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[
{
"title": "VICE News correspondent assaulted by rioters at Capitol",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-correspondent-assaulted-by-rioters-at-capitol/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-02T16:10:45.397601Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:13.812254Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:13.722164Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xna3n\">VICE News international correspondent Ben Solomon and cameraman Chris Olson were attacked by several rioters while documenting riots on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"ji3cd\">President Donald Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"jg46h\">In a<a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3iTJNlNpK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\"> video</a> Solomon posted on Instagram, demonstrators can be seen confronting the VICE journalists, shouting, "Get the fuck out of here!" and asking, "Who are you with? Is it CNN? Better not be CNN.”</p><p data-block-key=\"x43pn\">"Chris had a broken handle grip and that guy in forest camo gave me a good hard shove to the throat," Solomon wrote in an Instagram caption. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented Olson’s assault and the damage to his camera <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-journalist-assaulted-camera-damaged-during-capitol-riots/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"qmdez\">In the <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3iTJNlNpK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\">video</a>, demonstrators can be seen confronting the journalists, shouting, "Get the fuck out of here!" and asking, "Who are you with? Is it CNN? Better not be CNN."</p><p data-block-key=\"oamcl\">In the full-length<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfP_5L8epow&feature=youtu.be\"> video</a> posted to Youtube, the camera is hit at 1:23 and Solomon's voice can be heard, "They tried to smash our camera."</p><p data-block-key=\"iwsdc\">"We were lucky to get away with minimal damage," Solomon wrote on Instagram. "To hear how many colleagues had it worse that day, I consider myself lucky."</p><p data-block-key=\"9eh36\">Solomon did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"qmwlz\">In a<a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\"> press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 "criminal riotous behavior" and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a "thorough review of this incident."</p><p data-block-key=\"fwvq1\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ben Solomon (VICE News)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Fox 5 DC news crew, other journalists face targeted assaults while covering Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-face-targeted-assaults-while-covering-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-15T22:24:29.613780Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-24T14:45:37.795908Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-24T14:45:37.542349Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lihgu\">A Fox 5 DC news crew was harassed and a cameraman assaulted by rioters while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"lal9w\">Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"j742y\">At about 4:40 p.m., Fox 5 DC reporter Sierra Fox posted a tweet showing her and the news crew covering the scene outside the Capitol when demonstrators harassed and assaulted them, forcing them out of the area.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is how the media is being treated out here. <a href=\"https://t.co/Rxr6ozxOxs\">pic.twitter.com/Rxr6ozxOxs</a></p>— Sierra Fox (@thesierrafox) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/thesierrafox/status/1346934950222647296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r14ue\">“This is how the media is being treated out here,” Fox wrote alongside a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/thesierrafox/status/1346934950222647296?s=20\"> video</a> posted on Twitter. In the video, as she and the crew are navigating the crowd, demonstrators can be heard yelling, “Fuck the media,” and “Get out of here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fw2t0\">At the 11-second mark, a woman lurches at what is presumably Fox’s phone, but Fox quickly turns away. The same woman grabs and kicks another, unidentified member of the crew a few seconds later. In the back, a demonstrator can be seen reaching for the Fox cameraman’s equipment. Toward the end of the video, several people follow the crew and continue to harass and film them, but ultimately fall back. In another video shared with the Tracker, a demonstrator is seen ripping off the cameraman's mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nl8b\">Fox could not be reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1emuu\">In a <a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\">press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 “criminal riotous behavior” and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a “thorough review of this incident.”</p><p data-block-key=\"u57v7\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/dana_jean_bell_screenshot.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jxmpo\">A rioter at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, caught on video assaulting and harassing a WTTG news crew.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-12-07 00:00:00+00:00) Texas woman arrested for actions during Capitol riot",
"(2024-10-17 00:00:00+00:00) Woman sentenced for actions at Capitol riot, where she assaulted TV news crew",
"(2025-01-20 00:00:00+00:00) News crew’s assailant pardoned by Trump"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified journalist 9 (WTTG)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Broadcast journalist sprayed with chemical irritant by armed individual during Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-journalist-sprayed-chemical-irritant-armed-individual-during-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T17:49:58.763135Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:20:04.046601Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:20:03.973276Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": -122.9007,
"latitude": 47.03787,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rvrj6\">An unidentified videojournalist for Washington state public broadcaster TVW was threatened and sprayed with a chemical irritant by an armed individual while covering a demonstration in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"3yij6\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">increasingly aggressive</a> as the afternoon wore on, was one of several held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pc2n\">KOMO News <a href=\"https://kpic.com/news/nation-world/court-file-seattle-man-arrested-for-assaulting-media-at-olympia-protest\">reported</a> that around noon, an individual carrying an assault-type rifle sprayed two members of the media with what court documents identified as bear spray near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Capitol Way South. The documents reportedly said the spray “caused bodily harm and incapacitated both victims for hours.”</p><p data-block-key=\"467fs\">The Seattle Times, citing charging documents, <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">reported</a> that the man had first approached a freelance photojournalist, telling him to leave the area and that the media wasn’t welcome at the demonstration. When the journalist refused, “the man sprayed his face and camera lens with bear spray, disorienting and blinding the photographer,” according to the Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"egf0y\">Soon after, the armed man quickly came up on the TVW videojournalist, yelling repeatedly for the journalist to “get the [expletive] out of here,” the Times reported. The videojournalist crossed the street, only to once again be approached by the man, this time from behind. When the journalist turned, the man sprayed him in the face. The journalist then returned to his office to seek aid from his co-workers and was reportedly incapacitated for over two hours, the Olympian <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/crime/article248636970.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dj2mc\">The same individual allegedly threatened two other journalists as well. The Tracker<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\"> documented the multiple assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ehe7\">The Washington State Patrol said in a <a href=\"https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/huseman-arrest.pdf\">press release</a> on Jan. 19 that Damon Huseman, a 26-year-old resident of Seattle, had been taken into police custody without incident and was being booked at the Thurston County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, felony harassment and criminal trespass in connection with the events of Jan. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"u8xd2\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">Seattle Times,</a> Huseman had a preliminary court appearance on Jan. 20 and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail. The judge also ordered Huseman to have no contact with the journalists he’s accused of targeting or the Capitol campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"iurwu\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"name": "Washington",
"abbreviation": "WA"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Unidentified photojournalist 10 (TVW)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist sprayed with chemical irritant by armed individual during Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-armed-individual-during-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T17:18:38.481746Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:19:52.573564Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:19:52.500365Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": -122.9007,
"latitude": 47.03787,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ckg1p\">An unidentified freelance photojournalist was reportedly threatened by an armed individual and sprayed with an irritant identified in court documents as bear spray while covering a demonstration in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"3im5q\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew increasingly aggressive as the afternoon wore on, <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">according to the Olympian</a>. It was one of several demonstrations held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"v3pjj\">KOMO News <a href=\"https://kpic.com/news/nation-world/court-file-seattle-man-arrested-for-assaulting-media-at-olympia-protest\">reported</a> that around noon, an individual carrying an assault-type rifle sprayed two members of the media near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Capitol Way South. The documents reportedly said the spray “caused bodily harm and incapacitated both victims for hours.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qqj71\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/crime/article248636970.html\">Olympian,</a> the individual first approached the photojournalist as he was setting up his camera near the intersection, telling him that the media wasn’t welcome at the demonstration. When the photojournalist refused to leave, the man allegedly pulled out a canister of the chemical irritant to threaten him and ultimately sprayed him in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"dhnir\">The photojournalist, disoriented by the spray, received aid from an unknown passerby and left the area unable to continue working, according to the Olympian.</p><p data-block-key=\"xqamr\">Soon after, the armed protester quickly came up on a second journalist, a videojournalist for TVW, yelling repeatedly for the journalist to “get the [expletive] out of here,” the Times reported. The TVW videojournalist crossed the street, only to once again be approached by the man, this time from behind. When the journalist turned, the man sprayed him in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"uyasi\">The same man allegedly threatened two other journalists as well. The Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\">documented the assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"v39bw\">The Washington State Patrol said in a <a href=\"https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/huseman-arrest.pdf\">press release</a> on Jan. 19 that Damon Huseman, a 26-year-old resident of Seattle, had been taken into police custody without incident and was being booked at the Thurston County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, felony harassment and criminal trespass in connection with the events of Jan. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"nsu1r\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">Seattle Times,</a> Huseman had a preliminary court appearance on Jan. 20 and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail. The judge also ordered Huseman to have no contact with the journalists he’s accused of targeting or the Capitol campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"9m6h3\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"name": "Washington",
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},
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"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
],
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"tags": [
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"election",
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"protest"
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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"Unidentified photojournalist 16 (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "AP photojournalist threatened with assault while covering Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-photojournalist-threatened-assault-while-covering-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-22T17:09:23.769115Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:19:40.933881Z",
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"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": -122.9007,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g955b\">Ted S. Warren, a photojournalist for The Associated Press, was threatened by an armed individual while covering a demonstration at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"ve1f5\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew increasingly aggressive as the afternoon wore on, the <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">Olympian reported</a>. The demonstration was one of several held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"i79bv\">During the course of covering the events in Olympia, Warren had met up with Olympian reporter Sara Gentzler. At one point, the two were approached by a man, Gentzler said to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, armed with multiple firearms and a knife. He threatened the journalists, telling them that they had five minutes to leave the area and that he had pepper-sprayed other members of the media earlier in the day. The Tracker<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\"> documented the multiple assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"zdir2\">Gentzler said that she'd already been threatened by the man once that day, an incident the Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-threatened-assault-while-covering-olympia-protest/\">here</a>. As the man walked away after this encounter, Gentzler remembers him saying, “We’re going to shoot you fucking dead in the next year.”</p><p data-block-key=\"wrj2m\">Gentzler said she and Warren sought out another group of press to have safety in numbers and to warn them about the man.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddmyq\">Warren <a href=\"https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/reporters-covering-the-capitol-attack-were-used-to-harassment-and-heckling-but-wednesday-was-different/\">told Poynter</a> he worries that such threats may intimidate journalists out of interacting with demonstrators moving forward, and that in the future he would be more aware of the possibility of direct hostility.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3s2p\">“I’m still going to try and talk to people when I’m out at these things because I think it gives me insight as to why they’re there,” Warren said, “and it also helps me to make a positive case for journalists that we’re there to tell their story and to represent visually what is happening.”</p><p data-block-key=\"gs76n\">The Washington State Patrol said in a <a href=\"https://www.wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/huseman-arrest.pdf\">press release</a> on Jan. 19 that Damon Huseman, a 26-year-old resident of Seattle, had been taken into police custody without incident and was being booked at the Thurston County Jail on charges of second-degree assault, felony harassment and criminal trespass in connection with the events of Jan. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"v8zkd\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-man-charged-with-assault-felony-harassment-accused-of-targeting-journalists-during-protests-at-state-capitol/\">Seattle Times,</a> Huseman had a preliminary court appearance on Jan. 20 and was ordered to remain in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail. The judge also ordered Huseman to have no contact with the journalists he’s accused of targeting or the Capitol campus.</p><p data-block-key=\"o8h9i\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist assaulted by rioters while covering Capitol insurrection",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-rioters-while-covering-capitol-insurrection/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-21T20:12:00.828545Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:18:54.891728Z",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2oiff\">Photojournalist Chris Jones, who covers right-wing extremism for 100 Days in Appalachia through a partnership with Report for America, was assaulted and had his camera pouch damaged while covering the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"sgjzx\">The <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violent storming of the Capitol</a> came after President Donald Trump had spoken at a rally in front of the White House in which he promoted false claims of election fraud and called for his supporters to march to the legislative seat of the U.S. government, where lawmakers were certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden,<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\"> reported</a> the New York Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"eleat\">Jones told the Tracker that he’d followed a group of demonstrators as they took the building but was stymied at the entrance, first due to the debilitating presence of tear gas and flash-bang grenades and then because rioters impeded his movement.</p><p data-block-key=\"qrzcw\">“Any time I went in, I got very quickly identified as press and it just got bad,” he told the Tracker. At one point, he said, he was no more than 20 feet inside the building when a rioter yelled repeatedly, “Are you press?” before picking him up and dragging him backward. Another then grabbed his legs. “The three of us clumsily made our way to the door,” Jones said.</p><p data-block-key=\"juh9g\">At around 2 p.m., he said, a Capitol Police officer threw a flash-bang grenade right next to him and the heat tore through his camera pouch.</p><p data-block-key=\"py1dh\">As Jones maneuvered among the crowd throughout the day, he said that many approached him with “We’re going to get you” and “You need to move on.” As with several journalists that day, such threats and harassment were common. The Tracker has documented such incidents, including one in which Jones was told he “deserved to be shot,” <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/national-and-international-journalists-harassed-threatened-while-covering-riot-dc/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g3dz\">“There was very clearly an intent and willingness. When they said, ‘Don’t stick around,’ they meant it,” he told the Tracker. He said he encountered younger teens who would show that they carried knives and one man who “flashed a pistol,” claiming, “I’m not here to fuck around.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bjody\">The 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. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
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"equipment": "equipment bag"
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"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
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{
"title": "January: Journalists harassed, threatened while reporting from DC riot and across the country",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/national-and-international-journalists-harassed-threatened-while-covering-riot-dc/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-20T19:03:01.716565Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-06T20:02:36.056031Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-06T20:02:35.912388Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tzr69\"><i>On Jan. 6, 2021, after a rally outside the White House in which President Donald Trump urged supporters to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol — an ostensible protest of the Congress as it was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory — thousands stormed the legislative seat of the U.S. government. As the demonstration rapidly devolved into a full-on riot, individuals broke windows and forced open doors, vandalized and looted congressional offices, chanted for the demise of elected officials and assaulted members of the Capitol Police. Amid the fray, a potent disdain for journalists and journalism also simmered: Someone</i> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1346961494483881985\"><i>scrawled the words “Murder the Media”</i></a><i> on a door to the building, and another</i> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pdmcleod/status/1346942560573526016\"><i>tied a stolen camera cable into a noose</i></a><i> and then hung it from a tree on the Capitol grounds. Below is a roundup of incidents involving individual journalists and news crews who faced harassment and threats in the course of their reporting on the day’s insurrection and across the month of January.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"kvlp1\"><i>A full accounting of incidents in which members of the press were assaulted, arrested or had their equipment damaged while covering the riot can be found</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=2&endpage=2\"><i>here</i></a><i>. To learn more about how the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit</i><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\"> <i>pressfreedomtracker.us</i></a><i>.</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"5w6rf\"><b>Amanda Andrade-Rhoades</b>, a freelance photojournalist on assignment for the Washington Post, told the Tracker that over the course of the day three different individuals threatened to shoot her. While, as far as she could tell, none of the individuals were carrying firearms, Andrade-Rhoades said she had seen people that day armed with knives and pepper spray. She <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2021/01/three-people-threatened-to-shoot-me-journalists-describe-covering-mob-violence-at-the-us-capitol/\">told the Committee to Protect Journalists</a> that during one of the incidents, a man leaned over her and said, “I’m coming back with a gun tomorrow and I’m coming for you.” That afternoon, Andrade-Rhoades was also struck four times with crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement officers. The Tracker has documented that assault <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-struck-multiple-times-projectiles-during-capitol-riot/\">here</a>.</li><li data-block-key=\"ujd70\">Report for America fellow and former Marine <b>Chris Jones</b> <a href=\"https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/01/11/heres-what-it-was-be-marine-turned-journalist-capturing-us-capitol-assault.html\">told Military.com</a> he was covering the protest turned riot for a West Virginia news publication when he was confronted by another former Marine. Jones told the outlet that the man, dressed in a Marines hoodie, yelled at him that he “deserved to be shot” because he was a member of the press. Jones also noted that he was affected by crowd-control measures — including tear gas and flash-bang grenades — deployed by Capitol Police officers in an attempt to stave off the mob. Jones told Military.com he was able to follow the crowd into the Capitol once they broke in, but that he was inside for less than a minute before the rioters recognized him as a member of the press and forcibly expelled him. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/physical-attack/?categories=10&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\">assaults of journalists from that day documented in the Tracker here</a>.</li><li data-block-key=\"4hjle\">CNN reporter <b>Alexander Marquardt</b> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarquardtA/status/1346911295837138944\">tweeted</a> shortly after 3 p.m. that “protesters swarmed and mobbed” his news team after discovering that they worked for CNN. “Extremely aggressive, had to get out fast,” Marquardt wrote. Two hours later, he posted a follow-up <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MarquardtA/status/1346940341409226754\">tweet</a>, writing, “After I called them rioters just now on air, the crowd converged on the area press had gathered so we took off. This is a mob of violent rioters, no other way to put it.” CNN was repeatedly targeted that day, including by some who’d incorrectly believed certain news crews to be affiliated with the outlet when they were not. At one point, a crowd of rioters descended on a media staging area chanting, “CNN sucks!” and “Fuck CNN!” as they destroyed equipment belonging to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-associated-press-other-media-equipment/\">The Associated Press</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-german-outlets-equipment/\">German public broadcaster ZDF</a>.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video of Trump Capitol rioters destroying camera equipment. While they yell “CNN Sucks!” and believe it is CNN, I have received a message that this equipment belongs to ZDF, a popular news station in Germany. More videos coming <a href=\"https://t.co/bsGcCP9VEr\">pic.twitter.com/bsGcCP9VEr</a></p>— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"h4waq\">In his <a href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/01/25/among-the-insurrectionists\">account of the day’s events for The New Yorker</a>, contributor <b>Luke Mogelson</b> wrote that he was pepper sprayed by law enforcement as demonstrators made their way up the Capitol steps and to the metal bleachers set up for the inauguration. “A jet of pepper spray incapacitated me for about twenty minutes,” Mogelson wrote. When he finally regained his vision, rioters had infiltrated the building. It was unclear from Mogelson’s account whether he felt targeted with the spray.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"i9ssi\"><b>Erik Mouthaan</b>, a correspondent for Dutch outlet RTL Nieuws, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/erikmouthaanRTL/status/1348731447700582400\">tweeted</a> that he and his crew were threatened while covering the events of the day, writing, “After we were threatened at our live location at the Capitol we walk (with the camera rotating) to a safer place.” In the accompanying video, some individuals appear to be following the news crew, and a few voices can be heard shouting things such as “Get the fuck out of here!” and “Fake News!”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"nl\" dir=\"ltr\">Afgelopen woensdag. Nadat we bedreigd werden op onze live locatie bij het Capitool lopen we (met draaiende camera) naar een veiliger plek. (Zet geluid aan) <a href=\"https://t.co/diyqCeeikS\">pic.twitter.com/diyqCeeikS</a></p>— Erik Mouthaan (@erikmouthaanRTL) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/erikmouthaanRTL/status/1348731447700582400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 11, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"fwf76\"><b>Katie Nicholson</b>, a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was filming a live shot five blocks away from the Capitol when she was swarmed and harassed by demonstrators. In a <a href=\"https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1841020995564\">clip</a> of the incident published by the outlet, more than a dozen individuals can be seen approaching Nicholson, walking in front of her camera with flags and crowding around her while shouting, gesticulating and interrupting her broadcast. Nicholson <a href=\"https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/reporters-covering-the-capitol-attack-were-used-to-harassment-and-heckling-but-wednesday-was-different/\">told Poynter</a> that she and her crew had to stop broadcasting and walk away, but the group followed them for two blocks shouting insults. “They zeroed in on us as media, and it felt hostile,” Nicholson told Poynter. “I have never actually packed up and walked away from something before.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CBC’s Katie Nicholson is trying to inform Canadians about what’s happening on the streets of DC & is swarmed & harassed & prevented from doing her job. Thinking of her & all the journalists working hard & putting themselves at risk today to cover this historic story. Stay safe. <a href=\"https://t.co/9OK96ahs94\">pic.twitter.com/9OK96ahs94</a></p>— Meagan Fitzpatrick (@fitz_meagan) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/fitz_meagan/status/1346924714967638016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"6dll4\"><b>Megan Pratz</b>, a producer for online financial outlet Cheddar, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/business/media/journalists-capitol-mob.html\">told the New York Times</a> that at approximately 4 p.m. she had been standing in a designated press area on the east side of the Capitol. “Throughout all of this, people were stopping to criticize the media, calling us fake news and liars, the stuff I’m kind of used to,” Pratz said. “But after people started leaving the Capitol, it really ramped up. They were calling us communist; they told me that they were coming for me.” Pratz recounted that 20 to 30 people soon “started coming into the area, surrounding each journalist and screaming at us, these hateful, hateful things.” She went on to say: “That was when we decided we were no longer safe. We grabbed pretty much everything, and we just walked out. We were shaking, like physically shaking, because it’s an adrenaline rush, and not a great one.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ultimately the situation became unsafe when protestors tore down the metal barricades around the press and stormed in, shouting in our faces and in the cameras. We left and are safely in our DC office. But we will not stop covering this unprecedented moment in American history. <a href=\"https://t.co/jZRhALpUhW\">pic.twitter.com/jZRhALpUhW</a></p>— Megan Pratz (@meganpratz) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/meganpratz/status/1346952545563004929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"x5mep\">CBS News national correspondent <b>Chip Reid</b> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1346948550144483328\">reported</a> during a broadcast that evening that he and his team had had a “scary moment” when an individual told him that law enforcement officers would not protect journalists. “The police don’t care about your guys. They’re only protecting the senators,” Reid recalled the man saying. “You’re on your own, buddy.” Reid said that he and his team quickly left the area, recalling that there were no police around them. “They were absolutely, ferociously angry at the media,” Reid said of the rioters.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CBS News' Chip Reid reports from the chaos outside the Capitol: "There were no police around us. We were on our own. I remember one of the protesters standing next to me said, 'The police don't care about you guys. They're only protecting the senators. You're on your own, buddy'" <a href=\"https://t.co/PYHZ4pdmNr\">pic.twitter.com/PYHZ4pdmNr</a></p>— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1346948550144483328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"3n061\">A <b>Univision</b> news crew was heckled by a maskless individual while reporting live in the nation’s capital. In a clip <a href=\"https://twitter.com/rvalentwit/status/1346951528997924869\">posted to Twitter</a> by journalist Robert Valencia, a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat can be seen attempting to talk over the Univision reporter as he gives a live report on the events at the Capitol. Valencia wrote that the man could be heard saying, “I don’t speak Spanish so I don’t know what he’s saying, but don’t believe anything he says.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"87t51\"><i>The Tracker received reports of journalists harassed while reporting from the Capitol the following day, Jan. 7.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"yww2q\">Independent journalist <b>Maranie Rae Staab</b>, who has been covering protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Portland, Oregon, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1347393316766298113\">tweeted</a> that she witnessed a <b>reporter for the Washington Post</b> being harassed by a group in front of the east side of the Capitol. Staab wrote that after she began to film the men as they screamed at the Post reporter, they directed their attention at her. A man without a mask can be seen approaching Staab and stands inches away from her as he shouts, “Are you proud?” and “I will get right in your face. I do not care.” The man also accuses Staab and the Post reporter of being communists. After the maskless man walks away, another individual tells Staab that they — the press — are “rodents” and liars. A third individual can be heard telling another member of the press standing with them, “That [press] badge: Shove it up your ass.” Staab wrote, “These assaults are a direct threat to the healthy #democracy #America purports itself to be, threats that [are] quickly becoming normalized & expected.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">After I filmed these men screaming at a WashPost reporter they turned their attention to me. <br><br>These assaults are a direct threat to the healthy <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/democracy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#democracy</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/America?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#America</a> purports itself to be, threats that r quickly becoming normalized & expected.<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/freepress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#freepress</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/uscapitol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#uscapitol</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/thisisamerica?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#thisisamerica</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/n9gFxR12fM\">pic.twitter.com/n9gFxR12fM</a></p>— Maranie R. Staab (@MaranieRae) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MaranieRae/status/1347393316766298113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nwl5q\"><i>On Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, journalists reported being caught amid chemical irritants while covering demonstrations and harassed while reporting.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"tlnd4\"><b>In Portland, Oregon</b></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"im3nb\">Freelancer <b>Bethany Kerley</b> was covering demonstrations that included a march to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown Portland, according to a tweet <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352303828775837696\">posted</a> by Kerley. Approximately 200 protesters had gathered at the ICE facility, which has been a common location for protests in Portland. “About a minute before the first rush from the feds, my gas mask broke,” Kerley <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352305324305223682\">wrote</a>. “I went the entire night with no mask, inhaling everything that was used to disperse the crowd.” <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352306750242783232\">According to Kerley</a>, federal officers used multiple forms of gas against the protesters that night. “My eyes immediately burned and my face was on fire,” Kerley said. “Multiple times I had to stop filming to run away from the gas which filled a city block. The first time gas was used, I started choking and threw up.” Kerley wrote that after officers again deployed a thick cloud of gas, a colleague, freelance photojournalist Clementson Supriyadi, saw Kerley fall and pulled her away from the scene. “My colleague screamed for a medic as I started to go unconscious,” Kerley wrote. She was aided by volunteer medics at the scene, who washed out her throat and gave her chemical wipes and other aid. “As of now, my chest feels like it has been crushed, I have a headache, and my mouth tastes like metal,” Kerley <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352315658311110657\">wrote</a> the following day. “I am sure that this will have long-lasting effects I am not aware of yet.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There were numerous gassings which included the use of CS, OC, and HC gas. My eyes immediately burned and my face was on fire. Multiple times I had to stop filming to run away from the gas which filled a city block. The first time gas was used, I started choking and threw up 3/ <a href=\"https://t.co/dkxaAHEPHF\">pic.twitter.com/dkxaAHEPHF</a></p>— Bethany Kerley (@BethanyKerleyOR) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BethanyKerleyOR/status/1352306750242783232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"u635m\">Freelance reporter <b>Griffin Malone</b> was also covering the protests outside the ICE facility that night. Malone <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352126200123072512\">posted</a> around 9:30 p.m. that federal officers had declared the demonstration an unlawful assembly and announced that anyone on federal property, including members of the press, would be subject to arrest. Approximately 20 minutes later, Malone <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352131248488022022\">tweeted</a>, “What can only be described as a SHIT TON of tear gas deployed, impact munitions, flash bangs at every step.” Amid federal officers’ attempts to disperse the crowd, Malone <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352141501707419649\">wrote</a>, a flash-bang grenade struck a fence that was next to the reporter and exploded in the air near his head. “My right ear still has minimal hearing,” Malone wrote. “A snap next to it can be heard lightly and that’s about it.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A flashbang hit a fence next to me and went off head level in the air next to me. My right ear still has minimal hearing. A snap next to it can be heard lightly and that's about it. Fuck these feds.</p>— Griffin - Live Protest News (@GriffinMalone6) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/GriffinMalone6/status/1352141501707419649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 21, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pcm5q\"><b>In Charlotte, North Carolina</b></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"655kl\">Fox46 reporter <b>Matt Grant</b> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MattGrantFOX46/status/1352020374536347651\">tweeted</a> that he and photographer <b>Tim Mullican</b> were about to begin a live shot when a man drove past, threw a full beer bottle at them and screamed obscenities. “He missed us and we’re both safe, thankfully,” Grant wrote, “but it’s upsetting that journalists are being attacked just for doing our jobs.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is not OK - A minute before our live shot, a man drove by and threw a full beer bottle right at <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TimMullican?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TimMullican</a> and me, screaming an obscenity. He missed us and we’re both safe, thankfully, but it’s upsetting that journalists are being attacked just for doing our jobs. <a href=\"https://t.co/v0HoStSmFy\">pic.twitter.com/v0HoStSmFy</a></p>— Matt Grant (@MattGrantFOX46) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MattGrantFOX46/status/1352020374536347651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 20, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"djx9m\"><i>Information in this roundup was gathered from published social media and news reports as well as interviews where noted. To read about additional incidents of aggression against the press related to the 2020 election,</i><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\"> <i>go here</i></a><i>.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jtimj\">The phrase "Murder the Media" is seen carved into a door to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.</p>",
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"(2022-09-09 13:24:00+00:00) Members of extremist group admit to defacing U.S. Capitol door with ‘Murder the Media’ during riots",
"(2022-12-09 00:00:00+00:00) 'Murder the Media' extremists get prison time over Jan. 6 riots"
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"protest"
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"Other Incident"
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{
"title": "CNN correspondent says he was pushed by senator’s aide",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cnn-correspondent-says-he-was-pushed-by-senators-aide/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-18T17:06:20.607328Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-18T15:03:13.444707Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-18T15:03:13.340201Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wys9x\">CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju was pushed aside in the Senate chamber by a senator’s aide while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"c7jwa\">President Donald Trump spoke at a noon rally that day in front of the White House, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol where lawmakers were certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden,<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\"> reported</a> the New York Times. Following the rally, pro-Trump supporters<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\"> violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting congressional action and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"ybn2n\">Raju, who had been<a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1346690751464402948?s=20\"> tweeting</a> about Georgia's Senate runoffs the day prior, was covering events in the Senate chamber when Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler entered the room. According to Raju's<a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1346880191646343168?s=20\"> tweet</a> at 1:03 p.m., "[Loeffler] wouldn’t answer my question about whether she thought it was a free and fair election last night.” He wrote her aide then elbowed and pushed him out of the way.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kelly Loeffler entered Senate chamber and wouldn’t answer my question about whether she thought it was a free and fair election last night. Her aide elbowed me and pushed me out of way.<br>A Capitol police officer reprimanded the aide, who initially lied and said he didn’t push me</p>— Manu Raju (@mkraju) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1346880191646343168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jzeij\">Loeffler<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/georgia-election-results\"> lost her reelection</a> to Rev. Raphael Warnock earlier that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"il55w\">When Raju confronted the aide, he said he did not push Raju, but a Capitol police officer said, "Yes you did. I saw you. You can’t just push someone out of the way,” according to Raju's second tweet about the incident. The aide then apologized.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ebtd\">CNN video producer DJ Judd confirmed Raju's account in a<a href=\"https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1346880498107363330?s=20\"> tweet</a> at 1:05 p.m., "When reprimanded by Capitol Police, the aide lied, said he didn’t push Manu."</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An aide to Sen Loeffler just pushed <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mkraju?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mkraju</a> out of the way after she refused to answer if the election she lost last night was free & fair— when reprimanded by Capitol Police, the aide lied, said he didn’t push Manu. When Capitol Police told aide they saw him, the aide apologized</p>— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1346880498107363330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uvnui\">Raju and Sen. Loeffler’s office did not respond to emailed requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"x53gh\">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. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"tags": [
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"Election 2020"
],
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "VICE News journalist assaulted, camera damaged during Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-journalist-assaulted-camera-damaged-during-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-18T16:38:08.063714Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-21T17:03:40.135173Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-21T17:03:40.052750Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ca2hr\">VICE News international correspondent Ben Solomon and cameraman Chris Olson were attacked by several rioters as they covered the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Demonstrators attempted to smash Olson’s camera, damaging the handle.</p><p data-block-key=\"l2iwk\">President Donald Trump spoke at a noon rally that day in front of the White House, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol where lawmakers were certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden,<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\"> reported</a> the New York Times. Following the rally, pro-Trump supporters<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\"> violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting congressional action and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"57m27\">In a<a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ3iTJNlNpK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\"> video</a> Solomon posted on Instagram, demonstrators can be seen confronting the VICE journalists, shouting, “Get the fuck out of here!” and asking, “Who are you with? Is it CNN? Better not be CNN.”</p><p data-block-key=\"yfe8z\">“Chris [Olson] had a broken handle grip and that guy in forest camo gave me a good hard shove to the throat,” Solomon wrote in a caption with the Instagram post.</p><p data-block-key=\"xlu4f\">In Solomon’s VICE<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfP_5L8epow&feature=youtu.be\"> video</a> story posted to Youtube, the camera is hit at 1:23 and Solomon’s voice can be heard, “They tried to smash our camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zk2s1\">“We were lucky to get away with minimal damage,” Solomon wrote on Instagram. “To hear how many colleagues had it worse that day, I consider myself lucky.”</p><p data-block-key=\"htvx0\">As of press time, Olson had not responded to a U.S. Press Freedom Tracker request for comment. The Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/vice-news-correspondent-assaulted-by-rioters-at-capitol/\">Solomon’s assault here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"azcgs\">The 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. Find <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">election-related coverage here</a>.</p></div>",
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"actor": "private individual",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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"targeted_journalists": [
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},
{
"title": "Rioters rush broadcasters, destroy German outlet’s equipment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-german-outlets-equipment/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-15T16:11:46.462937Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:34.875004Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:34.721685Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"l497e\">Broadcast equipment belonging to German public-service broadcaster ZDF and worth approximately 30,000 euros was reportedly destroyed as rioters swarmed a group of broadcast journalists covering the unrest in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"dk48h\">At a rally in front of the White House earlier that day, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest at the Capitol as Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Following Trump’s speech, which included unfounded claims of election fraud and calls to “fight” the outcome, hundreds then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"19wog\">ZDF reporter Elmar Thevessen and his team were reporting alongside journalists from The Associated Press when a crowd of rioters stormed them and broke through the barricades surrounding them, according to a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136\">tweet</a> posted by Thevessen.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, Trumps Mob hat sich ausgetobt. Dem Kameramann, den Kolleg/innen von Associated Press, ARD, RTL und auch mir geht‘s gut. <a href=\"https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce\">https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/3BJ4ZwNlJ8\">pic.twitter.com/3BJ4ZwNlJ8</a></p>— Elmar Theveßen (@ethevessen) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"453j3\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">videos</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WilliamTurton/status/1346940440935870472\">of the</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346945835368501249%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fnews%2F533022-videos-show-protesters-outside-capitol-destroying-journalists-equipment\">incident</a>, the rioters can be heard yelling “fuck the mainstream media” as well as “CNN sucks” and “Fuck CNN!” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has not found any information to suggest that a CNN news crew or any CNN equipment was targeted in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"dusgw\">Thevessen told ZDF in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/heutejournal/status/1346971902770868224\">broadcast</a> later that day that Capitol Police had begun using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the west side of the Capitol, causing many rioters to move to the east where the ZDF team and other members of the media were located. The rioters surrounded the journalists and started throwing and destroying their equipment, Thevessen said. The news teams decided that they needed to quickly leave the area; Thevessen said his team was able to save their camera but the rest of their equipment was destroyed.</p><p data-block-key=\"voncb\">According to Thevessen, none of the journalists were injured in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"vhhyh\">In the center-left of the photo Thevessen posted, a man in a red beanie can be seen holding an orange microphone belonging to ZDF.</p><p data-block-key=\"4h80s\">Thevessen said in subsequent tweets that a colleague from German broadcaster ARD had <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347946143699902465\">retrieved the ZDF microphone</a> from rioters later that day. In total, he <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347937221719031810\">wrote</a>, approximately 30,000 euros — or around $36,500 — worth of equipment belonging to the outlet had been destroyed, including a spotlight and portable video uplink.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Unser Scheinwerfer ist wieder da, in fast perfektem Zustand 😉 Was für erbärmliche Wichte, die offenbar ihre Komplexe abreagieren mussten... <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZDFheute?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ZDFheute</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/GdamYSIoKu\">pic.twitter.com/GdamYSIoKu</a></p>— Elmar Theveßen (@ethevessen) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347751175093829633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 9, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rhs9p\">While the ZDF team was able to protect their camera, according to Thevessen two AP cameras were destroyed. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-associated-press-other-media-equipment/\">documented that incident here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kogd\">In an <a href=\"https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/briefing/washington-kapitol-schmiese-zdfheute-update-100.html\">article</a> published the following morning, ZDF Today’s Journal Editor-in-Chief Wulf Schmiese condemned the attack on Thevessen and his team.</p><p data-block-key=\"6zyko\">“Thank God nothing happened to him or his people. But it was an attack on us — on all of my colleagues who do what we owe to the USA: free reporting,” Schmiese wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebkzn\">According to Schmiese, the rioters also stole phones belonging to the journalists and attempted to “terrorize” the outlet’s control room with threatening calls.</p><p data-block-key=\"i5p9e\">At least one man has been arrested in connection with the equipment destruction. According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Jamie Stranahan, the bureau has identified Pete Harding of Cheektowaga, New York, as one of the participants.</p><p data-block-key=\"h7n92\">The affidavit identified Harding as the man in a maroon hoodie, seen in several videos of the incident, who attempted to light the equipment on fire once it had been destroyed and piled up. The man believed to be Harding can be seen lighting a plastic bag on fire using a lighter in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">video</a> posted by Deadspin reporter Chuck Modi.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video of Trump Capitol rioters destroying camera equipment. While they yell “CNN Sucks!” and believe it is CNN, I have received a message that this equipment belongs to ZDF, a popular news station in Germany. More videos coming <a href=\"https://t.co/bsGcCP9VEr\">pic.twitter.com/bsGcCP9VEr</a></p>— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oq83g\">Harding also <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rWv16VVhGR0w75euO_owZ1SuOxBctBY3yHHMeS9lX10/edit#\">confirmed to The Buffalo News</a> that he helped pile up the equipment and attempted to burn it.</p><p data-block-key=\"bz6j8\">“That was a symbolic gesture. Nothing burned. It was metal,” Harding told the paper. “It was far from any structure. It was nowhere near the Capitol building. It was nowhere near a tree. It wasn't even on grass that could be lit on fire. There was a plastic bag. I had a Bic lighter and that was it. It was symbolism."</p><p data-block-key=\"tdwah\">The News <a href=\"https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/cheektowaga-man-who-was-inside-capitol-in-custody-in-niagara-county-jail/article_67616e1a-5670-11eb-aa57-8f40b3c8450d.html\">reported</a> that Harding was arrested on Jan. 13 on a U.S. Marshals Service warrant.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nvws6\">Journalists survey damaged equipment outside the Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after supporters of President Donald Trump occupied the capitol building and targeted the media for harassment, assaults and equipment damage.</p>",
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"(2021-06-24 12:12:00+00:00) Individual charged for the destruction of ZDF, other media equipment",
"(2023-05-01 13:01:00+00:00) Virginia man ordered to pay more than $33,000 in restitution for destruction of German broadcaster’s equipment during J6 riots",
"(2022-10-28 11:37:00+00:00) Virginia man pleads guilty to felony charges connected to destruction of news equipment",
"(2023-04-20 16:53:00+00:00) Man sentenced to 3 years of probation for destroying news equipment during J6 riots; two others plead guilty to similar charges",
"(2023-07-20 12:51:00+00:00) New York men sentenced in destruction of media equipment during the J6 riot",
"(2023-10-04 16:46:00+00:00) Illinois man who destroyed media equipment during J6 riot sentenced",
"(2023-02-02 00:00:00+00:00) Virginia man sentenced to 32 months behind bars after destroying news equipment"
],
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"Equipment Damage"
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"Ralf Oberti (ZDF)"
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},
{
"title": "Rioters rush broadcasters, destroy Associated Press, other media equipment",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-associated-press-other-media-equipment/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-15T15:40:01.071201Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:24.832115Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:24.663712Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tileh\">Broadcast equipment belonging to The Associated Press was reportedly destroyed as rioters swarmed a group of broadcast journalists covering the unrest in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"dysgw\">At a rally in front of the White House earlier that day, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest at the Capitol as Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Following Trump’s speech, which included unfounded claims of election fraud and calls to “fight” the outcome, hundreds then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cggo5\">Elmar Thevessen, a reporter for German public-service broadcaster ZDF, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136\">wrote on Twitter</a> that he and his team were reporting alongside journalists from the AP when a crowd of rioters stormed them and broke through the barricades surrounding the journalists and their equipment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"de\" dir=\"ltr\">Well, Trumps Mob hat sich ausgetobt. Dem Kameramann, den Kolleg/innen von Associated Press, ARD, RTL und auch mir geht‘s gut. <a href=\"https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce\">https://t.co/Xo7SECT0ce</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/3BJ4ZwNlJ8\">pic.twitter.com/3BJ4ZwNlJ8</a></p>— Elmar Theveßen (@ethevessen) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1346963803167195136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qnv27\">In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">videos</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WilliamTurton/status/1346940440935870472\">of the</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346945835368501249%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fhomenews%2Fnews%2F533022-videos-show-protesters-outside-capitol-destroying-journalists-equipment\">incident</a>, the rioters can be heard yelling “Fuck the mainstream media” as well as “CNN sucks” and “Fuck CNN!” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has not found any information to suggest that a CNN news crew or any CNN equipment was targeted in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"g1g81\">Thevessen told ZDF in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/heutejournal/status/1346971902770868224\">broadcast</a> later that day that Capitol Police had begun using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the west side of the Capitol, causing many rioters to move to the east where the ZDF team and other members of the media were located. The rioters surrounded the journalists and started throwing and destroying their equipment, Thevessen said. The news teams decided that they needed to quickly leave the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"qt4z3\">Thevessen said that while his team was able to save their camera, the AP team was unable to do so. Multiple plastic storage containers bearing the AP logo are visible in photos of the wreckage, and according to Thevessen at least two AP cameras were destroyed. Thevessen <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347937221719031810\">estimated</a> that at least $100,000 of AP equipment was damaged.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Outside the Capitol, pro-Trump protesters are smashing cameras and other media equipment yelling “CNN sucks!” <br>One man took a wooden stick and bashed the pile of destroyed equipment. <br><br>This stuff isn’t owned by CNN. They are destroying AP equipment. <a href=\"https://t.co/NeIUUSuYaC\">pic.twitter.com/NeIUUSuYaC</a></p>— Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1346945835368501249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lg9qi\">A <a href=\"https://twitter.com/shomaristone/status/1346941715895250949\">video posted</a> by NBC reporter Shomari Stone shows rioters also pouring water atop the damaged equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"73ytj\">In total, Thevessen <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ethevessen/status/1347937221719031810\">wrote</a>, approximately 30,000 euros — or around $36,500 — worth of ZDF equipment was destroyed. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rioters-rush-broadcasters-destroy-german-outlets-equipment/\">documented that incident here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ntjkw\">According to Thevessen, none of the journalists were injured in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"ldeo2\">The AP <a href=\"https://twitter.com/maxwelltani/status/1346970523322912773\">confirmed</a> to Daily Beast media reporter Max Tani that AP equipment was stolen and destroyed during the violent protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"67t34\">The National Press Photographers Association condemned the Jan. 6 attacks on ZDF, AP and other news teams from visual media. “To do our jobs, photojournalists must be on the front lines to record the news,” the group’s statement reads. “The threats, violence and aggression toward visual journalists are unconscionable acts that erode our democracy and our country’s First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"qtcqt\">At least one man has been arrested in connection with the destruction of the ZDF and AP broadcast equipment. According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Jamie Stranahan, the bureau has identified Pete Harding of Cheektowaga, New York, as one of the participants.</p><p data-block-key=\"4j0kv\">The affidavit identified Harding as the man in a maroon hoodie, seen in several videos of the incident, who attempted to light the equipment on fire once it had been destroyed and piled up. The man believed to be Harding can be seen lighting a plastic bag on fire using a lighter in a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048\">video</a> posted by Deadspin reporter Chuck Modi.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">More video of Trump Capitol rioters destroying camera equipment. While they yell “CNN Sucks!” and believe it is CNN, I have received a message that this equipment belongs to ZDF, a popular news station in Germany. More videos coming <a href=\"https://t.co/bsGcCP9VEr\">pic.twitter.com/bsGcCP9VEr</a></p>— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/1347063751674114048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6mq7a\">Harding also <a href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rWv16VVhGR0w75euO_owZ1SuOxBctBY3yHHMeS9lX10/edit#\">confirmed to The Buffalo News</a> that he helped pile up the equipment and attempted to burn it.</p><p data-block-key=\"brxzw\">“That was a symbolic gesture. Nothing burned. It was metal,” Harding told the paper. “It was far from any structure. It was nowhere near the Capitol building. It was nowhere near a tree. It wasn't even on grass that could be lit on fire. There was a plastic bag. I had a Bic lighter and that was it. It was symbolism."</p><p data-block-key=\"43py0\">The News <a href=\"https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/cheektowaga-man-who-was-inside-capitol-in-custody-in-niagara-county-jail/article_67616e1a-5670-11eb-aa57-8f40b3c8450d.html\">reported</a> that Harding was arrested on Jan. 13 on warrant issued by the U.S. Marshals Service.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"tlito\">Journalists survey damaged equipment outside the Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after supporters of President Donald Trump occupied the capitol building and targeted the media for harassment, assaults and equipment damage.</p>",
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{
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{
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{
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"(2021-06-24 12:08:00+00:00) Individual charged for the destruction of Associated Press, other media equipment",
"(2023-02-02 00:00:00+00:00) Virginia man sentenced to 32 months behind bars after destroying news equipment",
"(2022-10-28 11:38:00+00:00) Virginia man pleads guilty to felony charges connected to destruction of news equipment",
"(2023-04-20 16:52:00+00:00) Man sentenced to 3 years of probation for destroying news equipment during J6 riots; two others plead guilty to similar charges",
"(2023-07-20 12:48:00+00:00) New York men sentenced in destruction of media equipment during the J6 riot",
"(2023-10-04 00:00:00+00:00) Illinois man who destroyed media equipment during J6 riot sentenced"
],
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"Equipment Damage"
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},
{
"title": "Journalists threatened with assault while covering Olympia protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-threatened-assault-while-covering-olympia-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-14T19:27:35.627280Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:13.617652Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:13.522297Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Olympia",
"longitude": -122.9007,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6ynfi\">Sara Gentzler, a reporter for the Olympian, was threatened by an armed individual while covering a demonstration at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"wvuaf\">The protest that day, which started at the Capitol, migrated to the Governor’s Mansion and grew <a href=\"https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article248312660.html\">increasingly aggressive</a> as the afternoon wore on, was one of several held by supporters of President Donald Trump around the country, organized as the U.S. Congress was set to confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"uktu7\">Gentzler told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had been covering the protest intermittently since noon. When she returned shortly before 3 p.m., a man armed with multiple firearms and a knife approached her.</p><p data-block-key=\"cti73\">“He asked, ‘Are you with the media?’ I said yes, and he asked, ‘Which publication?’ And he obviously didn’t want me there,” Gentzler said. The same man approached her again a little while later, after she had met up with AP photojournalist Ted S. Warren.</p><p data-block-key=\"ya30b\">“He was very aggressive and made it very clear that he didn’t want us there. He said he had pepper-sprayed members of the media earlier in the day and we had five minutes to leave,” Gentzler said.</p><p data-block-key=\"kol7v\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SaraGentzler/status/1346952476893696008\">short clip</a> Gentzler posted to Twitter shortly before 3 p.m., the man can briefly be seen before lunging at Gentzler and trying to grab her phone in an attempt to prevent her from filming the interaction</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Man with a gun just told me + another journalist that media isn’t wanted here, that he pepper-sprayed members of the media earlier, and we have 5 min to leave. Later said “We’re going to shoot you f***ing dead in the next year.” This vid is all I got as he reached at my phone. <a href=\"https://t.co/yNDgGVx6cT\">pic.twitter.com/yNDgGVx6cT</a></p>— Sara Gentzler (@SaraGentzler) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SaraGentzler/status/1346952476893696008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0erqo\">KOMO News <a href=\"https://kpic.com/news/nation-world/court-file-seattle-man-arrested-for-assaulting-media-at-olympia-protest\">reported</a> that the same man had threatened and sprayed two members of the media with what court documents identified as bear spray near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Capitol Way South at around noon, incapacitating both for hours. The Tracker<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?city=Olympia&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&state=53\"> documented the multiple assaults in Olympia here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"wuh9m\">“As he was sort of going away from us,” Gentzler said, “he said, ‘We’re going to shoot you fucking dead in the next year.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"40hrx\">“I’m used to people generally expressing anti-media sentiment, I’ve kind of come to expect it. But that was an exceptional interaction. It definitely felt aggressive and truly frightening,” Gentzler said. “I was just trying to figure out what my next move was, rethinking what I could do to be safe and continue doing this.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7a75z\">Gentzler told the Tracker that she and Warren were able to meet up with other journalists to have safety in numbers and to warn them about the man.</p><p data-block-key=\"s0dbn\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"qjj8b\"><i>Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include comment from Sara Gentzler and to identify Ted S. Warren of The Associated Press.</i></p></div>",
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"updates": [
"(2021-01-19 11:01:00+00:00) Man arrested for assaulting, harassing multiple journalists",
"(2021-03-15 00:00:00+00:00) Man sentenced for assault, harassment of journalists during Jan. 6 protests at Washington state capitol"
],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sara Gentzler (Olympian)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Cellphone of French journalist destroyed during his livestream of Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cell-phone-french-journalist-destroyed-during-his-livestream-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T21:49:31.297205Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:02.299668Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:30:02.198977Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g43mg\">Vincent Jolly, a reporter for the weekly magazine of French newspaper Le Figaro, had his phone destroyed during a live report about the riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"at86k\">Protests organized around Congress’s confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory devolved into a riot earlier that day, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>. At a rally in front of the White House, President Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside.</p><p data-block-key=\"2sp76\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/vincentroux88/status/1346966057387491329\">clip posted to Twitter</a> by Figaro Live Editor in Chief Vincent Roux, Jolly can be heard at the very beginning giving a live report on the riot at the Capitol while filming a crowd of individuals walking away from the building. Jolly tells the host that they were waiting to hear responses to the violence from the Republican Party and Biden.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">Plusieurs journalistes et équipes médias agressés et leurs matériels détruits par des Pro-<a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trumps?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Trumps</a>. Comme notre confrère <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VincentJolly_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@VincentJolly_</a> agressé en direct. Pas de blessure mais son téléphone avec lequel il est en direct pour <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Figaro_Live?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Figaro_Live</a> est completement détruit. Shame! <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Capitole?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Capitole</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/7XGzCLLAq2\">pic.twitter.com/7XGzCLLAq2</a></p>— Vincent Roux (@vincentroux88) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/vincentroux88/status/1346966057387491329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sjdxt\">In Jolly’s video, a man is seen breaking away from the group, quickly advancing on Jolly and swiping at his cellphone before the feed suddenly dies. The Figaro Live host, seen to the left of the cellphone image, picks up the narration as the man advances, exclaiming that they would see what had happened to Jolly and that it appeared someone had taken the journalist’s phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"3s0hm\">In the tweet, Figaro Live editor Roux wrote that while Jolly was not injured in the assault, his cellphone was “completely destroyed.” “Shame!” he wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"mhzy8\">Jolly did not respond to messages requesting comment.</p></div>",
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"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
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"equipment": "cellphone"
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"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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"tags": [
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"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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},
{
"title": "Slate reporter pushed by Capitol Police officer in effort to ‘slow down’ rioters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/slate-reporter-pushed-by-capitol-police-officer-in-effort-to-slow-down-rioters/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T21:06:39.012764Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:46.262028Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:46.181272Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tip8q\">Slate reporter Aymann Ismail was pushed by a Capitol Police officer while covering the riot at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"y74bu\">In an <a href=\"https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/capitol-riot-photos-inside-trump.html\">account for Slate</a>, Ismail wrote that he had started the day covering a rally in front of the White House at which President Donald Trump spoke at noon. After the president called on his supporters to protest Congress as it confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud, a crowd of hundreds marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"94kc7\">Ismail wrote that he’d followed the crowd as they marched across the National Mall, approaching the Capitol from the west.</p><p data-block-key=\"5mb5d\">“As we got closer, though, I saw these marchers ripping open doors and climbing through windows. When I got to the doors, police had managed to close them again,” Ismail wrote. “There was a core group of young people at the very front, just outside, trying to force their way in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ua85z\">In Ismail’s estimation, “there were a few cops, but not nearly enough” as he walked up to the doors and identified himself to officers as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"le2er\">“One cop started using my body to push people behind me backward,” Ismail wrote. “I heard one say to the other, ‘The best we can do is slow them down.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"q27z1\">Ismail was able to quickly get around the officers and into the Capitol without further incident. He told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he didn’t believe the officers had acted maliciously or had been trying to harm him.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg3xj\">The Capitol Police did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"5r96z\">“I moved quickly, got as many photos as I could muster in a short period of time, then moved back out of the building,” Ismail said. “Earlier, I had seen other reporters get attacked by the mob, so I made it a point not to stick around in any one spot too long.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vgtzq\">The Tracker is documenting multiple incidents involving journalists, including assaults, arrests and equipment damage, from Jan. 6. All of our election-related coverage can be found <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/TrumpJan6-4265.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h5qv7\">Slate reporter Aymann Ismail captured this image as a Capitol Police officer pushed him in an effort to block rioters who had made their way into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
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"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Aymann Ismail (Slate)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist struck multiple times with projectiles during Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-struck-multiple-times-projectiles-during-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-13T21:31:22.145575Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:35.618380Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:29:35.533120Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ohz4m\">Freelance photojournalist Amanda Andrade-Rhoades said she was hit by crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement officers four times while covering riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"bq2kh\">Andrade-Rhoades told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was on assignment for The Washington Post covering protesters as they marched toward the west side of the Capitol from the National Mall. The protesters, spurred by a speech by President Donald Trump earlier that day, aimed to disrupt the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.</p><p data-block-key=\"n8c0i\">At approximately 2:45 p.m., Andrade-Rhoades said she was photographing as the protest became a riot, with the pro-Trump crowd — some armed with clubs or other weapons — clashing with Capitol Police officers in front of the Capitol.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There's more! <a href=\"https://t.co/RzoPm9InIz\">pic.twitter.com/RzoPm9InIz</a></p>— Amanda Andrade-Rhoades (@Moxie_Manda) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Moxie_Manda/status/1346977168312709120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9ktpd\">Andrade-Rhoades said she had covered previous pro-Trump demonstrations where protesters were far less aggressive towards law enforcement. “This time [the rioters] were fighting the officers and breaking apart barricades to hit the police with,” she said. “I had just put on my gas mask because things seemed to be getting very much worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"al6u1\">Andrade-Rhoades said her right leg was struck multiple times as she documented Capitol Police and rioters scuffling over a barrier.</p><p data-block-key=\"4i512\">“There was a bit of a gap between the police and the rioters, and that’s when I felt myself get hit four times,” Andrade-Rhoades said. She added that she believes she was hit by rubber bullets based on the rounds she saw on the ground around her after she was struck.</p><p data-block-key=\"sxnzc\">After the incident, she posted a photo of her leg showing several large bruises. “Since someone asked,” she wrote on her Twitter account, “I’m pretty sure these were rubber bullets but not 100% sure.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Since someone asked, I’m pretty sure these were rubber bullets but not 100% sure. The one on the top of my thigh is very swollen, but it looks worse than it feels. That may not be the case tomorrow though ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ <a href=\"https://t.co/kWJerA3pOV\">pic.twitter.com/kWJerA3pOV</a></p>— Amanda Andrade-Rhoades (@Moxie_Manda) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Moxie_Manda/status/1347027395707076610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"s4aum\">Andrade-Rhoades said she was wearing a press credential issued by The Post, and the word “PRESS” was written on a piece of painters’ tape stuck to her gas mask. But she noted that when she was hit, law enforcement officers were overwhelmed by the number of violent rioters and were fighting back indiscriminately. She said she retreated from the violence briefly, then returned to photographing as the rioters climbed up scaffolding and stormed the Capitol.</p><p data-block-key=\"fpvnk\">About two days after the incident Andrade-Rhoades said some of her wounds were still swollen and tender to the touch and that she would seek medical attention if the swelling on her hip did not go down soon.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9jjt\">Andrade-Rhoades said that over the course of the afternoon, multiple rioters threatened to kill her, and that she was caught in pepper spray fired indiscriminately by police. The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/election-2020/\">all election-related incidents here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"o1p2r\">Neither the Capitol Police nor the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. responded to emails requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5d5eb\">Photojournalist Amanda Andrade-Rhoades was hit with multiple crowd-control munitions while covering the Capitol riots for The Washington Post on Jan 6, 2021.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with pepper spray while covering demonstration at Utah Capitol",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-maced-while-covering-demonstration-utah-capitol/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-12T18:12:24.657045Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-21T16:52:34.624830Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-21T16:52:34.534908Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Salt Lake City",
"longitude": -111.89105,
"latitude": 40.76078,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cfate\">Salt Lake Tribune photojournalist Rick Egan was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant by a demonstrator upset that he was documenting a protest at the Utah state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"jib4z\">Egan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was documenting what was a largely peaceful demonstration organized by supporters of President Donald Trump who carried signs about unfounded election allegations. The Tribune <a href=\"https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/01/06/utah-capitol-staff/\">reported</a> there were some members of extremist or militia-type groups, including the Proud Boys and Utah Citizens’ Alarm, at the demonstration who were armed with bats and firearms.</p><p data-block-key=\"6baf3\">Egan said he was walking up the first set of stairs toward the Capitol to film a demonstrator using a megaphone when a protester accosted him.</p><p data-block-key=\"1af0b\">“He was singing this sort of childhood, baby song about putting your diapers on your face talking about masks,” Egan said. “I wanted to film that song and I hadn’t even really started filming yet when some [other] guy came out of nowhere and said, ‘Look at you with your mask on, you fucking pussy.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"ym4zv\">Egan said he brushed the encounter off and continued working. Approximately a minute or two later, Egan said, a man carrying a flag repeatedly waved it in his face, preventing the photojournalist from taking pictures of him or from continuing to walk up the steps.</p><p data-block-key=\"3uoab\">“As I tried to make my way through, he started shoving me and pushing me, saying stuff like ‘Get the fuck out of here,’” Egan said. “I just saw quickly from the corner of my eye the same guy who had yelled at me a minute or two earlier just popped around the corner to the side of this guy and sprayed me in the face [with mace]. He just ran up, sprayed me and ran.”</p><p data-block-key=\"kvckk\">Egan said he was carrying two cameras and has no doubt that he was targeted because he was identifiable as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"nes06\">“As soon as the guy sprayed me, they all started laughing at me — all these Proud Boys or Boogaloo Boys who had this sort of gauntlet up to the capitol building,” Egan said. “I’m just stumbling blindly up these stairs thinking, ‘I’ve got to get away from these guys because they could beat me up, steal my cameras, whatever.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"02906\">At first, the effects of the irritant were pretty mild, but suddenly he couldn’t see. Luckily, he said, Associated Press journalist Rick Bowmer found him and helped him to a quiet area where his fellow Tribune photojournalist Francisco Kjolseth was able to rinse out his eyes with a bottle of water.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Salt Lake Tribune photographer Rick Egan has been pepper sprayed by people here upset he was documenting the event. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sltrib?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@sltrib</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/uptol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#uptol</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/AT40p177Pt\">pic.twitter.com/AT40p177Pt</a></p>— Taylor Stevens (@tstevensmedia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tstevensmedia/status/1346930961800327170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8wx90\">After approximately 45 minutes and having his eyes rinsed three or four times, Egan said he was able to continue photographing the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"qoqms\">“[The attack] kind of freaked me out a bit, mentally it messed me up a little bit, but I was able to see enough to shoot,” Egan said.</p><p data-block-key=\"rpidz\">Egan said he found a quiet place to edit some of his photos and check to see if he had captured any photos of his assailant.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgrkd\">“While I was going through my photos though I saw a reflection on my screen and turned around to see the guy who had been waving the flag standing directly behind me, watching me,” Egan said.</p><p data-block-key=\"z8cx3\">Egan told the Tracker he quickly and calmly packed up his belongings and found a police officer, who escorted him inside the Capitol to give a statement about the assault.</p><p data-block-key=\"we7qu\">Immediately after, Egan returned to his car and drove back to the office to finish editing his images there.</p><p data-block-key=\"xhdf5\">Egan said that he never felt like the armed demonstrators would hurt him as a member of the press, and that their main aim was to intimidate.</p><p data-block-key=\"8e1yl\">“None of us really back down,” Egan said. “I don’t think they’ve successfully intimidated any of us up to this point and I hope that this instance won’t make us not cover a story or not show up or not stay somewhere just because they’re there, because then they win. That’s what they’re trying to do.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m5r8c\">Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall <a href=\"https://twitter.com/slcmayor/status/1346951864995041282\">condemned the attack</a> in a tweet that afternoon.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jbt4\">“An assault on a journalist is an attack on freedom of press and democracy. This is unacceptable, and should not be allowed to go unchecked,” Mendenhall wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2yh2\">The Salt Lake Police Department did not immediately respond to voicemail requesting comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"c9a64\">Salt Lake Tribune photojournalist Rick Egan, photographed here by colleague Francisco Kjolseth, was sprayed with pepper spray by a demonstrator at the Utah state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Jan. 6, 2021.</p>",
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"tags": [
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"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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},
{
"title": "New York Times reporter assaulted, cameras stolen and damaged amid Capitol riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-york-times-reporter-assaulted-cameras-stolen-and-damaged-amid-capitol-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-11T21:42:15.578889Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-23T18:14:02.294950Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-23T18:14:02.134478Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2l8q0\">New York Times reporter Erin Schaff wrote that she was assaulted, one of her cameras stolen and the lens of a second broken by rioters as they stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ogzz\">A riot broke out as supporters of President Donald Trump marched on the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside in an attempt to disrupt the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Reuters<a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\"> reported</a>. At a noon rally held in front of the White House, Trump called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. According to Reuters, the building was breached at approximately 2:15 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"l84um\">Schaff, who did not respond to a request for comment, wrote in an <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/07/us/politics/capitol-lockdown.html\">account published by the Times</a> that she followed the noise of protesters on the first floor of the Senate side of the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"0bizj\">Schaff recounted that the single Capitol Police officer guarding the ceremonial doors to the Rotunda was rushed by the crowd, forcing open the door.</p><p data-block-key=\"v1tcw\">“I ran upstairs to be out of the way of the crowd, and to get a better vantage point to document what was happening. Suddenly, two or three men in black surrounded me and demanded to know who I worked for,” Schaff wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"qav07\">“Grabbing my press pass, they saw that my ID said The New York Times and became really angry. They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could. No one came. People just watched. At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them. They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away.”</p><p data-block-key=\"koeh5\">Schaff’s congressional press credentials were also stolen in the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"249zb\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\">Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX8KXQC_-_Reuters_-_Ahmed_Gaber.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"31c4g\">Crowds storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, contesting the certification of the presidential election results. New York Times reporter Erin Schaff wrote that she was assaulted and her camera and press credentials were stolen by rioters that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera lens"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "press identification"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [
"(2021-06-28 09:12:00+00:00) Pennsylvania woman charged in connection to assault of NYT photojournalist during Capitol riot",
"(2025-01-22 00:00:00+00:00) Journalist’s assailants pardoned by Trump",
"(2023-06-06 14:48:00+00:00) Pennsylvania woman found guilty on charges connected to assault of photojournalist",
"(2023-09-14 00:00:00+00:00) Pennsylvania woman sentenced for actions during J6 riot",
"(2024-09-12 16:36:00+00:00) Two men charged with assault, robbery of NY Times photojournalist at Capitol riot"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2020",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Erin Schaff (The New York Times)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Washington Post video journalists detained in police ‘kettle’ during DC riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-08T16:32:01.028410Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:56.647543Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:56.564547Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r4b1b\">The Washington Post video journalist Zoeann Murphy was detained alongside a colleague while documenting riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"jdh5c\">Murphy and fellow Post video journalist Whitney Leaming were covering protests and demonstrations in downtown D.C., The Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">reported</a>, organized around the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Donald Trump held a rally in front of the White House and called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters <a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3jzbd\">In response to the violence at the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser <a href=\"https://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/release_content/attachments/Mayor%27s%20Order%202020-003%20%201-6-2021.pdf\">declared a public emergency</a> and issued a curfew order from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. The order explicitly exempted journalists and other essential workers.</p><p data-block-key=\"askw9\">Murphy <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">told The Post</a> in a live interview that the two journalists had been entrapped by Metropolitan Police Department officers using a technique known as “kettling,” wherein police surround a group from all sides to prevent exit. Murphy spoke to the outlet live while they were being detained, as Leaming continued to film the scene.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some days are like this. Body armor, helmet, getting arrested while filming a siege on the Capitol. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/journalism?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#journalism</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/i8i6bD4o5q\">pic.twitter.com/i8i6bD4o5q</a></p>— Zoeann Murphy (@ZoeannMurphy) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZoeannMurphy/status/1347007067303915521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9suws\">Independent journalist Talia Jane was also detained in the kettle. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented her detention <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-briefly-detained-amid-dc-riots/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bs7mo\">Murphy told the Tracker, “We got kettled, and that happens. But usually I can just go up to a police officer and say, ‘We’re media,’ and they just let us out of the kettle. And in this situation they did not.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tvk2e\">Murphy said in the livestream that police confirmed multiple times that the journalists were under arrest, but did not provide further explanation, even though both Leaming and Murphy identified themselves as members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"73lye\">“I have a credential: a Washington Post credential press badge that I wear. And then I actually have my Washington Post fleece on today as well,” Murphy said.</p><p data-block-key=\"jn9ra\">At approximately 7:40 p.m., while still live with The Post, Murphy can be heard saying, “They’ve just told us that they’re letting the press go and have told us that we can go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xiqdw\">Both journalists were released shortly after showing officers their media credentials. The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/\">Leaming’s detainment here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"bkhtd\">The journalists were detained alongside the demonstrators for violating curfew, Murphy told the Post.</p><p data-block-key=\"h1d9p\">Murphy told the Tracker that after they were released the police were “completely polite” to the pair as they continued documenting the scene for approximately 30 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"rqjsj\">A spokesperson for The Post said in <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/washington-post-journalists-arrested-capitol/\">a statement to The Wrap</a>, “Our journalists were just doing their jobs and should never have been arrested in the first place. However, we’re pleased that police quickly released them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cddcu\">When reached by phone, a spokesperson for MPDC told the Tracker that it could not comment beyond this statement: “When we detain any reporters, it’s to maintain order and safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"pizvw\">The spokesperson said she could not comment further on the specifics of any case. The Tracker was then asked that any questions about the department’s use of kettling be sent via email. The department did not immediately respond to those or previously emailed questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"u11la\"><i>This article has been updated to include comment from Zoeann Murphy.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX8KR2B.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"20tox\">Police in Washington, D.C. stand guard at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following riots against Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election results. A curfew was issued following the breaching of the Capitol.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Metropolitan Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
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},
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"tags": [
"election",
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"kettle",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
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],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Two Washington Post video journalists detained in police ‘kettle’ during DC riot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-08T16:22:06.345210Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:42.880307Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:42.795901Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p6jud\">The Washington Post video journalist Whitney Leaming was detained alongside a colleague while documenting riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"eblzl\">Leaming and fellow Post video journalist Zoeann Murphy were covering protests and demonstrations in downtown D.C., The Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">reported</a>, organized around the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Donald Trump held a rally in front of the White House and called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters <a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9w64k\">In response to the violence at the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser <a href=\"https://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/release_content/attachments/Mayor%27s%20Order%202020-003%20%201-6-2021.pdf\">declared a public emergency</a> and issued a curfew order from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. The order explicitly exempted journalists and other essential workers.</p><p data-block-key=\"8okpm\">Murphy <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/washington-post-reporters-momentarily-arrested-outside-the-capitol/2021/01/06/da04479d-cdb7-4870-b354-9333e4712c74_video.html?tid=ptv_ch\">told The Post</a> in a live interview that the two journalists had been entrapped by Metropolitan Police Department officers using a technique known as “kettling,” wherein police surround a group from all sides to prevent exit. Murphy spoke to the outlet live while they were being detained, as Leaming continued to film the scene.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With <a href=\"https://twitter.com/wleaming?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wleaming</a>, still rolling the camera while we were being arrested for filming protests outside the Capitol. <a href=\"https://t.co/PcEiwz28DU\">pic.twitter.com/PcEiwz28DU</a></p>— Zoeann Murphy (@ZoeannMurphy) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZoeannMurphy/status/1347009152367927296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fvs12\">Independent journalist Talia Jane was also detained in the kettle. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented her detention <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-briefly-detained-amid-dc-riots/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"35e8c\">Murphy said that police confirmed multiple times that the journalists were under arrest, but did not provide further explanation, even though both Leaming and Murphy identified themselves as members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"xnmzo\">While speaking live with The Post at approximately 7:40 p.m., Murphy suddenly said that officers had decided to allow press to leave the scene after providing media credentials. She said she had her Washington Post press badge and was wearing a fleece with the news outlet’s name on it. In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ZoeannMurphy/status/1347009152367927296\">video</a> posted to Twitter by Murphy following their release, Leaming can be seen carrying a large camera and backpack with equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dut35\">The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-video-journalists-detained-in-police-kettle-during-dc-riot/\">Murphy’s detainment here.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"57scl\">The journalists were detained alongside the demonstrators for violating curfew Murphy told the Post.</p><p data-block-key=\"634ls\">Murphy told the Tracker that after they were released the police were “completely polite” to the pair as they continued documenting the scene for approximately 30 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"zs23r\">A spokesperson for The Post said in <a href=\"https://www.thewrap.com/washington-post-journalists-arrested-capitol/\">a statement to The Wrap</a>, “Our journalists were just doing their jobs and should never have been arrested in the first place. However, we’re pleased that police quickly released them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"lnnes\">When reached by phone, a spokesperson for MPDC told the Tracker that it could not comment beyond this statement: “When we detain any reporters, it’s to maintain order and safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"xz5mk\">The spokesperson said she could not comment further on the specifics of any case. The Tracker was then asked that any questions about the department’s use of kettling be sent via email. The department did not immediately respond to those or previously emailed questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"d33xr\"><i>This article has been updated to include comment from Zoeann Murphy.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTX8KQY8.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vzzny\">Police stand guard at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., following a Jan. 6, 2021 riot against the certification of presidential election results by Congress.</p>",
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"election",
"Election 2020",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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"Whitney Leaming (The Washington Post)"
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{
"title": "Independent journalist briefly detained amid DC riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-briefly-detained-amid-dc-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-01-08T16:07:15.867058Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:28.983181Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T18:14:28.894426Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mek8j\">Independent journalist Talia Jane was briefly detained while documenting riots in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"5mjgg\">Jane was documenting <a href=\"https://twitter.com/itsa_talia\">via Twitter</a> protests and demonstrations unfolding in downtown D.C., organized around the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Donald Trump held a rally in front of the White House and called on his supporters to protest the vote on the basis of unfounded claims of election fraud. Hoards of his supporters then marched to the Capitol, swarmed the building and broke inside, Reuters <a href=\"https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ELECTION/PROTESTS/qmyvmqewmvr/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"jt06b\">In response to the violence at the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser <a href=\"https://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/release_content/attachments/Mayor%27s%20Order%202020-003%20%201-6-2021.pdf\">declared a public emergency</a> and issued a curfew order from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning. The order explicitly exempted journalists and other essential workers.</p><p data-block-key=\"th97e\">Jane told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via direct messages that she was at the Capitol at around 7:30 p.m. to document a small group of Trump supporters who were trying to defy the curfew order.</p><p data-block-key=\"8zoux\">“MPD [Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia] made three warnings for people to leave within the space of a minute or two, then started moving people back,” Jane said. “Eventually they formed a big circle, told me because I was press I could leave any time but didn’t answer questions about non-press people still there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"plf3e\">Moments later, an officer in a white shirt told the others to start grabbing people, Jane said.</p><p data-block-key=\"j0k6t\">An officer placed his hand on her shoulder and began escorting her out of the police “kettle,” a police tactic of encircling a crowd which is often followed with mass citations or arrests. Jane said that she was not released, but led to two coach buses alongside the other detainees.</p><p data-block-key=\"745e4\">Two Washington Post journalists, Zoeann Murphy and Whitney Leaming, were also detained within the police kettle. The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/arrest-criminal-charge/?categories=4&date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06&targeted_institutions=357\">those detentions here.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"1famu\">Jane said that she continued to film the scene and attempted to ask both her arresting officer and the commanding officers at the scene whether press were exempted from the curfew, but they ignored her.</p><p data-block-key=\"wxz5g\">“Still on my phone, not zip tied, just being held by my backpack so I can’t move around too much,” Jane said.</p><p data-block-key=\"lg4r5\">When she reached the front of the line, Jane said one of the commanding officers examined her press badge and asked which outlets she works for, and she listed a few.</p><p data-block-key=\"bcagw\">“Satisfied, he tells me they’re going to let me go but on the caveat I head straight home.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">They grabbed me, walked me to the...coach buses(?) they’re putting detainees in. Divided the people by male/female. Once it got to be my turn, Captain JR Haines looked at my press badge, said he’d let me go. Asked if press are included in curfew, he said “I don’t know” & laughed</p>— TALIA JANE (@itsa_talia) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/1346985553737228289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sldoh\">Jane said she was released at approximately 7:45 p.m., then remained at the scene for a while with other members of the press. She said she was not hassled further by the police.</p><p data-block-key=\"19117\">When reached by phone, a spokesperson for MPDC told the Tracker that it could not comment beyond this statement: “When we detain any reporters, it’s to maintain order and safety.”</p><p data-block-key=\"n7sxc\">The spokesperson said she could not comment further on the specifics of any case. The Tracker was then asked that any questions about the department’s use of kettling be sent via email. The department did not immediately respond to those or previously emailed questions.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Jane.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nqtra\">Rioters stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory on Jan. 6, 2020. Three journalists were detained after a curfew was ordered in response to the violence.</p>",
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"Election 2020",
"kettle",
"protest"
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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"Talia (Jane) Ben-Ora (Freelance)"
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},
{
"title": "Journalist assaulted at least 7 times while covering Capitol riots",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-assaulted-at-least-7-times-while-covering-capitol-riots/",
"first_published_at": "2021-08-02T16:24:31.544945Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:27.008048Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:34:26.921208Z",
"date": "2021-01-06",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2mfoo\">Independent photojournalist John Harrington was assaulted and harassed by supporters of President Donald Trump while covering the insurrection in and around the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcmcw\">President Donald Trump spoke at noon at a rally in front of the White House in response to the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden, promoting false claims of election fraud and calling for his supporters to march to the Capitol, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/trump-speech-capitol.html\">reported</a>. Following the rally, thousands of pro-Trump supporters waving Confederate and Trump flags <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/electoral-vote?smid=ig-nytimes&utm_source=curalate_like2buy&utm_medium=curalate_like2buy_3euQ1BMQ__8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382&crl8_id=8cfbbaaa-aef6-4783-8eb6-3eb782b23382#trump-speaking-to-protesters-declares-we-will-never-concede\">violently stormed the Capitol</a>, disrupting and occupying several areas within the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"ysi86\">Harrington told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was also documenting the riot along the west side of the Capitol when he was assaulted and harassed multiple times. In one case, Harrington said someone used what he believes was a fire extinguisher to hit his head. He quickly put on his ballistic helmet, which also displayed his press markings.</p><p data-block-key=\"syh8r\">At the 8:55 mark in a <a href=\"https://vimeo.com/498659551/080427b8cf\">video</a> he shared on Vimeo, a rioter throws a pole toward a Capitol police officer, who then engages in a "tug-of-war" style exchange. In the chaos, the rioter briefly enters the frame and the pole can be seen banging the right side of the camera, hitting his head.</p><p data-block-key=\"saj7j\">At 9:50 in the same video, a chair is aggressively thrown and hits him during a scuffle between police officers and rioters. "More than once, I wiped my hand along [my right cheek] to see if I had any blood," Harrington told the Tracker. "Thankfully, I didn't." Still, he said his head hurt for a majority of the day.</p><p data-block-key=\"sdue6\">In a separate incident, he said a protester grabbed the back of his coat and requested to switch places with him, so that the individual could grab mace and pepper spray from an officer nearby. Harrington declined, but the demonstrator continued to intimidate him. He said he also experienced other threats throughout the day, from pro-Trump demonstrators demanding that Harrington "better be on our side," to demands that he stop filming.</p><p data-block-key=\"rk5qj\">A different time, a "bike rack barricade" was thrown his way. In an attempt to avoid the object, he was caught in the "line of fire of mace spray from law enforcement," he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"j25ik\">"[My toes] are black and blue. I don't know if I got stepped on, [but] things happened in a blur," Harrington told the Tracker. "I can't say I'm mentally unscathed."</p><p data-block-key=\"35l4h\">He said he does not intend on filing a report or hiring an attorney, but he would be supportive of an investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"uhlll\">In a <a href=\"https://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/statement-steven-sund-chief-police\">press release</a> the next day, outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund called the attacks on Jan. 6 "criminal riotous behavior" and said the United States Capitol Police would be conducting a "thorough review of this incident."</p><p data-block-key=\"5jhmp\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting multiple assaults, detainments and equipment damages from Jan. 6 events.<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2021-01-06&date_upper=2021-01-06\"> Find those here</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"viwxe\">Independent photojournalist John Harrington was assaulted multiple times while covering the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. "More than once, I wiped my hand along [my right cheek] to see if I had any blood," he said.</p>",
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],
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"Assault"
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{
"title": "Justice Department attempted to seize email records of 4 New York Times reporters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/justice-department-attempts-to-seize-email-records-of-four-new-york-times-reporters/",
"first_published_at": "2021-06-21T15:31:17.674548Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-04-15T14:33:50.294356Z",
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"date": "2021-01-05",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g2yv7\">The Department of Justice under then-President Donald Trump obtained a court order on Jan. 5, 2021, demanding that the tech company Google secretly turn over the email logs of four New York Times reporters as part of an ongoing leak investigation. The effort, though ultimately dropped, was continued under President Joe Biden’s administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"gjky9\">The Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/us/politics/times-reporter-emails-gag-order-trump-google.html\">reported</a> that two days after it was revealed that the DOJ had obtained the phone records of four reporters — Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt — a gag order was lifted that had prevented a Times attorney from disclosing an ongoing battle over the same reporters’ email records.</p><p data-block-key=\"6d9dh\">According to the lawyer, David McCraw, the Justice Department obtained a 2703(d) court order from a magistrate judge requiring Google, which operates the Times’ email system, to turn over the requested records without informing the newspaper of the disclosure. Google reportedly resisted, saying that to do so would violate the tech company’s contract with the Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"4tjz8\">Google didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. A spokesperson for the tech company told the Times it doesn’t comment on specific cases, but is “firmly committed to protecting our customers’ data and we have a long history of pushing to notify our customers about any legal requests.”</p><p data-block-key=\"29wfk\">On March 3, the judge permitted Google to inform McCraw of the effort but required him to sign a nondisclosure agreement barring him from telling Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet or other newsroom leaders: a move which McCraw told the Times was unprecedented. A federal court lifted the order on June 4.</p><p data-block-key=\"aqorq\">Baquet condemned both presidential administrations in a statement to the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"so2as\">“Clearly, Google did the right thing, but it should never have come to this,” Baquet said. “The Justice Department relentlessly pursued the identity of sources for coverage that was clearly in the public interest in the final 15 days of the Trump administration. And the Biden administration continued to pursue it. As I said before, it profoundly undermines press freedom.”</p><p data-block-key=\"re1z1\">Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley told the Times that, under the Biden administration, the department “voluntarily moved to withdraw the order before any records were produced.” The Biden administration <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/us/politics/biden-gag-order-new-york-times-leak.html\">issued a statement</a> that no one at the White House was aware of the gag order until it was lifted.</p><p data-block-key=\"85p2o\">The revelation about the Times reporters’ email records was the latest in a series of recent disclosures about the Trump administration’s efforts to use the seizure of journalists’ communications to identify leakers or critics of the administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"9gasj\">CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/trump-secretly-obtained-cnn-reporter-records/index.html\">reported</a> that DOJ regulations for issuing media subpoenas were changed under the Obama administration in 2015 to require that the attorney general authorize any such legal orders related to journalists’ communications or work products. While the regulations mandated that the journalist and outlet be notified of the seizures, the policy set no clear timetable for notification.</p><p data-block-key=\"ur1eq\">On May 21, 2021, Biden condemned such seizures as “simply, simply wrong,” The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/arts-and-entertainment-government-and-politics-27a0ab87662217be1989a2d5a7465610\">reported</a>. In keeping with Biden’s sentiments, the DOJ said on June 5 that it would no longer seize journalists’ records during leak investigations, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/politics-business-government-and-politics-67ac2f4f96b2dfd7f47446662e59ec6e\">according to the AP</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"hvms5\">“This announcement is a potential sea change for press freedom rights in the United States,” Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, <a href=\"https://freedom.press/news/in-a-sea-change-for-press-freedom-biden-justice-department-vows-not-to-spy-on-reporters-doing-their-job/\">said in a statement</a>. “While we’re encouraged to see this announcement ending this invasive and disturbing tactic, the devil is—of course—in the details. The Justice Department must now write this categorical bar of journalist surveillance into its official ‘media guidelines,’ and Congress should also immediately enshrine the rules into law to ensure no administration can abuse its power again.”</p><p data-block-key=\"zxrad\">FPF is a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker and manages its day-to-day operations.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4ddw\">When reached for comment concerning the newspaper’s push for an explanation from the Justice Department, Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha confirmed to the Tracker that publisher A.G. Sulzberger would be meeting with the attorney general and shared a statement from him ahead of that meeting.</p><p data-block-key=\"kwhry\">“We’re pleased that Attorney General [Merrick] Garland has agreed to this meeting. We hope to use the meeting to learn more about how this seizure of records happened and to seek a commitment that the Department of Justice will no longer seize journalists’ records during leak investigations,” Sulzberger said.</p><p data-block-key=\"p03ef\">Garland met with executives from the Times, The Washington Post and CNN on June 14, and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/us/politics/leak-investigations-justice-department.html\">affirmed</a> the planned policy changes. While Garland’s comments during the meeting were off the record, the Times reported that Sulzberger was encouraged by Garland’s statements but said he would continue to push the department until the outlets’ concerns were fully addressed.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"d0yxp\">The New York Times office in the Manhattan borough of New York City in 2020</p>",
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"assailant": null,
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": "Google",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
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"Adam Goldman (The New York Times)",
"Eric Lichtblau (The New York Times)",
"Michael S. Schmidt (The New York Times)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent photojournalist arrested while covering Portland protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-photojournalist-arrested-while-covering-portland-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2021-04-22T18:08:30.149622Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-06-17T15:26:22.531026Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-06-17T15:26:22.439588Z",
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"city": "Portland",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uec8j\">Independent photojournalist Sean Bascom was arrested while reporting on a protest in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 5, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"imbog\">Protesters had gathered near the North Portland precinct of the Portland Police Bureau, demonstrating in reaction to the announcement that day that no charges would be filed against Wisconsin police officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"umz0c\">Racial justice demonstrations had been held regularly in the city since the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.</p><p data-block-key=\"gn5wc\">Bascom, a photojournalist whose work has been published by outlets such as the Portland Mercury and the Portland State Vanguard, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he’d been following the demonstrations near the police building on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Killingsworth Street. According to Bascom, some protesters had set a fire in a dumpster in the street, and another had removed a security camera from the fence around the precinct.</p><p data-block-key=\"souv9\">Bascom said at one point he went around to the side of the building and took some photographs through a fence of officers in the precinct’s parking lot. Several officers came over to the fence, Bascom said, with one asking if he was “real press.” He said he told them that he was a freelance photojournalist and explained how freelancing works and why he didn’t have a credential issued by a specific outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"rjb5m\">Soon, more protesters gathered at that side of the fence, Bascom said, and police issued warnings, causing protesters to scatter. Police then moved up the street, he said, pushing protesters back from the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"1kssy\">Bascom said that he was standing near other journalists and some protesters across the street from the precinct building in a parking area for several businesses when one sergeant pointed at him and directed officers to arrest him.</p><p data-block-key=\"gz58h\">Bascom said that he had the word “PRESS” marked on his helmet, and he identified himself as a journalist as he was being arrested. He said he’d spoken with the sergeant who pointed him out for arrest earlier in the night, and the officer had said that he wasn’t a real member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"xpsjd\">Video posted on Twitter by photojournalist Justin Yau shows Bascom, wearing a black helmet marked “PRESS” with a camera hanging around his neck, being arrested.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Portland Police has just exited the building and conducted targeted arrests. At least one person with cameras and Press markings have been arrested. Officers say the charge is trespassing. <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/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/2cZNn1yxpu\">pic.twitter.com/2cZNn1yxpu</a></p>— Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/PDocumentarians/status/1346720618427781120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 6, 2021</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e42o1\">Bascom said police handcuffed his wrists behind his back and brought him into the PPB precinct. He said that officers bagged up his personal belongings and that he was held in a cell for about 20 minutes, before being released with a citation for trespassing and interfering with a police officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"mfodl\">Bascom said that the charges had been dropped and he never needed to appear in court.</p><p data-block-key=\"257px\">A spokesperson for the Multnomah County district attorney confirmed that the state declined to prosecute and that the case is closed. The PPB did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"vs0ts\">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": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Bascom_assaukt_010521.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"0954u\">Photojournalist Sean Bascom captures the moment when a Portland Police Bureau sergeant singles him out for arrest while he was covering protests on Jan. 5, 2021. Bascom said the charges were subsequently dropped.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
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"tags": [
"Black Lives Matter",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
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{
"title": "Justice Department attempted to seize email records of 3 Washington Post reporters",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/justice-department-attempted-to-seize-email-records-of-3-washington-post-reporters/",
"first_published_at": "2021-07-14T21:37:03.202911Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-02-29T19:30:45.616886Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-02-29T19:30:45.534121Z",
"date": "2020-12-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"humsp\">The Department of Justice under then-President Donald Trump attempted to acquire email records of three Washington Post reporters as part of a leak investigation on Dec. 22, 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"g64wx\">The day before William Barr stepped down as attorney general, he filed an <a href=\"https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/sites/dcd/files/Cleaned-Application%207-9-21%20redacted.pdf\">application for a court order</a> to compel Proofpoint, a cybersecurity firm, to turn over records belonging to Post reporters Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller and Adam Entous, who now works at The New Yorker. The request was part of an attempt to identify who had informed the journalists about conversations between Trump campaign officials and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, according <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/washington-post-trump-reporter-emails/2021/07/13/27c1f04e-e41f-11eb-b722-89ea0dde7771_story.html\">to the Post</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6tqx6\">According to the redacted application, classified information was made available to Congress in April 2017 and was published by the Post in the subsequent months.</p><p data-block-key=\"ms3be\">The DOJ also seized the same journalists' phone records in 2020; the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented that court order <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-doj-seized-2017-phone-records-of-three-washington-post-reporters/\">here</a>. The Biden Justice Department’s disclosure of the seizures led to the <a href=\"https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/content/20-sc-3355-attachment\">unsealing of court documents</a> about the leak investigation on July 9, 2021.</p><p data-block-key=\"ibft9\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/sites/dcd/files/20-SC-3355-DOCKET.pdf\">court docket</a>, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui granted the department’s request for a 2703(d) court order to compel the release of the records. However, the Post <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/us/politics/washington-post-reporter-emails.html\">reported</a> that while the DOJ did obtain the reporters’ phone logs, it did not succeed in obtaining their email records.</p><p data-block-key=\"nms25\">The revelation about the email records was the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-justice-department-secretly-obtained-cnn-pentagon-reporters-email-phone-records/\">latest</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-justice-department-secretly-obtained-phone-records-of-four-new-york-times-reporters/\">in a</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/justice-department-attempts-to-seize-email-records-of-four-new-york-times-reporters/\">series</a> of recent disclosures about the Trump administration’s efforts to use the seizure of journalists’ communications to identify leakers or critics of the administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"eu8h7\">On May 21, President Joe Biden condemned such seizures as “simply, simply wrong” following revelations that CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-justice-department-secretly-obtained-cnn-pentagon-reporters-email-phone-records/\">personal phone and email records were obtained</a> during the Trump administration, The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/arts-and-entertainment-government-and-politics-27a0ab87662217be1989a2d5a7465610\">reported</a>. In keeping with Biden’s sentiments, the DOJ announced on June 5 that it will no longer seize journalists’ records during leak investigations, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/politics-business-government-and-politics-67ac2f4f96b2dfd7f47446662e59ec6e\">according to the AP</a>. The Post reported that Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to send a memo formally notifying all federal prosecutors of the ban in mid-July.</p><p data-block-key=\"6q68k\">The Department of Justice, The Washington Post and the named reporters didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. As it is unclear if the cybersecurity firm Proofpoint ignored or objected to the request for records before the DOJ closed its investigation, the Tracker is marking the status of the subpoena as dropped.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": "Proofpoint",
"third_party_business": "tech company",
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Adam Entous (The Washington Post)",
"Greg Miller (The Washington Post)",
"Ellen Nakashima (The Washington Post)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"dropped"
],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "WCAX-TV subpoenaed in Vermont criminal trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wcax-tv-subpoenaed-in-vermont-criminal-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2021-03-09T17:26:55.051850Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-13T16:26:28.305636Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-13T16:26:28.213345Z",
"date": "2020-12-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Burlington",
"longitude": -73.21207,
"latitude": 44.47588,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4qn43\">On Dec. 22, 2020, CBS-affiliate station WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vermont, was subpoenaed by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office in connection with an interview the channel conducted with William Dunn, a man charged with aggravated assault in a December stabbing incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffsmz\">In the <a href=\"https://www.wcax.com/2020/12/10/burlington-stabbing-suspect-says-hes-the-victim/\">video clip</a>, published Dec. 10 on the station’s website, WCAX-TV reporter Christina Guessferd summarizes the case and uses clips from her interview with Dunn. In her report, Guessferd says Dunn told her he acted in self-defense, after his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend barged into their apartment and confronted him in a “violent altercation.” In the video clip, Dunn says “I had to fight for my life.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h8stf\">On Jan. 15, 2021, the station filed a motion to quash the subpoena, citing the Vermont state shield law that protects journalists from compelled disclosure of information and sources. According to the <a href=\"https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20462522-wcax-motion-to-quash-dunn-subpoena\">motion</a>, the State’s Attorney’s Office asked the station to provide “any and all footage, including raw and final as well as all videos, notes, sound bites and information obtained from the interview,” as well as “any and all saved messages or other communication records pertaining to Dunn.”</p><p data-block-key=\"hbhv0\">The station’s motion to quash asserts that the information sought in the raw video, notes and other materials subpoenaed from the interview is available to law enforcement from other sources, including four witnesses present at the time of the incident, as well as the defendant. The motion says that the witness statements support Dunn’s claims that the attacker started the altercation. It says the station’s footage, taken a week after the incident, does not capture the fight that led to the charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"8omaj\">WCAX-TV contends that the State’s Attorney seeks to compel the station to turn over its recordings, despite the availability of other sources; the station’s motion says no special circumstances have been cited that would warrant an exception to the shield law.</p><p data-block-key=\"0h3hz\">The Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office did not respond to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ndoy\">WCAX-TV’s lawyer Robert B. Hemley declined to speak about the case without the station’s approval, and the station did not respond to a Tracker request for comment.</p></div>",
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"assailant": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Vermont",
"abbreviation": "VT"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"WCAX-TV"
],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"subpoena_statuses": [
"pending"
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}
]
