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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck, pushed with baton amid Israel-Gaza war protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-pushed-with-baton-amid-israel-gaza-war-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-17T17:16:10.155740Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-17T17:16:10.155740Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-17T16:15:08.515115Z",
"date": "2024-10-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ze9lc\">Documentary photographer Q. Sakamaki was shoved with a baton and kicked by a New York City police officer on Oct. 7, 2024, while documenting demonstrations marking the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war.</p><p data-block-key=\"pjk1\">Sakamaki told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he has covered protests in the city for decades and was <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DA303HnxHrV/?img_index=1\">photographing the protests</a> in Manhattan that day. He said he was in a densely packed crowd with numerous other members of the press, photographing the arrest of a pro-Palestinian protester, when his camera strap suddenly became entangled with an officer’s baton.</p><p data-block-key=\"1tmji\">“I tried to, you know, pull it out. At the same time, many people also moved,” Sakamaki said. “Then, the officer suddenly lost control of his temper. He got angry, just pushing me and actually kicked me a lot, but I couldn’t go back because there were so many people behind me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d17u7\">In footage captured by <a href=\"https://x.com/lilyridephotos/status/1843683635880440026\">other</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/JP_OTG/status/1843414473178264033\">journalists</a> in the crowd, an officer can be seen first striking and then pushing Sakamaki back with his baton.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">An NYPD officer hits a credentialed press member taking photographs with a baton during a Pro-Palestine march on October 7, 2024. <a href=\"https://t.co/k3ylze0LyO\">pic.twitter.com/k3ylze0LyO</a></p>— Lily Ride Photos (@lilyridephotos) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/lilyridephotos/status/1843683635880440026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 8, 2024</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=\"ze9lc\">Sakamaki said that after things had calmed down, he approached the officer and attempted to speak with him, but the officer shouted, “Back! Back! I warned you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"86vho\">The photographer told the Tracker that he was struck in the liver and has “felt sick” since the incident, but that it hasn’t discouraged his coverage. He added that police are responding harshly to large protests and without adequate training or planning.</p><p data-block-key=\"3c416\">“They don’t know how to control their temper, they don’t know how to de-escalate the situation,” Sakamaki said. “In the ‘80s and ‘90s it was bad, but now covering ordinary protests is getting harder, harder, harder.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6c9bq\">The New York City Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4eg2m\">Demonstrators gather in New York, New York, on Oct. 7, 2024, to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. Police struck photojournalist Q. Sakamaki with a baton while he was covering protests against the Israel-Gaza war that day.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Q. Sakamaki (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "North Dakota TV reporter spat on, dodges punch ahead of live shot",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/north-dakota-tv-reporter-spat-on-dodges-punch-ahead-of-live-shot/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-09T19:10:34.500689Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-09T19:10:34.500689Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-09T18:33:37.968996Z",
"date": "2024-10-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fargo",
"longitude": -96.7898,
"latitude": 46.87719,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"n38e7\">Tatum Miller, a multimedia reporter for KVLY-TV, was charged at and spat on by a woman as Miller was preparing for an interview in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, early on Oct. 4, 2024, the station <a href=\"https://www.valleynewslive.com/2024/10/04/vnl-crew-threatened-downtown-fargo-friday-morning/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2cepj\">Miller told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she and her photographer, Morgan Drake, were covering a downtown market that takes place nearly every week. While setting up shortly before 5:30 a.m. for a live interview with a pair of vendors, a woman began screaming at them.</p><p data-block-key=\"5orp4\">“She started out just yelling across the street,” Miller said. “And then I turn and look and instead of being across the street, down a block, she’s now running at me. She gets up about two inches from my face and tries to throw a punch; I lean back and she doesn’t make contact with me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"119rc\">Miller said the woman then threw a handful of leaves in her face, spat on her hair and coat and ran down the street.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ucai\">Police arrived at the scene within minutes, Miller said, and she asked that they stay nearby while she conducted the interview to ensure that nothing would happen while they were on-air. After the interview, police found the woman — who they said was under the influence of methamphetamines — and spoke with her.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o5n1\">The station reported that the woman was not detained, and officers instructed her to leave the news crew alone.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpir7\">Under <a href=\"https://casetext.com/statute/north-dakota-century-code/title-121-criminal-code/chapter-121-17-assaults-threats-coercion-harassment/section-121-17-11-contact-by-bodily-fluids-or-excrement\">North Dakota law</a>, spitting on someone can be prosecuted as an assault, but Miller told the Tracker she is still undecided on how to proceed.</p><p data-block-key=\"4u12j\">“My company does want to prosecute to the fullest extent,” Miller said. “They’re leaving it up to me personally, and I’m kind of going through more of her background first.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Miller_ND_assault.6c1acfd8.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m44lc\">KVLY-TV reporter Tatum Miller is seen in body camera footage speaking with a police officer in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, on Oct. 4, after a woman assaulted her just prior to a live interview.</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"name": "North Dakota",
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},
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"Assault"
],
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{
"title": "Florida broadcasters threatened with criminal charges by state agency",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/florida-broadcasters-threatened-with-criminal-charges-by-state-agency/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-11T17:39:48.037361Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-11-07T21:19:41.380605Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-11-07T21:19:41.188264Z",
"date": "2024-10-03",
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"city": "Multiple",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"thf6t\">At least two Florida broadcast stations were sent cease and desist letters on Oct. 3, 2024, by the state’s Department of Health after airing a campaign ad to overturn the state’s six-week abortion ban.</p><p data-block-key=\"69ese\">The letters to WFLA-TV in Tampa and WCJB-TV in Gainesville threatened to bring criminal charges for “sanitary nuisance” against the outlets for airing an ad entitled “<a href=\"https://youtu.be/7jJiEE_AkPA\">Caroline</a>” that encouraged voters to support an amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, <a href=\"https://floridapolitics.com/archives/700182-department-of-health-sends-cease-and-desist-letter-to-tv-station-over-abortion-ad/\">according to Florida Politics</a>. The South Florida Sun Sentinel <a href=\"https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/10/10/floridas-threat-of-criminal-charges-against-tv-stations-blasted-as-unconstitutional/\">reported</a> that stations in Sarasota and Panama City were also targeted. The ad was being run across the state, and is believed to have been on more than 50 stations.</p><p data-block-key=\"btgnl\"><a href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25194950/fl-doh-letter.pdf\">The letter</a> to WFLA-TV, which was first <a href=\"https://x.com/Jason_Garcia/status/1842646033890746744\">reported</a> by investigative journalist Jason Garcia, read: “While your company enjoys the right to broadcast political advertisements under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, section 4 of the Florida Constitution, that right does not include free rein to disseminate false advertisement which, if believed, would likely have a detrimental effect on the lives and health of pregnant women in Florida.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f3n9k\">According to the letter, maintaining a sanitary nuisance is a second-degree misdemeanor. As such, it would carry a maximum of <a href=\"http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0775/Sections/0775.082.html\">60 days in prison</a>, up to a <a href=\"http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0775/Sections/0775.083.html\">$500 fine</a> or both.</p><p data-block-key=\"dk4m\">Upon hearing of the letters, attorneys representing Floridians Protecting Freedom — which sponsored the abortion rights amendment — <a href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25194336/fpf_caroline_ceasedesist_responseletter_10_4_2024.pdf\">wrote</a> to WCJB-TV on Oct. 4 to insist that the ads continue running.</p><p data-block-key=\"902v3\">“This is not simply an instance where your station has received a baseless cease-and-desist letter in the context of a heated political campaign,” the letter read. “This is not just an unfounded request, it is unconstitutional state action. The Letter is a textbook example of government coercion that violates the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7l283\">Jessica Rosenworcel, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, <a href=\"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-406321A1.pdf\">decried the letters</a> and said that the stations should not be intimidated for airing political ads.</p><p data-block-key=\"6bqnt\">“The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4th2k\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, condemned the letters in a statement, calling them the latest effort from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to “censor free speech and punish dissent.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a9jop\">“A governor who is confident in his policies and secure in his leadership would welcome debate and correct statements he believes are misleading rather than trying to weaponize trash disposal laws against the free press,” wrote Director of Advocacy Seth Stern. “But DeSantis is not that governor. His administration’s conduct would be silly if it weren’t such a transparent bully tactic.”</p><p data-block-key=\"125ar\">The Florida Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment. <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/09/florida-abortion-tv-ad-caroline/\">According to The Washington Post</a>, both broadcast stations were continuing to air the ads as of Oct. 9.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mvob4\">A portion of a cease and desist letter sent Oct. 3 to Florida broadcaster WFLA-TV by the state’s Department of Health threatening criminal charges if the station continued to air a political ad in support of reproductive rights.</p>",
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"(2024-11-06 00:00:00+00:00) Judge ends restraining order over Florida abortion ban ads",
"(2024-10-17 00:00:00+00:00) Judge says Florida can’t threaten TV stations for airing ad about abortion ban"
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"WCJB-TV",
"WFLA-TV",
"WINK-TV"
],
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"election",
"Election 2024",
"reproductive rights"
],
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{
"title": "City attorney tells journalist to unpublish articles about arrest report",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/city-attorney-tells-journalist-to-unpublish-articles-about-arrest-report/",
"first_published_at": "2024-11-20T19:34:54.903224Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-02-13T18:03:07.539933Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-02-13T18:03:07.356183Z",
"date": "2024-10-03",
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"city": "San Francisco",
"longitude": -122.41942,
"latitude": 37.77493,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"69qu2\">A San Francisco city attorney, in a letter on Oct. 3, 2024, directed independent journalist Jack Poulson to remove details of a tech CEO’s sealed arrest report from multiple articles and to “refrain” from publishing the materials further. The journalist was later sued for $25 million by the tech executive, <a href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/maury-blackman-lawsuit-19871638.php\">according to the San Francisco Chronicle</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eql1o\">The Chronicle reported that the executive, Maury Blackman, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in 2021. He was not ultimately charged, and his arrest report was sealed from public view in 2022.</p><p data-block-key=\"939l2\">Poulson — who runs the nonprofit <a href=\"https://techinquiry.org/?about=overview\">Tech Inquiry</a> and publishes a newsletter on Substack — wrote an <a href=\"https://jackpoulson.substack.com/p/the-covert-gig-work-surveillance\">article</a> about the arrest on Sept. 14, 2023, and posted a copy of the arrest report itself. He later wrote about <a href=\"https://jackpoulson.substack.com/p/fraudulent-dmca-takedown-submitted\">subsequent</a> <a href=\"https://jackpoulson.substack.com/p/california-based-covert-surveillance\">attempts</a> to pressure him to take down the article and “forensically unmask” his sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"6m4g\">In September 2024, Poulson was sent a “demand for removal of sealed document and information related to sealed document” from David Marek, an attorney representing Blackman. The letter threatened legal action if the journalist didn’t delete the sealed report and the articles about it.</p><p data-block-key=\"3deds\">San Francisco Deputy City Attorney Jennifer Choi then sent letters first to Substack and later to Poulson informing them that <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=851.92.&lawCode=PEN\">under California law</a> it is illegal to share information relating to a sealed arrest, punishable by a fine of $500 to $2,500.</p><p data-block-key=\"besr2\">“We expect that you will immediately remove the Incident Report and its contents from Substack and ensure that the index to postings no longer allows for the Incident Report to be viewed or downloaded,” Choi wrote. “Finally, please refrain from publishing this material in the future.”</p><p data-block-key=\"81l89\">Choi did not respond to a request for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"6v4t0\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the Tracker is a project, told the Chronicle that the Supreme Court has made it clear that the Constitution protects journalists from punishment for publishing legally obtained information.</p><p data-block-key=\"20dnp\">“Journalists are entitled to publish documents that they lawfully obtained, specifically government documents,” FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern said. “Unless the city wants to take the position that a sealed arrest report is more sensitive than national security or (identifying) victims of terrible crimes, I don’t think they are in good standing.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3n4f3\">The city has not taken legal action against Poulson, the Chronicle reported. But Marek filed a lawsuit against the journalist, Tech Inquiry, Substack and Amazon Web Services, believed to be on Blackman’s behalf. The suit alleges Poulson’s articles damaged the unnamed plaintiff’s employment prospects and reputation among family, friends and business associates.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ru7p7\">A portion of an Oct. 3, 2024, letter from a San Francisco city attorney directing independent journalist Jack Poulson to remove details about a sealed arrest report from multiple articles and to “refrain” from publishing them further.</p>",
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"(2025-02-05 00:00:00+00:00) Tech CEO’s suit against journalist dismissed"
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{
"title": "Journalists ordered to reveal sources in harassment suit against eBay",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-ordered-to-reveal-sources-in-harassment-suit-against-ebay/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-01T15:33:03.289508Z",
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"date": "2024-09-25",
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"city": "Boston",
"longitude": -71.05977,
"latitude": 42.35843,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ocz8h\">The journalists behind an online e-commerce news site were ordered by a federal court on Sept. 25, 2024, to turn over the identities of sources who stopped working with them as a result of a 2019 campaign of harassment and intimidation at the hands of then-eBay employees. An attorney representing the journalists argues there’s nothing to turn over.</p><p data-block-key=\"bo44s\">David and Ina Steiner, a married couple who run the Massachusetts-based news site EcommerceBytes, were targeted by seven employees after publishing an article in August 2019 about litigation involving the online retailer. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/six-former-ebay-employees-arrested-alleged-harassment-campaign-against-journalists/\">The seven were later convicted</a> and eBay was fined $3 million.</p><p data-block-key=\"bjre6\">In July 2021, the Steiners filed a federal lawsuit in Boston against eBay, the former executives and the seven co-conspirators, alleging they suffered emotional, psychological and financial harm as a result of the harassment campaign.</p><p data-block-key=\"vnt8\">As part of discovery in that lawsuit, eBay <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.236568/gov.uscourts.mad.236568.450.0.pdf\">filed a motion</a> in September 2024 asking that the court compel the Steiners to disclose the identities of “would-be sources” who were fearful of working with the journalists following the harassment.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6t07\">The Steiners had <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.236568/gov.uscourts.mad.236568.450.10.pdf\">previously released</a> redacted copies of communications wherein sources asked that their names not be published or advertisers withdrew their business, citing a fear of retaliation from eBay or cyberbullying.</p><p data-block-key=\"53bot\">In a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.236568/gov.uscourts.mad.236568.460.0.pdf\">filing in opposition</a> to eBay’s motion, an attorney representing the Steiners wrote that the request was moot, as there are no potential sources that they could identify. Attorney Todd Garber added that the motion should still be denied, however, as granting it could have a chilling effect on potential confidential sources.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gtp3\">“Sources came forward on the premise of anonymity for fear of retaliation, a very real fear given the facts of this case,” Garber wrote. “eBay’s motion threatens the free flow of information because if granted it would send fear down any confidential sources’ spine that the disclosure of their identities is very much at risk and promises of confidentiality cannot be upheld.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e0mm1\">During a hearing on Sept. 25, <a href=\"https://www.law360.com/media/articles/1882383/bloggers-in-ebay-stalking-case-can-t-pinpoint-lost-sources\">Law360 reported</a>, Garber reiterated that there are no further documents or information to produce in response to the request. Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson expressed frustration during the hearing and largely sidestepped arguments over reporter’s privilege.</p><p data-block-key=\"eugum\">“It sounds like what you’re saying essentially is ‘we can’t identify any particular person who says they will no longer work with us, but that it stands to reason that such people would exist, and we just don’t know who they are,’” Levenson said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5u71k\">The judge also asked why that wouldn’t be a correct and full answer to eBay’s request. Garber said it would be and that he would state as much in his response, which Levenson ordered him to provide by the end of the week, Law360 reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"al9bu\">By granting the motion to compel, however, the judge placed an obligation on the Steiners to provide the identities of such “would-be sources” if they learn of them at any point before the case is resolved.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"g0hmi\">A portion of a September 2024 motion by eBay requesting that the editor and publisher of EcommerceBytes be forced to disclose the identities of sources who stopped working with the news site after it was subject to a harassment campaign.</p>",
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"name": "Massachusetts",
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{
"title": "Journalist arrested while covering Oakland encampment cleanup",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-arrested-while-covering-oakland-encampment-cleanup/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-18T20:40:35.842950Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-10T21:03:07.823711Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-10T21:03:07.598248Z",
"date": "2024-09-17",
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"city": "Oakland",
"longitude": -122.2708,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uv8kg\">Multimedia journalist Yesica Prado was arrested while reporting on a homeless encampment cleanup operation in Oakland, California, on Sept. 17, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"3jlto\">Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao <a href=\"https://x.com/MayorShengThao/status/1781457551911198978\">announced</a> in April that the city was awarded $7.2 million by the state to address three “long-standing encampments.” The news release said the funds would be used to provide supportive services, temporary shelter and then permanent housing.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahn0p\">Prado — who was on assignment for Street Spirit, a monthly newspaper in the Bay Area — <a href=\"https://x.com/Prado_Reports/status/1835831755435323533\">wrote</a> on the social platform X Sept. 16 that the city was beginning to clear one of the large encampments, located near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 23rd Street.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4dho\">“Camp residents were supposed to transition to the Jack London Inn, but this hotel is not open yet. Many residents have lost their property and don’t know where to go,” Prado wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejnnr\">When she arrived on Sept. 17, she <a href=\"https://x.com/Prado_Reports/status/1836090962864673234\">wrote</a> that day, the operation was being run differently, with more than a dozen officers from both the Oakland Police Department and California Highway Patrol present.</p><p data-block-key=\"18j9f\">Prado reported that a city worker threatened her with arrest for not complying with his request to move elsewhere, despite having already moved outside the caution tape as previously directed. She <a href=\"https://x.com/Prado_Reports/status/1836098781152194844\">added</a> that she was forced to stand on the sidewalk, while others documenting the operation were permitted to remain on the road.</p><p data-block-key=\"99mni\">“From the distance, I can’t hear what city staff is telling my sources, which raises serious questions,” Prado wrote. “A fair assessment of the city’s actions can’t be made without a free press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9kb1u\">In Prado’s <a href=\"https://x.com/Prado_Reports/status/1836145976429670650\">footage</a> of the moments leading up to her arrest, she can be heard questioning officers about why they are ordering her to document from the other side of a fence, stating that she cannot see from that location.</p><p data-block-key=\"bskr\">“If you fully refuse to leave a safe work zone it is a misdemeanor in the Oakland Municipal Code, so start walking and leave the safe work zone or you will be placed under arrest,” an officer tells Prado. When she notes that others are still walking around the area, the officer responds, “Oakland Police Department. Do not resist or force will be used on you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ih4k\">As the officers begin to move toward Prado, she moves to walk away and, after another short exchange, the video cuts out as an officer places her hand behind her back.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was given a cite and release after they held me in their police car for awhile. The citation has a "trespassing" charge for "delaying a public agency."<a href=\"https://twitter.com/FACoalition?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FACoalition</a> <br><br>I was warned that I would be taken to Santa Rita jail if they declare that I am violating their "safe work" code <a href=\"https://t.co/kfn0Xi7R7Y\">pic.twitter.com/kfn0Xi7R7Y</a></p>— Yesica Prado🔎📊 📸 🎧 🎥✨️ (@Prado_Reports) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Prado_Reports/status/1836151486734295456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 17, 2024</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=\"uv8kg\">Journalist and documentarian Caron Creighton <a href=\"https://x.com/caroncreighton/status/1836131055415496868\">filmed</a> as officers led Prado away in handcuffs, writing that she too was threatened with arrest. Creighton told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that officers held Prado in a police vehicle for approximately 30 minutes before citing and releasing her.</p><p data-block-key=\"fdbcd\">Prado <a href=\"https://x.com/Prado_Reports/status/1836151486734295456\">was charged</a> with interfering with public employees and remaining in an area that had been designated a safe work zone, both misdemeanors. Prado did not respond to emailed requests for comment from the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"sqgh\">The Oakland Police Department confirmed that officers arrested, cited and released an individual for violating the City of Oakland’s Safe Work Zone ordinance after received multiple verbal warnings.</p><p data-block-key=\"3rgcf\">Oakland is the latest city in which journalists covering cleanup sweeps of homeless encampments have faced threats of arrest or criminal charges, according to a <a href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/2024/09/coalition-demands-california-officials-respect-role-of-press-at-homeless-encampment-sweeps/?mc_cid=eeb1cbd992&mc_eid=297abc34ad\">Sept. 10 letter</a> from 20 press freedom and civil liberties organizations — including the First Amendment Coalition and Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the Tracker is a project — to California leaders and law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"470o0\">“We have serious concerns about the recent law enforcement treatment of journalists in Sacramento and Los Angeles,” the letter said, noting four recent incidents. “We urge cities, counties and state agencies to conduct these activities transparently, and ensure workers and officers in the field respect the First Amendment rights of the press to observe and document government actions in public.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cm0jn\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include information provided by journalist and documentary filmmaker Caron Creighton and comment from the Oakland Police Department.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"didh6\">Multimedia journalist Yesica Prado, center, was arrested while reporting on a homeless encampment cleanup operation in Oakland, California, on Sept. 17, 2024. She was detained for 30 minutes and charged with obstructing public employees and trespassing.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Oakland Police Department",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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},
"updates": [
"(2024-12-04 00:00:00+00:00) DA declines to prosecute journalist arrested at California encampment cleanup"
],
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{
"title": "Local official angered by coverage threatens Texas newspaper on social media",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/local-official-angered-by-coverage-threatens-texas-newspaper-on-social-media/",
"first_published_at": "2025-03-07T19:33:39.025827Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-03-14T13:23:02.582643Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-03-14T13:23:02.447773Z",
"date": "2024-09-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Galveston",
"longitude": -94.7977,
"latitude": 29.30135,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3lqjj\">A local Texas councilman shared a social media image of a handgun atop the front page of The Daily News of Galveston County on Sept. 15, 2024, one of a series of what the newspaper’s editor said were attacks over its critical coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2330\">The La Marque council member, Joseph Lowry, has lashed out at the paper and one of its reporters in numerous other posts on the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/LowryNewsNetwork\">Lowry News Network</a> Facebook page, according to Daily News Editor Michael A. Smith and the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s review of the page.</p><p data-block-key=\"82seh\">Lowry, described by Smith as a “right-wing political operative,” also posts frequently about local politics, often accusing officials of corruption or other misdeeds.</p><p data-block-key=\"5j9i6\">The Sept. 15 <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122155494458051536&set=pb.61551546081527.-2207520000&type=3\">post</a> showed a photo of the Sept. 14-15 weekend edition of The Daily News with a handgun sitting on top of the paper. That issue’s lead <a href=\"https://www.galvnews.com/news/la-marque-councilmans-claims-about-ethics-might-be-unethical-expert-says/article_eb4bc165-af95-567b-8bbf-e1909a381c22.html\">story</a>, entitled “Councilman’s claims might be unethical, expert says,” detailed Lowry’s alleged harassment of another council member and the steps taken to protect her.</p><p data-block-key=\"4dppr\">The post’s location was tagged as the “Galveston County Daily News.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c64k9\">Smith said he believed that Lowry made the post because of the scrutiny the newspaper had placed him under. “We have been reporting on his antics for several years,” he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"44cnl\">Smith told the Tracker that Lowry had also made “a lot of veiled threats” against Scott McLendon, the reporter who wrote the story.</p><p data-block-key=\"9dg4n\">According to Smith, one came in a spoken quote for an <a href=\"https://www.galvnews.com/news/la-marque-councilmans-firm-owes-43k-in-back-taxes-court-records-say/article_469c73c4-6c15-56d1-9d5d-904f0c179ff8.html\">article</a> reporting that Lowry owes more than $40,000 in back taxes, in which he said, before hanging up, “I don’t owe anybody any money. But good job. You’re a piece of shit. You’re a fucking maggot. And you’ll get what’s coming to you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9gg38\">In addition, Lowry had said he’d been parked outside McLendon’s house and had mentioned the reporter’s children in a post. However, Smith added, “We never saw him around here and Scott never saw him around his house.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fik3v\">Lowry also posted photos of <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/LowryNewsNetwork/posts/pfbid0ZA4rkUzEVwnyD5akW7wNdDsCL7MeqFzxK9NsaahQzutNAFbGkaqceL69f6rVkeLnl\">Smith</a> and the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/LowryNewsNetwork/posts/pfbid02Bmf8pbSxV6swdV8KdJwFwzXNU4Z9C6qeGFrNa5aLZjC7auTQNKLz4uqDqyuWJWNMl\">reporter</a> on his Facebook page, using derogatory terms, labeling them “fake news” and tagging the paper’s office location. Smith said that, in addition, Lowry emailed the paper a photo of himself sitting in a car holding what appears to be a semiautomatic pistol.</p><p data-block-key=\"4lag7\">Smith added, “Most recently he’s been posting items suggesting the newspaper would go out of business if not for money from public notices” and has been lobbying city leaders across the county to stop putting notices in the paper.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ptvl\">For example, on Sept. 20 Lowry <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/LowryNewsNetwork/posts/pfbid0FrKNpzrjhEoXgvoptCL3oyQL3hjxurXTmsZqQCENnXccpCJMK2ZyRLVvwLJNusFNl\">wrote</a>: “We have got to pass legislation to take millions (annually) in tax dollars away from these fake news outlets like Galveston Daily fake news. Our tax dollars should not go to writing hit pieces on citizens or political opponents of corrupt elected officials.”</p><p data-block-key=\"53m6b\">Smith said the paper had contacted the police, but they said “there was nothing criminal they could act on.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6rb1q\">As a precaution, the paper gave its reception desk Lowry’s photo and instructed them not to let him into the building. In addition, “We circulated his photo among the employees and told them to report to a member of the leadership team if they saw him lurking around.”</p><p data-block-key=\"er8b4\">In response to an emailed request for comment, Lowry denied threatening the outlet or any of its reporters. “Someone misinformed you,” replied Lowry. “I did not know where anybody at the Galveston daily news lives nor do I care. Nor have I ever threatened a reporter. Fake news.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dautv\">Smith said that the outlet hasn’t changed the way it’s covered the story, although another reporter is now covering the beat. “We’ve continued to report the parts of his circus that seem to be news.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ei10n\"><i>Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect additional information about the paper’s coverage of Lowry.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Daily_News.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h95o5\">A portion of a Sept. 15, 2024, Facebook post on the Lowry News Network page, run by La Marque, Texas, City Councilman Joseph Lowry. The Galveston newspaper in the image said it’s one of a series of attacks by the official.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with police bike amid presidential debate protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-police-bike-amid-presidential-debate-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-10T16:21:54.718762Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-10T16:21:54.718762Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-10T16:17:02.751367Z",
"date": "2024-09-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Philadelphia",
"longitude": -75.16362,
"latitude": 39.95238,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"b90c6\">Independent photojournalist Cristina Panagi was repeatedly rammed with a bike by police while covering a protest outside the presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 10, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"c264b\">Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the National Constitution Center, where presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were debating, <a href=\"https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/pro-palestinian-protesters-rally-outside-national-constitution-center-during-presidential-debate/3966752/\">WCAU reported</a>. According to the TV station, pro-Palestinian demonstrators made up the bulk of the crowd, calling for a cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.</p><p data-block-key=\"41qto\">Panagi told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that near the end of the protesters’ march, a Philadelphia Police Department officer yelled at her to move back and, despite her efforts to comply, repeatedly slammed his bicycle into her legs.</p><p data-block-key=\"528gc\">“They were actively using the bikes as battering rams to shove people back,” Panagi said. “You can see in my video that I’m with everybody else that also has press credentials. It was, again, very, very crowded. There was nowhere for us to go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4e0tu\">In footage she <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C_yyKXjOyGl/\">posted to Instagram</a>, an officer can be heard repeating “Get out” and “Step back,” shouting louder each time. Panagi is heard responding, “We’re going,” but the officer continues to lift his bike, pushing it into her.</p><p data-block-key=\"7h2s3\">Panagi said her legs were scratched and bruised from the incident, and that she was frustrated that it had happened at all.</p><p data-block-key=\"vasp\">“It’s like: Dude, I’m here working too. I’m not trying to be in your way,” she told the Tracker. “I’m just trying to take some photos and go home.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8pd8h\">Panagi added that she was wearing press credentials issued by the New York City mayor’s office, as well as from the Freelance Journalists Union, and was clearly identifiable as press.</p><p data-block-key=\"9u5ta\">A public information officer for the Philadelphia Police Department told the Tracker via email that officers regularly use bicycles when responding to protests for their “mobility and flexibility in navigating large crowds.” </p><p data-block-key=\"aq4sr\">Sgt. Eric Gripp added that the department takes allegations of misconduct seriously. “If there is information suggesting that a media member was treated unjustly or deliberately struck by an officer, we strongly encourage the individual to file an official complaint with our Internal Affairs Bureau,” Gripp wrote.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2c3zr\">Philadelphia Police Department officers use their bicycles to corral protesters and members of the press outside the presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024. Photojournalist Cristina Panagi was repeatedly pushed with a bike, bruising and cutting her legs.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
},
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist arrested covering pre-presidential debate protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-covering-pre-presidential-debate-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-09T18:30:50.337990Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-09T18:50:49.390964Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-09T18:50:49.294849Z",
"date": "2024-09-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3c3ko\">Independent photojournalist Sarah Baum was arrested by a plainclothes New York City police officer while documenting a demonstration on Sept. 10, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"ca5ig\">Baum told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a small group of demonstrators in “black bloc” — wearing all black and concealing their identities — gathered in Manhattan to protest ahead of the presidential debate that evening. According to a <a href=\"https://x.com/sebs_reports/status/1833995073727414777\">statement</a> shared with Baum, the protest focused on the election, as well as issues ranging from the ongoing Israel-Gaza war to corruption in NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Protestors blocked traffic & seemed to target corporate storefronts including Google, whose ties to the IDF are well documented. Their messaging called attention the ongoing genocides in Gaza & Congo. Chants tied these struggles to ongoing efforts against ICE & NYPD violence. <a href=\"https://t.co/4tJClIX8Gn\">pic.twitter.com/4tJClIX8Gn</a></p>— they/them (@sebs_reports) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sebs_reports/status/1833995061748470212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2024</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=\"3c3ko\">After police intercepted the demonstration, Baum said the protesters scattered or were arrested. The photojournalist stayed to document some of the arrests and then began walking home on a sidewalk nearby. That’s when they said a plainclothes officer placed them under arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"en9r9\">“Two officers came up and grabbed me and said, ‘Put your hands behind your back.’ And I said, ‘I’m a member of the press. You can see my big camera! I’m a member of the press,’” Baum recounted. “They said, ‘You know, oh well, you don’t have a badge.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"8j7f1\">Baum told the Tracker that they had only recently moved to the city, and had not yet obtained the six reporting clips <a href=\"https://www.nyc.gov/site/mome/press-card/press-card-application.page\">necessary to qualify</a> for a press credential from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1e1u\">“To get a press badge in New York City, you need to demonstrate a need for it. In order to demonstrate a need for it, you need to be on the ground for protests, but then when you’re on the ground at protests, you’re at significant risk of being arrested if you don’t have a badge,” Baum said. “So it’s kind of this Sisyphean task.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I had my camera out & ID’d myself as press a billion times. It didn’t matter. NYPD Deputy Police Commissioner Kaz Daughtry personally saw this & let officers arrest me anyway.</p>— they/them (@sebs_reports) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/sebs_reports/status/1833995068966908032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2024</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=\"3c3ko\">Baum said they repeatedly asked for the officers’ names and badge numbers, but the officers refused to answer.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gma1\">The photojournalist was transported to New York City Police Department headquarters in lower Manhattan and held for approximately six hours. They were released in the early hours of Sept. 11 with a citation for walking on the roadway.</p><p data-block-key=\"8v3jl\">A second photojournalist, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-detained-camera-and-bag-damaged-at-nyc-protest/\">Olga Fedorova</a>, was also detained while documenting the demonstration that day, but was released when a supervisory officer recognized her. Her camera and equipment bag, however, were damaged in the course of her detention.</p><p data-block-key=\"21stl\">On Oct. 7, Baum told the Tracker that the paperwork for the charge had been improperly filed, and therefore the charge was functionally dropped; the Tracker confirmed that there are no pending criminal charges against them.</p><p data-block-key=\"aj6sp\">Though Baum said they were relieved not to have to appear in court, they added that the experience has had a chilling effect on them.</p><p data-block-key=\"36o4p\">“I should be documenting all the protests that are happening around the city, but I’ve had to sit on the sidelines while I figure out how physically and legally safe it is for me to go back out there,” Baum said. “I’ve also been experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress since the arrest and everything else that happened that day. So it’s not just a chilling effect in that I have to worry about how simply doing a job could jeopardize my safety, but also that doing your job becomes more challenging when dealing with mental health repercussions in the aftermath.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2031l\">The NYPD did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m5wzd\">Photojournalist Sarah Baum was arrested by New York City police shortly after officers intercepted a demonstration Baum was documenting before the presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024. The charge for walking in the roadway was later dropped.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2024-09-11",
"detention_date": "2024-09-10",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist detained, camera and bag damaged at NYC protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-detained-camera-and-bag-damaged-at-nyc-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-04T15:09:09.445104Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-08T21:16:27.474498Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-08T21:16:27.354659Z",
"date": "2024-09-10",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fjue0\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was detained by New York City police while documenting a protest on Sept. 10, 2024. Officers slammed her against a wall, damaging her camera, and ripped her equipment bag off her back.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bfg3\">Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a small group of demonstrators in “black bloc” — wearing all black and concealing their identities — gathered in Manhattan ahead of the presidential debate that evening. According to a <a href=\"https://x.com/sebs_reports/status/1833995073727414777\">statement</a> shared with journalists, the protest focused on the election, as well as issues ranging from the ongoing Israel-Gaza war to corruption in NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"57l0f\">In her <a href=\"https://x.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1833664776448205133\">footage</a>, distributed via FreedomNews.TV, demonstrators are seen pulling trash bins and plastic barricades into the street to block traffic and spraying graffiti on a city bus and on a T-Mobile storefront.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NOW: Pro-Palestine protesters in black block tag buildings and MTA Busses in NYC, police arrest multiple demonstrators.<br><br>Video by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/olgafe_images?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@olgafe_images</a> <a href=\"https://twitter.com/FreedomNTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FreedomNTV</a> [email protected] to license <a href=\"https://t.co/ZBXwD069u8\">pic.twitter.com/ZBXwD069u8</a></p>— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1833664776448205133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2024</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=\"fjue0\">“Eventually police attempted to intercept them and they all scattered,” Fedorova said. “I saw a few arrests and then I kind of ran after the rest of them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eunok\">When she couldn’t find them, Fedorova said she decided to file her footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejb26\">“I’m standing on the sidewalk looking through my video when somebody grabs me from behind, pins my arms completely to my side, slams me into a wall and screams ‘Surprise!’” Fedorova said. “And then the person starts saying ‘Stop resisting.’ So that’s when I understood it was NYPD.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a3hpn\">Fedorova said she identified herself as press, explaining that she had her press credential on her as well as her camera, which was damaged when she was pushed into the wall. The officers ignored her, she said, and placed her in handcuffs and cut or tore her equipment bag off her back.</p><p data-block-key=\"46evm\">“Luckily one of the higher-ups was walking by — who is familiar with me because I cover so many of these protests and other things like pressers that the NYPD has — and he just told them to let me go,” Fedorova said. She added that while they did release her it was still “the most disturbing interaction I’ve had with the NYPD ever.”</p><p data-block-key=\"62jbt\">A couple of days later, the NYPD <a href=\"https://x.com/NYPDDaughtry/status/1834263301158490486\">released a video</a> promoting the police response to the protest using footage from security cameras and drones and set to dramatic music. The video also used the footage Fedorova had captured, still bearing the FreedomNews.TV watermark.</p><p data-block-key=\"1rtii\">“It was weird and kind of darkly funny that they both briefly — thank you very much — arrested me and then also stole my footage,” Fedorova said. </p><p data-block-key=\"9d8lg\">In addition to not paying to license the footage, she added, its use in a promotional video for the NYPD actively endangers her because activists may think she is working with the police and target her for it.</p><p data-block-key=\"b4579\">“It’s the last thing I need,” Fedorova told the Tracker. </p><p data-block-key=\"ek7al\">“NYPD has been doing this interesting thing where they will point out footage or photographs that they have found online to activists, kind of on the spot, saying that, ‘Well, you or your friends are getting arrested because of this video,’” she added. “They’re trying to sort of make it difficult, I think, for journalists to work at these social movement and protest events.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2tlf0\">The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"3uaqg\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include additional information on the focus of the Sept. 10 demonstration.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"t0l84\">In footage released by the New York City Police Department, a group of protesters are seen walking in Manhattan on Sept. 10, 2024. Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was detained and her equipment damaged while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "New York City Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2024-09-10",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "equipment bag"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Olga Fedorova (FreedomNews.TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Broadcast reporter robbed at gunpoint in Oakland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-oakland/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-10T15:10:03.066773Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-10T15:10:03.066773Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-10T15:07:29.286426Z",
"date": "2024-09-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Oakland",
"longitude": -122.2708,
"latitude": 37.80437,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8j4dr\">A broadcast news crew with ABC affiliate KGO-TV was robbed at gunpoint while reporting in Oakland, California, on Sept. 7, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"cb4jo\">The San Francisco Chronicle <a href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-tv-news-crew-robbed-19752719.php\">reported</a> that at about 5:30 p.m., multiple armed individuals exited a car and “rushed” the station’s reporter, a crew member and a security guard, as the news team reported in North Oakland. A spokesperson for Oakland’s police union <a href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/09/08/tv-news-crew-security-guard-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-covering-a-story-in-oakland/\">told The Mercury News</a> that the robbers took the crew’s television camera and microphone, as well as the security guard’s firearm.</p><p data-block-key=\"603jg\">KGO-TV declined to comment on the incident. Police have reported no injuries in connection with the robbery and no arrests have been made, according to the News.</p><p data-block-key=\"cn7ck\">More than a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?search=robbed&state=California&tags=robbery&endpage=2\">dozen journalists</a> — all either photojournalists or members of broadcast news crews — have been robbed at gunpoint in the Bay Area since 2019. A security guard for KPIX-TV was shot in the leg when he exchanged fire with an armed robber in February 2019, and a security guard with KRON-TV died from injuries he suffered during an <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bay-area-broadcast-security-guard-shot-killed-in-attempted-robbery-of-news-crew/\">attempted robbery</a> of a news crew in November 2021.</p></div>",
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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,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified reporter 7 (KGO-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Indian journalist assaulted during interview; phone taken, recording deleted",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/indian-journalist-assaulted-during-interview-phone-taken-recording-deleted/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-17T19:11:45.521895Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-20T14:58:48.090000Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-20T14:58:47.985948Z",
"date": "2024-09-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Irving",
"longitude": -96.94889,
"latitude": 32.81402,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wqab0\">Rohit Sharma, a senior journalist for India Today, was physically prevented from leaving an interview he was conducting with an Indian politician in Irving, Texas, on Sept. 7, 2024, after men present intervened to stop the questioning, grabbed his cellphone and ultimately deleted the recording of the conversation, Sharma told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sovq\">Sharma said that he had arranged an interview with Sam Pitroda — the overseas head of the Indian National Congress, one of India’s main opposition parties — ahead of the arrival of fellow party member Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of India’s Parliament.</p><p data-block-key=\"b7gqq\">Approximately 30 people, a mixture of party members from India and the United States, were in the room with them, Sharma <a href=\"https://www.indiatoday.in/opinion/story/how-i-was-assaulted-by-rahul-gandhi-team-in-dallas-texas-2599165-2024-09-13\">reported</a> for the widely circulated newsweekly. The interview with Pitroda was straightforward, he said, setting the scene ahead of Gandhi’s three-day visit and addressing issues that concern members of the Indian diaspora.</p><p data-block-key=\"38s2m\">“The last question that I asked him was about (nonresident Indians) who’ve protested against the killing of minorities in Bangladesh recently, after the change of government,” Sharma said, referring to the alleged <a href=\"https://www.voanews.com/a/in-bangladesh-religious-minorities-targeted-during-political-unrest/7750077.html\">targeting</a> of the Hindu, Christian and Buddhist populations in the Muslim-majority nation. “He was answering that question when, I think to his surprise and my surprise, one person jumped to his feet and shouted, ‘It’s controversial! Stop recording it!’”</p><p data-block-key=\"4ec48\">Pitroda tried to calm the men down, Sharma said, but another individual attempted to grab Sharma’s microphone while someone else grabbed his phone off the tripod it was set up on. Shortly after, Pitroda was told Gandhi had arrived at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and quickly left the room along with some of those present.</p><p data-block-key=\"bq7ks\">The approximately 15 men who remained continued shouting at one another and at Sharma, the journalist told the Tracker, debating what needed to be done.</p><p data-block-key=\"1eecn\">“I was made to sit on a chair — there were two persons, one on my left side and one on the right — and I couldn’t get up. I tried getting up and they said, ‘No, sit down, sit down. You can’t move,’” Sharma told the Tracker. “My instant fear was: I need to get out of this room.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cc7vc\">Sharma said that the men locked his phone while passing it around, so one of them held it up to his face to unlock it using Face ID. They deleted the recording from Sharma’s Photos app, and once again used his Face ID to access his Recently Deleted folder to permanently delete the recording. He said his phone was in airplane mode, and so the recording was not uploaded to his iCloud.</p><p data-block-key=\"dmsq8\">The men went through the other apps on Sharma’s phone to ensure no copy remained. Once they were sure, Sharma was allowed to stand and everyone began to leave the suite, approximately 30 minutes after halting the interview with Pitroda.</p><p data-block-key=\"81gmr\">“Somebody said, ‘We should keep his phone for the next four days, until Mr. Gandhi leaves the U.S., so that nothing gets out,’” Sharma said. He added that he was able to convince them to return the phone, and once he got to the parking lot he called Pitroda to alert him to what had happened.</p><p data-block-key=\"4973v\">The incident immediately chilled his reporting, Sharma said, as he felt unsafe attending any of Gandhi’s events in Washington, D.C., and he’s concerned about what it will mean for his coverage moving forward.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jtt3\">“Anything I write about him moving forward will be looked at through the lens of, ‘Oh, he’s a disgruntled person.’ Even if I report objectively, people will not think it objective,” he said. “It has left a scar.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dglh6\">The National Press Club, of which Sharma is a member, said in a <a href=\"https://www.press.org/newsroom/press-club-statement-attack-against-club-member-texas\">statement</a> that the men “had no right or standing to take Sharma’s phone from him or delete content,” adding that journalists working in the U.S. are protected by the First Amendment, regardless of their nationality.</p><p data-block-key=\"921sc\">Sharma said that Pitroda called him to apologize for the incident a few days after and told the journalist that he believes in press freedom and that he would investigate and hold the responsible parties accountable.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">First and foremost, I want to extend my deep gratitude to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/IndiaToday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@IndiaToday</a>, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/rahulkanwal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@rahulkanwal</a>, and the entire team for standing strong on this issue. What happened was truly appalling. Mr. Pitroda reached out to apologize for the incident, and I’ve accepted his apology. He assured me that… <a href=\"https://t.co/hwecV6LQlC\">https://t.co/hwecV6LQlC</a></p>— Rohit Sharma 🇺🇸🇮🇳 (@DcWalaDesi) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DcWalaDesi/status/1835693975295992185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 16, 2024</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=\"wqab0\">When reached for comment, Pitroda shared a response to the NPC’s statement in which he denied the incident took place, adding that he did not apologize to Sharma because “the incident never happened.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4v5n4\">Sharma said that while he had been concerned about his physical safety during the incident, he’s more concerned now that the story has been picked up by politicians in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi <a href=\"https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pm-narendra-modi-doda-rally-slams-congress-india-today-reporter-assault-rohit-sharma-2599760-2024-09-14\">condemned the attack</a>, saying, “Those who claim to be champions of freedom of speech indulged in brutality.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e1jp8\">“I’m scared because this is a very powerful family: Mr. Gandhi and his family are very powerful, they’ve ruled India for more than 60 years. And now that this has created such a big political fervor in India — even the prime minister talked about it — I don’t want to be in the middle of this mess, between both the parties,” he said. “I still am scared for my extended family in India. And I’m also supposed to travel to India the last week of September into October and I’m debating whether I should even go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ebago\">He added that he went public with what happened not in spite of his fear but because of it.</p><p data-block-key=\"fp6uv\">“I’m speaking up for two reasons: First is I think nobody should get away with this, in the sense that I don’t want them to feel emboldened to come back to the U.S. and do such things with another journalist,” Sharma said. “Second is my fear for my own safety. They know who I am, my face has been flashed all over the media in India. If it’s on the record, then maybe people will be fearful of doing such acts again.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2f31g\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include comment from Sam Pitroda.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b9aef\">India Today senior reporter Rohit Sharma, center right, was interviewing an Indian politician on Sept. 7, 2024, when men present halted the questioning, prevented Sharma from leaving, grabbed his cellphone and deleted the recording.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Texas",
"abbreviation": "TX"
},
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"tags": [
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{
"title": "Broadcast crew member robbed at gunpoint in Oakland",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/broadcast-crew-member-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-oakland/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-10T15:11:03.622843Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-10T15:11:03.622843Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-10T15:07:36.787662Z",
"date": "2024-09-07",
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"city": "Oakland",
"longitude": -122.2708,
"latitude": 37.80437,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ghxyj\">A broadcast news crew with ABC affiliate KGO-TV was robbed at gunpoint while reporting in Oakland, California, on Sept. 7, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"5id2s\">The San Francisco Chronicle <a href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/oakland-tv-news-crew-robbed-19752719.php\">reported</a> that at about 5:30 p.m., multiple armed individuals exited a car and “rushed” the station’s reporter, a crew member and a security guard, as the news team reported in North Oakland. A spokesperson for Oakland’s police union <a href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/09/08/tv-news-crew-security-guard-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-covering-a-story-in-oakland/\">told The Mercury News</a> that the robbers took the crew’s television camera and microphone, as well as the security guard’s firearm.</p><p data-block-key=\"3etva\">KGO-TV declined to comment on the incident. Police have reported no injuries in connection with the robbery and no arrests have been made, according to the News.</p><p data-block-key=\"3n80o\">More than a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?search=robbed&state=California&tags=robbery&endpage=2\">dozen journalists</a> — all either photojournalists or members of broadcast news crews — have been robbed at gunpoint in the Bay Area since 2019. A security guard for KPIX-TV was shot in the leg when he exchanged fire with an armed robber in February 2019, and a security guard with KRON-TV died from injuries he suffered during an <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/bay-area-broadcast-security-guard-shot-killed-in-attempted-robbery-of-news-crew/\">attempted robbery</a> of a news crew in November 2021.</p></div>",
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"name": "California",
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{
"title": "State Department classifies six Russian state-owned news outlets ‘foreign missions’",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/state-department-classifies-six-russian-state-owned-news-outlets-foreign-missions/",
"first_published_at": "2024-10-01T19:22:17.267733Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-10-01T19:22:17.267733Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-10-01T19:22:08.612355Z",
"date": "2024-09-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ul200\">The U.S. State Department is classifying six Russian state-owned media outlets as foreign missions as part of its efforts to counter alleged Russian interference in the 2024 election, it <a href=\"https://www.state.gov/u-s-department-of-state-takes-actions-to-counter-russian-influence-and-interference-in-u-s-elections/\">announced</a> on Sept. 4, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"f9dea\">The media organizations named were the state media group Rossiya Segodnya and the related news operations RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly and Sputnik. The move makes the outlets subject to the same rules as foreign embassies and consulates located inside the U.S. under the 1982 <a href=\"https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/17842.pdf\">Foreign Missions Act</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2cep8\">To continue operating in the U.S., the outlets would be required to regularly report a list of employees — including their addresses and ages — as well as disclose the property the organizations own within the U.S. and obtain approval from the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions to lease or buy real estate. The State Department is also restricting visas for those it believes are using the media outlets as a cover.</p><p data-block-key=\"db16c\">During a Sept. 13 <a href=\"https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-remarks-to-the-press-29/\">news conference</a>, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the outlets are “no longer merely firehoses of Russian Government propaganda and disinformation; they are engaged in covert influence activities aimed at undermining American elections and democracies, functioning like a de facto arm of Russia’s intelligence apparatus.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fpc38\">Blinken emphasized that the United States champions freedom of expression, even when it comes to purveyors of government propaganda. “But we will not stand by as RT and other actors carry out covert activities in support of Russia’s nefarious activities, and we’ll continue to respond forcefully to Moscow’s playbook of aggression and subversion,” Blinken continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"rc4r\">As part of the efforts to address Russian influence on the upcoming election, on Sept. 4 the U.S. Justice Department <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-rt-employees-indicted-covertly-funding-and-directing-us-company-published-thousands\">unsealed an indictment</a> of two Russian employees of RT, while the U.S. Treasury Department <a href=\"https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2559\">imposed sanctions</a> on 10 top RT executives.</p><p data-block-key=\"7d029\">U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-disrupts-covert-russian-government-sponsored-foreign-malign-influence\">also announced</a> that the Justice Department seized 32 web domains that it says the Kremlin used to influence the election, adding that the department’s investigation is ongoing.</p><p data-block-key=\"brfhg\">Russian authorities have consistently denied allegations of U.S. election interference, Al Jazeera <a href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/5/us-accuses-russia-of-election-disinformation-campaigns-what-to-know\">reported</a>. When asked how Russia will respond to the sanctions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova <a href=\"https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1968177/\">said</a>: “We warn once again that any attempt to expel Russian journalists from the United States, create unacceptable conditions for their work or hinder their professional operation in any other way, including through visa restrictions, will be regarded as grounds for a symmetric and/or asymmetric action against American media outlets.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c56eg\">Under former President Donald Trump’s administration, the State Department classified <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/state-department-classifies-five-chinese-state-run-outlets-as-foreign-missions/\">15 Chinese state-run media outlets</a> as foreign missions as part of a series of tit-for-tat reprisals between the U.S. and China, with journalists in the middle.</p><p data-block-key=\"2k9rp\">Russian outlet <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rt-america-compelled-register-foreign-agent-department-justice/\">RT America</a> was similarly ordered to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 2017, as were Russian outlets <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/us-based-news-outlets-funded-russia-ordered-register-foreign-agents/\">RM Broadcasting and RIA Global LLC</a> in 2019 and Al Jazeera’s U.S.-based social media division, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/al-jazeeras-aj-ordered-to-register-as-foreign-agent/\">AJ+</a>, in 2020.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbomj\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, <a href=\"https://freedom.press/news/declassify-rt-records-so-the-public-can-vet-administrations-claims/\">called on the Biden administration</a> to declassify the records used to justify the sanctions so they can be independently vetted.</p><p data-block-key=\"3c2lk\">“All state media outlets, including our own, seek to advance the interests of the government in some way, and Americans are constitutionally entitled to consume foreign propaganda if they so choose,” wrote Lauren Harper, FPF’s inaugural Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy. “If RT’s alleged conduct is not starkly different from what other government media outlets do, then the investigation puts outlets worldwide at risk of retaliation.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"f80d9\">The Moscow headquarters of Rossiya Segodnya, one of six Russian state-owned news outlets that were classified as foreign missions by the U.S. State Department on Sept. 4, 2024.</p>",
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{
"title": "Sheriff’s deputies question reporter at her home",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/sheriffs-deputies-question-reporter-at-her-home/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-20T15:21:19.902226Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-19T17:44:04.725331Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-19T17:44:04.521522Z",
"date": "2024-08-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Stockton",
"longitude": -121.29078,
"latitude": 37.9577,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"78dj5\">Aaron Leathley, a reporter for the central California daily newspaper The Stockton Record, was visited at her Stockton home on Aug. 30, 2024, by San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who questioned her about a court document she had reported on months earlier.</p><p data-block-key=\"4llt8\">In November 2023, sheriff’s deputies <a href=\"https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2023/11/14/search-warrants-served-at-stockton-unified-office-trustees-home/71585337007/\">searched</a> the home of Stockton Unified School District board president AngelAnn Flores and the school board’s headquarters. Later that month, Leathley <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/11/28/warrant-reveals-why-stockton-unifieds-angelann-flores-was-searched/71627562007/\">reported</a> on various details from the search warrant, a copy of which the paper had obtained from the San Joaquin County Superior Court — including that deputies had searched Flores’ home and vehicles, questioned Flores and seized her phones, iPad and laptop to investigate her alleged misuse of a school district credit card, witness intimidation and other misconduct.</p><p data-block-key=\"eoibt\">A day after the article published, the Record <a href=\"https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/local/2024/09/12/sheriffs-deputies-visit-home-of-stockton-record-reporter-for-unclear-reasons/75076689007/\">reported</a>, a public information officer for the court emailed Leathley to tell her that the warrant had been released accidentally and ask her “to prevent any further dissemination of this document by copying, sharing, or using it for further publication.” The sheriff’s office also said at the time that the warrant should not have been released, according to the Record.</p><p data-block-key=\"cr2p9\">Flores was <a href=\"https://stocktonia.org/news/public-safety/2024/05/07/stockton-unified-trustee-arraigned-for-alleged-fraud-embezzlement-grand-theft/\">charged</a> in May 2024 with making fraudulent insurance claims, embezzlement and theft of school district funds and pleaded not guilty. The criminal case against her is ongoing.</p><p data-block-key=\"bi933\">On Aug. 30, two sheriff’s deputies who identified themselves as members of the Agriculture, Gangs, and Narcotics Enforcement team under the sheriff’s Special Services Division arrived at Leathley’s door. One claimed that Leathley had been emailed a “cease and desist” about the warrant, Leathley confirmed in a phone call with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. AGNET members also conducted the search of Flores’ home, Leathley said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8cfrc\">Leathley told the Tracker that one of the deputies asked her about the “cease and desist,” repeating “What happened with that?” several times.</p><p data-block-key=\"4k1ad\">The Record reported that it has no records of a cease and desist letter and Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Levin told the paper he wasn’t aware of one. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office would not confirm to the paper whether it had sent a cease and desist letter to Leathley.</p><p data-block-key=\"bb6i6\">Freedom of the Press Foundation Director of Advocacy Seth Stern condemned the deputies’ “shenanigans,” saying, “Officials should never intimidate a journalist for possessing lawfully obtained records, whether through court cases or house calls.” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project of FPF.</p><p data-block-key=\"d0i0m\">When asked for an explanation of the deputies’ actions, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department told the Tracker, “Because this is an ongoing investigation, I can’t answer those questions.” Leathley told the Tracker she didn’t know whether this “ongoing investigation” was connected to Flores.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcfc1\">“I think, structurally, something like this always could have a chilling effect on reporting,” Leathley said of the deputies’ house call. But, she added, “I would not change how I report on the situation based on intimidation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e4csn\"><i>Editor’s Note: This incident has been updated to include comments from Leathley and to correct the spelling for the name of Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Levin.</i></p></div>",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [
"(2024-12-04 12:15:00+00:00) California sheriff investigating reporters as “co-conspirators” in leak case"
],
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"categories": [
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"targeted_journalists": [
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"Hannah Workman (The Stockton Record)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Chicago Reader journalist pushed with police baton amid DNC protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-reader-journalist-pushed-with-police-baton-amid-dnc-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-29T16:36:46.393564Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-06T13:47:46.498223Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-06T13:47:46.381986Z",
"date": "2024-08-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5qsqb\">Shawn Mulcahy, the news editor for the Chicago Reader, was shoved in the stomach with a baton by Chicago police while documenting a protest coinciding with the nearby Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"c8b08\">The Chicago Tribune <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/08/22/dnc-thursday-protests-chicago/\">reported</a> that more than 2,000 people marched to protest U.S. aid to Israel, advancing through Chicago’s West Side and within blocks of the United Center where Vice President Kamala Harris was accepting the Democratic nomination during the final night of the convention.</p><p data-block-key=\"243m8\">Mulcahy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that late in the evening after the march, a small group of 25 to 50 protesters sat in the street to block traffic. He said a <a href=\"https://x.com/FordFischer/status/1826812151522054351\">large number of press</a> were still around, and that police didn’t seem to know how to handle the journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"dsgpr\">“There was a rush to arrest someone and they were trying to push people back onto the sidewalk,” Mulcahy said. “I was standing there filming the arrest and they pushed me with a baton into my stomach.” He added that he intends to file a complaint with the city.</p><p data-block-key=\"22c1t\">That night, officers also <a href=\"https://x.com/FordFischer/status/1826870837124767908\">threatened</a> to revoke journalists’ press credentials if they refused to comply with the dispersal order. Mulcahy said that the members of the media raised alarm over the order and the department’s chief of patrol and deputy director of news affairs and communications ultimately walked it back.</p><p data-block-key=\"4mb6l\">When reached by email for comment, the Chicago Police Department directed the Tracker to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s news conferences during the DNC, declining to respond to questions about officers’ aggression toward journalists and attempts to revoke press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ejn5\">During Snelling’s <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FRs1KLmcBLZrnFKq/\">Aug. 21 news conference</a>, he said that the department wants journalists to be able to do their jobs, but highlighted that the press must comply with police orders and step to the side when officers move in to make arrests. “If you don’t do that, it’s obstructing us and it makes it harder for us to take the people into custody that we’re trying to take into custody. And what we don’t want is for you to get caught in the middle of it and injured and hurt,” Snelling said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9a8ti\">At least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Assault\">four journalists</a> were shoved or pulled by officers responding to similar protests on Aug. 20, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least three</a> were arrested.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xzhyr\">Chicago police officers clash with demonstrators at a protest during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024. Police pushed Chicago Reader journalist Shawn Mulcahy in the stomach with a baton while he was covering protests that night.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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{
"title": "Photojournalist arrested, camera damaged by Chicago police during DNC",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-camera-damaged-by-chicago-police-during-dnc/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-22T18:35:40.447534Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-05T18:16:36.138552Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-05T18:16:35.996052Z",
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"longitude": -87.65005,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h93sj\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention. Law enforcement also confiscated her press credentials and cracked her camera lens.</p><p data-block-key=\"coife\">A small gathering of protesters, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\">unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m. <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"rlg4\">Other journalists besides Fedorova were among the dozens detained, according to the Chicago chapter of the <a href=\"https://nlgchicago.org/2024/08/21/chicago-police-arrest-dozens-during-palestine-solidarity-protest-at-israeli-consulate-on-second-day-of-democratic-national-convention/\">National Lawyers Guild.</a> CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/live-updates/chicago-dnc-protest-day-2/\">reported</a> that Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said three journalists were arrested for not complying with officers’ orders when police began moving in to arrest protesters who had attacked police.</p><p data-block-key=\"2eq3v\">Independent photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-shoved-by-chicago-police-gear-seized-and-damaged/\">Josh Pacheco</a>, one of those arrested, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the scene was chaotic, with officers issuing conflicting, often inaudible commands to the crowd, and pushing people onto the sidewalk, which was already crowded with police bicycles. Pacheco said that members of the press were caught between protesters and police as officers tried to keep demonstrators out of the roadway and intersections.</p><p data-block-key=\"6bn09\">Amid the chaos, Fedorova was arrested. Journalists <a href=\"https://x.com/taliaotg/status/1826192345349394438\">Talia (Jane) Ben-Ora</a> and <a href=\"https://x.com/ACatWithNews/status/1826192292484411794\">Sean Beckner-Carmitchel</a> both reported on social media that at the time of her arrest Fedorova was wearing Chicago–issued press credentials, which the police confiscated, and that her camera lens was cracked by the police.</p><p data-block-key=\"8idp1\">Fedorova’s attorney Steven Baron confirmed to the Tracker that Fedorova was “swept up in the mass arrest and detained for many hours at the Area 3 Chicago Police headquarters.” She was <a href=\"https://x.com/taliaotg/status/1826191255862157557\">released</a> the following morning and her press credentials were returned to her later in the day.</p><p data-block-key=\"534j7\">Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, told the Tracker that Chicago police returned Fedorova’s credentials after NPPA and the journalists’ attorneys notified them “that such seizures were improper.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2qsnd\">Osterreicher also said that in advance of the DNC, he had offered the Chicago Police Department a training on interacting with the press similar to one he gave the Milwaukee Police Department before the Republican National Convention in July.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0h6k\">“They told me that they had been providing First Amendment training and they didn’t need anything from NPPA,” Osterreicher said. “Given the events of last night, I would have to say that that alleged training was an abysmal failure.”</p><p data-block-key=\"53bon\">The DNC’s Public Safety Joint Information Center confirmed that Fedorova had been cited for disorderly conduct — failure to obey police. It did not respond to an additional question about why she was arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"86tqu\">“Olga and the others were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for simply doing their jobs as reporters,” Baron told the Tracker. “We are disappointed that the City of Chicago chose to sweep the First Amendment under the rug with its heavy-handed tactics against working journalists.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTS161R21_-_Reuters_-_Adrees_Lati.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ofe3c\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova, at right, is arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest coinciding with the Democratic National Convention.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Chicago Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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},
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"(2024-11-14 00:00:00+00:00) Charge dropped against photojournalist arrested at DNC"
],
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Damage",
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{
"title": "Chicago journalist struck with police bike while covering protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/chicago-journalist-struck-with-police-bike-while-covering-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-06T17:01:50.078106Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-06T17:01:50.078106Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-06T17:01:39.680832Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5e87z\">Raven Geary, who operates the independent outlet Jinx Press, was struck with a bicycle by a Chicago Police Department officer while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"1uaeh\">A small gathering of protesters, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\">unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m. <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6iir9\">Geary told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the protest “blew up really quickly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"84tou\">“There was such a massive show of police, unlike we normally see, and a lot of just unclear directions — both to protesters and to journalists — about what the police wanted us to do,” she said. “At a certain point I guess they were giving dispersal orders over a megaphone, for example, and where I was situated I never even heard a single audible dispersal order.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4pdq0\">She added that those who said they did hear the orders to disperse reported that police blocked them from doing so.</p><p data-block-key=\"us0o\">Police corralled protesters and press multiple times over the course of several hours, Geary said, and at one point an officer struck her in the leg with a bicycle, bruising her. She told the Tracker that she was clearly identifiable as media and was wearing Jinx Press media credentials, but that given the chaos of the scene, she couldn’t be certain whether she was deliberately targeted.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Protesters stepped off to attempt a march; CPD immediately moves in. Signs and flags being confiscated, huge press scramble. <a href=\"https://t.co/E4QVqoM6Fp\">pic.twitter.com/E4QVqoM6Fp</a></p>— Jinx Press (@JinxPress) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/JinxPress/status/1826055103239135570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 21, 2024</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=\"5e87z\">When reached by email for comment, the Chicago Police Department directed the Tracker to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s news conferences during the DNC, declining to respond to questions about officers’ aggression toward journalists and reported attempts to revoke press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"borrc\">“We want to allow you to do your jobs. We really do. But there are times when we’re calling a mass arrest or we’re attempting to move in, we need you guys to step to the side,” Snelling said of journalists during the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FRs1KLmcBLZrnFKq/\">Aug. 21 news conference</a>. “If you don’t do that, it’s obstructing us and it makes it harder for us to take the people into custody that we’re trying to take into custody. And what we don’t want is for you to get caught in the middle of it and injured and hurt.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9vrcj\">At least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Assault\">four other journalists</a> were shoved or pulled by officers responding to the protests outside the consulate that day, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least three</a> were arrested.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/DSC_0293.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"k06mj\">Chicago Police Department officers line up during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024. The following day, an officer struck Jinx Press founder Raven Geary’s leg with a bicycle while she covered pro-Palestinian protests.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Illinois",
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist arrested at pro-Palestinian protest at DNC in Chicago",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-arrested-at-pro-palestinian-protest-at-dnc-in-chicago/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-22T19:03:50.213467Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-14T16:51:25.089639Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-14T16:51:24.887467Z",
"date": "2024-08-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4jdw5\">Freelance photojournalist Sinna Nasseri was arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while on assignment for German news outlet Zeit covering a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention.</p><p data-block-key=\"af9pm\">A small gathering of protesters, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\">unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m. <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4b25l\">Photojournalists <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-shoved-by-chicago-police-gear-seized-and-damaged/\">Josh Pacheco</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-camera-damaged-by-chicago-police-during-dnc/\">Olga Fedorova</a> were among the dozens detained. CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/live-updates/chicago-dnc-protest-day-2/\">reported</a> that Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said three journalists were arrested for not complying with officers’ orders when police began moving in to arrest protesters who had attacked police.</p><p data-block-key=\"1rj92\">Nasseri told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting the protesters as they started marching away from the consulate when the police kettled them, trapping him and a few other journalists on all sides. The officers “were screaming. They were pretty aggressive and started making arrests,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gbdi\">Nasseri said he identified himself as press to the police multiple times, but was handcuffed and then detained at a precinct until 6 a.m. the following morning. He added that his equipment was returned to him upon his release, and that it appeared to be undamaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"agqt4\">Nasseri told the Tracker that the officers’ violent behavior seemed disproportionate to what was happening — that the protesters seemed nonviolent and that he and the journalists he was with took care to stay on the sidewalk.</p><p data-block-key=\"6df1h\">“I’ve covered many, many protests and this was very strange in that they were very aggressive,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2a8q3\">The DNC’s Public Safety Joint Information Center confirmed that Nasseri had been cited for disorderly conduct — breach of peace. It did not respond to an additional question about why the journalist was arrested. Nasseri told the Tracker an initial hearing on the charge is scheduled for Sept. 27.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rb5o\">Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, told the Tracker that in advance of the DNC, he had offered the Chicago Police Department a training on interacting with the press similar to one he gave the Milwaukee Police Department before the Republican National Convention in July.</p><p data-block-key=\"5clu5\">“They told me that they had been providing First Amendment training and they didn’t need anything from NPPA,” Osterreicher said. “Given the events of last night, I would have to say that that alleged training was an abysmal failure.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2uarl\">The three journalists were charged “for simply doing their jobs as reporters,” Nasseri’s attorney Steven Baron told the Tracker. “We are disappointed that the City of Chicago chose to sweep the First Amendment under the rug with its heavy-handed tactics against working journalists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"55aav\"><i>Editor’s note: This article and the incident’s metadata have been updated to include comments and details from Nasseri.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/RTS161LAO_-_Reuters_-_Leah_Millis.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lwufk\">Chicago police repeatedly clashed with demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian protest coinciding with the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024. Photojournalist Sinna Nasseri was arrested while documenting the chaotic scene.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Chicago Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2024-08-21",
"detention_date": "2024-08-20",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-01-07 00:00:00+00:00) Charge dropped against photojournalist arrested at DNC protest"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sinna Nasseri (Zeit)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist pulled off concrete planter box by Chicago police at protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-pulled-off-concrete-planter-box-by-chicago-police-at-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-29T13:03:58.110150Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-29T13:03:58.110150Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-29T12:56:26.672759Z",
"date": "2024-08-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"heyjc\">Independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg was physically pulled by a Chicago Police Department officer while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"5rrlb\">A small gathering of protesters,<a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\"> unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m.<a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\"> outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago<a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"27ia1\">Berg told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the police response to protests up to that point of the week had been restrained, but “shit went south” that day. She said she was trying to stay out of the way of the police when an officer grabbed her without warning.</p><p data-block-key=\"6pr37\">“I was up on a planter, behind a bush filming — you do what you do to get the shot — when all of a sudden a cop came up from behind me and yanked me out of the bush, onto the ground. And he just started yelling at me,” Berg said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8a5ij\">In <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rprIWiRccAM\">footage</a> captured in the moments leading up to the incident, police can be seen corralling a small group of protesters while Berg and other journalists film from atop a concrete planter box. Near the end of a clip, an officer shouts, “Get down from there! Get down! Get them down!” The clip ends and it is unclear how much time passed before Berg was physically pulled from the planter.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.49999999999999%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/rprIWiRccAM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen title=\"DNC Coverage: Protesters Get Corralled Between Two Police Lines Arrests Ensue\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"heyjc\">Later that evening, a supervisory officer <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LY6gAPLAOz4\">ordered Berg</a> to show him her press credentials and said he was revoking them. She told the Tracker that he seemed shocked when she pushed back.</p><p data-block-key=\"aa7kh\">“I told him: ‘You’re not in charge of my credentials, you don’t get to revoke anything. There’s still a First Amendment in this country,’” Berg said.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ara5\">Shortly after the encounter, a different officer filmed or photographed both her face and her press credentials, which are from Los Angeles, where she’s based. Berg said that she observed officers similarly documenting journalists’ identities that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"28son\">When reached by email for comment, the Chicago Police Department directed the Tracker to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s news conferences during the DNC, declining to respond to questions about officers’ aggression toward journalists and attempts to revoke press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"dvn04\">“We want to allow you to do your jobs. We really do. But there are times when we’re calling a mass arrest or we’re attempting to move in, we need you guys to step to the side,” Snelling said of journalists during the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FRs1KLmcBLZrnFKq/\">Aug. 21 news conference</a>. “If you don’t do that, it’s obstructing us and it makes it harder for us to take the people into custody that we’re trying to take into custody. And what we don’t want is for you to get caught in the middle of it and injured and hurt.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c23h5\">At least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Assault\">three other journalists</a> were shoved or pulled by officers responding to the protests outside the consulate that day, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least three</a> were arrested.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Berg_IL_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m2e5p\">Chicago police corral protesters gathered outside the Israeli Consulate coinciding with the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024. An officer pulled journalist Tina-Desiree Berg off a concrete planter shortly after she captured this image.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Illinois",
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tina-Desiree Berg (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist convicted on arrest charge from Chicago convention protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-convicted-on-arrest-charge-from-chicago-convention-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-01-31T18:34:37.901458Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-01-31T18:34:37.901458Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-01-31T18:34:37.700749Z",
"date": "2024-08-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ntdfz\">Independent journalist Sylvie Evans was arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while covering a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention. She accepted a plea deal on Jan. 6, 2025, and was sentenced to a day of probation.</p><p data-block-key=\"d5qnu\">On the second day of the convention, a small gathering of protesters converged around 7 p.m. <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"afat6\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&state=Illinois\">seven other journalists</a> arrested or assaulted at the protest. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/live-updates/chicago-dnc-protest-day-2/\">claimed</a> that three arrested photojournalists had not complied with officers’ orders to disperse.</p><p data-block-key=\"1qq3u\">Evans, who runs the <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/colpeoplespress/\">Colorado People’s Press</a>, a small independent outlet that covers local news in Colorado, described police officers’ behavior as confusing and intense.</p><p data-block-key=\"fsd1t\">“All night they were screaming,” she told the Tracker. “They just kept saying ‘move back’ or ‘get on the sidewalk,’ but even if you’re on the sidewalk, it didn’t seem to matter that much. Wherever you’re trying to go, that’s where they want to be. All the instructions were super unclear.</p><p data-block-key=\"dnfd3\">“I was as careful as I’ve ever been during any protest,” she added. “I was always on the very edge, as far back on the very edge as I could be. I listened to all of the instructions. I was always on the sidewalk. This was completely different from anything I’ve ever dealt with before. I was kind of surprised by how aggressive they were. And how they just seemed to fucking hate everyone there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"86hb7\">She told the Tracker that she and a group of protesters were kettled by police on the sidewalk a few blocks away from the consulate. Police issued a dispersal order and Evans attempted to leave, but was directed twice to different areas and then grabbed by a police officer who pulled her arms behind her back, bruising her shoulder.</p><p data-block-key=\"fj7mc\">Evans told the Tracker that she doesn’t think she was targeted for arrest as press. “They were just mad at whatever,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ehl76\">While in handcuffs, Evans, who was wearing a helmet labeled “press,” said she was approached by Tom Ahern, deputy director of news affairs and communications for the police department, who told her that she was not press because she hadn’t procured police credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"aov8c\">Evans said she spent four hours in a police wagon, then eight hours in a cell, before being released around 8:30 the next morning, with paperwork listing a disorderly conduct charge.</p><p data-block-key=\"1kh30\">Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, told the Tracker the day after the protest that in advance of the convention, he had offered the Chicago Police Department a training on interacting with the press similar to one he gave the Milwaukee Police Department before the Republican National Convention in July.</p><p data-block-key=\"c0p09\">“They told me that they had been providing First Amendment training and they didn’t need anything from NPPA,” Osterreicher said. “Given the events of last night, I would have to say that that alleged training was an abysmal failure.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cvhkg\">In January, Evans accepted the charge in exchange for no fine and one day of supervision, and the case was closed, Evans’ attorney confirmed to the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"4162d\">After the case ended, Evans told the Tracker that she hasn’t been reporting since her arrest “partially because I can’t risk something like that happening again.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d0tep\">“I’ll probably get back to it eventually but I’m taking a break for a while,” she said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/MADISONSWART-942.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"pm7y8\">Reporter Sylvie Evans, at left, was arrested by Chicago police while attempting to document a pro-Palestinian protest coinciding with the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Chicago Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2024-08-21",
"detention_date": "2024-08-20",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sylvie Evans (Colorado People’s Press)"
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"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist repeatedly shoved by police while covering Chicago protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-repeatedly-shoved-by-police-while-covering-chicago-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-29T16:34:27.330904Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-08-29T16:34:27.330904Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-08-29T16:32:51.918209Z",
"date": "2024-08-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"izuo7\">Independent photojournalist Madison Swart was repeatedly pushed and bruised by Chicago Police Department officers while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest coinciding with the nearby Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"1j43u\">A small gathering of protesters,<a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\"> unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m.<a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\"> outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago<a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\"> reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"fpnlo\">Swart told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was repeatedly shoved by officers who used batons or bicycles as they moved in to control the crowd and make arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"b5l9i\">“They were just trying to push the press back from taking photos of them arresting the protesters,” Swart said. “They were just shoving us back with their batons very forcefully.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9bmpd\">She added that there appeared to be significant miscommunications and inconsistencies between the officers and in their directives toward the press. “A lot of them were telling us different things about where to go, and then we would go there and we would get in trouble for going where an officer had told us to go,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"31moq\">Ultimately, Swart was in the crowd when she said police surrounded them using a technique called kettling, which is often followed by mass arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"2k3ti\">“I didn’t even realize that I had been pushed and wasn’t allowed to get out until I tried to,” Swart said. “The officers told me that I couldn’t go through and I was like, ‘OK, but I’m press, I’m just trying to get out.’ So one officer told me to go over to that side but when I did another officer said, ‘Nope, you’re all under arrest.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"rddi\">In a clip shared with the Tracker, Swart and multiple other journalists can be seen standing across the street from the consulate when she tells officers that press had been directed there. One of the officers reviewed their credentials and then allowed them out of the kettle, at one point telling someone, “Yeah, you look like press, come on down.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4hiu3\">While Swart said she was released relatively quickly, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least three journalists</a> were arrested that night, and others were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Assault\">shoved or pulled</a> by officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"66b7k\">“There seemed to be a blatant disrespect of the press in general from the CPD, even going so far as mocking a lot of the press, which I’ve never seen before,” Swart said.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6499\">When reached by email for comment, the Chicago Police Department directed the Tracker to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s news conferences during the DNC, declining to respond to questions about officers’ aggression toward journalists and attempts to revoke press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfihp\">During Snelling’s <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FRs1KLmcBLZrnFKq/\">Aug. 21 news conference</a>, he said that the department wants journalists to be able to do their jobs, but highlighted that the press must comply with police orders and step to the side when officers move in to make arrests. “If you don’t do that, it’s obstructing us and it makes it harder for us to take the people into custody that we’re trying to take into custody. And what we don’t want is for you to get caught in the middle of it and injured and hurt,” Snelling said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/MADISONSWART-947.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"igled\">Chicago Police Department officers repeatedly shoved photojournalist Madison Swart and others with batons and bicycles while responding to pro-Palestinian protests near the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024.</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,
"border_point": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Madison Swart (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist arrested, shoved by Chicago police; gear seized and damaged",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-arrested-shoved-by-chicago-police-gear-seized-and-damaged/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-22T15:33:21.411348Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-12-05T18:13:50.497299Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-12-05T18:13:50.347494Z",
"date": "2024-08-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1w74w\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco was arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention. Law enforcement also hit them with bikes and batons, confiscated their press credentials and dropped two of their cameras on the ground, damaging one.</p><p data-block-key=\"43iom\">A small gathering of protesters, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\">unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m. <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6c002\">Other journalists besides Pacheco were among the dozens detained, according to the Chicago chapter of the <a href=\"https://nlgchicago.org/2024/08/21/chicago-police-arrest-dozens-during-palestine-solidarity-protest-at-israeli-consulate-on-second-day-of-democratic-national-convention/\">National Lawyers Guild.</a> CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/live-updates/chicago-dnc-protest-day-2/\">reported</a> that Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said three journalists were arrested for not complying with officers’ orders when police began moving in to arrest protesters who had attacked police.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ses8\">Pacheco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the scene was chaotic, with officers issuing conflicting, often inaudible commands to the crowd, and pushing people onto the sidewalk, which was already crowded with police bicycles.</p><p data-block-key=\"amegq\">Pacheco said that members of the press were caught between protesters and police as officers tried to keep demonstrators out of the roadway and intersections, and that officers slammed the photojournalist multiple times with bicycles and batons, seemingly intentionally.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0l6b\">Stuck on a corner amid protesters organizing themselves to disperse, Pacheco, whose New York City–issued press credentials were prominently displayed on a lanyard around their neck, was grabbed from behind by Deputy Chief Daniel O’Connor and pulled past the police line.</p><p data-block-key=\"2rvkn\">“He said something like, ‘I’ve told you over and over again you have to leave, now you’re being arrested,’” Pacheco told the Tracker. They were handcuffed with zip ties tightly enough to leave bruises on their wrists.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6mpc\">“The police are saying they ordered a dispersal three times and warned of a mass arrest, which did not happen, and even if it did, there was no way to hear it,” Pacheco said. “They weren’t using megaphones. There were just random police officers screaming different orders.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5l6rj\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/taliaotg/status/1826081943638696136\">video</a> shot by journalist Talia (Jane) Ben-Ora, she asks O’Connor why he arrested Pacheco, a credentialed journalist. “We’re figuring everything out right now,” O’Connor says, then walks away. Pacheco told the Tracker they also informed police they were press.</p><p data-block-key=\"97mg7\">During the arrest, police officers tried to stuff Pacheco’s photography gear into a bag, which then broke, sending two of their cameras to the ground, lens-first.</p><p data-block-key=\"744i\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/ACatWithNews/status/1826086073669157151\">video</a> shot by journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, the gear can be heard hitting the ground as Pacheco says to the officers, “Come on, are you serious?” Pacheco examined the cameras later and told the Tracker that one appeared to have sustained around $500 in damage to the shutter.</p><p data-block-key=\"advmh\">Another police official, who Pacheco identified as Tom Ahern, deputy director of news affairs and communications, “took my press pass pretty violently,” they said, which “ripped my hair out.”</p><p data-block-key=\"25t8n\">Pacheco told the Tracker that they felt targeted as a journalist, perhaps less because of their visible press credentials and camera equipment and more because they were wearing a full-face gas mask. “I was told by local press that when they see that, they interpret you as an agitator,” they said of the police. Pacheco also said that Ahern “was definitely following me around and ordering me around more than the rest of the press, and I don't know why.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f4bds\">In a phone call from the precinct with Ben-Ora, a <a href=\"https://x.com/taliaotg/status/1826157443207860561\">video</a> of which she posted on the social platform X, Pacheco called the arrest “an obscene abuse of power.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4sla2\">“I can’t believe that I’m here again in the same summer behind bars for having a camera,” they said. Pacheco was arrested <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-05-01&date_upper=2024-05-31&targeted_journalists=Josh+Pacheco\">three times in May</a> while documenting protests related to the Israel-Gaza war.</p><p data-block-key=\"161q5\">“My arrest was clearly just because, I don’t know, I look arrestable to them,” they told Ben-Ora.</p><p data-block-key=\"j4nc\">Pacheco was released after 9 1/2 hours in custody and charged with disorderly conduct, with an initial hearing scheduled for Sept. 30. They told the Tracker that their left wrist was red and bruised the day after the arrest, and one of their shins was bruised from a police bicycle. Their press pass was returned later in the day.</p><p data-block-key=\"aluqc\">Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, told the Tracker that in advance of the DNC, he had offered the Chicago Police Department a training on interacting with the press similar to one he gave the Milwaukee Police Department before the Republican National Convention in July.</p><p data-block-key=\"bb948\">“They told me that they had been providing First Amendment training and they didn’t need anything from NPPA,” Osterreicher said. “Given the events of last night, I would have to say that that alleged training was an abysmal failure.”</p><p data-block-key=\"20s4e\">The DNC’s Public Safety Joint Information Center confirmed that Pacheco had been cited for disorderly conduct — breach of peace. It did not respond to an additional question about why the journalist was arrested.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Josh_Pacheco_Aug_20.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h3r1w\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco, at left, is arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest coinciding with the Democratic National Convention.</p>",
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"(2024-10-24 00:00:00+00:00) Charge dropped against photojournalist arrested at DNC"
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{
"title": "NY Post reporter’s credentials ripped from lanyard at Chicago protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-post-reporters-credentials-ripped-from-lanyard-at-chicago-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2024-08-28T21:14:10.703144Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-05T20:38:21.796036Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-05T20:38:21.655692Z",
"date": "2024-08-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
"latitude": 41.85003,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fd9xz\">New York Post reporter Steven Vago had his credentials ripped from around his neck by a Chicago Police Department officer while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest planned to coincide with the nearby Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"7jklm\">A small gathering of protesters, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/democratic-convention-chicago-protests-war-gaza-f064683535bbbe93231d31ecc2dbafc7\">unaffiliated</a> with and more militant than other groups that had organized larger demonstrations earlier in the week, converged around 7 p.m. <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">outside the Israeli Consulate</a> in Chicago’s West Loop section. The demonstrators and police, who far outnumbered them, clashed repeatedly. The protesters were later ordered to leave the area and police began arresting them, Block Club Chicago <a href=\"https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/08/21/72-people-arrested-during-protest-outside-israeli-consulate/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7jh14\">Vago told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he began to film using his cellphone when protesters broke through the police line and officers attempted to control the crowd. As the action moved closer to where he was standing, Vago said, “I might’ve gotten a little too close for the cops’ comfort.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ch144\">In <a href=\"https://x.com/Vagoish/status/1826070031744028943\">footage</a> Vago posted to the social platform X, he can be seen filming from the sidewalk as police clash with demonstrators in the street near the consulate. At 0:28 in the clip, a handful of protesters can be seen making it past the police. When officers begin detaining others 20 seconds later, an officer appears to pin a demonstrator at Vago’s feet. The clip cuts out just after Vago identifies himself as press.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with Chicago cops outside the Israeli Consulate, about two miles away from the DNC. <br><br>Police arrested at least three people <a href=\"https://t.co/1hom3KxFfj\">pic.twitter.com/1hom3KxFfj</a></p>— Steven Vago (@Vagoish) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Vagoish/status/1826070031744028943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 21, 2024</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=\"fd9xz\">“I was wearing a New York City-issued press pass — the one I always wear, not a DNC one — but it does say my name and the outlet,” Vago said. “And all of a sudden, this cop just grabs it and yanks it off my neck, so my pass fell to the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2jo9b\">He said he was able to quickly retrieve his credentials while repeatedly identifying himself as press, and that the pass was undamaged. Vago told the Tracker that he wasn’t sure whether the officer grabbed at him because he was a member of the press or if it was that he was close by in the heat of the moment.</p><p data-block-key=\"15sbs\">In another clip Vago shared with the Tracker, officers repeatedly shouted “move” at a crowd that appeared to be predominantly members of the press while shoving them from behind with their hands and batons.</p><p data-block-key=\"2t3q3\">When reached by email for comment, the Chicago Police Department directed the Tracker to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling’s news conferences during the DNC, declining to respond to questions about officers’ aggression toward journalists and attempts to revoke press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"90igs\">“We want to allow you to do your jobs. We really do. But there are times when we’re calling a mass arrest or we’re attempting to move in, we need you guys to step to the side,” Snelling said of journalists during the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/FRs1KLmcBLZrnFKq/\">Aug. 21 news conference</a>. “If you don’t do that, it’s obstructing us and it makes it harder for us to take the people into custody that we’re trying to take into custody. And what we don’t want is for you to get caught in the middle of it and injured and hurt.”</p><p data-block-key=\"91kg2\">At least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Assault\">three other journalists</a> were shoved or pulled by officers responding to the protests outside the consulate that day, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least three</a> were arrested.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/MADISONSWART-948.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ppwem\">Chicago Police Department officers push members of the press and protesters back amid demonstrations around the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024. An officer ripped New York Post reporter Steven Vago’s press credentials from his neck.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
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"tags": [
"election",
"Election 2024",
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"Steven Vago (New York Post)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Press obstructed, threatened in and outside DNC",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/press-obstructed-threatened-in-and-outside-dnc/",
"first_published_at": "2024-09-12T13:10:16.048807Z",
"last_published_at": "2024-09-12T13:10:16.048807Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2024-09-12T13:09:58.417227Z",
"date": "2024-08-19",
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"city": "Chicago",
"longitude": -87.65005,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7fo4t\">Journalists covering the August 2024 Democratic National Convention encountered hostility, threats and efforts to block their coverage both in and outside Chicago’s United Center.</p><p data-block-key=\"5fad\">Within the event venue, issues over coverage started early. In the months leading up to the convention, concerns were raised over the number of seats afforded to print reporters by the journalists who represent congressional correspondents and are in charge of press facilities at the national conventions.</p><p data-block-key=\"f1ag7\">In a statement to the DNC <a href=\"https://www.semafor.com/article/08/19/2024/a-friendly-media-grows-grumbly-in-milwaukee\">shared with Semafor</a>, the Standing Committee of Correspondents said the number of dedicated and accessible workspaces for journalists had been cut by hundreds compared to previous conventions.</p><p data-block-key=\"b5an9\">At the same time, WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR station, <a href=\"https://www.wbez.org/2024/08/14/what-it-costs-to-cover-the-democratic-national-convention\">reported</a> that the costs to cover the convention — for access, seating, internet speed — were also significantly higher than years prior and in comparison to the Republican National Convention the month before.</p><p data-block-key=\"88jtu\">According to the outlet, an assigned seat with a table and electrical outlet at the DNC had a $751 price tag at the early-bird rate, and $911 in the days leading up to the convention. At the RNC, a similar setup cost $100.</p><p data-block-key=\"cj220\">A DNC spokesperson dismissed accusations that the convention wasn’t properly accommodating members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"9nab5\">“Democrats value a free press, and our convention is a reflection of that,” spokesperson Emily Soong wrote in a statement to Semafor. “We’ve prioritized making sure members of the media have the resources they need to bring the story of our convention out to their communities from both inside and outside of the convention hall.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bj8gk\">But Drop Site editor and reporter Ryan Grim <a href=\"https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/biden-dnc-uncommitted-gaza-protest\">recounted</a> that some delegates and event security were quick to block reporters from documenting evidence the party was not fully unified.</p><p data-block-key=\"asidf\">When several delegates unfurled a “Stop Arming Israel” banner as President Joe Biden took the stage on Aug. 19, for instance, others used their signs to block Grim’s camera and that of a Democracy Now reporter; still others attempted to rip the banner away or, at the direction of staff, block it with their signs.</p><p data-block-key=\"1qkgq\">“One delegate followed me through the crowd relentlessly — with frankly impressive determination — putting his ‘USA’ sign in front of my phone as I worked to avoid him,” Grim wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">DNC members held up a “Stop Arming Israel” banner while DNC delegates worked to block it with “We Love Joe” and “USA” signs. <br><br>Wild scene: <a href=\"https://t.co/HEkgqiHQ4E\">pic.twitter.com/HEkgqiHQ4E</a></p>— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1825746153540886529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2024</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=\"7fo4t\">A staff member also approached Grim and told him that the area he was in, and where he had been filming without issue for nearly 10 minutes, was for delegates only and asked that he move.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4ol0\">Outside the convention center, similar demands for journalists to move from a particular area were commonplace at demonstrations — most of which focused on the Israel-Gaza war — scheduled throughout the week.</p><p data-block-key=\"7149j\">Multiple journalists told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that officials and officers with the Chicago Police Department repeatedly gave conflicting or unclear orders, segregated the press from the protesters, and threatened journalists with arrest or the revocation of their press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"2d5c8\">“It was very clear to me from the very first day that the police mission was: Whatever is going to happen, we want to get press out of there,” photojournalist Mostafa Bassim <a href=\"https://otter.ai/u/iR31vzl1Zb8lpBkZUhx0by603qI\">said during a panel</a> <a href=\"https://freedom.press/news/indie-journalists-speak-out-about-chicago-police/\">hosted</a> by Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the Tracker is a project.</p><p data-block-key=\"9vto5\">Every police order, videographer Ford Fischer said, “was backed by the threat of arrest, which actually happened to some people.” <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2024-08-20&date_upper=2024-08-20&city=Chicago&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">At least three journalists</a> were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct while covering a protest outside the Israeli consulate on Aug. 20.</p><p data-block-key=\"69ljb\">Credentials belonging to two of the arrested journalists were not returned until after the National Press Photographers Association and the journalists’ attorneys notified Chicago police that seizing them was improper.</p><p data-block-key=\"8l1nn\">Journalists reported that police repeatedly threatened to seize press credentials, with Tom Ahern, the CPD’s deputy director of news affairs and communication, often seen at the front of protests directing press off the street and threatening to revoke the credentials of those who didn’t comply.</p><p data-block-key=\"4neio\">A New York Post reporter’s credentials were also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-post-reporters-credentials-ripped-from-lanyard-at-chicago-protest/\">ripped off the lanyard</a> he was wearing, and an officer tried to do the same to independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg.</p><p data-block-key=\"di39g\">“One of them came up to me and tried to grab mine from around my neck and I pulled them away and I’m like, ‘Back off.’ He said, ‘I’m revoking your credentials.’ And I said, ‘You don’t get to do that,’” Berg told the Tracker. “He was surprised that I talked back, I guess. I told him, ‘You’re not in charge of my credentials, you don’t get to revoke anything. There’s still a First Amendment in this country.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"anb7c\">A different officer then filmed close-ups of Berg’s face and press credentials. The Tracker received reports of at least one additional journalist whose identification and face had been photographed.</p><p data-block-key=\"61a7h\">By the final night of the convention, Aug. 22, the journalists had had enough. During what local independent journalist Raven Geary referred to as the “Press Riot at Union Park,” police struggled to respond to the <a href=\"https://x.com/FordFischer/status/1826812151522054351\">large number of press</a> still present when a small group of protesters sat in the street to block traffic, and many reporters resisted police orders to disperse.</p><p data-block-key=\"333em\">“They pushed us off the street, onto the sidewalk, into the grass of Union Park, and then threatened media members with arrest if they didn’t disperse,” journalist Mel Buer told the Tracker.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Standoff. Media being told to leave or be arrested. <a href=\"https://t.co/683TSxr82O\">pic.twitter.com/683TSxr82O</a></p>— Mel Buer (@mel_buer) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/mel_buer/status/1826825010876432550?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 23, 2024</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=\"7fo4t\">Shawn Mulcahy, the news editor for the Chicago Reader, said police directed a dispersal order specifically at the media, in violation of the department’s own policies on First Amendment rights. The policies, updated less than two weeks before the convention, specify that credentialed members of the press are exempt from crowd dispersal orders.</p><p data-block-key=\"825ng\">The journalists raised alarm over the order and challenged it, Mulcahy said. Ahern, alongside CPD’s Chief of Patrol Jon Hein, ultimately <a href=\"https://x.com/HuntedHorse/status/1827961464520643071\">walked it back</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"acba4\">During the Freedom of the Press Foundation panel, reporter Brian Karem challenged the norm that journalists shouldn’t publicize such infringements on their First Amendment rights, saying that’s what police count on.</p><p data-block-key=\"6cqc5\">“They want you not to report it. The fact of the matter is, you’re not making yourself the story: They did that,” he said. “You did not do anything but your job, and you need to stand up for the First Amendment.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q8n44\">Police officers faces members of the media during a protest on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 22, 2024.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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],
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"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest"
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"Other Incident"
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]
