Man fleeing authorities steals TV station’s car in North Carolina

July 3, 2021
A man fleeing from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol stole a car from TV station WRAL reporter Keenan Willard and photographer Lucas Nelson just after they finished a live report to the 11 p.m. newscast on July 3, 2021.According to a report on WRAL, the Raleigh, North Carolina NBC affiliate, a man had approached the journalist and photographer and offered them cash to drive him to a gas station in the station’s car. When they refused, he jumped into …

Independent videographer arrested while documenting L.A. homeless camp cleanup

July 1, 2021
Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was arrested while filming a homeless camp cleanup operation in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on July 1, 2021.Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he has been documenting such cleanup operations, which aim to remove trash and encourage unhoused populations to seek out shelters, for four months as the city has responded aggressively to a rise in homelessness in the county.Upon arriving at the site alongside two activists, a worker with L.A.…

Bay Area news crew approached by armed individuals, ordered to hand over equipment

June 28, 2021
An NBC Bay Area news crew was threatened with firearms and ordered to hand over their equipment while filming outside City Hall in Oakland, California, on June 28, 2021.The East Bay Times reported that shortly after 3 p.m. the news crew was interviewing a city official about a recent surge in crime when two unidentified armed individuals confronted the cameraperson. According to The Washington Post, the individuals knocked the camera to the ground during the incident; the U.S. Press Freedom …

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 …

NC editor jailed after reporter records court proceedings

June 22, 2021
Gavin Stone, an editor for the Richmond County Daily Journal, was charged on June 22, 2021, with criminal contempt of court for violating an administrative order that forbade the use of electronic equipment in the courtroom, according to the charging document reviewed by the Committee to Protect Journalists.Stone was charged along with Daily Journal reporter Matthew Sasser, who had brought a tape recorder into a courtroom while covering a murder trial. Stone acknowledged that he incorrectly instructed Sasser that he …

Reporter fined for contempt after recording NC court proceedings

June 22, 2021
Matthew Sasser, a reporter for the Richmond County Daily Journal, was charged on June 22, 2021, with criminal contempt of court for bringing a tape recorder into a courtroom while covering a murder trial, according to the charging document reviewed by the Committee to Protect Journalists.The charging document states that on June 21 and 22 Sasser violated a standing administrative order from August 2019 forbidding the use of electronic equipment in the courtroom.Resident Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell fined Sasser …

Reporter at Atlanta crime scene assaulted by security guard

June 13, 2021
Mike Petchenik, a reporter for Atlanta’s WSB-TV, said a security guard at a local mall tried to grab his phone from his hand and assaulted him as he was reporting at the scene of a shooting on June 13, 2021.WSB-TV reported that two 15-year-olds had approached a Lenox Square Mall security guard and shot him, before fleeing to a nearby hotel where they were captured and arrested. The security guard was taken to the hospital for wounds to his chest …
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