Independent journalist shot by police with pepper balls in San Diego

January 9, 2021
Independent journalist James Stout said he was shot with pepper balls by police while covering a protest in San Diego, California, on Jan. 9, 2021.Demonstrators gathered in the city’s Pacific Beach neighborhood for a rally in support of President Donald Trump, and counter-protesters massed nearby in opposition to Trump, KPBS reported. At around 2:30 p.m., after bottles, rocks and eggs were thrown at officers, the San Diego Police Department declared an unlawful assembly, according to the report.Stout told the U.S.…

Independent journalist pepper sprayed, pushed by police while covering San Diego protest

August 28, 2020
Independent journalist James Stout said he was pepper sprayed and pushed with a club by police while he was covering a protest in San Diego, California on Aug. 28, 2020.Demonstrators gathered in San Diego in the days after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Aug. 23, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Protests against racism and police brutality had been held across the country for months, sparked by the May 25 killing of George …

Independent filmmaker stopped for second time while crossing U.S.-Mexico border, car and phone searched

January 6, 2019
An independent documentary filmmaker was stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border twice by U.S. officials while following the migrant caravan for a film project. The second stop included a search of his equipment.The filmmaker, a foreign citizen who is based in the U.S., told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that in December 2018 he was crossing the San Ysidro border near San Diego, California, when he was stopped and held for several hours after being recognized for his work by a …
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