U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

European Pressphoto Agency photojournalist arrested during Minneapolis protests

Incident Details

Date of Incident
May 30, 2020
Case number
0:20-cv-01302
Case Status
Ongoing, Settled
Type of case
Class Action

Arrest/Criminal Charge

Charges
Unnecessary use of force?
No

Assault

Was the journalist targeted?
Unknown
REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA

Law enforcement at a Minneapolis protest on May 30, 2020, after the police killing of George Floyd. Photojournalist Tannen Maury was hit with a tear gas canister fired by a state trooper and arrested while documenting protests in the city.

— REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA
February 8, 2024 - Update

Journalists get nearly $1M settlement over Minneapolis BLM protest attacks

Photojournalist Tannen Maury and multiple other journalists assaulted or arrested by law enforcement during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020–21 will receive a $950,000 settlement from the City of Minneapolis. The city council approved the agreement on Feb. 8, 2024.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota had filed the class-action suit in June 2020 on behalf of lead plaintiff Jared Goyette against the city and various members of law enforcement, including officials at the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol.

Over the following year and a half, the Communications Workers of America union and eight other journalists joined the suit; one later withdrew. The union will receive a portion of the settlement award.

Journalists who covered the protests in Minnesota over the police killings of George Floyd in 2020 and Daunte Wright in 2021 reported being violently attacked by law enforcement at the demonstrations, including with rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas.

Maury told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting protests in Minneapolis in May 2020 when he was hit in the back with a tear gas canister fired by a state trooper, then arrested and charged with violating a city curfew order that specifically exempted members of the media. The charge was dropped two months later.

The plaintiffs reached an earlier settlement with the Minnesota State Patrol in February 2022, winning $825,000 and a permanent injunction barring state troopers from arresting or assaulting journalists.

Separately, the city and police department are bound by a consent decree with the Department of Justice, which reported in June 2023 that its multiyear investigation into the MPD had exposed a number of civil rights violations.

In the latest settlement, however, neither the city nor the police department agreed to any policy changes.

“While this settlement is a crucial step toward protecting freedom of the press, we are troubled that the city of Minneapolis was unwilling to acknowledge any wrongdoing despite MPD’s long history of excessive force,” said Teresa Nelson, legal director for the ACLU of Minnesota. “There clearly is more work to be done. Journalists who are covering police brutality should never be met with more police brutality.”

“I hope that our case along with [those of other journalists], and the US Justice Department’s investigation into police misconduct in Minnesota, will result in positive changes in their approach to dealing with media during future crises,” Maury told the Tracker.

The journalists’ suit against a former sheriff and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office continues, according to the ACLU, which said oral arguments are expected this May or June in an appeal over the sheriff’s bid for qualified immunity.

February 8, 2022 - Update

Journalists reach settlement agreement with Minnesota State Patrol, rest of suit ongoing

Journalists represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota reached a settlement with the Minnesota State Patrol on Feb. 8, 2022. In addition to an award of $825,000, the agreement includes a permanent injunction barring MSP troopers from arresting or assaulting journalists.

The ACLU filed the class-action lawsuit in June 2020 on behalf of freelance journalist Jared Goyette. The Communications Workers of America — the largest journalist union in the country — and eight other journalists, including European Pressphoto Agency photojournalist Tannen Maury, were added as plaintiffs over the next year and a half.

According to the ACLU, the settlement agreement includes a 6-year injunction prohibiting:

  • Arresting, threatening to arrest, and/or using physical force or chemical agents against journalists;
  • Ordering journalists to stop photographing, recording or observing a protest;
  • Making journalists disperse; and
  • Seizing or intentionally damaging equipment such as photo, audio or video gear.

The settlement also includes amending MSP policy so that allegations of aggressions against the press are considered “serious misconduct,” triggering an Internal Affairs investigation, and that independent experts review all complaints alleging mistreatment of journalists during Black Lives Matter protests from 2020 to 2021.

“The Court’s ground-breaking injunction will hold state law enforcement accountable and require them to respect the First Amendment, rather than use violence and threats that deter the media from covering protests and police conduct,” ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson said in a statement released by the organization. “We need a free press to help us hold the police and government accountable. Without a free press, we don’t have a free society, and we can’t have justice.”

The settlement resolved the complaints against MSP; the allegations against the City of Minneapolis, former Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, former Minneapolis Police union head Robert Kroll and the Hennepin County Sheriff are still ongoing.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented 97 assaults and 41 arrests of journalists in Minnesota while covering protests sparked by the police killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. At least 12 journalists also had their equipment damaged. Find all of these cases here.

July 30, 2020 - Update

Freelance photojournalist joins ACLU suit following arrest while covering Minneapolis protest

Freelance photojournalist Tannen Maury joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota’s lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis and law enforcement on July 30, 2020, according to an amended complaint reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

Maury was arrested for being out past curfew alongside two other photojournalists while documenting protests sparked by the death of George Floyd on May 30.

The ACLU filed the initial complaint on June 2, naming as defendants the city, Police Officers Federation President Lt. Robert Kroll, police chief Medaria Arradondo, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington and Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matthew Langer, as well as two John Does.

July 22, 2020 - Update

Charges dropped against European Pressphoto Agency photojournalist arrested during Minneapolis protests

The City of Minneapolis dropped the misdemeanor charge brought against European Pressphoto Agency photojournalist Tannen Maury following his arrest on May 30, 2020.

Maury was arrested for being out past curfew alongside two other photojournalists while documenting protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest on May 26.

City spokesperson Casper Hill told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that around July 22, the staff in the City Attorney’s Office was tasked with dismissing all curfew violations and unlawful assembly charges in cases where there were no additional criminal charges.

Hill said that letters notifying individuals of the dropped charges were mailed to counsel for those who had it, with the assumption that the attorneys would notify their clients, and directly to those without counsel.

Maury did not respond to the Tracker’s email asking if he had received notification of the charges being dropped.

May 30, 2020

A European Pressphoto Agency photojournalist was assaulted and later arrested alongside two other journalists while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30, 2020.

Multiple days of protests in Minneapolis and across the nation were sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents all arrests separately. Find arrests of journalists covering protests related to the death of George Floyd here.

Tannen Maury told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting a peaceful protest when Minnesota State Patrol troopers began to enforce the 8 p.m. curfew, warning all those still present to disperse.

“Five minutes later, they started marching up the street, launching tear gas and I guess rubber bullets, and everything else they have, and I got hit in the back with a projectile,” Maury said.

He believes he was struck with a tear gas canister judging from the large, white residue mark on his shirt and bulletproof vest. Because of his protective gear, Maury said, he was uninjured and able to continue working.

At just after 9 p.m, Maury was walking with freelance photojournalists Stephen Maturen and Craig Lassig on Nicollet Avenue toward 28th Street where a “parade” of police cruisers was driving, according to Maturen.

Maturen told the Tracker that a police cruiser had stopped abruptly on their block and began shooting less-lethal rounds at the handful of people around them.

The three photojournalists identified themselves as members of the media, and were initially told to keep moving.

A moment later, Maturen said, someone made the call to arrest the journalists.

Sheriff’s deputies ordered all three to get on the ground face down with their hands out, and they complied.

Maury said they explained that they were journalists and exempt from the curfew. “They were gentle, they weren’t rough with us at all,” he said.

The photojournalists were taken to the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility in downtown Minneapolis and cited with breaking the city’s curfew order, a misdemeanor which is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 90 days in jail. The curfew order specifically exempted members of the news media, however. They were in police custody for approximately two hours.

Maury confirmed that all of their belongings were returned to them upon their release.

Neither the Minneapolis State Patrol nor the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department could immediately be reached for comment.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting damage of equipment and multiple journalists arrested or struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas while covering related protests across the country. 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].