Independent journalist shoved and maced by police officers during Portland protest

August 1, 2020
Independent journalist Jake Johnson was shoved into a bush by a police officer clearing protestors from a street in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 1, 2020, despite being clearly marked as press. A second Portland Police Bureau officer then slammed him onto a car hood and maced him at close range.The Portland-based journalist was covering one of the many protests that broke out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following …

Videographer punched by individual at Portland demonstration

July 21, 2020
Independent journalist Mason Lake said an individual assaulted him while he was covering a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, on July 21, 2020.The Portland-based videographer was covering one of the many protests that broke out in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents involving journalists covering protests across the country.The Portland protests, held nightly since …

Three journalists hit with crowd-control munitions while covering protests in Portland

July 20, 2020
Three journalists said they were hit with crowd-control munitions by federal law enforcement officers while covering protests in Portland, Oregon during the early morning hours of July 20, 2020.Independent videographer Mason Lake said federal officers hit him nine times with pepper balls, including three times in the head. Cory Elia and Lesley McLam, co-hosts of a KBOO podcast who also work with news site Village Portland, said federal agents threw tear gas canisters toward them at least an hour later. …

Two Portland journalists hit by crowd-control munitions fired by federal agents, leaving one with multiple injuries

July 12, 2020
Two Portland-based journalists were hit by crowd-control munitions fired by federal agents while covering protests in the early morning hours of July 12, 2020.Independent journalist Garrison Davis was struck by a teargas canister, while photojournalist Mathieu Lewis-Rolland was hit with multiple rounds of non-lethal projectiles in a separate incident shortly after.The two journalists were documenting one of the many protests that have broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter …

Photojournalist says Portland police seized GoPro as ‘evidence’ during protest

June 30, 2020
Portland photojournalist Alex Milan Tracy said the Portland Police Bureau seized his GoPro camera “as evidence” when he was covering a protest outside the police union office in the Oregon city’s North Portland neighborhood on June 30, 2020.The protest was one of the many that broke out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is …

Photojournalist says Portland police shot him in the back with rubber bullet

June 12, 2020
A freelance photojournalist said police shot him in the back with a rubber bullet while he was covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, on June 12, 2020. The photojournalist asked to remain anonymous out of concerns for his safety and privacy.Many protests broke out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting assaults, arrests and other …

In lawsuit, two journalists outline attacks by Portland police while covering protests

June 6, 2020
Two journalists were attacked by police officers while covering protests in Portland, Oregon during the late hours of June 6, 2020.Independent journalist Donovan Farley was beaten with a wooden truncheon by a Portland Police Bureau officer while he was filming an arrest, and then the officer proceeded to mace Farley twice as he retreated, according to a class-action lawsuit filed by American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. Cory Elia, an editor at Village Portland host of a KBOO podcast, …
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