U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

CNN political commentator arrested by NYPD after identifying himself as press

Incident Details

Date of Incident
May 30, 2020
Location
New York, New York
Case number
1:21-cv-01362
Case Status
Dismissed
Type of case
Civil

Arrest/Criminal Charge

Arresting Authority
New York City Police Department
Charges
Unnecessary use of force?
Yes

Equipment Damage

Equipment Broken
Courtesy Keith Boykin

New York Police Department officers are photographed by Keith Boykin shortly before he was taken into custody.

— Courtesy Keith Boykin
November 29, 2023 - Update

New York judge dismisses journalist’s lawsuit alleging First Amendment violations, false arrest

A federal appeals court on Nov. 29 affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights lawsuit brought by journalist Keith Boykin against the City of New York over his arrest while covering a protest. Boykin had appealed an initial Sept. 30 dismissal by a lower court.

Boykin, who is a freelance journalist and political commentator, was arrested and his phone damaged in May 2020 while reporting on a Black Lives Matter protest in Manhattan. He was issued two misdemeanor charges — “walking on the highway” and “disorderly conduct - blocking vehicular traffic.”

The New York City mayor’s office later contacted Boykin to apologize for his treatment, and the charges against him were dropped in September of that year.

Boykin filed his lawsuit in February 2021, alleging First and Fourth Amendment violations, detailing his six hours in police custody and his fear of “further obstruction, harassment, and detention by the NYPD.”

According to court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, District Judge Denise Cote ruled that the officers had probable cause to arrest him and that the city could not be held liable for the officers’ actions.

Boykin appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which upheld the lower court’s ruling on Nov. 29, 2023, closing the case.

February 16, 2021 - Update

Freelance journalist Keith Boykin files lawsuit against the City of New York

Keith Boykin, a freelance journalist and CNN political commentator, filed a lawsuit against the City of New York on Feb. 16, 2021, following his arrest while documenting a protest against police violence in Manhattan.

Boykin was arrested on May 30, 2020, while he was on a bicycle reporting. Despite identifying himself as a member of the press, he was charged with two misdemeanor charges — “walking on the highway” and “disorderly conduct -blocking vehicular traffic.”

According to Boykin’s complaint, the charges against him were dismissed on Sept. 9 and 14. The lawsuit alleges First and Fourth Amendment violations, detailing his six hours in police custody and his fear of “further obstruction, harassment, and detention by the NYPD.”

Boykin and the city were engaged in settlement discussions which broke down in November 2021, and the city filed a motion for judgment and dismissal of the complaint on Nov. 15.

September 22, 2020 - Update

Charges dropped against CNN political commentator arrested in New York City

CNN political commentator Keith Boykin announced on Twitter on Sept. 22, 2020, that the charges against him had officially been dropped, calling it “a victory for the First Amendment.”

Boykin was arrested on May 30 in Manhattan while documenting a protest against police violence, despite identifying himself as a member of the press. He was charged with the misdemeanor charges of “walking on the highway” and “disorderly conduct -blocking vehicular traffic” according to a press release published by his attorneys.

“Through extensive negotiations with city officials, the Lowenstein team convinced the city to drop all charges,” the statement reads.

May 30, 2020

Keith Boykin, a freelance journalist and CNN political commentator, was arrested while covering a protest in Manhattan on May 30, 2020, despite identifying himself as a member of the press.

The protest was one of many demonstrations sparked by the May 26 release of a video showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the prior day. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Boykin, who was an aide to Bill Clinton during his presidency, was documenting the protest for his own Twitter feed, as he has done for past protests. On this afternoon, Black Lives Matter demonstrators had gathered at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem and marched west, eventually making their way up an exit ramp and onto the West Side Highway. Boykin, who was on his bike, had moved ahead of the protesters in order to photograph them when he encountered a phalanx of New York Police Department officers heading toward the group. They said something to the effect of “Get out of the way,” Boykin told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. He identified himself as a member of the media, and the officers walked by him, then turned around and arrested him.

“I said, ‘Why? I’m with the press.’ They said it doesn’t matter,” Boykin said, adding that he had a press ID with him but never got the chance to show it to the officers.

According to Boykin, officers placed zip ties tightly around his wrists and dropped his phone on the ground, cracking its screen. He was carried back to a police van, where they removed his face mask to photograph him, then placed him in the back of the vehicle, which was so hot that Boykin said he worried he would pass out, something he has a history of doing in high temperatures.

“Even being in the back of the van was traumatizing, because I thought of Freddie Gray and how he died,” said Boykin, who is black, referencing a black man who died in Baltimore police custody in 2015. “The whole experience was totally outrageous.”

After an hour in the van, Boykin said he was placed on a prisoner transport bus with other arrestees and brought to NYPD headquarters in lower Manhattan, where he was processed and placed in a cell with 34 other prisoners for several hours. Very few of them had face masks, Boykin said, and he worried that these conditions risked exposing them to the coronavirus.

“I was in that cell for four hours, never told what was going on, never given an opportunity to make a phone call,” Boykin told the Tracker, adding that he also wasn’t read his Miranda rights during the arrest. He was released at 9:30 p.m., six hours after his arrest, and given a summons to appear in court in September on misdemeanour charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic.

“Mind you, I wasn’t blocking the highway—the police and the protesters were blocking the highway,” Boykin later told CNN’s Don Lemon. “I was in between the two of them, documenting what was happening.”

After that CNN appearance, Boykin told the Tracker that he was contacted by the New York City mayor’s office, which apologized to him for his treatment. He has also filed a complaint with the attorney general’s office. But to date, the charges have not been dropped, and he is prepared to fight them in court. He said the NYPD also failed to give him his ID back with the rest of his possessions following his release, and he needs to figure out a way to retrieve that.

The NYPD did not immediately return a request for comment.

“I thought it was completely unbelievable and unacceptable,” said Boykin of the experience. “This was a clear violation of my First Amendment rights.”

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred total incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country related to the death of George Floyd while in police custody. Find all of these cases here.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].