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{
"title": "Tennessee photographer pushed, camera grabbed by businessman",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tennessee-photographer-pushed-camera-grabbed-by-businessman/",
"first_published_at": "2024-11-07T21:31:12.847883Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-07T21:31:12.847883Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-07T21:29:24.505332Z",
"date": "2022-12-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Ashland City",
"longitude": -87.06417,
"latitude": 36.27422,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ygtda\">An unidentified photographer for WSMV-TV was pushed by a man that the news crew for the station was attempting to interview in Ashland City, Tennessee, on Dec. 9, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"ack2\">Reporter Tosin Fakile <a href=\"https://x.com/TosinfaksTV/status/1601278243071414272\">posted on social media</a> about the incident with footage of what followed, writing, “This was after this man pushed my photographer and his camera after I had asked him to do an interview because we are doing a story about his business.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2id9m\">In her footage, the photojournalist can be heard telling the man, “Let go of my camera,” to which the man, who can be seen with his hand on the device, responds “Please leave.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1hbbf\">A woman then asks Fakile why she is filming, to which the reporter responds, “Why is he touching my photographer’s camera?” The woman then accuses the journalists of trespassing and tells them to leave. The unidentified couple ultimately get back into their vehicle and speed away.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">PEOPLE DO NOT EVER LAY HANDS ON TV REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS… EVER‼️<br><br>This was after this man pushed my photographer and his camera after I had asked him to do an interview because we are doing a story about his business. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/WSMV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WSMV</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/LF76gnjzko\">pic.twitter.com/LF76gnjzko</a></p>— Tosin Fakile (@TosinfaksTV) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/TosinfaksTV/status/1601278243071414272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 9, 2022</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ygtda\">Fakile <a href=\"https://x.com/TosinfaksTV/status/1601293464360345600\">posted</a> again afterwards that the businessman later sent one of his employees to speak with the news crew.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3rj4\">“I don’t appreciate what this man just did. That is rude. That is disrespectful. You cannot lay hands on people or their property,” Fakile tells the employee. “I’ve tweeted that video, it’s out in the public. He’s going to have to be responsible for his actions. Now unless you or him will get in front of my camera and talk about what exactly you guys do here and break it down so people have your side, or you send me a statement, there is no further conversation to be had.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4cu3q\">Fakile did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Tennessee",
"abbreviation": "TN"
},
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"Unidentified photojournalist 34 (WSMV-TV)"
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{
"title": "Financial reporter subpoenaed for testimony in securities fraud case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/financial-reporter-subpoenaed-for-testimony-in-securities-fraud-case/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-14T21:19:58.733925Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-14T21:19:58.733925Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-14T21:19:58.648138Z",
"date": "2022-11-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qispx\">Roddy Boyd, editor and founder of the investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism, was subpoenaed for testimony in connection with a California securities fraud lawsuit on Nov. 30, 2022, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"455d1\">Boyd moved to quash the subpoena on Jan. 17, 2023, and it was withdrawn and the case dismissed in February 2023 as part of settlement negotiations in the underlying fraud case.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dkpj\">In January 2019, Boyd published an <a href=\"https://ffj-online.org/2019/01/25/corcept-therapeutics-the-company-that-perfectly-explains-the-health-care-crisis/\">article</a> through his Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation — later <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundation-for-financial-journalism/\">renamed</a> the Foundation for Financial Journalism — alleging that pharmaceutical company Corcept Therapeutics paid doctors to prescribe its drug Korlym for off-label uses.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jn1l\">The revelations in Boyd’s article led to a decline in Corcept’s share price, company shareholders alleged in a securities fraud class-action <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.339504/gov.uscourts.cand.339504.1.0.pdf\">suit</a> filed two months later against the company and its top executives in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.</p><p data-block-key=\"bi414\">As part of its defense, Corcept issued the November 2022 order for Boyd’s testimony about documents that were sought in two <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/investigative-outlet-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-securities-fraud-case/\">separate</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-securities-fraud-case/\">subpoenas</a> sent to the reporter and the investigative reporting outlet. Those legal orders directed Boyd and the outlet to turn over a wide range of materials related to his newsgathering activities, his finances and those of his outlet, and any disciplinary actions against him.</p><p data-block-key=\"6dtf1\">The motion to set aside the deposition subpoena, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, argued that the information the defendants asked for was irrelevant to the lawsuit and protected by the First Amendment and the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-the-reporters-privilege-compendium/\">reporter’s privilege</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vgp1\">It also asserted that all parties to the suit agreed that his article relied entirely on publicly available information, and so the subpoena was merely “a transparent attempt to use the discovery process to chill Mr. Boyd’s speech.”</p><p data-block-key=\"56pqn\">On Feb. 13, Boyd <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927.11.0.pdf\">withdrew</a> his motion after Corcept dropped the deposition subpoena. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz then <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927.12.0.pdf\">dismissed</a> the case Feb. 15.</p><p data-block-key=\"3s35d\">Boyd told the Tracker in an email that the subpoenas “were designed to harass an established, credible, non-profit news organization.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cv8g7\">He also noted that legal actions or threats against small media outlets triggered a requirement to notify their insurer. “This places the press organization in a much higher risk cohort,” Boyd added, “guaranteeing their premiums and deductibles rise the following year.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vjm7f\">A portion of a Nov. 30, 2022, subpoena issued to investigative reporter Roddy Boyd seeking testimony in a California securities fraud lawsuit. The subpoena was withdrawn in February 2023.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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},
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{
"title": "WSJ reporter detained outside Phoenix bank",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wsj-reporter-detained-outside-phoenix-bank/",
"first_published_at": "2023-01-05T21:39:55.971219Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-03-10T23:06:23.300428Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-03-10T23:06:23.210897Z",
"date": "2022-11-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Phoenix",
"longitude": -112.07404,
"latitude": 33.44838,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0945w\">Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Rabouin was detained on alleged trespassing charges while reporting outside of a bank in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 23, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lke4\">ABC15 Arizona <a href=\"https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/phoenix-pd-handcuffed-detained-wall-street-journal-reporter\">reported</a> that Rabouin, who’s based in New York, had traveled to Arizona to visit family during the Thanksgiving holiday. He told the outlet he went to a Chase branch in north Phoenix to interview customers for an ongoing story about savings accounts.</p><p data-block-key=\"1he13\">Rabouin, who declined to comment further, said he was standing on a sidewalk outside the building when a pair of employees asked him what he was doing. According to a <a href=\"https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/be/dc/6211f3bd4e63a889fb991f89d8e8/police-report.pdf\">police report</a> about the incident, bank employees called the Phoenix Police Department to report a suspicious person at approximately 2:45 p.m. and an officer arrived 20 minutes later. The report claims Rabouin told the employees he was a reporter conducting interviews and refused to leave, and that when the officer asked Rabouin to produce his identification, he refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"r1rg\">Rabouin refuted that account in an interview with ABC15. The reporter said that he had told the branch employees that he was there working on a story and at no time did the bank ask him to leave. When the officer arrived at the scene, he identified himself as a reporter for the Journal.</p><p data-block-key=\"88lcd\">When the officer told him he was trespassing, Rabouin said that he was unaware it was private property and attempted to leave, but was physically blocked from doing so.</p><p data-block-key=\"9tpbv\">Rabouin told ABC15 the officer started grabbing his arms and when he drew back, the officer said, “This could get bad for you if you don’t comply and don’t do what I say.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8tid2\">The reporter was then placed in handcuffs. According to ABC15, a bystander saw the situation unfolding and began recording the detainment on her cellphone. The station aired the footage she captured.</p><p data-block-key=\"fi\">“I heard him say he was going to leave,” the woman says in the recording. “This is ridiculous. He’s a reporter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3t890\">In the footage, the officer led Rabouin to his police car and attempted to place him in the back, but the reporter refused to place his feet inside to allow the officer to close the door. The two talked for several minutes until additional officers arrived, and approximately 15 minutes after he was initially detained, Rabouin was released.</p><p data-block-key=\"dlmek\">According to the police report, the officer informed Rabouin that he was “officially trespassed from the property” and that if he returned he would be arrested and charged.</p><p data-block-key=\"ennj2\">Rabouin told ABC15 that he filed an internal complaint with the Phoenix Police Department in the days that followed. About a week later, he received a call notifying him that it had reviewed the incident and found no wrongdoing.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahcpk\">In a <a href=\"https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/62/ec/ee6846be4414b56951b8b51fe45b/letter-to-phoenix-police-department-from-matt-murray-2.pdf\">letter</a> shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker by the Journal, Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray called on Chief of Police Michael Sullivan in early December to conduct an internal review.</p><p data-block-key=\"2kr3d\">“I am appalled and concerned that officers at your department would attempt to interfere with Mr. Rabouin’s constitutional right to engage in journalism and purport to limit anyone’s presence in a public location,” Murray wrote. “The Journal and Mr. Rabouin are still determining what further action to take in response to his detention by your officers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a3n0d\">When reached for comment by the Tracker via email in January 2023, PhxPD spokesperson Sgt. Melissa Soliz acknowledged the letter and said the department had opened an investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"344vk\">“This letter was shared with our Professional Standard Bureau for review and they are conducting an administrative investigation. Once the administrative investigation is complete, it will be made available as part of a public records request,” Soliz said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7dm0m\">The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the Tracker, condemned Rabouin’s detainment and echoed calls for an internal investigation to ensure that no other journalists are hampered or harassed by police in the course of their work.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ff9h\">“Detaining and handcuffing a journalist — who was gathering news in a public place — is a flagrant violation of his First Amendment rights,” said CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen.</p><p data-block-key=\"a90qj\">The police department is facing ongoing scrutiny from the Department of Justice, which <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-investigation-city-phoenix-and-phoenix-police-department\">announced</a> in August 2021 that it would be assessing, among other things, whether PhxPD officers retaliate against people engaging in activities protected by the First Amendment or carry out discriminatory policing.</p><p data-block-key=\"2m9f9\">Rabouin told ABC15 that while he as a journalist does not want to be the story, it’s important to share his experience.</p><p data-block-key=\"2b1jr\">“This is a department that’s under DOJ investigation for excessive force, under investigation for the way they operate and handle business, and despite that, they continue to operate this way,” Rabouin said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ka51g\">Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Rabouin was handcuffed by a Phoenix Police Department officer and threatened with trespassing charges while conducting interviews outside a Chase Bank in Phoenix, Arizona, on Nov. 23, 2022.</p>",
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{
"title": "Documentary filmmaker subpoenaed again in DOJ Capitol riots investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentary-filmmaker-subpoenaed-again-in-doj-capitol-riots-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-12T16:07:02.529626Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-25T16:27:19.418359Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-25T16:27:19.325861Z",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dmqm5\">The Department of Justice subpoenaed documentary filmmaker Alex Holder on Nov. 18, 2022, as part of an investigation related to the Jan. 6, attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad23d\">Holder was filming that day at the Capitol for his documentary film “Unprecedented,” of then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. In the <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000184-cc4b-da2c-a3af-ff6f84c30000&nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=0000014e-f0ef-dd93-ad7f-f8ef97380000&nlid=630318\">subpoena</a>, first obtained by Politico, federal prosecutors demanded that Holder testify before a grand jury or turn over all raw footage by the end of November. According to Politico, Holder <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/12/01/dems-in-disarray-makes-a-brief-comeback-00071567\">received an extension</a> and now has until Jan. 30, 2023, to comply with the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"bak4v\">Holder’s spokesperson did not provide comment by publication, but <a href=\"https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3757857-doj-subpoenas-filmmaker-for-jan-6-footage/\">told The Hill</a> that the filmmaker would cooperate with the latest DOJ order.</p><p data-block-key=\"cej0r\">“As we did with the other two subpoenas, we will 100 percent comply,” Holder’s spokesperson said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8u64\">Holder previously complied with a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentarian-subpoenaed-by-house-committee-investigating-jan-6-riot/\">June 2022 subpoena</a> from the House Committee investigating the Capitol attacks to produce footage from his documentary, including filmed interviews with Trump, his children and former Vice President Mike Pence. In July, Holder appeared before <a href=\"/all-incidents/documentarian-subpoenaed-in-georgia-election-fraud-investigation/\">a special grand jury in Georgia</a> after the Fulton District Attorney subpoenaed him <a href=\"https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000181-abf6-d618-a99d-ebf73a1a0000\">for footage related to the documentary</a> as part of an investigation into election fraud during the 2020 election.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"d9kvj\">A portion of the subpoena issued to filmmaker Alex Holder on Nov. 18, 2022, seeking testimony and raw footage gathered during the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, for his documentary “Unprecedented."<br/></p>",
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{
"title": "Armed man enters New York Times building, requests to speak with reporter",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-with-sword-ax-enters-times-building-requests-to-speak-with-reporter/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-22T17:45:37.591568Z",
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"date": "2022-11-17",
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"longitude": -74.00597,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9ok97\">A man with a sword and an ax entered the New York Times building in Manhattan on Nov. 17, 2022, authorities said.</p><p data-block-key=\"52t5r\"><a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/new-york-manhattan-5a8650b2c857867af5f23fc14e165efb\">According to The Associated Press</a>, New York Police Department officers responded to a call about a man with a knife in the Times’ lobby shortly after noon. Danielle Rhoades Ha, the head of external communications for the Times, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the man asked to speak with “a reporter” at the front desk, but didn’t specify a particular reporter, desk or beat.</p><p data-block-key=\"cjs24\">When building security barred the individual from entering, he calmly handed over the weapons and waited for police to arrive, the AP reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"1rbj7\">The man also had a bag containing a small folding knife and mace canister, <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/11/17/knife-wielding-man-entered-new-york-times-building/\">according to The New York Post</a>. The unidentified man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.</p><p data-block-key=\"bp3hu\">Rhoades Ha told the Tracker that the incident was resolved quickly and peacefully.</p><p data-block-key=\"cm69k\">The NYPD did not respond to requests for further comment.</p></div>",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"The New York Times"
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"tags": [],
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"Other Incident"
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},
{
"title": "‘Confidentiality order’ sent to California news outlet attempts to stop newsgathering",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/confidentiality-order-sent-to-california-news-outlet-attempts-to-stop-newsgathering/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-08T19:51:18.467824Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-05-01T18:51:09.851491Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-05-01T18:51:09.774738Z",
"date": "2022-11-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Contra Costa",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wh8la\">A California judge <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NateGartrell/status/1592987270394499072\">granted a motion</a> on Nov. 16, 2022, seeking to prohibit reporters from contacting people who filed letters of support for a Contra Costa middle school teacher accused of sexual abuse.</p><p data-block-key=\"cs8d0\">East Bay Times reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she and a colleague attended a bail hearing in October for the teacher, who was arrested the month before <a href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/east-bay/east-bay-teacher-sexual-misconduct/3009552/\">for sexual misconduct with a minor</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qitu\">During the hearing, Public Defender Manisha Daryani submitted 16 letters of support from the teacher’s students, their parents and his family members.</p><p data-block-key=\"ccsd0\">Mercader said she received a copy of the public motion, which had the letters attached, from the clerk’s office after the hearing. “Each letter included the person’s name and email and phone number,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebrai\">As Mercader began contacting the letter writers, she received a call from Daryani who accused her of attempting to influence witnesses and the outcome of the case. Both Mercader and an East Bay Times editor, also contacted by Daryani, refused the requests to stop contacting the supporters.</p><p data-block-key=\"flden\">“To be clear, none of these letter writers are considered witnesses at this point, and all I am asking them is if they would like to speak with me about their letters,” Mercader said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6rb5i\">On Nov. 16, without a hearing or notice to the journalists, the California judge signed and entered the public defender’s motion requesting that “further unwanted contact by the press be ceased.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d9c44\">The order, which included <a href=\"https://twitter.com/racheyy_marie/status/1593484984198737920\">an instruction</a> for the parties to “advise those individuals to whom disclosure of the contact information has been made,” was sent to the East Bay Times by Daryani.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NEW</a>: The lawyer for a cheerleading coach accused of child molestation has filed a motion for a protective order to keep the media from contacting his supporters, whose contact info we got from public records filed by the same attorney: <a href=\"https://t.co/F3W8PzBeGB\">pic.twitter.com/F3W8PzBeGB</a></p>— Nate Gartrell (@NateGartrell) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/NateGartrell/status/1592987270394499072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 16, 2022</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=\"wh8la\">Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Advocacy Director Seth Stern <a href=\"https://freedom.press/news/california-judge-buries-censorship-order-in-the-fine-print/\">wrote</a> that what seems like an innocuous “confidentiality order” is effectively a prior restraint that attempts to restrict future speech.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfdhb\">“It is elementary that a court cannot tell non-parties what to do especially without notice or a hearing, but the apparent intention was to intimidate the press into compliance despite the order’s invalidity under the First Amendment,” Stern said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mtrj\">FPF oversees the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"588sf\">Attorney Duffy Carolan, who represents the East Bay Times, told the Tracker the outlet did not believe the protective order applied to its reporters and would not alter their newsgathering practices.</p><p data-block-key=\"oug0\">“None were named in the order or even had notice of the motion or an opportunity to be heard on the matter,” Carolan said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ek5tf\">Public Defender Daryani did not respond to requests for comment from the Tracker.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"status_of_prior_restraint": "ignored",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"East Bay Times"
],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
"Prior Restraint"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter subpoenaed for documents in securities fraud case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-securities-fraud-case/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-14T21:13:47.989816Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-14T21:21:29.497038Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-14T21:21:29.387023Z",
"date": "2022-11-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"d9y98\">Roddy Boyd, editor and founder of the investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism, was ordered to turn over documents on Nov. 16, 2022, in connection with a California securities fraud lawsuit, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"8unau\">The case was ultimately dismissed in February 2023 as part of settlement negotiations in the underlying fraud case.</p><p data-block-key=\"4h986\">In January 2019, Boyd published an <a href=\"https://ffj-online.org/2019/01/25/corcept-therapeutics-the-company-that-perfectly-explains-the-health-care-crisis/\">article</a> through his Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation — <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundation-for-financial-journalism/\">renamed</a> the Foundation for Financial Journalism in 2020 — alleging that pharmaceutical company Corcept Therapeutics paid doctors to prescribe its drug Korlym for off-label uses.</p><p data-block-key=\"eq6u0\">The revelations in Boyd’s article led to a decline in Corcept’s share price, company shareholders alleged in a securities fraud class-action <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.339504/gov.uscourts.cand.339504.1.0.pdf\">suit</a> filed two months later against the company and its top executives in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.</p><p data-block-key=\"aj89a\">As part of its defense, Corcept issued the November 2022 order to Boyd, commanding him to turn over a wide range of materials related to his newsgathering activities, his finances and those of his outlet, and any disciplinary actions against him. The subpoena demanded production of the documents by Dec. 12, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sr96\">A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/investigative-outlet-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-securities-fraud-case/\">separate subpoena</a> to the Foundation for Financial Journalism on Oct. 27, 2022, asked the outlet to turn over similar information.</p><p data-block-key=\"13tmq\">Corcept also issued a Nov. 30, 2022, order seeking Boyd’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/financial-reporter-subpoenaed-for-testimony-in-securities-fraud-case/\">testimony</a> about topics listed in the two document subpoenas. Boyd filed a motion to quash that subpoena on Jan. 17, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, arguing that the information the defendants asked for was irrelevant to the lawsuit and protected by the First Amendment and the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-the-reporters-privilege-compendium/\">reporter’s privilege</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7tsnv\">The motion to quash asserted that all parties to the suit agree that his article relied entirely on publicly available information, and that the subpoenas were merely “a transparent attempt to use the discovery process to chill Mr. Boyd’s speech.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1njil\">It also argued that the document subpoenas “make clear that Defendants do not know what they are looking for; rather, they are hoping to find something relevant to their case, while at the same time chilling journalists and others from further examination of Corcept’s business practices.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f8gbh\">On Feb. 13, Boyd <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927.11.0.pdf\">withdrew</a> his motion after Corcept dropped the deposition subpoena. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz then <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927.12.0.pdf\">dismissed</a> the case Feb. 15.</p><p data-block-key=\"54g9u\">Boyd told the Tracker in an email that the subpoenas “were designed to harass an established, credible, non-profit news organization.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1nnuk\">He also noted that legal actions or threats against small media outlets triggered a requirement to notify their insurer. “This places the press organization in a much higher risk cohort,” Boyd added, “guaranteeing their premiums and deductibles rise the following year.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"20smj\">A portion of a subpoena issued on Nov. 16, 2022, to investigative journalist Roddy Boyd commanding him to turn over documents in a California securities fraud lawsuit. The case was dismissed in February 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"subpoena_type": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Roddy Boyd (Foundation for Financial Journalism)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Memphis news photographer, reporter robbed at gunpoint blocks from studio",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/memphis-news-photographer-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-blocks-from-studio/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-21T14:44:19.023475Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-01T14:10:18.278902Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-01T14:10:18.167917Z",
"date": "2022-11-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Memphis",
"longitude": -90.04898,
"latitude": 35.14953,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zkkxz\">FOX13 reporter Jeremy Pierre and an unidentified news photographer were robbed at gunpoint half a mile from the station’s studio on Nov. 10, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekon\">Pierre <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/jeremypierrefox/posts/pfbid02CfApNSABBVi5MEAU5bdaXVUk6tGQjycpBVD67FTxdFLnR3W6WLCmYcQbd7fHBmJ4l\">posted on Facebook</a> shortly after 7 a.m. that the crew was robbed at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Highland Street.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2kcm\">“You know I’ve had my fair share of stories but DAMN!” Pierre wrote. “One of the dudes even showed me the gun in his waistband.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1q6q5\">According to the post, the thieves took the crew’s camera, tripod and LiveU equipment used to broadcast footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"9u4n8\">Pierre did not respond to a request for comment or to confirm the identity of the photojournalist with him. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented Pierre’s assault <a href=\"/all-incidents/memphis-broadcast-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-blocks-from-studio/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g61m\">FOX13 declined to comment when reached for comment. The Memphis Police Department did not respond to a request for additional information.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "live unit"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Tennessee",
"abbreviation": "TN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 27 (WHBQ-TV)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Memphis broadcaster robbed at gunpoint blocks from studio",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/memphis-broadcast-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-blocks-from-studio/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-21T14:46:28.902544Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-11-30T16:35:25.562537Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-11-30T16:35:25.486163Z",
"date": "2022-11-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Memphis",
"longitude": -90.04898,
"latitude": 35.14953,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u4t3q\">FOX13 reporter Jeremy Pierre and a news photographer were robbed at gunpoint half a mile from the station’s studio on Nov. 10, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpj61\">Pierre <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/jeremypierrefox/posts/pfbid02CfApNSABBVi5MEAU5bdaXVUk6tGQjycpBVD67FTxdFLnR3W6WLCmYcQbd7fHBmJ4l\">posted on Facebook</a> shortly after 7 a.m. that the crew was robbed at the intersection of Poplar Avenue and Highland Street.</p><p data-block-key=\"7s1sa\">“You know I’ve had my fair share of stories but DAMN!” Pierre wrote. “One of the dudes even showed me the gun in his waistband.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e374b\">Pierre did not respond to a request for comment or to confirm the identity of the photojournalist with him. FOX13 declined to comment when reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dktn1\">According to the post, the thieves took the crew’s camera, tripod and LiveU equipment used to broadcast footage. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented the assault of the photographer and equipment theft <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/memphis-news-photographer-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-blocks-from-studio/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"114ad\">The Memphis Police Department did not respond to a request for additional information.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Tennessee",
"abbreviation": "TN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jeremy Pierre (WHBQ-TV)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Ohio editor charged with wiretapping after publishing obtained court recording",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ohio-editor-charged-with-wiretapping-after-publishing-obtained-court-recording/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-08T21:27:20.582038Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-12T19:38:13.520375Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-12T19:38:13.407023Z",
"date": "2022-10-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Waverly",
"longitude": -82.98546,
"latitude": 39.12673,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3dagt\">Scioto Valley Guardian Editor-in-Chief Derek Myers was charged with felony wiretapping on Oct. 31, 2022, after publishing a recording of witness testimony from an ongoing trial in Waverly, Ohio.</p><p data-block-key=\"21tb1\">Myers told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he has been covering the murder trial of George Wagner IV, which began in September. As part of that coverage, the newspaper was using a laptop to livestream witness testimony and exhibits. Judge Randy Deering issued an order before the trial began allowing anyone testifying in the case to “opt out” of being filmed by the media. The Fourth District Court of Appeals <a href=\"https://sciotovalleyguardian.com/2022/10/25/media-wins-temproary-order-in-wagner-trial-again/\">issued an emergency order</a> overruling him partway through the testimony of Wagner’s brother, Jake, who was indicted alongside Wagner and their parents for the 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family.</p><p data-block-key=\"acfc0\">The court ordered that media be allowed to film unless Deering was able to show cause that it could jeopardize the fairness of the trial. Deering ruled that if Jake were to appear on camera he might be “nervous” and untruthful, again barring media from recording video or audio of him.</p><p data-block-key=\"dvko5\">Myers told the Tracker that he was out of the country when Jake took the stand, but that someone in the courtroom surreptitiously recorded his testimony and provided it to the Guardian. After deliberation, Myers published a <a href=\"https://sciotovalleyguardian.com/2022/10/28/exclusive-listen-to-jake-wagner-describe-how-he-killed-the-rhoden-family/\">condensed version of the audio</a> on Oct. 28.</p><p data-block-key=\"867tg\">According to files reviewed by the Tracker, Judge Anthony Moraleja approved a search warrant that day for a Guardian laptop being used to livestream the trial. The Tracker documented the laptop seizure and the illegal seizure of Myers’ cellphone <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/editors-laptop-cellphone-seized-following-publication-of-courtroom-recording/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9n7d4\">The Pike County Sheriff’s Office subsequently charged Myers with interception of wire, electronic or oral communications, a fourth degree felony. According to court records, he was charged under <a href=\"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2933.52\">Ohio Revised Code Section 2933.52 (A)(3)</a>, which forbids the use of a recording that one knows or has reason to believe was illegally obtained.</p><p data-block-key=\"a1l91\">Myers turned himself into custody on Nov. 1 and was released after paying a $20,000 bond. He told the Tracker that he pleaded not guilty at a hearing the following day. He also waived his right to a preliminary hearing, where evidence is presented before a judge who decides whether the case should advance to trial. Instead, his case will be heard by a grand jury, which will determine whether to indict him on the charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rpou\">When reached for comment, the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office told the Tracker that the next grand jury session is scheduled to begin in February 2023, when the new prosecutor takes office.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9thi\">One of Myers’ attorneys, John Greiner, highlighted the Supreme Court ruling in <a href=\"https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/575/bartnicki-v-vopper\">Bartnicki v. Vopper</a>, which ruled that the media cannot be held liable for publishing information that was obtained illegally by a source.</p><p data-block-key=\"75q5l\">The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the Tracker, condemned the equipment seizure and the charges against Myers in a <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2022/11/cpj-alarmed-by-wiretapping-charges-against-ohio-newspaper-editor/\">statement</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"78fjl\">“The incompetency of local law enforcement to abide by basic legal proceedings would be comical if it were not so concerning,” said CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Not only have Pike County authorities confiscated journalist Derek Myers’ cellphone and the Scioto Valley Guardian’s laptop without presenting a valid warrant, but they have also lobbed wiretapping charges against Myers for keeping the community informed about an ongoing murder trial. Retaliating against a news outlet, especially a small local publication, for doing their jobs in matters of public interest is completely unacceptable.”</p><p data-block-key=\"478r4\">Myers told the Tracker he hasn’t been able to cover the trial since his arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"18n3h\">“I tasked myself with covering this eight-week trial and I should be there covering it, but I can’t because I don’t have the equipment,” Myers said. “And, frankly, I don’t feel safe in that courthouse. If I take another cellphone down there they’ll probably seize that too.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vtosv\">Scioto Valley Guardian Editor-in-Chief Derek Myers was charged with felony wiretapping on Oct. 31, 2022, after publishing an obtained recording of testimony from an ongoing murder trial in Waverly, Ohio.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Pike County Sheriff's Office",
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"state": {
"name": "Ohio",
"abbreviation": "OH"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-08-14 13:11:00+00:00) Wiretapping charge against Ohio editor dropped after more than nine months",
"(2023-12-14 00:00:00+00:00) Ohio journalist sues for constitutional violations during courthouse arrest"
],
"case_statuses": [
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},
{
"title": "Editor’s laptop, cellphone seized following publication of courtroom recording",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/editors-laptop-cellphone-seized-following-publication-of-courtroom-recording/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-08T20:51:03.315316Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-05T19:55:31.537336Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-05T19:55:31.266169Z",
"date": "2022-10-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Waverly",
"longitude": -82.98546,
"latitude": 39.12673,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ro9gy\">An Ohio judge authorized the search and seizure of a laptop belonging to the Scioto Valley Guardian on Oct. 28, 2022. An officer with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office also seized the cellphone of the outlet’s top editor — without a warrant — a few days later.</p><p data-block-key=\"e1706\">Guardian Editor-in-Chief Derek Myers told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he has been covering the ongoing murder trial of George Wagner IV, which began in September. As part of that coverage, the newspaper was using a laptop to livestream witness testimony and exhibits. Judge Randy Deering issued an order before the trial began allowing anyone testifying in the case to “opt out” of being filmed by the media. The Fourth District Court of Appeals <a href=\"https://sciotovalleyguardian.com/2022/10/25/media-wins-temproary-order-in-wagner-trial-again/\">issued an emergency order</a> overruling him partway through the testimony of Wagner’s brother, Jake, who was indicted alongside Wagner and their parents for the 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family.</p><p data-block-key=\"f540\">The court ordered that media be allowed to film unless Deering was able to show cause that it could jeopardize the fairness of the trial. Deering ruled that if Jake were to appear on camera he might be “nervous” and untruthful, again barring media from recording video or audio of him.</p><p data-block-key=\"bfid0\">Myers told the Tracker that he was out of the country when Jake took the stand, but that someone in the courtroom surreptitiously recorded his testimony and provided it to the Guardian. After deliberation, Myers said he elected to move forward with publishing a <a href=\"https://sciotovalleyguardian.com/2022/10/28/exclusive-listen-to-jake-wagner-describe-how-he-killed-the-rhoden-family/\">condensed version of the audio</a> on Oct. 28.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt687\">According to files reviewed by the Tracker, county court Judge Anthony Moraleja approved a search warrant for the Guardian laptop that same day, authorizing the search of the MacBook Pro and any computer software or communications contained on its hard drive. Myers told the Tracker someone from the court then seized the laptop, causing the outlet’s livestream to go down.</p><p data-block-key=\"52a\">One of Myers’ attorneys, Greg Barwell, sent a letter on Oct. 31 asking the sheriff, prosecutor and the court to return the equipment, as the Guardian had not been presented with a subpoena or search warrant.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ghii\">Myers went to the Pike County Courthouse on Nov. 2 to ask for the return of the laptop in person, as he still believed it had been seized by someone from the court. Unbeknownst to the Guardian, the laptop had been taken into custody by the sheriff’s office the previous day.</p><p data-block-key=\"eug4l\">Myers told the Tracker that when he passed through the metal detector, a captain from the sheriff’s department told him he would have to take his cellphone back outside. He responded that he wouldn’t be going into the courtroom — where cellphones and laptops are prohibited — but would be remaining on the first floor.</p><p data-block-key=\"aaog\">Myers said the officer then kept his cellphone, claiming, “On second thought, I think I have a search warrant for that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5u35j\">The officer also told Myers that they had a search warrant for the laptop. The item seizure report reviewed by the Tracker has “Black I-Phone” written below the MacBook, confirming that it was seized at 10:29 a.m. on Nov. 2.</p><p data-block-key=\"39a8l\">One of Myers’ attorneys, John Greiner, told the Tracker that the seizure of the devices likely violated Ohio’s shield law and the federal Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits searching or seizing journalistic work products with few exceptions.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jhj2\">In connection with the publication of the testimony recording, Myers was charged with intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications — a fourth degree felony — on Oct. 31. The Tracker has documented those charges <a href=\"/all-incidents/ohio-editor-charged-with-wiretapping-after-publishing-obtained-court-recording/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e23eq\">The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the Tracker, condemned the equipment seizure and the charges against Myers in a <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2022/11/cpj-alarmed-by-wiretapping-charges-against-ohio-newspaper-editor/\">statement</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"82itq\">“The incompetency of local law enforcement to abide by basic legal proceedings would be comical if it were not so concerning,” said CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Not only have Pike County authorities confiscated journalist Derek Myers’ cellphone and the Scioto Valley Guardian’s laptop without presenting a valid warrant, but they have also lobbed wiretapping charges against Myers for keeping the community informed about an ongoing murder trial. Retaliating against a news outlet, especially a small local publication, for doing their jobs in matters of public interest is completely unacceptable.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4gavo\">Myers told the Tracker that he was able to regain control over his cellphone number on Nov. 4, but having the devices returned remains his and his attorneys’ first priority. He said he was extremely concerned about the potential search of the devices as they contain sensitive work product and source communications</p><p data-block-key=\"9ed0j\">“I can’t effectively do my job because I’m so focused and scared and worried about all these other people and their livelihoods are now on the line,” Myers said. “And I can’t cover the trial because I don’t have the equipment.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mlj5w\">On Oct. 28, 2022, an Ohio judge authorized the search and seizure of a Scioto Valley Guardian laptop, shown here in a screenshot from the search warrant, that the outlet was using to livestream a Waverly murder trial.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Ohio",
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"(2024-02-14 00:00:00+00:00) Files deleted from editor’s murder trial laptop",
"(2023-12-14 00:00:00+00:00) Ohio journalist sues for constitutional violations during courthouse equipment seizure"
],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Investigative outlet subpoenaed for documents in securities fraud case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/investigative-outlet-subpoenaed-for-documents-in-securities-fraud-case/",
"first_published_at": "2025-02-14T21:07:56.140819Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-14T21:07:56.140819Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-14T21:07:56.052768Z",
"date": "2022-10-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0x5dz\">Investigative reporting outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism was subpoenaed to turn over documents on Oct. 27, 2022, in connection with a California securities fraud lawsuit, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"3640p\">The case was ultimately dismissed in February 2023 as part of settlement negotiations in the underlying fraud case.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4aaf\">In January 2019, founder and editor Roddy Boyd published an <a href=\"https://ffj-online.org/2019/01/25/corcept-therapeutics-the-company-that-perfectly-explains-the-health-care-crisis/\">article</a> through his Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation — <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundation-for-financial-journalism/\">renamed</a> the Foundation for Financial Journalism in 2020 — alleging that pharmaceutical company Corcept Therapeutics paid doctors to prescribe its drug Korlym for off-label uses.</p><p data-block-key=\"4keq9\">The revelations in Boyd’s article led to a decline in Corcept’s share price, company shareholders alleged in a securities fraud class-action <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.339504/gov.uscourts.cand.339504.1.0.pdf\">suit</a> filed two months later against the company and its top executives in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.</p><p data-block-key=\"c8pu1\">As part of its defense, Corcept subpoenaed the outlet in October 2022 — and Boyd on Nov. 16, 2022 — commanding the journalist to turn over a wide range of materials related to his newsgathering activities, his finances and those of his outlet, and any disciplinary actions against him. The outlet’s subpoena demanded production of the documents by Nov. 25, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nlkv\">Corcept also issued a Nov. 30, 2022, order seeking Boyd’s testimony about topics listed in the two document subpoenas. Boyd filed a motion to quash that subpoena on Jan. 17, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, arguing that the information the defendants asked for was irrelevant to the lawsuit and protected by the First Amendment and the <a href=\"https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-the-reporters-privilege-compendium/\">reporter’s privilege</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2b6fo\">The motion to quash asserted that all parties to the suit agree that his article relied entirely on publicly available information, and that the subpoenas were merely “a transparent attempt to use the discovery process to chill Mr. Boyd’s speech.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9j181\">It also argued that the document subpoenas “make clear that Defendants do not know what they are looking for; rather, they are hoping to find something relevant to their case, while at the same time chilling journalists and others from further examination of Corcept’s business practices.”</p><p data-block-key=\"42jek\">On Feb. 13, Boyd <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927.11.0.pdf\">withdrew</a> his motion after Corcept dropped the deposition subpoena. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz then <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927/gov.uscourts.flsd.626927.12.0.pdf\">dismissed</a> the case Feb. 15.</p><p data-block-key=\"72hgg\">Boyd told the Tracker in an email that the subpoenas “were designed to harass an established, credible, non-profit news organization.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3d9i\">He also noted that legal actions or threats against small media outlets triggered a requirement to notify their insurer. “This places the press organization in a much higher risk cohort,” Boyd added, “guaranteeing their premiums and deductibles rise the following year.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3kdyt\">A portion of a subpoena issued to investigative outlet Foundation for Financial Journalism on Oct. 27, 2022, commanding it to turn over documents in a California securities fraud lawsuit. The case was dismissed in February 2023.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"actor": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Foundation for Financial Journalism"
],
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],
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},
{
"title": "KC broadcast station subpoenaed for unaired interview footage",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kc-broadcast-station-subpoenaed-for-unaired-interview-footage/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-07T20:07:49.626557Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-06-29T16:10:50.977456Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-06-29T16:10:50.883548Z",
"date": "2022-10-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Topeka",
"longitude": -95.67804,
"latitude": 39.04833,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"i2wbu\">Missouri-based broadcaster KMBC-TV was issued a subpoena on Oct. 26, 2022, seeking all recordings and notes from multiple interviews as part of a lawsuit accusing Kansas Highway Patrol of misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"1o8co\">Five women who are current or former highway patrol employees filed a lawsuit against the agency’s superintendent and assistant superintendent, as well as the State of Kansas, in February 2021. The Kansas City Star <a href=\"https://amp.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article269074932.html\">reported</a> that the women allege the agency had a hostile work environment, with a culture of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.</p><p data-block-key=\"97tip\">According to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the subpoena orders KMBC to produce any notes or audio or video recordings of interviews conducted with the plaintiffs, including outtakes and other unaired footage, by Nov. 14.</p><p data-block-key=\"cm88b\">It is unclear if KMBC, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment, has or intends to comply with the order. No motion to quash the subpoena had been filed with the court as of Dec. 7.</p><p data-block-key=\"7gare\">Gaye Tibbets, an attorney representing the state and the highway patrol officers, told the Star in mid-November that they were negotiating with KMBC over the subpoena, but did not elaborate on the content of the disputes.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvc09\">Tibbets did not respond to requests for further comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7oqo0\">First Amendment attorney Max Kautsch, who is the president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, told the Star he was perplexed by the subpoena as it seeks documents that are explicitly protected by the state’s <a href=\"http://kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/statute/060_000_0000_chapter/060_004_0000_article/060_004_0082_section/060_004_0082_k/\">shield law</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1nd1b\">“The Legislature passed this law almost 15 years ago for the express purpose of insulating journalists from misguided attempts to bring journalists into court,” Kautsch said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"gpjjh\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Kansas City, Missouri, broadcaster KMBC-TV on Oct. 26, 2022, seeking all footage and notes from interviews with five plaintiffs suing the State of Kansas and two highway patrol officers.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"state": {
"name": "Kansas",
"abbreviation": "KS"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"KMBC-TV"
],
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},
{
"title": "Documentarian targeted with pepper spray while covering Penn State protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentarian-targeted-with-pepper-spray-while-covering-penn-state-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-28T17:37:26.656525Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-28T17:49:13.757578Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-28T17:49:13.701682Z",
"date": "2022-10-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "State College",
"longitude": -77.86,
"latitude": 40.79339,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"k3iq7\">Ford Fischer, co-founder and editor-in-chief of News2Share, was targeted with a chemical irritant while documenting a protest at Pennsylvania State University in State College on Oct. 24, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"iobh\">Uncensored America, a recognized student organization, had arranged a <a href=\"http://uncensoredamerica.us/alex-and-gavin-psu/\">“politically provocative comedy night”</a> with Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and comedian and “professional troll” Alex Stein. The Proud Boys are a far-right extremist group, <a href=\"https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys\">designated as a hate group</a> by the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose members self-identify as Western chauvinists and are known to instigate street brawls. The show’s title, “Stand Back & Stand By,” echoed the directive then-President Donald Trump gave to members of the Proud Boys during a 2020 presidential debate.</p><p data-block-key=\"crige\">The Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity, which is not a recognized student group, organized a protest to begin at 6 p.m. in opposition to the event, <a href=\"https://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/they-did-nothing-penn-state-students-protesters-gather-in-opposition-of-uncensored-america-event/article_53ab3752-540c-11ed-8e6d-87622ca72dd1.html\">according to the university newspaper, The Daily Collegian</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4aorg\">Fischer told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that at various points during the student-led protest Proud Boy members arrived to escalate the conflict. Stein also came out of the event venue to antagonize the protesters before ultimately returning inside, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8b786\">Shortly before 7 p.m., about five or six apparent right-wingers were arguing with the protesters around them, Fischer said. In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1584904927234719745\">footage of the incident</a>, the men all appear to be wearing dark jackets, khakis and face coverings or balaclavas.</p><p data-block-key=\"5met7\">One of the men unholstered a can of pepper spray and began aiming it at everyone standing nearby, which Fischer said included both student protesters and members of the press. Another member of the group then grabbed the canister and sprayed it in a circular motion.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">SYNCHRONIZED: Footage by both <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FordFischer</a> and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/zdroberts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@zdroberts</a> shows the moment a right-winger pepper sprayed protesters and press on Penn State’s campus last night before police standing by allowed them to leave. <a href=\"https://t.co/Wzt4q5FNjX\">pic.twitter.com/Wzt4q5FNjX</a></p>— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1584904927234719745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 25, 2022</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=\"k3iq7\">Fischer said that he was one of the last people sprayed and that he believed he was deliberately targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"4evnp\">“I’ve been maced, but I have never, ever ever felt the kind of pain and directness that that had, where it was straight into my eye,” he said. “There’s no way that it wouldn’t have been intentional: He had to have known I was press.”<br/><br/>Fischer said he was wearing press credentials issued by Congress and the National Press Photographers Association and was filming with a conspicuous professional camera with a phone mounted on it.</p><p data-block-key=\"eauju\">“I was completely debilitated. I was in absolute, unbearable pain for about half an hour,” Fischer said. He added that multiple students and other members of the press came to his aid, but the officers who witnessed the attack neither attempted to apprehend the individual nor asked him for a statement.</p><p data-block-key=\"fskev\">At least one other journalist, freelance photojournalist Zach Roberts, was also targeted with the chemical irritant. The Tracker has documented that incident <a href=\"/all-incidents/photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-while-covering-penn-state-protest/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"f5d4c\"><a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/10/25/penn-state-gavin-mcinnes-proud-boys-canceled/\">According to The Washington Post</a>, students had petitioned the university ahead of the event to cancel it. In a <a href=\"https://www.psu.edu/news/administration/story/university-critical-upcoming-speakers-repugnant-and-denigrating-rhetoric/\">statement</a> released on Oct. 11, the administration initially said it would allow the event to take place on the basis of upholding freedom of speech. Citing escalating violence, the university ultimately canceled the event less than an hour before its scheduled start time, notifying students through the university’s alert system at 7:19 p.m., <a href=\"https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzqww/penn-state-proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes\">according to VICE News</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"209tm\">When reached for comment, the university directed the Tracker to various statements released before and after the event was canceled.</p><p data-block-key=\"786tg\">“Tonight, Stein and McInnes will celebrate a victory for being canceled, when in actuality, they contributed to the very violence that compromised their ability to speak,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said in a <a href=\"https://www.psu.edu/news/campus-life/story/message-president-neeli-bendapudi-cancellation-campus-event/\">statement</a>. “Tonight, counter-protestors also will celebrate a victory that they forced the University to cancel this event, when in actuality they have furthered the visibility of the very cause they oppose.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2q34o\">A <a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vc4ut8yR50I7HldweUV3ogTMSE5-Kc4s/view?usp=sharing\">statement</a> released by the event organizers, Uncensored America, the following day condemned the violence.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Fischer.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vlqru\">“I was completely debilitated.” Documentarian Ford Fischer was targeted with a chemical irritant while covering a protest against an event with the Proud Boys founder at Penn State University on Oct. 24, 2022.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ford Fischer (News2Share)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist targeted with pepper spray while covering Penn State protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-while-covering-penn-state-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-28T17:48:11.517280Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-28T17:48:11.517280Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-28T17:48:11.423101Z",
"date": "2022-10-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "State College",
"longitude": -77.86,
"latitude": 40.79339,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u1vgc\">Freelance photojournalist Zach Roberts was targeted with a chemical irritant while documenting a protest at Pennsylvania State University in State College on Oct. 24, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"fqiuc\">Uncensored America, a recognized student organization, had arranged a <a href=\"http://uncensoredamerica.us/alex-and-gavin-psu/\">“politically provocative comedy night”</a> with Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and comedian and “professional troll” Alex Stein. The Proud Boys are a far-right extremist group, <a href=\"https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys\">designated as a hate group</a> by the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose members self-identify as Western chauvinists and are known to instigate street brawls. The show’s title, “Stand Back & Stand By,” echoed the directive then-President Donald Trump gave to members of the Proud Boys during a 2020 presidential debate.</p><p data-block-key=\"o82p\">The Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity, which is not a recognized student group, organized a protest to begin at 6 p.m. in opposition to the event, <a href=\"https://www.collegian.psu.edu/news/they-did-nothing-penn-state-students-protesters-gather-in-opposition-of-uncensored-america-event/article_53ab3752-540c-11ed-8e6d-87622ca72dd1.html\">according to the university paper, The Daily Collegian</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"s6lk\">Roberts told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had registered to attend the event but never received additional information about how to enter the venue and was only able to cover the student-led demonstration outside.</p><p data-block-key=\"7drm4\">Shortly before 7 p.m., protesters surrounded about five or six apparent right-wingers and attempted to force them to leave, Roberts said. In <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FordFischer/status/1584904927234719745\">footage of the incident</a>, the men all appear to be wearing dark jackets, khakis, face coverings or balaclavas.</p><p data-block-key=\"8gf5h\">“One guy pulled out a can of bear mace and started threatening people with it,” Roberts said. “I moved closer — like an idiot — to where it was happening.”</p><p data-block-key=\"801k\">Roberts said that law enforcement was notified by a protester that someone was threatening people with the pepper spray, but no immediate action was taken.</p><p data-block-key=\"dlmtk\">Less than a minute later, a second man grabbed the canister and sprayed those standing near them, including Roberts, who was wearing a press badge.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Well got peppersprayed by a Proud Boy. Several other media got direct hit. Thankfully it hit my glasses but my face and body is burning like the worst sunburn. <a href=\"https://twitter.com/hashtag/PennState?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PennState</a> campus cops watched and did nothing. <a href=\"https://t.co/d1q0SJKkSL\">pic.twitter.com/d1q0SJKkSL</a></p>— Zach D Roberts - Photojournalist for hire (@zdroberts) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/zdroberts/status/1584683092807020544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 24, 2022</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=\"u1vgc\">“He knew that half the people around him were press, we all had cameras out,” Roberts said. “There’s no way he sprayed Ford [Fischer], with that big video camera and a tripod, and not known that he’s a member of the media.”</p><p data-block-key=\"csl6n\">The Tracker documented the assault of documentarian Ford Fischer <a href=\"/all-incidents/documentarian-targeted-with-pepper-spray-while-covering-penn-state-protest/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"36t8j\">Roberts said that his glasses protected his eyes and he quickly removed everything that was struck by the spray in order to rinse off the chemical irritant. Despite his efforts, his arms burned throughout the evening.</p><p data-block-key=\"91jlm\">“I had to stop talking at times and focus on the pain,” Roberts said. “There were certain moments where it was too painful to pick up my cameras. I could literally see blisters forming where the bear mace hit me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a4ecu\"><a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/10/25/penn-state-gavin-mcinnes-proud-boys-canceled/\">According to The Washington Post</a>, students had petitioned the university ahead of the event to cancel it. In a <a href=\"https://www.psu.edu/news/administration/story/university-critical-upcoming-speakers-repugnant-and-denigrating-rhetoric/\">statement</a> released on Oct. 11, the administration initially said it would allow the event to take place on the basis of upholding freedom of speech. Citing escalating violence, the university ultimately canceled the event less than an hour before its scheduled start time, notifying students through the university’s alert system at 7:19 p.m., <a href=\"https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzqww/penn-state-proud-boys-gavin-mcinnes\">according to VICE News</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"a3h74\">When reached for comment, the university directed the Tracker to various statements released before and after the event was canceled.</p><p data-block-key=\"4nta3\">“Tonight, Stein and McInnes will celebrate a victory for being canceled, when in actuality, they contributed to the very violence that compromised their ability to speak,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said in a <a href=\"https://www.psu.edu/news/campus-life/story/message-president-neeli-bendapudi-cancellation-campus-event/\">statement</a>. “Tonight, counter-protestors also will celebrate a victory that they forced the University to cancel this event, when in actuality they have furthered the visibility of the very cause they oppose.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1fd8o\">A <a href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vc4ut8yR50I7HldweUV3ogTMSE5-Kc4s/view?usp=sharing\">statement</a> released by the event organizers, Uncensored America, the following day condemned the violence.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Roberts.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b53o9\">Freelance photojournalist Zach Roberts receives treatment after being sprayed with bear mace during a protest against an event at Penn State University featuring the Proud Boys founder on Oct. 24, 2022.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"protest",
"white nationalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Zach Roberts (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": null
},
{
"title": "Journalist harassed, shoved while covering protest in Texas",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-harassed-shoved-while-covering-anti-lgbtq-protest-in-texas/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-28T15:58:38.147471Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-11-13T21:18:58.328443Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-11-13T21:18:58.243945Z",
"date": "2022-10-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "University Park",
"longitude": -96.80028,
"latitude": 32.85013,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5i5dm\">Independent journalist Steven Monacelli was assaulted while documenting a protest in University Park, Texas, on Oct. 22, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"crbnq\">Monacelli, who reports on extremism, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the protest in Coffee Park was organized by a group that often attracts individuals connected to extremist groups and militias. That day’s demonstration was planned against a judge who granted full custody to a Texas mother advocating for her child’s transgender identity.</p><p data-block-key=\"cnomb\">Shortly after he arrived at the park, a protest organizer recognized Monacelli and singled him out by name. The organizer claimed Monacelli, who had his press credentials in his pocket, was an “antifa journalist.” Monacelli told the Tracker another individual called him an antisemitic slur.</p><p data-block-key=\"ceul7\">“They wanted to make me feel unwelcome and in fact, explicitly said so,” Monacelli said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2sbb0\">After deciding the event was unsafe, Monacelli started walking away but noticed a woman following him. In a video he posted on Twitter, Monacelli asks the woman to stop following him when a man comes by and shoves him. Monacelli told the Tracker he recognized the man from a September protest in Plano.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NOW: I've just been assaulted at a Coffee Park in Dallas, Texas, by a man who has previously threatened me at a protest. He came up to me without provocation, pushed me twice, and was escorted away by the police who were less than 10 yards away. I'm safe and unharmed. <a href=\"https://t.co/4Q4dnxOv8y\">pic.twitter.com/4Q4dnxOv8y</a></p>— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/stevanzetti/status/1583893965061099520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 22, 2022</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=\"5i5dm\">“He walked up to me and very quickly got in my face and started threatening me, claiming I had doxxed him,” he said. “I told him not to touch me, but he shoved me again and continued to threaten me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8pre8\">Monacelli said officers from the University Park Police Department who were nearby intervened and escorted the individual away.</p><p data-block-key=\"fc3n5\">University Park Police Chief Bill Mathes told the Tracker the individual had been cited for assault and the case was referred to the municipal court for disposition.</p><p data-block-key=\"74snc\">Monacelli said he later received a call from a detective investigating the case. But the assault made it impossible to continue reporting that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"e516k\">“Within five minutes of arriving, I had been singled out, called an antisemitic slur and assaulted,” Monacelli said. “Unfortunately, the story ended up being that I got assaulted and not anything about the protest itself.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "",
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-05-17 00:00:00+00:00) Man fined for assaulting independent journalist"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"LGBTQ+ rights",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Steven Monacelli (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [],
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Investigative reporter subpoenaed in lawsuit against Maui County, officer",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/investigative-reporter-subpoenaed-in-lawsuit-against-maui-county-officer/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-12T22:07:28.870034Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-07-11T17:16:09.114975Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-07-11T17:16:09.006508Z",
"date": "2022-10-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Honolulu",
"longitude": -157.85833,
"latitude": 21.30694,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uef5w\">Lynn Kawano, the chief investigative reporter for Hawaii News Now, was issued a subpoena on Oct. 13, 2022, seeking communications and testimony in connection with an ongoing lawsuit before the District Court of Hawaii in Honolulu.</p><p data-block-key=\"732um\">Three women filed a lawsuit against a Maui Police Department officer and Maui County alleging the officer abused his position of power to coerce them into having sex with him, <a href=\"https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/11/maui-county-alleges-this-tv-news-reporter-crossed-a-line-in-covering-a-case-of-police-misconduct/\">according to Honolulu Civil Beat</a>. Kawano <a href=\"https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/08/21/maui-officer-under-investigation-inappropriately-reaching-out-woman-he-arrested/\">first</a> <a href=\"https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/08/22/second-woman-comes-forth-alleging-maui-officer-tried-bribe-her-sex/\">reported</a> on the allegations in August 2019.</p><p data-block-key=\"1fmus\">According to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the county sent a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.hid.162546/gov.uscourts.hid.162546.1.9.pdf\">letter to Kawano’s attorneys</a> that alleged that Kawano stepped outside of her role as a journalist and acted as an adviser to the women, suggesting they contact attorney Michael Green.</p><p data-block-key=\"6grib\">“It is clear that Ms. Kawano has not confined herself to news gathering, but has become an advisor to the plaintiffs,” the letter stated.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ddm\">Neither Kawano nor Hawaii News Now responded to emailed requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvedc\">The county issued Kawano a subpoena for documents and testimony on Oct. 13, but did not serve her the court order until Oct. 25, according to court filings. The subpoena orders Kawano to produce her communications with Green and the three women, as well as any “attorney referral agreement or client referral agreement” between Kawano and Green or his law firm.</p><p data-block-key=\"dh421\">Bruce Voss, Kawano’s attorney, sent an objection letter to the county on Oct. 31 stating that in addition to not serving the subpoena with sufficient time before the deposition date of Nov. 1, that Kawano’s communications are protected by journalist’s privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"af1v8\">The county <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.hid.162546/gov.uscourts.hid.162546.1.3.pdf\">reissued the subpoena</a> on Nov. 9, ordering Kawano to produce the same collection of documents and to appear for a deposition on Dec. 1. According to court documents, Voss filed a motion to quash the subpoena on Kawano’s behalf on Nov. 26.</p><p data-block-key=\"b6tkk\">“HNN can only surmise that the County of Maui is attempting to establish some nefarious plot (that does not exist) for the purposes of distracting from some very bad facts in this case,” the motion states. “Ms. Kawano, as a journalist, is not a discovery depot for the County of Maui.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2dqbm\">Voss declined to comment when reached by email, citing the pending motion to quash. A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for Jan. 5, 2023.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Kawano_subpoena.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mfvza\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Hawaii News Now investigative reporter Lynn Kawano as part of an ongoing lawsuit three women brought against Maui County and a Maui police officer alleging coercion and sexual harassment.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"subpoena_type": "journalist communications or work product",
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Hawaii",
"abbreviation": "HI"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-01-20 14:27:00+00:00) Judge quashes subpoena of Hawaii investigative reporter"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Lynn Kawano (Hawaii News Now)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"quashed"
],
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},
{
"title": "Boston Globe editor subpoenaed for testimony in Harvard admissions bribery case",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/boston-globe-editor-subpoenaed-for-testimony-in-harvard-admissions-bribery-case/",
"first_published_at": "2022-11-09T18:53:58.972581Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-06T14:57:56.491301Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-06T14:57:56.339203Z",
"date": "2022-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Boston",
"longitude": -71.05977,
"latitude": 42.35843,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h6viq\">Boston Globe journalist Joshua Miller was subpoenaed for testimony as part of a Harvard University admissions scandal criminal case in Boston, Massachusetts, on Oct. 11, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"2v6c8\">In April 2019, Miller, now the Globe’s politics editor, broke the story of<a href=\"https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/04/04/bought-fencing-coach-house-then-his-son-got-into-harvard/EIWVMIxUFQ1XweY1xfB1GK/story.html?event=event12&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link\"> bribes allegedly paid to Harvard’s fencing coach</a>, Peter Brand, by Maryland businessman Jie Zhao. According to the Globe, Zhao purchased Brand’s house at nearly twice its value. In return, Brand allegedly helped facilitate Harvard admission for Zhao’s two sons by recruiting them to the university’s fencing team.</p><p data-block-key=\"duacu\">Two months after the Globe published the story, the Department of Justice <a href=\"https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/06/18/bought-fencing-coach-house-then-his-son-got-into-harvard-now-feds-are-asking-questions/SefCGoT7IswTCfA8CrHqRJ/story.html?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link\">launched a grand jury inquiry</a>. Brand and Zhao were <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-harvard-fencing-coach-and-maryland-businessman-indicted-bribery-charges\">formally indicted</a> on federal bribery charges in 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"d9ir\">Globe legal counsel Jonathan M. Albano <a href=\"https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/11/04/metro/globe-challenges-subpoena-reporters-work-harvard-admissions-scandal/\">challenged the 2022 subpoena</a> for Miller’s testimony in a Nov. 3 motion to quash, arguing that it’s not vital to the government’s case.</p><p data-block-key=\"b16sk\">Albano requested that the judge instead issue a protective order for an in-camera review of Miller's recorded interview with Zhao. In a written declaration submitted to the court, Miller stated that testifying would force him to disclose confidential sources he felt “duty-bound to protect” and could have a negative impact on future reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"gedd\">“I believe this will inhibit sources from speaking to me in the future because they will not trust that our conversations will exclusively be used for news reporting,” Miller stated. “I believe they will speak less frankly to me, or not speak to me at all, since they may fear that what they tell me will become something I will later testify about in criminal or civil litigation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"545vb\">Neither Miller nor Albano responded to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"c8cmb\">On Nov. 8, the DOJ filed an opposition to the motion to quash, claiming only Miller can provide first-hand knowledge of Zhao’s statements to him. The federal bribery trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 5.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ed046\">A portion of the subpoena issued to Boston Globe editor Joshua Miller seeking testimony in a federal bribery case connected to a Harvard admissions scandal. — SCREENSHOT</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Massachusetts",
"abbreviation": "MA"
},
"updates": [
"(2022-12-13 14:45:00+00:00) Boston Globe editor compelled to testify in Harvard admissions bribery case"
],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Joshua Miller (Boston Globe)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": [
"carried out"
],
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},
{
"title": "KC photographer shoved to ground by NFL player after game",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-to-ground-by-nfl-player-after-game-in-kc/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-14T14:04:01.367425Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-07T15:28:39.981687Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-07T15:28:39.787546Z",
"date": "2022-10-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Kansas City",
"longitude": -94.57857,
"latitude": 39.09973,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tck70\">Photographer Park Zebley was shoved to the ground by Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams after a Monday Night Football game in Kansas City, Missouri, on Oct. 10, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"339mp\">In footage published by SportsCenter and shared widely, Adams can be seen pushing Zebley with two hands following a 30-29 Raiders loss.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Davante Adams was visibly upset after the Raiders’ loss to the Chiefs. <a href=\"https://t.co/XW2fmx6adJ\">pic.twitter.com/XW2fmx6adJ</a></p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1579682203339960320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 11, 2022</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=\"tck70\">When reached by email, Zebley declined to comment and referred the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to his attorney, Dan Curry. Curry said Zebley is a college student who had just started working for a local production company that provides content to ESPN. He did not identify the name of the production company.</p><p data-block-key=\"alebj\">In a written statement, Curry said it was the photographer’s first day on the job and he had been given the task of carrying equipment for a camera operator.</p><p data-block-key=\"beva\">After arranging transportation to the hospital, Zebley filed a police report with the Kansas City Police Department. In an emailed statement to the Tracker, a KCPD spokesperson said Zebley’s injuries were thought to be non-life threatening and the incident is being investigated.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2ciu\">Zebley’s attorney confirmed that the photographer suffered a headache, whiplash and was still recovering from a concussion.</p><p data-block-key=\"lcv9\">After the incident, Adams apologized for his behavior, saying he was frustrated by the loss and was surprised when Zebley “jumped” in front of him, ESPN <a href=\"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34772685/raiders-davante-adams-pushes-person-postgame-apologizes\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e7p85\">A Kansas City Municipal Court public information officer told the Tracker that Adams was charged with assault under a city ordinance on Oct. 12. According to the<a href=\"https://library.municode.com/mo/kansas_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORKAMIVOII_CH50OFMIPR_ARTVOFAGPUPE_S50-169SANF\"> ordinance</a>, he faces up to six months of jail time or a fine of up to $500. The citation, also shared with the Tracker by KCPD, identifies him as Ryan Zebley. His attorney said Park is his name.</p><p data-block-key=\"7qdae\">The Raiders receiver is also facing possible suspension from the NFL, <a href=\"https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34782109/davante-adams-charged-misdemeanor-assault-mnf-shove\">according to ESPN</a>. He is scheduled to appear in Kansas City Municipal Court on Nov. 10.</p><p data-block-key=\"9r57e\">“What happened was egregiously unsportsmanlike and an act of violence that should not be excused by the NFL,” Zebley said in a statement provided by his attorney.</p><p data-block-key=\"1o87\"></p><p data-block-key=\"53smb\"><i>Editor’s note: The article was updated with a clarifying statement from a Kansas City Municipal Court public information officer around the type of assault. Davante Adams was charged under a city ordinance, not a state statute as previously reported.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1csqq\">Wide receiver Davante Adams, at left, in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 10, 2022. Adams, then playing for the Las Vegas Raiders, pushed photographer Park Zebley to the ground after the Raiders’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "public figure",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Missouri",
"abbreviation": "MO"
},
"updates": [
"(2023-06-05 12:09:00+00:00) Assault charge dropped against NFL player who shoved photographer",
"(2025-02-05 00:00:00+00:00) Photographer settles suit against NFL player",
"(2023-05-02 11:01:00+00:00) Photographer files lawsuit against NFL player, teams following assault"
],
"case_statuses": [
"settled"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Park Zebley (Unidentified production company)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Jewish newspaper boxes vandalized in Queens",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/jewish-newspaper-boxes-vandalized-in-queens/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-25T15:56:04.755581Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-27T20:59:45.010793Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-27T20:59:44.873325Z",
"date": "2022-10-06",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oz3r6\">Several newspaper boxes distributing Jewish publications in Queens, New York, were defaced with swastikas on Oct. 6, 2022, while the Jewish community observed Yom Kippur.</p><p data-block-key=\"etm1i\">Bukharian Jewish Link freelance journalist Steven Saphirstein told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he discovered the vandalized boxes outside of Aron’s Kissena Farms on Oct. 7 while distributing papers. Aron’s, the largest kosher grocery store in Queens, was closed at the time of the incident. Saphirstein told the Tracker he met with detectives after reporting the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"9to70\">The targeted boxes contained Jewish newspapers including the <a href=\"https://www.queensjewishlink.com/\">Queens Jewish Link</a>, the <a href=\"https://www.bukharianjewishlink.com/\">Bukharian Jewish Link</a> and the <a href=\"http://www.5tjt.com/\">Five Towns Jewish Times</a>. Yaakov Serle, publisher for the Queens and Bukharian Jewish Links, told the Tracker that the newspapers were still able to publish normally that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"12tis\">“We were very fortunate,” Serle said. “Everybody came together, and – by shopping time — it was all gone.”</p><p data-block-key=\"14omf\">Serle said several community members teamed up to clean the newspaper boxes before Aron’s opened for the day. He credits Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal, Saphirstein and local Jewish groups Chaverim and Shmira with playing an instrumental role in the cleanup.</p><p data-block-key=\"20smk\">In a statement to the Chronicle, Rosenthal said that while no one was physically harmed by the attack, the antisemitism distressed residents who were fed up with the broken sense of security and seeking action.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">On the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, newspapers racks distributing Jewish publications were vandalized with swastikas.<br><br>We must be able to feel safe in our neighborhoods. We must do more. The continued rise of antisemitism is unsustainable and unacceptable. <a href=\"https://t.co/WCz5wrRGar\">pic.twitter.com/WCz5wrRGar</a></p>— Daniel Rosenthal (@DanRosenthalNYC) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DanRosenthalNYC/status/1577912102391521282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 6, 2022</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=\"oz3r6\">“On the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, newspaper racks distributing Jewish publications were vandalized with swastikas,” Rosenthal wrote on <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DanRosenthalNYC/status/1577912102391521282?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet\">Twitter</a>. “We must be able to feel safe in our neighborhoods. We must do more. The continued rise of antisemitism is unsustainable and unacceptable.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2tm4f\">The New York Police Department did not respond to a request for comment by the Tracker, but Rosenthal told the Chronicle that officers are reviewing security camera footage from neighboring businesses.</p><p data-block-key=\"oqdb\"></p><p data-block-key=\"4tuco\"><i>Editor's note: The article was updated to include information from Steven Saphirstein and his correct title.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"white nationalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist gains access to Arizona county news conferences following suit",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-gains-access-to-arizona-county-news-conferences-following-suit/",
"first_published_at": "2024-06-04T14:12:09.454517Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-11T16:41:22.045472Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-11T16:41:21.949695Z",
"date": "2022-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Phoenix",
"longitude": -112.07404,
"latitude": 33.44838,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h8kn0\">Reporter Jordan Conradson of The Gateway Pundit settled a lawsuit that alleged he was wrongly denied press credentials on Sept. 30, 2022, by Maricopa County, Arizona. In the April 2023 settlement, the country agreed to pay The Gateway Pundit $175,000, and Conradson gained access to the county’s news conferences.</p><p data-block-key=\"dl89j\">On Sept. 27, 2022, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors <a href=\"https://elections.maricopa.gov/news-and-information/elections-news/maricopa-county-forms-elections-command-center-to-share-info-with-voters-combat-disinformation.html\">announced</a> that ahead of the November general election, media would be required to apply for press credentials through an online form in order to attend news conferences, part of an elections initiative designed to “combat disinformation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"des4t\">The move came in the wake of the 2020 election, whose results were <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/05/25/1000043000/2020s-general-election-is-over-but-counting-continues-in-arizona\">hotly contested</a> by the Republican-led state Senate after Democrats won races in the county for both the presidency and the U.S. Senate. Outside groups aligned with the losing presidential candidate, incumbent Donald Trump, <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/arizona-republicans-release-findings-widely-panned-election-audit-2021-09-24/\">poured millions of dollars</a> into fraud investigation efforts in the county, although the certified results of the vote were ultimately confirmed.</p><p data-block-key=\"dj82h\">Conradson, a <a href=\"https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/breaking-maricopa-county-election-day-incompetence-printers-not-working-voters-told-already-voted-polling-locations-not-seen-azsos-webpage/\">frequent</a> <a href=\"https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/breaking-maricopa-county-creates-ministry-truth-silence-gateway-pundit-now-requiring-official-press-pass-media-enter-facilities-cover-events-related-2022-ge/\">purveyor</a> of these fraud allegations, submitted an application for press credentials to Maricopa County. In a Sept. 30 email reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the county notified Conradson that his application had been denied because “You (a) do not avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest and (b) are not free of associations that would compromise journalistic integrity or damage credibility. Therefore, you are not a bona fide correspondent of repute in your profession.”</p><p data-block-key=\"amm\">On Nov. 10, Conradson appealed the decision via email and an attorney sent a <a href=\"https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/exclusive-tgp-sends-cease-desist-letter-maricopa-county-suing-yesterdays-attack-journalists/\">cease and desist letter</a> to the county on his behalf demanding that he be allowed to attend the county’s news conferences. On Nov. 12, the journalist and the outlet <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65751582/tgp-communications-llc-v-sellers/\">filed a federal suit</a> against a group of county officials, alleging that Conradson’s First Amendment rights had been violated and applying for an emergency temporary restraining order against the county.</p><p data-block-key=\"6bgtl\">On Nov. 23, the court <a href=\"https://reason.com/volokh/2022/11/23/court-rules-against-the-gateway-pundit-in-request-for-press-pass/\">denied</a> the temporary restraining order request, rejecting the plaintiffs’ arguments that the county’s rules were overly vague and the procedure lacked due process.</p><p data-block-key=\"bfoja\">While the county’s use of “criteria for ethical reporting” to determine who could attend news conferences was “problematic insofar as it invites the government to play a role in policing the free press, whose constitutionally protected function is to hold the government to account,” the court wrote, the restrictions seemed reasonable and did not discriminate against Conradson on the basis of his political views.</p><p data-block-key=\"etndp\">The plaintiffs <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66681719/tgp-communications-llc-v-jack-sellers/\">appealed</a> the ruling on Nov. 28 and requested an injunction pending an order on their appeal. On Dec. 5, the appeals court granted the injunction, ordering the county to issue Conradson temporary press credentials while his appeal was pending.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jnh0\">“It is the County’s politically-tinged assessment of Conradson’s prior reporting that appears to have led it to deny him a press pass,” the court wrote. “That type of viewpoint-based discrimination is exactly what the First Amendment protects against.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4kuvh\">The appeal over a more permanent press pass for Conradson continued for several months, with oral arguments taking place in January 2023. On April 12, KPNX <a href=\"https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/maricopa-county-agrees-pay-175k-gateway-pundit-conradson-pundit/75-8531c357-e73b-4af3-bb94-d0f2c6292dc9\">reported</a> that the parties had settled, with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approving a settlement award to The Gateway Pundit. On April 28, the parties dismissed the federal suit and appeal.</p><p data-block-key=\"6cs18\">“This is a major win for The Gateway Pundit and independent media in America today,” The Gateway Pundit wrote in <a href=\"https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/04/major-news-the-gateway-pundit-wins-historic-first-amendment-lawsuit-maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors-agrees-to-settlement/\">its report</a> on the settlement. “It sets precedent for independent journalists of merit to gain access to government press briefings. We cannot adequately express the importance of this decision.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8ivap\">The outlet and Conradson did not respond to a request from the Tracker for further comment. While reports on the settlement do not mention whether Conradson received county press credentials, Conradson’s <a href=\"https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/author/jordanc/\">bio</a> on the outlet’s website says that he “finally gained access” to the Maricopa County press room.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"wqnmr\">The chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona speaks to the media in November 2022, as the county tabulated the general election results. Reporter Jordan Conradson sued the county that month for denying him press credentials.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"case_number": "2:22-cv-01925",
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Arizona",
"abbreviation": "AZ"
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"tags": [
"election"
],
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"Local government: Legislature"
],
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Fast Company disables website after cyberattack results in ‘vile’ push alerts, posts",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fast-company-disables-website-after-cyberattack-results-in-vile-push-alerts-posts/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-04T18:58:25.610369Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-10-06T23:01:52.196655Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-10-06T23:01:52.116613Z",
"date": "2022-09-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"od297\">Fast Company, a business and technology magazine based in New York City, shut down its website after a cyberattack led to “obscene and racist” posts and Apple News push notifications.</p><p data-block-key=\"7f7pv\">In a <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FastCompany/status/1574980645868404736\">tweeted statement</a>, Fast Company said the attack on its content management system appeared to be related to a Sept. 25, 2022, hack of FastCompany.com in which similar language was posted on the site. The first incident forced the website offline for two hours while the company restored the page.</p><p data-block-key=\"egd5u\">Two days later, following the unauthorized Apple News alerts, the organization said it would disable its website and Apple News feed during its investigation into the attacks.</p><p data-block-key=\"15hjf\">“The messages are vile and are not in line with the content and ethos of Fast Company,” the company <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FastCompany/status/1574938145237639168\">tweeted</a>. “We are investigating the situation and have shut down FastCompany.com until the situation has been resolved.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f77so\">Immediately after the Sept. 27 attack, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker confirmed that accessing the magazine’s website resulted in a “404 Not Found” message. When accessed on Sept. 29, FastCompany.com redirected to a <a href=\"https://www.fastcompany.com/statement.html\">statement</a> mirroring those published on Twitter.</p><p data-block-key=\"32pa7\">According to the statement, Fast Company is continuing to publish its news and analysis across the magazine’s social media platforms. It is unclear how long the website will be unavailable, or who was responsible for the attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"fojai\">Before it was removed from the site, a post about the attack shared that the hackers got access through a password that was shared across many accounts, <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/27/23375939/fast-company-apple-news-notification-hack?mc_cid=add57c6902&mc_eid=2a64aafee5\">The Verge reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dafb8\">Fast Company did not respond to a request for comment from the Tracker, but it <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FastCompany/status/1575215452368019456\">tweeted</a> that a “global incident response and cybersecurity firm” would lead an investigation.</p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
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"updates": [
"(2022-10-05 19:01:00+00:00) Fast Company website back online eight days after cyberattack"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Fast Company"
],
"tags": [
"cyberattack"
],
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"Other Incident"
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{
"title": "Judge rules Starbucks union organizers must turn over media exchanges",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/judge-rules-starbucks-union-organizers-must-turn-over-media-exchanges/",
"first_published_at": "2022-12-15T17:07:16.621276Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-12-15T17:07:16.621276Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-12-15T17:07:16.516719Z",
"date": "2022-09-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Buffalo",
"longitude": -78.87837,
"latitude": 42.88645,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"36aqu\">Nearly two dozen individuals behind a unionization drive at Starbucks locations in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, were ordered to turn over their communications with journalists by a federal judge on Sept. 23, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnlbj\">The ruling came as part of a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620.1.0.pdf\">complaint</a> the National Labor Relations Board filed against Starbucks in June 2022, accusing the Seattle-based coffee giant of union-busting activities. Starbucks <a href=\"https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45839081be\">denies</a> any wrongdoing.</p><p data-block-key=\"9rt5c\">According to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, organizers and current and former Starbucks employees were ordered in early September to turn over all documents concerning getting in contact with any media outlet about the unionization efforts and any resulting communications.</p><p data-block-key=\"evtd9\">The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/10/29/starbucks-reporters-union-communications-judge/\">reported</a> that the order would likely pertain to thousands of messages with journalists, and that the Post, The New York Times, Vice, Fox News, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and Buffalo News have extensively covered the organizing campaign.</p><p data-block-key=\"3m2bn\">NLRB filed a motion to quash the subpoenas or issue a protective order. <a href=\"https://workersunited.org/\">Workers United</a>, a labor union working to organize the New York stores, also received a subpoena and filed two motions to quash: one on its own behalf and one on behalf of the subpoenaed <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620.42.0.pdf\">Starbucks employees</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eb59b\">On Sept. 23, District Judge John Sinatra Jr. <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620.49.0.pdf\">issued his ruling</a> quashing some requests in the subpoenas, but holding that communications and any recordings of conversations with the media would have to be produced.</p><p data-block-key=\"ak3qp\">According to the Post, it is unusual for a judge to approve a request that so blatantly targets communications with journalists, which would be protected under New York’s Shield Law if the journalists had been issued the subpoenas instead.</p><p data-block-key=\"d07tn\">For subpoenas issued directly to journalists or news organizations, and information about how we document those legal orders, explore the Tracker’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/subpoena/\">Subpoena/Legal Order category</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8g14o\">A Starbucks spokesperson, Andrew Trull, defended the judge’s order in a statement to the Post alleging that the media received false information.</p><p data-block-key=\"88hv\">“This is about getting to the truth and uncovering misinformation that [union-supporting workers] have disseminated to both our partners and the public,” Trull said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ts4j\">No documents were produced by the court-imposed deadline of Oct. 14. On Oct. 27, Starbucks <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620/gov.uscourts.nywd.141620.63.0.pdf\">filed a motion</a> for the court to hold the union and the individuals subpoenaed in contempt and impose sanctions on them. That same day, Workers United notified the court of its intention to file an appeal of the judge’s ruling with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.</p><p data-block-key=\"btdnf\">Sinatra has placed all proceedings — including ruling on the motion for sanctions — on hold until the appeal is resolved. As of publication, the appeal has not yet been filed.</p><p data-block-key=\"loto\">The president of The NewsGuild, one of the largest journalist labor unions, <a href=\"https://buffalonews.com/business/local/free-press-advocates-alarmed-by-buffalo-judges-ruling-in-starbucks-case/article_906aa7f4-56e1-11ed-b4ee-ff59627c99f3.html\">told the Buffalo News</a> that the order chips away at free press protections and creates a chilling effect for both journalists and their sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"70j5a\">"Clearly, Starbucks is violating the First Amendment of our country by trying to get access to information that is part of the news gathering process," Jon Schleuss said. "The federal government has no place in restricting the freedom of press.”</p></div>",
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{
"title": "Two Occupy Democrats journalists barred from DeSantis press conference",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-occupy-democrats-journalists-barred-from-desantis-press-conference/",
"first_published_at": "2022-10-14T16:21:32.547749Z",
"last_published_at": "2023-12-20T20:43:01.646919Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2023-12-20T20:43:01.567674Z",
"date": "2022-09-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Miami",
"longitude": -80.19366,
"latitude": 25.77427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cof21\">Two journalists with the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats were barred from attending a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Miami, Florida, on Sept. 22, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"b0b9p\">Editor-at-Large Grant Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and Reported Opinion Columnist Thomas Kennedy learned about the press conference after DeSantis put it on his public agenda. The pair was ultimately stopped before they could enter the venue at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Was just denied entrance to DeSantis’ press event. Police put their hands on me and forcibly removed me from this publicly funded event despite me not raising my voice and police acknowledging we are not violent. We wanted to ask why DeSantis is using migrants as political props.</p>— Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tomaskenn/status/1573005657594560512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 22, 2022</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=\"cof21\">In a video Kennedy <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tomaskenn/status/1573016253404532736\">posted on Twitter</a> of the interaction, a person he identifies as a Miami police detective says he and Grant have already been advised they are not welcome. “You’re not invited. You’re not press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"anslu\">Officer Roberto Heredia Rubio subsequently <a href=\"https://twitter.com/tomaskenn/status/1573016484326084609\">told the journalists</a> that it was a private event and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement instructed the officers to prevent them from entering.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah51u\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-china-influence-bills-20210607-7mlip2poz5hl3pcsokaabdg22i-story.html\">Orlando Sentinel</a>, DeSantis signed two bills into law that day aimed at combating foreign influence in Florida’s universities and increasing the penalties for selling trade secrets, particularly to foreign governments.</p><p data-block-key=\"39u6v\">Stern told the Tracker that during the interaction, another officer at the venue refused to identify himself and then began filming them on a cellphone. Stern requested that the officer send him a copy of the recording in compliance with the state’s public records law. The officer refused and forced them to exit the building under threat of arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"bdth8\">“This is the second time that an officer from the City of Miami has responded to me making an on-the-spot records request with retaliatory conduct,” Stern said. “There’s a pattern and practice of civil rights violations in Miami.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3e1mv\">The governor’s office has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?search=desantis&categories=Denial+of+Access\">barred press from covering press conferences or bill signings</a> on at least four other occasions since March 2020, including an incident in April when both Stern and Kennedy were forcefully removed from a press conference with DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñes. The Tracker documented that incident <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-occupy-democrats-journalists-removed-from-press-conference-with-florida-governor/\">here</a>.</p></div>",
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"categories": [
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"Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats)",
"Thomas Kennedy (Occupy Democrats)"
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},
{
"title": "Ransomware attack delays two daily newspapers in Utah",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ransomware-attack-delays-two-daily-newspapers-in-utah/",
"first_published_at": "2022-09-13T15:16:07.362175Z",
"last_published_at": "2022-09-28T15:54:20.118316Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2022-09-28T15:54:20.060245Z",
"date": "2022-09-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Ogden",
"longitude": -111.97383,
"latitude": 41.223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3janp\">Two Utah newspapers — the Standard-Examiner and its sister paper, the Provo Daily Herald — were forced to delay the delivery of daily print newspapers after a ransomware attack targeted the Standard-Examiner’s computer network on Sept. 5, 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"c88me\">The Standard-Examiner <a href=\"https://www.standard.net/news/local/2022/sep/06/ransomware-attack-hits-standard-examiner-delays-tuesday-paper/?fbclid=IwAR241AupgTtQDeq2DeM7iNahgGwtBx-aROnrPmhUDc3eD56B6evlEK_Z7FQ\">reported</a> that the attack, which caused an outage at the newspapers’ shared plant in Ogden, was believed to have come from an infected email sent by unknown intruders.</p><p data-block-key=\"edch1\">In ransomware attacks, hackers use malicious software, or “malware,” to seize control of a company’s IT and digital assets and demand the company pay a ransom for their return.</p><p data-block-key=\"cduud\">The Standard-Examiner reported that its IT staff initially detected the intrusion on Sept. 5, after the system had already been compromised, delaying the newspapers’ Sept. 6 print edition until the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"2l90f\">The Standard-Examiner’s website and digital newspaper, standard.net, were not affected by the attack, according to the outlet. Tim Swietek, information technology director for Ogden Newspapers of Utah, told the Standard-Examiner that the intruders did not gain access to the cloud computers containing most of the newspaper’s data.</p><p data-block-key=\"fa5q9\">The compromised computer network was repaired the next day, Swietek told the Standard-Examiner, and normal printing resumed.</p><p data-block-key=\"bolkj\">Neither the Standard-Examiner nor the Daily Herald responded to requests for comment.</p></div>",
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"name": "Utah",
"abbreviation": "UT"
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"Provo Daily Herald",
"Standard-Examiner"
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"cyberattack"
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"Other Incident"
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]
