QUICK FACTS

48 arrests/detainments of journalists in 2021 5 journalists/news organizations subpoenaed in 2021 67 journalists assaulted in 2021 20 journalists with equipment damaged in 2021 5.26.2020 – 5.25.2021 Find all press freedom violations related to one year of social justice protests here

Featured Articles

Trump DoJ obtained 2017 phone records of three Washington Post reporters

January 1, 2020
The U.S. Department of Justice on May 3, 2021, notified Washington Post reporters Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, and former Post reporter Adam Entous, that it had obtained their phone records from 2017 over reporting on the Trump administration's communications with Russia during the 2016 election, the Post reported.The Justice Department wrote in three separate letters that they obtained the reporters' phone records from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017, the Post reported. The article said the letters don’t …

Dakota Pipeline operator subpoenas Unicorn Riot over coverage of demonstrations

March 17, 2021
Unicorn Riot and its reporter Niko Georgiades were subpoenaed on March 17, 2021, by Energy Transfer LP, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, for all documents and communications relating to the nonprofit media organization’s coverage of the pipeline project.The subpoenas are part of the pipeline company’s legal effort against several environmental groups, including Greenpeace, and activists that protested against the pipeline in 2016 and 2017, according to The Intercept and other outlets.Energy Transfer demanded all documents including video and …
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a database of press freedom incidents in the United States — everything from arrests of journalists and the seizure of their equipment to interrogations at the U.S. border and physical attacks. The Press Freedom Tracker documents incidents across the country, involving national, state and local authorities. Read More

Individuals steal photojournalist’s camera drone ahead of George Floyd anniversary demonstrations

May 25, 2021
Minneapolis Star Tribune photojournalist Mark Vancleave said he was threatened and his camera drone was stolen May 25, 2021, as he covered demonstrations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, marking the first anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd.The death of Floyd, a Black man, sparked months of demonstrations across the country demanding justice and reform of police departments. On April 20, a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second and third degree murder and second degree manslaughter …
More Incidents