Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- November 30, 2023
- Targets
- Alisa Reznick (KJZZ)
- Arrest Status
- Arrested and released
- Arresting Authority
- Pima County Sheriff's Department
- Charges
-
-
Trespassing: criminal trespass
- Nov. 30, 2023: Charges pending
- Dec. 21, 2023: Charges dropped
-
Trespassing: criminal trespass
- Unnecessary use of force?
- No
Arrest/Criminal Charge
KJZZ senior field correspondent Alisa Reznick was arrested for criminal trespass on Nov. 30, 2023, while reporting on a pro-Palestinian protest at a University of Arizona satellite campus in Tucson.
Charges dropped against radio reporter arrested at Tucson protest
The criminal trespass charge against KJZZ radio reporter Alisa Reznick was dropped on Dec. 21, 2023.
Reznick, who was arrested on Nov. 30 while reporting on a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Tucson, Arizona, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she was grateful the county attorney moved to drop the charges. “As journalists, it’s imperative we have the ability to document news & especially the actions of law enforcement. I hope this decision serves as a reminder of that fact,” she wrote.
According to the Tucson Sentinel, the Pima County Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss the case against the field correspondent on Dec. 20, and Justice of the Peace Ray Carroll signed off on it the next day.
KJZZ radio reporter Alisa Reznick was arrested and charged with criminal trespass while reporting on a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Tucson, Arizona, on the morning of Nov. 30, 2023.
The Arizona Republic reported that Reznick was among 26 arrested as demonstrators gathered at a University of Arizona satellite campus where weapons manufacturer Raytheon is housed. Approximately 60 protesters blockaded the entrance to the facility, according to Unicorn Riot.
In footage captured by Unicorn Riot, Reznick, who is a senior field correspondent for KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk and the NPR network, can be heard identifying herself as a journalist and telling a Pima County Sheriff’s deputy that she was walking to her vehicle nearby.
“I'm a reporter,” Reznick said, with a press credential around her neck, recording equipment in her hand and a camera hanging from her shoulder.
The deputy, while holding her by the arm and wrist, responded, “And you're under arrest.” When she repeated that she was attempting to return to her car and leave, he responded, “You had plenty of time to go to your car and you haven’t.”
The deputy allowed a nearby reporter from Unicorn Riot to take her equipment, saying that he didn’t want to break it.
A public information officer for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Reznick was charged with criminal trespass, as were 25 demonstrators.
“That journalist was arrested in the same fashion as the demonstrators,” the officer said. “They were on private property, they were requested to leave and they failed to comply.”
Neither Reznick nor KJZZ was immediately available for comment. Michel Marizco, senior editor of KJZZ's Fronteras Desk, told The Arizona Republic that Reznick was released after several hours and was in “strong spirits.”
“We are continuing to seek clarity from the sheriff’s department on the circumstances of this incident where a clearly identified journalist was in the course of reporting the news," Marizco said.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
