Garcia twice in the stomach before other officers block the view.</p><p data-block-key=\"voddr\">The affidavit said officers “kept telling Hiram he was under arrest and to place his hands behind his back, but Hiram would not comply and kept tensing his arms in an attempt to not be placed in handcuffs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ggg4n\">A <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/posts/156858902724116\">post to Garcia’s Facebook page</a> at approximately 11:30 p.m. alerted his followers to the arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"m5hae\">“Hiram was taken into police custody tonight during his stream. We are dealing with it, and appreciate all your help and concern,” the post reads.</p><p data-block-key=\"ickwr\">Garcia was booked at the Travis County Jail at 12:16 a.m. and released at 11:45 p.m. on July 18, according to booking information shared with the Tracker. A <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/posts/157304739346199\">post</a> to Garcia’s Facebook page announced his release on bond at 1:20 a.m. on July 19.</p><p data-block-key=\"124fo\">KXAN reported Garica was arrested on charges of interfering with public duties and resisting arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"gh060\">Garcia <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/posts/158400569236616\">posted</a> on July 21 that his equipment — which included a “GoPro, light, monopod, microphone, battery pack, adapters and other important accessories” — was not returned to him upon his release, and that he would not be able to retrieve it until the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"go0f6\">When the equipment was returned, Garcia <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ImHiram/posts/158786592531347\">posted</a> that his microphone was broken and a cord was missing.</p><p data-block-key=\"dbme0\">“Overall, my equipment was obviously not handled with care,” Garcia wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ovn3a\">In a statement to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker emailed from Garcia’s account, a representative for Garcia said, “We have no comment on the arrest as that is not our position or job. We are there to show what is happening as it happens. In this case we were targeted and arrested as you can see on the video by the very police we had been interviewing for months.”</p><p data-block-key=\"11b9h\">The representative also stated that the charges against Garcia have since been dropped.</p><p data-block-key=\"tkccp\">APD and the Travis County Jail did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"nmdpe\"></p><p data-block-key=\"wu164\"><i>Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect booking information shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in compliance with a Texas Public Information Act request.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "external battery"
},
{
"quantity": 3,
"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Hiram Gilberto Garcia (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist assaulted by law enforcement while covering Portland protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-assaulted-by-law-enforcement-while-covering-portland-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-30T18:55:32.427623Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:31:29.237410Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:31:29.155650Z",
"date": "2020-07-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"t8jpu\">Independent journalist Griffin Malone says he was assaulted by Portland police while covering protests in downtown Portland, Oregon, on July 16, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"8uydz\">The protests were among many demonstrations that broke out across the country in response to police violence following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"whp0a\">Law enforcement officers in Portland had targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\"> class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The case resulted in a temporary restraining order on July 2 barring the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists, which was<a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\"> expanded to apply the ban to federal agents</a> later that month.</p><p data-block-key=\"gfy7m\">Journalist Griffin Malone — whose work has appeared on PBS, ABC and The Associated Press — told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was reporting outside the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department Office when deputies rushed out of the building to disperse the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"v75vr\">Twenty minutes after the initial rush and a handful of arrests, Malone said he was standing with independent journalist Alissa Azar and two National Lawyers Guild observers when the deputies rushed out of the sheriff’s office again. Amid the rush, officers pushed Azar and kicked her ankle, according to Malone. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalists-say-they-were-assaulted-by-police-as-they-covered-portland-protests-in-july/\">Azar’s assault is documented here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"i8jw3\">Malone told the Tracker he routinely wears press identification, a yellow vest and a helmet marked “PRESS” to identify himself while covering protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"lheey\">Malone said he attempted to help Azar walk as deputies continued pushing the crowd back, when an officer deliberately shoved him. Moments later, he felt a pain in his leg.</p><p data-block-key=\"vjmpl\">“I’m not sure what the pain was from,” Malone said. “Someone next to me said they saw it was [a deputy’s] baton, but in the videos that I’ve seen you can’t really see clearly what happened so I’m not sure.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6phl2\">Malone said a deputy continued shoving Malone, Azar and the lawyers guild observers until he was replaced by a second officer, who Malone said was “a bit more respectful of the press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3d9td\">When reached for comment in the fall of 2020, the Portland Police Bureau told the Tracker it wouldn’t comment on specific incidents, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case. Then in early 2021, PPB spokesman Derek Carmon said the department was committed to upholding civil rights for all citizens, including by requiring officers to report any use of force for review. The PPB did not respond to a request for comment about these specific incidents as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"2w288\">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></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Griffin Malone (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist assaulted by police while covering Portland protests in July",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalists-say-they-were-assaulted-by-police-as-they-covered-portland-protests-in-july/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-23T16:13:58.680903Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:31:05.123660Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:31:05.047988Z",
"date": "2020-07-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ef2rd\">Independent journalist Alissa Azar said she was assaulted by Portland police while covering protests in downtown Portland, Oregon, on July 16, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"y62fw\">The protests were among many demonstrations that broke out across the country in response to police violence following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"y9x4x\">Law enforcement officers in Portland had targeted journalists since the outbreak of the demonstrations, according to a<a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/en/cases/index-newspapers-llc-v-city-portland\"> class-action lawsuit</a> filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. The case resulted in a temporary restraining order on July 2 barring the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists, which was<a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\"> expanded to apply the ban to federal agents</a> later that month.</p><p data-block-key=\"carkk\">Journalist Griffin Malone — whose work has appeared on PBS, ABC and The Associated Press — told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was reporting outside the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department Office with Azar and two National Lawyers Guild observers when the deputies rushed out of the sheriff’s office. Amid the rush, officers pushed Azar and kicked her ankle, according to Malone</p><p data-block-key=\"yp5kw\">Azar told the Tracker that she was also hit on the ankle by a flash-bang grenade, which drew blood. She also said she had bruises across her legs from being hit with crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"9xiim\">Azar told the Tracker she was wearing a vest and helmet, both labeled with press markings, as well as a credential from Pacific Northwest Press Corps, which describes itself as an association of independent journalists covering ongoing protests in Portland and other parts of the Pacific Northwest.</p><p data-block-key=\"7zo3v\">When reached for comment in the fall of 2020, the Portland Police Bureau told the Tracker it wouldn’t comment on specific incidents, citing continuing litigation in the ACLU case. Then in early 2021, PPB spokesman Derek Carmon said the department was committed to upholding civil rights for all citizens, including by requiring officers to report any use of force for review. The PPB did not respond to a request for comment about these specific incidents as of press time.</p><p data-block-key=\"aubdx\">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></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
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],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Alissa Azar (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photographer arrested by NYPD while covering pro-police march",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-arrested-by-nypd-while-covering-pro-police-march/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-24T18:41:17.910399Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-14T14:21:02.325004Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-14T14:21:02.124288Z",
"date": "2020-07-15",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"w07he\">Photographer Mel D. Cole was documenting police-protester clashes from the Brooklyn Bridge footpath in New York City when officers arrested him, confiscated his equipment and detained him for seven hours on July 15, 2020, according to a federal lawsuit.</p><p data-block-key=\"mmjh5\">Cole is one of five news photographers who filed a <a href=\"https://nppa.org/news/news-photographers-file-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-new-york-city-police-department\">federal lawsuit</a> on Aug. 5, 2021, “seeking to hold the New York Police Department [NYPD] accountable for its violation of their First Amendment rights.” The suit is being led by the National Press Photographers Association, of which four of the journalists are members, in partnership with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.</p><p data-block-key=\"p4olh\">Cole was covering the protests that broke out in New York in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejh4h\">According to the <a href=\"https://nppa.org/sites/default/files/Gray%20v%20City%20of%20New%20York%20et%20al%20-%20Complaint%20-%20Filed%208-5-2021.pdf\">complaint</a>, Cole was on the Brooklyn Bridge footpath, preparing to photograph a pro-police march that was scheduled to cross the bridge into Manhattan. At approximately 10:30 a.m., counterprotesters arrived and clashes erupted between demonstrators and police.</p><p data-block-key=\"ycyeo\">“Cole had not participated in the counter-protests, had been peacefully photographing from a position outside the conflict, and was wearing multiple professional cameras around his neck and shoulder, making his status as a photojournalist visibly apparent,” according to the complaint. However, NYPD Lieutenant Richard Mack approached Cole and directed another officer to arrest him despite his status as a journalist and documentarian, the complaint noted, because he did not have a press pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"63h6d\">The complaint said officers seized his cameras, brought him to One Police Plaza in Manhattan where he was processed, transported him to the 5th Police Precinct and placed him in a holding cell. “Sergeant Quigley told Mr. Cole that the NYPD knew that Mr. Cole had not been involved in any criminal act and should not have been arrested,” according to the complaint. “Sergeant Quigley also told Cole that he was ‘lucky’ that he was ‘not going to be locked up all weekend’ and indicated Mr. Cole should ‘thank’ Sergeant Quigley and the NYPD for ‘putting their necks on the line’ for him.” While maskless, Sergeant Quigley also pulled down Cole's mask at one point during the interaction, the complaint stated.</p><p data-block-key=\"26838\">After several more hours, Cole was released without charge and his equipment returned to him with no documentation provided upon his release, according to the complaint.</p><p data-block-key=\"xdcy6\">“The reason why he was being arrested and the other journalists weren’t is because they had press passes and he didn't. When you're out in a traditional public forum, you don't need press passes if it's a matter of public concern,” Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel to the NPPA, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “Very often, having a press pass is a detriment and many will have them around their neck rather than displaying for that very reason.”</p><p data-block-key=\"91ewz\">Cole and the New York Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. 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></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q5jem\">Police officers in New York City, on July 15, 2020. Photographer Mel D. Cole was arrested while documenting clashes between police and counterprotesters at a pro-police protest that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
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"case_number": "1:21-cv-06610",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-02-07 00:00:00+00:00) Judge accepts journalists’ settlement with NYPD",
"(2023-09-05 15:07:00+00:00) Journalists reach 'historic' settlement with NYPD in First Amendment suit",
"(2023-09-08 09:24:00+00:00) Judge voids First Amendment settlement with NYPD",
"(2025-04-09 00:00:00+00:00) Appeals court affirms photographers’ settlement with NYPD"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"Blue Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mel D. Cole (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance journalist struck by tear gas canister fragments while covering protest in Portland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-struck-tear-gas-canister-fragments-while-covering-protest-portland/",
"first_published_at": "2020-11-30T14:15:11.323146Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:31:45.399386Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:31:45.289302Z",
"date": "2020-07-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uc7p5\">A federal law enforcement officer fired a tear gas canister toward freelance journalist Justin Yau on July 15, 2020 in Portland, Oregon, striking him with two burning fragments.</p><p data-block-key=\"l35af\">Yau, a student at the University of Portland whose work has been featured by the Daily Mail and The New York Times, was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after the May 25 death of George Floyd. 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=\"95ebj\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23. Yau provided a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/declaration_of_justin_yau_iso_mtro.pdf\">declaration</a> in support of the suit and deferred additional comment to that declaration.</p><p data-block-key=\"vlm8a\">In the early hours of July 15, Yau was covering a protest outside the Multnomah County Justice Center and the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse downtown, according to his declaration. He was taking photographs with a Nikon camera and filming on his cellphone and gimbal. He was also clearly marked as press, with a neon reflective vest and helmet reading “press” in block letters as well as a press pass around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"fw4vo\">A few minutes before 4 a.m., Yau was filming and photographing protesters at the intersection of Southwest Third Avenue and Southwest Main Street as they were pushed north by federal agents, according to the court filing. He was standing about 40 feet from the protesters as federal agents fired on the crowd with flash-bang grenades, pepper balls and tear gas. Although Yau was covering the protest from a distance, a federal agent fired a tear gas canister directly at him, he said, striking him with burning fragments.</p><p data-block-key=\"wk5qw\">Independent journalist Garrison Davis captured part of the shooting in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1283370607359307776\">video</a> he posted on Twitter around 5 a.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"52kry\">Shortly after, Yau replied to Davis’ tweet with his own <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDocumentarians/status/1283377002351693824\">post</a>, saying, “It was 2 pieces of burning fragments from the Teargas grenades that landed briefly on my arm and jeans. The burning pieces can be seen briefly on the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"20p8t\">“I have covered protests in Hong Kong, where a totalitarian regime is suppressing protesters with brutal violence,” Yau said in the court filing. “Even Hong Kong police, however, were generally conscientious about differentiating between press and protesters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"96ewn\">The Department of Homeland Security, which has coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Justin Yau (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "NYPD subpoenas journalist’s phone records in leak investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nypd-subpoenas-journalists-phone-records-in-leak-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2020-07-29T14:47:50.920070Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-15T14:51:31.711228Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-04-15T14:51:31.613672Z",
"date": "2020-07-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"conl2\">The New York City Police Department subpoenaed a journalist’s cellphone records as part of a leak investigation, according to the reporter, who asked that their name not be disclosed, citing fear of harming relationships with sources, and a <a href=\"https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-nypd-subpoenas-phone-records-of-reporter-to-find-leaks-20200717-mg6hhuqv55flbc4ihgg24w3sye-story.html\">report</a> by the New York Daily News.</p><p data-block-key=\"7cm6w\">On July 14, 2020, the New York-based freelancer who works for the Daily Mail received a letter stating that their phone records had been subpoenaed and used to question a police officer about his alleged contact with the reporter, according to the letter, which was seen by the Committee to Protect Journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"x6xyq\">The letter, which was sent to the reporter by the police officer’s lawyer, stated that the investigation related to leaked information about the arrest of actor Cuba Gooding Jr. in June 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"jy32q\">When the journalist’s lawyer, Ron Kuby, sought to obtain a copy of the subpoena from the journalist’s telecom provider, AT&T, the company refused, saying that they do not disclose subpoenas relating to criminal matters.</p><p data-block-key=\"hk1z4\">An NYPD official told the Daily News that the subpoena was issued before the department changed its regulations about acquiring journalists’ phone and social media records earlier this year.</p><p data-block-key=\"s5mhe\">When CPJ called the NYPD to ask about the department’s current policy on issuing subpoenas on journalists, the operator told CPJ to send an email requesting information. CPJ sent an email requesting additional information, but the NYPD did not respond.</p><p data-block-key=\"i0yqs\">In February, the NYPD withdrew a subpoena for data from the Twitter account of New York Post police bureau chief Tina Moore, that was issued under the Patriot Act as part of a leak investigation, as the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/using-obscure-legal-justification-nypd-subpoenas-reporter/\">documented</a> at the time.</p><p data-block-key=\"4yieo\">NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea later issued an apology for subpoenaing that information, according to an <a href=\"https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-nypd-apologizes-subpoena-reporter-twitter-leaks-20200226-fw5fb5glfvhztpzatb6vdp46ce-story.html\">article</a> from the Daily News.</p><p data-block-key=\"gdjpy\">When CPJ called the NYPD for comment, a representative told CPJ to send questions via email. CPJ emailed the police department but did not receive any response.</p><p data-block-key=\"qkm5v\">Jim Greer, AT&T’s assistant vice president for corporate communications, told CPJ in an email that, “Like all companies, we are required by law [to] comply with subpoenas from government and law enforcement agencies.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cka3g\"><i>Editor’s Note: The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents subpoenas of journalistic work product or testimony by date the subpoena is issued. Until this subpoena is made available, however, we are logging it by date that the reporter became aware of its existence. That date, and how it affects our category count, may change in the future.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": "AT&T",
"third_party_business": "telecom company",
"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Anonymous reporter 3 (Daily Mail)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist struck with tear gas canister during Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-struck-with-tear-gas-canister-during-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-09-29T18:38:07.422848Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-13T17:33:16.264616Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-13T17:33:16.178926Z",
"date": "2020-07-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sr356\">Independent journalist Garrison Davis was struck by a tear gas canister fired by federal agents while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, in the early morning hours of July 12, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"uoy2l\">Protests have broken 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. 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=\"ddek0\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23.</p><p data-block-key=\"xahw9\">Around 12:40 a.m., Davis was filming in Lownsdale Square across from the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse when he was shot in the back with a teargas canister, he told the Tracker. The canister fell into his messenger bag, soaking Davis and his bag with gas and nearly catching the bag on fire.</p><p data-block-key=\"jnpk0\">Davis, who described both of these incidents in a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020-07-14_-_davis_decl.pdf\">declaration</a> for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon in support of expanding the TRO to cover federal agents, said he believes that he was targeted by federal troops: “There wasn’t really anyone by me,” said Davis, whose helmet is marked “press.” In a video <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1282218575093096448\">tweeted</a> by Davis that captures the moment he was hit, he can be heard cursing and fumbling as bystanders help to remove the canister from his bag.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Protesters using Hong Kong tactics to put out a canister, then officers deploy a canister, hitting me with it and it falling into my bag. I have PRESS marked on my helmet. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/teargas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#teargas</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/blacklivesmatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blacklivesmatter</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/pdx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pdx</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portlandoregon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portlandoregon</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/oregon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#oregon</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/blm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#blm</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/acab?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#acab</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/portland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#portland</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/justicecenter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justicecenter</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/teargas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#teargas</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/bMSrtQyNGr\">pic.twitter.com/bMSrtQyNGr</a></p>— Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1282218575093096448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 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=\"6juxa\">About 15 minutes later, Davis tweeted <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1282219942352351243\">another video</a> showing a line of federal agents deploying munitions towards the park from across the street. “More teargas being deployed in the street and park. Officers trying to shoot me as I record. There were no protesters behind me as they shot in my direction,” Davis <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1282219942352351243\">wrote</a> in the post.</p><p data-block-key=\"ep0w8\">He felt targeted once again. “I had my camera up and I’m walking around with my camera up, both hands are on my camera the whole time,” Davis told the Tracker. “It’s very clear what I’m doing, but I was continuing to get shot at when no one was around me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9ylnj\">While a <a href=\"https://www.vox.com/2020/7/20/21328387/portland-protests-unmarked-arrest-trump-wold\">number of federal agencies</a> had officers in Portland in July, it wasn’t clear which agency the officers were from. The Department of Homeland Security, which coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Garrison Davis (Independent)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter hit with wooden board at New York’s Occupy City Hall protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-hit-with-wooden-board-at-new-yorks-occupy-city-hall-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-23T15:52:24.824914Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-04-04T18:27:55.443905Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-04-04T18:27:55.353096Z",
"date": "2020-07-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"by99y\">A man <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2020/07/12/city-hall-protesters-attack-ny-post-reporter-as-cops-do-nothing/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons\">hit a New York Post reporter</a> with a piece of lumber during a demonstration to cut police funding at New York’s City Hall on July 12, 2020, the Post reported. The man was later arrested and charged with assault, police said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmv6a\">The weeks-long “Occupy City Hall” protests in June drew hundreds of people who pressed elected leaders to slash $1 billion from the New York City Police Department’s annual operating budget of around $6 billion. Dozens of people camped outside City Hall during the lengthy demonstration, one of many nationwide sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.</p><p data-block-key=\"72frz\">Post reporter Kevin Sheehan was using his smartphone to film the demonstration at about 11 a.m. on July 12 from a public street, standing on the opposite side of a metal barrier, when a man with a piece of wood in his hand approached the journalist, demanding he stop recording.</p><p data-block-key=\"kovfw\">“Put the fucking camera down!” the man yelled while swinging the board, which Sheehan caught on video. The assailant knocked Sheehan’s phone out of his hand and struck him in the face, the Post reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"jsizi\">The attack left Sheehan with a headache and a swollen lip. The reporter walked away from the barricade but his assailant began to follow him, according to the Post.</p><p data-block-key=\"ojrzb\">Sheehan, who was wearing NYPD-issued press credentials around his neck, walked over to a group of police officers assembled nearby to report the incident. An officer told him that the attack didn’t qualify as an assault because no physical marks were visible, the Post reported on July 12.</p><p data-block-key=\"xv6sb\">“It’s not assault, it’s harassment,” the officer reportedly told Sheehan. Police didn’t initially make any arrests related to the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"dxjph\">But a spokesperson for the NYPD told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Daniel Mayo, 32, of Queens, was arrested on July 14 in connection with the incident and charged with second-degree assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"sx626\">The spokesperson confirmed that the man portrayed in Sheehan’s video attacking the reporter with a piece of lumber matches Mayo’s mugshot. Attempts to reach Mayo and his attorney weren’t successful.</p><p data-block-key=\"2z4bx\">Sheehan declined to comment and the Post didn’t respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"al5mk\">The New York City Council approved a budget deal on June 30 to cut about <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/nyregion/nypd-budget.html\">$1 billion from the NYPD</a>, but some protesters continued camping at City Hall for weeks after the vote. By mid-July, the number of protesters there had dwindled to about 50, the Post reported, and the camp was cleared on July 22, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/nyregion/occupy-city-hall-nyc.html\">according to The New York Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"tta25\">Activists in New York, Minneapolis and many other cities have called on lawmakers to “defund” law enforcement agencies following the deaths of Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police, such as Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, in March.</p><p data-block-key=\"m51ys\">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. Find <a href=\"/blog/blm-and-unprecedented-aggressions-against-media/\">these incidents here</a>.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
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},
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"(2022-03-22 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced in assault on New York reporter"
],
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"Black Lives Matter",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck multiple times by crowd-control munitions fired by federal agents",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-portland-journalists-hit-crowd-control-munitions-fired-federal-agents-leaving-one-multiple-injuries/",
"first_published_at": "2020-10-23T13:35:48.483680Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-12T16:33:44.650305Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-12T16:33:44.536792Z",
"date": "2020-07-12",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"osmts\">Photojournalist Mathieu Lewis-Rolland was hit with multiple rounds of non-lethal projectiles fired by federal agents while covering protests in Portland, Oregon, in the early morning hours of July 12, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"por41\">Protests have broken 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. 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=\"sfqtg\">The Portland protests, held nightly since late May, had <a href=\"https://apnews.com/a2c8f23381dcc7e6902452b55c3048ce\">grown more intense</a> as the presence of federal law enforcement increased in early July. A temporary restraining order on July 2 that barred the Portland police from harming or impeding journalists wasn’t <a href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-ordered-not-to-assault-arrest-journalists-in-portland/\">expanded to include federal agents</a> until July 23.</p><p data-block-key=\"mglkc\">At 1:58 a.m. on July 12, Lewis-Rolland began <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MathieuLewisRolland/videos/10218671503762415/\">filming live on Facebook</a>, documenting as federal agents emerged from the U.S. Courthouse and started moving the crowd toward the west. About one minute into the video, a federal officer can be seen raising his gun at Lewis-Rolland, but not firing. When Lewis-Rolland reached the intersection of Southwest Fourth Avenue and Southwest Main Street, about a block from the Courthouse, he turned to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MathieuLRolland/status/1283311222868389888\">take a photograph</a> of a teargas canister rolling into the intersection when he was shot multiple times. The impact of the non-lethal plastic munitions ripped his T-shirt in at least two places.</p><p data-block-key=\"m1p7p\">In a <a href=\"https://aclu-or.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/doc._44_-_07-14-20_-_declaration_of_mathieu_lewis-rolland.pdf\">declaration</a> in support of the ACLU lawsuit that led to the TRO, Lewis-Rolland said that one or more federal agents shot him 10 times with impact munitions. He shared photographs of his injuries with the ACLU, including one large laceration and two smaller contusions on his right side, a laceration on his right elbow, two large lacerations on his back and four smaller contusions on his left side. Munitions recovered from the intersection are also <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MathieuLRolland/status/1283553584458502144\">pictured</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">These are some of the <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/munitions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#munitions</a> I recovered from the intersection at sw 4th and Main in <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PortlandOregon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PortlandOregon</a> where I was targeted and shot 10 times. <a href=\"https://t.co/OUkOAEXR35\">pic.twitter.com/OUkOAEXR35</a></p>— Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (@MathieuLRolland) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MathieuLRolland/status/1283553584458502144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 16, 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=\"v71rg\">“I was not posing any type of threat to Agent Doe or anyone else. I was not even facing him,” Lewis-Rolland said in the declaration.</p><p data-block-key=\"29w8w\">While a <a href=\"https://www.vox.com/2020/7/20/21328387/portland-protests-unmarked-arrest-trump-wold\">number of federal agencies</a> had officers in Portland in July, it wasn’t clear which agency the officers were from. The Department of Homeland Security, which coordinated the federal presence in Portland, didn’t respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2020-07-18T115645Z_637642129_RC2N.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ovcj2\">Federal law enforcement officers at a July 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon. Photojournalist Mathieu Lewis-Rolland was hit with crowd-control munitions while documenting one of the nightly demonstrations earlier that summer.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "3:20-cv-01035",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-03-05 00:00:00+00:00) Journalists settle with Portland, Oregon, over 2020 protest violations"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
}
]
