Bangladeshi journalist assaulted during press conference in New York

September 22, 2021
Bangladeshi journalist Farid Alam was physically attacked by individuals while at a press conference for the country’s ruling party, the Awami League, in New York City, New York, on Sept. 22, 2021.Alam, the executive editor of News Communications Network, attended a news conference hosted by U.S.-based Awami League members, where Bangladesh Parliament member Abdus Sobhan Golap gave a briefing on the United Nations General Assembly.Alam told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he asked the party leaders about the large …

Independent journalist harassed, equipment damaged at LA anti-vaccine rally

September 18, 2021
Independent videographer and photographer Emily Molli was assaulted while gathering footage of an anti-vaccine rally outside Los Angeles City Hall in California on Sept. 18, 2021.Molli told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was doused with an oily substance and her camera equipment was damaged while covering what organizers called a “fight for medical freedom” rally.She told the Tracker she had not initially planned on covering the rally because of recent violent eruptions that have occurred at these events but …

Freelance journalist struck with projectiles amid Portland demonstrations

August 22, 2021
Freelance journalist Shane Burley was shot with an airsoft gun projectile while on assignment for digital outlet Truthout documenting clashes between right- and left-wing protesters in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 22, 2021.Far-right demonstrators had planned for the “summer of love” protest in support of the “political prisoners” of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to take place downtown, The Intercept reported, but had moved the location that morning to an abandoned Kmart parking lot in east Portland following the announcement of …

Independent journalist assaulted, equipment damaged during Portland protest

August 22, 2021
Independent journalist Maranie Staab was assaulted multiple times and several pieces of her equipment were damaged while she was covering clashing demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 22, 2021.Far-right demonstrators had planned for the “summer of love” protest in support of the “political prisoners” of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to take place downtown, The Intercept reported, but had moved the location that morning to an abandoned Kmart parking lot in east Portland following the announcement of several counterprotests.The Portland …

Reporter assaulted during Miami anti-mask mandate protest

August 18, 2021
Danny Rivero, a reporter for south Florida’s NPR and PBS stations, WLRN Public Media, was assaulted after taking a photo of anti-mask demonstrators in Miami, Florida, on Aug. 18, 2021.Rivero, who did not respond to messages requesting comment, wrote on Twitter he was covering protests against coronavirus mandates outside the Miami-Dade County Public Schools headquarters. At 6:45 p.m., Rivero said he had just been assaulted by a man he identified as a member of the Proud Boys, a violent far-right …

Correspondent threatened, kicked during anti-vaccine protest at LA’s City Hall

August 14, 2021
Frank Stoltze, a correspondent for the NPR station KPCC and LAist, was threatened, shoved and kicked while covering an anti-vaccine protest outside LA’s City Hall on Aug. 14, 2021.Demonstrators had gathered for a rally advertised as a “stop socialism, choose freedom march against medical tyranny” to protest COVID-19 vaccination requirements and mask mandates, Stoltze wrote in an account for LAist. Stoltze, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment, wrote that demonstrators carried pro-Trump flags, signs calling for …

Journalist assaulted twice during anti-vaccine rally in LA

August 14, 2021
Independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg was assaulted while covering an anti-vaccine protest outside LA’s City Hall for the online outlet Status Coup on Aug. 14, 2021.Demonstrators had gathered for a rally advertised as a “stop socialism, choose freedom march against medical tyranny” to protest COVID-19 vaccination requirements and mask mandates, LAist reported. Demonstrators carried signs from a cross-section of movements, including pro-Trump banners, signs calling for the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other signs and banners. While the demonstration …

Video journalist attacked, sprayed with chemical irritant while covering anti-vaccine rally in LA

August 14, 2021
Jake Lee Green, an independent video journalist for News2Share, a collective that sells footage to news outlets, was slapped, kicked and sprayed with a chemical irritant while covering an anti-vaccination rally in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 14, 2021.Green told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was covering the “stop socialism, choose freedom march against medical tyranny” rally, a demonstration outside LA’s City Hall, where demonstrators gathered to protest against mask and vaccination mandates.When counterprotesters arrived, Green moved away from …

Independent videographer punched while covering anti-vaccine protest in LA

July 29, 2021
Vishal Singh, a videographer who works on Netflix documentaries and has been covering demonstrations in Los Angeles since May 2020, said he was punched multiple times while documenting protests at a restaurant in Los Angeles, California, on July 29, 2021.Local digital outlet WeHoTimes reported that the West Hollywood restaurant Harlowe had become a target of anti-vaccine protests because of its policy requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter the premises. Similar stipulations have been put in …

Journalists for Polish news station were assaulted, chased out of D.C.’s Lafayette Square park during Cuba protest

July 26, 2021
Journalist Marcin Wrona, a U.S. correspondent for the Polish TV channel TVN Discovery, was filming a live broadcast on July 26, 2021, from Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., when members of the public stopped the broadcast and started to throw objects at Wrona and his cameraman, Marcin Wyszogrodzki.Wrona told U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email that individuals in the park repeatedly interrupted their broadcast, which was covering a declaration sponsored by the U.S. State Department calling for freedom in …

Documentarian pushed, sprayed with chemical irritant while covering LA anti-mask protest

July 22, 2021
Documentary writer, director and producer Rocky Romano was shoved and sprayed with bear mace and his camera was knocked from his hands while he was covering anti-mask protests in Los Angeles, California, on July 22, 2021.Romano told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was covering demonstrations outside the Cedars-Sinai Breast Health Services Building in West Hollywood, where demonstrators had gathered to protest the clinic’s requirement that patients wear masks indoors. Similar rules have been put in place across the country …

Guardian reporter thrown to the ground during protest at LA’s Wi Spa

July 17, 2021
Guardian reporter Lois Beckett was pushed to the ground by protesters around the Wi Spa in Los Angeles, California, on July 17, 2021.The spa, located in L.A.’s Koreatown, became a flashpoint for anti-transgender demonstrators as the result of a viral video that police are now treating as a hoax, Slate reported. Beckett was covering protests and counter protests around the spa on Wilshire Boulevard.Beckett, a senior reporter at the Guardian’s West Coast bureau, said on Twitter that she was thrown …

Photojournalist attacked, has $1,000 of gear stolen while covering Wi Spa protests in L.A.

July 17, 2021
Photographer and journalist Eric Levai said he was surrounded and had around $1,000 of equipment taken from him after he photographed individuals at the Wi Spa, in Los Angeles, California.The spa, located in L.A.’s Koreatown, became a flashpoint for anti-transgender demonstrators as the result of a viral video which police are now treating as a hoax, Slate reported.Levai, who said he doesn’t wear press identification as he believes it attracts harassment, said it was around noon and he was covering …

Photographer shoved with police baton at LA Wi Spa protest

July 17, 2021
Raquel Natalicchio, a freelance photographer, says she was shoved against a wall by a Los Angeles Police Department officer using his baton on July 17, 2021.Natalicchio was on an assignment for Zuma Press to cover the protests around the Wi Spa. The spa, located in LA’s Koreatown, became a flashpoint for anti-transgender demonstrators as the result of a viral video that police are now treating as a hoax, according to Slate.She told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that just before …

Independent videographer shoved with baton during protest at LA’s Wi Spa

July 3, 2021
Vishal Singh, a videographer who works on Netflix documentaries and has been covering demonstrations in Los Angeles since May 2020, said he was shoved with a baton and aimed at with a crowd-control weapon by a police officer while covering demonstrations outside a spa in Los Angeles, California, on July 3, 2021.Wi Spa, located in LA’s Koreatown, became a flashpoint for anti-transgender demonstrators as the result of a viral video which police are now treating as a hoax, Slate reported. …

Journalist shoved, his camera damaged, while covering Portland protest

June 25, 2021
Independent video journalist Mason Lake said a Portland police officer shoved him with a baton and damaged his on-camera microphone while he was covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, on June 25, 2021.According to The Oregonian, protesters gathered near the Oregon Convention Center after a Portland police officer shot and killed a man outside a Motel 6. Some demonstrators shouted for officers to quit their jobs, while officers stood facing the protesters with shields and batons. The Portland Police Bureau …

Journalist says he feared for his life while covering anti-vaccine rally in Oregon

June 23, 2021
Independent journalist James Croxton, managing editor of Oregon-based website DoubleSidedMedia, said his life was threatened as he covered an anti-vaccine rally in Springfield, Oregon, on June 23, 2021.He said he was in the plaza in front of Springfield Library around 4 p.m. to cover the event, which was also advertised as a protest against mask-wearing to combat COVID-19, and against critical race theory. Croxton said there were around 40 protesters at the rally.“Many of them held signs about keeping critical …

Videographer hit with pepper ball while covering demonstration against LASD

June 12, 2021
Videographer Vishal Singh said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officers hit him in the leg with a pepper ball while he was covering a protest against the department on June 12, 2021.According to CBS Los Angeles, the sheriff’s department had denied a permit to a group planning a protest to demand that Sheriff Alex Villanueva step down. Despite the ban, demonstrators went ahead with a march, “highlighting the many killings of LASD against the Black and Brown community — such …

Social media journalist shoved by police at Minneapolis protest

June 3, 2021
Kevin Gilman, a journalist for the Minnesota-based social media outlet Watchdog Citizen News, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was shoved by a police officer while reporting on a protest in Minneapolis that started the night of June 3, 2021.The demonstration in the city’s Uptown neighborhood began after officers with a U.S. Marshals task force shot and killed Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a Black man, on June 3, Minnesota Public Radio reported.Gilman told the Tracker he was using …
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