All Incidents - U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

Lamar_arrest_Screenshot Dover Police Drone 0609.PNG

Dover Post journalist detained despite repeatedly identifying as press

June 9, 2020

Andre Lamar, a photographer and reporter for the Dover Post, was detained as he covered protests against police violence in …

Journalist released after waiting two nights in custody for arraignment

June 2, 2020

Anna Slatz, a reporter for the Canadian news website Rebel News, was arrested while reporting protests in New York, New …

Asbury Park Press journalist arrested covering protests, released the next day

June 1, 2020 Recently Updated

Gustavo Martínez Contreras, a multimedia journalist with the New Jersey daily Asbury Park Press, was arrested while covering an anti-police violence protest in Asbury Park on the night of June 1, 2020. He was released after spending the night in custody.The city of Asbury Park had imposed an 8 p.m. curfew ahead of planned protests, part of the national wave of unrest since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. The curfew, which explicitly excluded …

Screen Shot 2020-06-10 at 11.13.22 PM.png

Cincinnati Enquirer journalist detained as cameras roll

June 1, 2020

Cincinnati police temporarily detained Enquirer journalist Pat Brennan as he covered protests against police violence in the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood on …

Journalist arrested amid protests in Lincoln, Nebraska

May 31, 2020

Lincoln Journal Star reporter Chris Dunker was thrown to the ground and arrested by law enforcement officers while reporting on …

Sahouri Floyd arrest 0531.png

Reporter pepper sprayed, arrested amid protests in Des Moines

May 31, 2020

Police pepper-sprayed and arrested Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri while she was covering protests in Des Moines, Iowa, on …

Moya-Smith arrest MN floyd.JPG

NBC journalist pepper-sprayed, detained at Minneapolis protest

May 31, 2020

NBC News journalist Simon Moya-Smith was pepper-sprayed and detained while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the early hours of …

HuffPost reporter arrested while covering protest in Brooklyn

May 30, 2020

Christopher Mathias, a senior reporter with HuffPost, was arrested by police while covering anti-racism protests in Brooklyn, New York, on …

Category Results

Total Results	24
Journalists affected	24
Institutions affected	0
Results in 2020	11

How we track Arrests And Criminal Charges

Journalists arrested and taken into custody and/or charged with a crime. Journalists who are still facing charges as of August 2, 2017 are included in this category even if the charges were filed in a previous year.

How we track Border Stops

Journalists stopped at the border and subjected to prolonged, invasive questioning or who have their electronic devices searched or are asked to provide passwords. We count border stops even if we are unable to draw a direct connection between the stop and the journalist’s work activities, because the resistance of U.S. authorities to provide information makes it extremely difficult to identify the motive and because invasive questioning or device searches could jeopardize source confidentiality no matter the motive. Not every stop at the border is a press freedom violation, but we believe it is essential to capture patterns related to these stops. This category also includes cases where journalists are prevented from entering the country if it appears that their inability to enter the country is related to their work.

How we track Subpoenas And Legal Orders

Subpoenas or legal orders requiring journalists to testify in court or produce journalistic records or work product. This category also includes orders targeted at third parties who have access to journalistic records or work product. Because many subpoenas are not publicly reported and legal orders for journalist records are conducted with high levels of secrecy, the numbers in this category are likely to underestimate actual cases.

How we track Leak Cases

Government employees or contractors investigated or prosecuted for disclosing information to journalists or media platforms. This category does not include leak cases where information was not leaked to the media.

How we track Equipment Searches And Seizures

Journalists’ equipment searched or seized by law enforcement in the course of their work.

How we track Physical Attacks

Journalists who face physical violence, either as the result of a targeted attack by a public or private individual or in the course of their work. If a journalist is hit by rubber bullets or bean bag rounds, it will be counted in this category.

Damage to equipment is counted in a separate "Equipment Damage" category, but may be also listed in this Physical Attack category if the damage occurs with an attack.

Journalists affected by tear gas, pepper spray, or other mass riot control agents will be counted if the individual suffers serious injury or appears to have been specifically targeted. Incidents that fall outside these parameters and in which multiple journalists were affected by riot control agents may be counted in the “Other” category.

How we track Denials Of Access

Denial of access to government events that are traditionally open or attended by the press and where the denial of access either deprives the public of significant information, appears to be retaliatory, or is done without meaningful justification. Concrete changes in policy or practice to restrict or deny access may also be included in this category.

Denial of access to individuals in some cases, such as where the available space limits the number of journalists allowed to attend or where individuals arguing for access do not meet reasonable standards for credentials, can be seen as meaningful justifications and will not be included.

How we track Chilling Statements

Selected public threats made to reporters and media organizations by U.S. politicians and other public figures, which can have a chilling effect on journalism.

FEATURED STORY

From ‘fake news’ to ‘enemy of the people’: An Anatomy of Trump’s tweets

From June 16, 2015, when Donald Trump declared his candidacy for president, to today, where he sits as leader of the free world, every tweet in which he mentions the media, individual journalists, news outlets, or journalistic sources in a negative tone is being tracked in a database.

Contributor Stephanie Sugars, who created that database with the Committee to Protect Journalists and manages its ongoing accounting, explored rhetoric from the first two years of Trump’s presidency in a blog post.

As the president continues to communicate through Twitter, this live database offers a continued tracking.

How we track Other Incidents

Incidents that fall outside of the other categories, but reach a threshold of interest as determined by editorial discretion. Incidents that may be counted in this category include threats, harassment, detentions that do not result in charges or arrest, clearly abusive lawsuits, and vandalism.

How we track Prior Restraints

News organizations or journalists who are ordered by a judge not to publish information under threat of punishment

How we track Equipment Damage

Damage to a journalist's equipment or property, either as the result of a targeted attack by a public or private individual or in the course of their work.

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is led by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists, in collaboration with leading press freedom groups.

See All Partners