Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- October 18, 2024
- Equipment Seized
- Status of Seized Equipment
- Returned in full
- Search Warrant Obtained
- No
Equipment Search or Seizure
- Equipment Broken
- Actor
- Law enforcement
Equipment Damage
Associated Press photojournalist Michael Conroy photographed spectators lined up at Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi, Indiana, for a murder trial starting on Oct. 18, 2024. His cameras were believed to have been seized by authorities shortly after.
AP photojournalist’s cameras returned after they were seized outside courthouse
Two cameras belonging to Associated Press photojournalist Michael Conroy that were seized outside a courthouse in Delphi, Indiana, were returned three days later on Oct. 21, 2024, according to a court order reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Conroy and multiple members of the press were documenting outside the Carroll County Courthouse Oct. 18, ahead of the trial for Richard Allen in the alleged murder of two teens in 2017. Special Judge Frances Gull, who is overseeing the trial, established strict media access restrictions, including that photographs or video of jurors were forbidden and that no electronic devices would be permitted in the courtroom.
According to an order issued that day, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office deputies informed Gull that members of the media had filmed and photographed the jury as they approached the courthouse. Gull specifically noted that officers viewed footage captured by NBC’s Eric Arnold that contained images of the jurors.
Officers then seized a Sony camcorder from Arnold; two cameras from Conroy; a Nikon camera from independent photographer Ryan Delaney; and two cameras from Journal & Courier photographer Alex Martin, the order stated. Gull also barred all four photojournalists from the proceedings for having violated the rules she had put in place.
“The Court had the memory cards removed to have the jurors’ images erased,” the order stated.
The Tracker was unable to confirm whether some or all of the images on the six cameras’ memory cards were erased, or whether any of the images were of jurors.
Martin denied having photographed the jurors, telling the Indianapolis Star that when he saw the vehicles approaching he lowered one camera to his hip and placed a second on the ground. None of the journalists responded to requests for comment from the Tracker.
In an Oct. 21 order, Gull wrote that the cameras belonging to Arnold, Conroy and Martin had been returned to their attorney that day; she added that Delaney’s camera would be returned as well, but that had not yet been as he didn’t have an attorney.
A photojournalist for The Associated Press was one of several journalists whose cameras were seized outside a courthouse in Delphi, Indiana, on Oct. 18, 2024, ahead of a murder trial with strict media access restrictions.
In a ruling in June ahead of the trial for Richard Allen in the alleged murder of two teens in 2017, Special Judge Frances Gull wrote that “the court has lost confidence in the ability of the media to cover hearings appropriately.” Gull then gave a media orientation Oct. 17, the Indianapolis Star reported, specifying that photographs or video of jurors was forbidden, and that no electronic devices would be permitted in the courtroom.
Journal & Courier photojournalist Alex Martin told the Star that the following morning he saw two vans approaching the Carroll County Courthouse where tarps had been placed over the fences. Martin said he lowered one camera to his hip and placed a second on the ground.
After the passengers disembarked, officers arrived and confiscated his cameras, as well as a broadcast camera belonging to NBC News and a still camera belonging to an unidentified photojournalist, according to multiple media reports. The AP reported that two cameras were also seized from one of its photojournalists, believed to be Michael Conroy.
Conroy did not respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Martin told the Star that he and the other visual journalists had been standing in an approved area outside the courthouse. It has yet to be determined if and when the cameras will be returned, but the trial is expected to last four weeks.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
