Independent journalist arrested, held for eight hours by Richmond police

July 26, 2020
Independent reporter Madeleine “Molly” Conger was arrested when she arrived at Monroe Park to cover a protest against police brutality in Richmond, Virginia, on July 26, 2020.Conger — whose work has appeared in local Charlottesville outlet C-Ville Weekly and The Guardian — told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that when she arrived shortly after 10 p.m. no more than 15 people were present.“There was no active protest at that point,” Conger said. Instead, those assembled were discussing where to go …

Student reporter detained while covering Richmond protest

July 26, 2020
Andrew Ringle, the executive editor of the Commonwealth Times, the independent student newspaper of Virginia Commonwealth University, was detained by police while covering a protest against police violence in Richmond, Virginia, on July 26, 2020.Ringle told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in a phone interview that he and his news editor, Eduardo Acevedo, had heard about the protest in Richmond’s Monroe Park after seeing a flyer online. Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith would later describe the flyer as using the …

Commonwealth Times editor detained while covering Richmond protest

July 25, 2020
Eduardo Acevedo, news editor for The Commonwealth Times, an independent newspaper run by Virginia Commonwealth University students, said he was detained by police while covering a protest in Richmond, Virginia, the night of July 25, 2020.Protests against racial inequality and police brutality were held in Richmond throughout the summer in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people at the hands of police.Acevedo told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and two colleagues from …

Student journalist pepper-sprayed, thrown to ground by law enforcement in Richmond

June 21, 2020
Journalist Andrew Ringle was pepper sprayed by a Richmond, Virginia, police officer and then thrown to the ground by another law enforcement official while he was covering protests on June 21, 2020, in favor of removing Confederate monuments, Ringle told the Committee to Protect Journalists.Ringle serves as the executive editor of the student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times. In a phone interview with CPJ, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, he said that a Richmond police officer sprayed …

Photojournalist attacked at scene of statue vandalism in Richmond

June 9, 2020
On June 9, 2020, a photojournalist with NBC 12 in Richmond, Virginia, was attacked by individuals tearing down a Christopher Columbus statue in Byrd Park.Confederate and Columbus statues were torn down and vandalized in several cities in June, during protests against police violence and racial inequality.In Richmond, the NBC 12 photojournalist was covering the scene with his colleague Brent Solomon, who tweeted, “Violent protesters rip off Christoper Columbus statue, throw it into the water, attack our photographer.”

Public radio reporter pepper sprayed, knocked to the ground in Richmond

May 31, 2020
A Virginia public radio reporter was pepper sprayed and knocked to the ground by police officers while covering protests in Richmond on May 31, 2020. The journalist had identified himself as a member of the press before the assault, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was …
More Incidents