first_published_at,last_published_at,title,slug,latest_revision_created_at,charges,legal_orders,updates,categories,links,equipment_seized,equipment_broken,targeted_journalists,authors,date,exact_date_unknown,city,state,latitude,longitude,body,introduction,teaser,teaser_image,primary_video,image_caption,arrest_status,arresting_authority,release_date,detention_date,unnecessary_use_of_force,case_number,case_statuses,case_type,status_of_seized_equipment,is_search_warrant_obtained,actor,border_point,target_us_citizenship_status,denial_of_entry,stopped_previously,did_authorities_ask_for_device_access,did_authorities_ask_about_work,assailant,was_journalist_targeted,charged_under_espionage_act,subpoena_type,subpoena_statuses,name_of_business,third_party_business,legal_order_target,legal_order_type,legal_order_venue,status_of_prior_restraint,mistakenly_released_materials,type_of_denial,targeted_institutions,tags,target_nationality,workers_whose_communications_were_obtained,politicians_or_public_figures_involved 2021-12-22 14:16:56.211807+00:00,2021-12-22 14:16:56.211807+00:00,Independent journalist assaulted while documenting anti-vaccine protest,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-assaulted-while-documenting-anti-vaccine-protest/,2021-12-22 14:16:56.171424+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (Independent),,2021-12-18,False,Los Angeles,California (CA),34.05223,-118.24368,"
Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was assaulted while documenting an anti-vaccination protest in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 18, 2021.
Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he arrived shortly after 1 p.m. to document an anti-vaccination mandate protest outside Getty House, the official home of Los Angeles' mayor. Approximately 10 protesters were gathered outside the residence, Beckner-Carmitchel said, and he initially intended on only documenting the demonstration for 30 minutes or so.
An individual approached the journalist at around 1:20 p.m., upset that he had been filmed at a previous protest, Beckner-Carmitchel said.
Beckner-Carmitchel, who told the Tracker he was wearing his National Press Photographers Association press credentials, said the man challenged him to a fight and accused him of publishing private information, or doxxing, multiple individuals.
“Why don’t you go back to what you were doing,” Beckner-Carmitchel can be heard saying in footage from the interaction. “I’m not here to disturb you, I’m not here to disrupt you.”
As police began to arrive at the scene, Beckner-Carmitchel wrote on Twitter that other individuals approached the man who was threatening him and convinced him to walk away and rejoin the protest.
Approximately 10 minutes later, Beckner-Carmitchel wrote that he was attempting to interview Derrick Gates, a Republican candidate for California’s 33rd Congressional District, when the man who threatened him earlier returned and slapped his phone from his hands.
Attempting to interview Republican candidate Derrick Gates; the man who has threatened me earlier slapped my phone out of my hands. No police response. pic.twitter.com/9WytzjYZXO
— Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (@ACatWithNews) December 18, 2021
“It’s OK, buddy, it’s OK. I’m OK with it, really,” Gates can be heard telling the man. “He has a right to ask questions.”
Beckner-Carmitchel told the Tracker his phone was not damaged. He also said that a police cruiser was parked approximately 20 feet away from them during the incident, but officers did not approach them before or after and he did not file a police report.
Independent videographer and photographer Emily Molli was assaulted while gathering footage of an anti-vaccine rally outside Los Angeles City Hall in California on Sept. 18, 2021.
Molli told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was doused with an oily substance and her camera equipment was damaged while covering what organizers called a “fight for medical freedom” rally.
She told the Tracker she had not initially planned on covering the rally because of recent violent eruptions that have occurred at these events but changed her mind and began photographing the speakers several feet away from the crowd. Molli estimated there were close to 50 people at the rally in addition to about two dozen others who were watching from the sidewalk.
Molli said she had not taken her cellphone or her usual press credentials and helmet labeled “PRESS” because her last-minute decision to photograph the event had not given her enough time to prepare.
However, after covering these rallies in the past, Molli said she believed other reporters covering the event would recognize her and at the very least her professional camera would identify her as a reporter.
According to Molli, she was gathering footage of the protest for approximately five minutes when an individual walked up behind her and started hovering over her shoulder.
This was the only shot I got at the park before I was accused of doxxing. Delusional. pic.twitter.com/76oKO7hlDT
— Emily Molli (@emilymolli) September 18, 2021
“I decided at that point I should probably just leave and I started walking away, when more people caught up with me,” Molli said.
The group continued to follow her, accusing her of “doxxing” people in the crowd and being part of the far-left-wing movement antifa.
“In the past, people would sometimes recognize me as a reporter and leave me alone but I knew there was no getting through to these people,” she said.
Molli said she tried to calm the group by telling them she supported freedom of expression and the right to peacefully assemble but by then a man had tried to take her camera out of her hands.
“I was filming just in case something happened — most of the time it does,” Molli said. “As I’m waiting to cross the street someone pumps up a super soaker full of glitter, some kind of oil, and water and shoots me in the back, the back of the head, and my camera.”
Molli managed to get away from the group and walked over to a police officer in a patrol car that had just arrived at the event. She reported the assault and equipment damage to the officer but was directed to file a police report online.
Knowing she wasn’t going to get a name or description of the masked individual who had doused her for the report, Molli said she walked away, but a woman continued to follow her, shoving a sign in front of her camera.
Molli told the Tracker she approached a man across the street from the rally and asked to borrow his cellphone to call her colleague. Molli, who distributes her work through wire services or directly to clients, said she essentially lost a full day of work after her camera was soaked. The substance got onto the camera lens and into the air vents but she will not know the full extent of the damage until she tries to use it again.
Molli said she did not intend to file a police report about the incident.
Independent journalist Alissa Azar tweeted that she was chased and assaulted by a mob of Proud Boys wearing helmets and carrying shields as she covered a protest in Olympia, Oregon, on Sept. 4, 2021.
This is the moment I was attacked. You can’t see actually it happen but you can hear me screaming for them to get off of me as they celebrate my assault and encourage more. evac’d & out safely. I don’t wanna recap at the moment so I’ll update later. https://t.co/0c6bWzcm0J
— alissa azar (@AlissaAzar) September 5, 2021
Business Insider reported that the protest was organized near the state capitol as an anti-COVID-19 demonstration.
Video posted on Twitter shows the gang suddenly change direction and head towards Azar, shouting her name, surrounding her and pulling her to the ground.
She said on Twitter she had been walking with a group but had separated from them to walk a short distance when she was suddenly targeted by a group of about 50 Proud Boys.
In another video, members of the mob can be heard shouting “get her” and “whip her ass,” and then are seen leaving the scene laughing. Many of them are masked and wearing helmets and body armour.
Azar, who did not respond to a request by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker for a comment, tweeted right after the attack that people in a nearby bar in Olympia helped her get away. “I ran as fast as I could. They caught me and pulled my hair and shoved me to the ground then bear maced me.”
In a separate tweet she added: “Not OK and shaking, but safe now and have protection.”
The Olympia Police Department did not respond to a U.S. Press Freedom Tracker request for a comment.
Traverse City Record-Eagle reporter Brendan Quealy was shoved to the ground and punched in the face while covering an anti-mask demonstration near Traverse City, Michigan, on Aug. 26, 2021.
Quealy told the Record-Eagle that he arrived at the Silver Lake Recreation Area at 6:15 p.m. to cover an event organized by a group called Citizens Liberating Michigan. When the event began, one of the organizers announced to the crowd of 80 to 100 that filming would not be permitted, and specifically addressed Quealy.
“There’s no reporting, Brendan,” the organizer said, according to the Record-Eagle. “We don’t authorize that. So, you guys feel like standing in front of him? Because we’re on private property here because we have that rented. That would be great.”
Two men approached him, Quealy told the outlet, telling him to leave and pushing him. One of the men then shoved him into a wooden fence and punched him in the face with both fists before others in the group intervened to stop the attack.
The Record-Eagle reported that the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
“We are interviewing witnesses and a report will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office probably Monday or Tuesday,” Sheriff Tom Bensley told the newspaper. “I know the concern you have.
“There are some people out there that are not happy with the news outlets. We’ve had two incidents in a short period of time,” Bensley said, referencing the June 7 assault of a television crew at an event with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for further information.
Quealy declined to comment when reached via email, citing the sheriff’s ongoing investigation. He told the Detroit Free Press: “My job is to chase the news, to accurately report it and that's what I was doing.”
Record-Eagle Executive Editor Nathan Payne denounced the assault and the rise in aggression toward journalists doing their jobs in a statement to the outlet.
“Our journalists have an important job rooted in public service,” he said. “They should be able to go to work without fear of being attacked for doing nothing more than asking questions, gathering facts and telling truths.”
Danny Rivero, a reporter for south Florida’s NPR and PBS stations, WLRN Public Media, was assaulted after taking a photo of anti-mask demonstrators in Miami, Florida, on Aug. 18, 2021.
Rivero, who did not respond to messages requesting comment, wrote on Twitter he was covering protests against coronavirus mandates outside the Miami-Dade County Public Schools headquarters. At 6:45 p.m., Rivero said he had just been assaulted by a man he identified as a member of the Proud Boys, a violent far-right group.
Was just assaulted for doing my job at an anti-mask mandate protest @MDCPS headquarters by this Proud Boy in the yellow, for taking this photo. (I took many photos of many people on the scene.)
— Danny Rivero (@TooMuchMe) August 18, 2021
Some @MiamiPD officers came and pushed the Proud Boys off of me. No arrests. pic.twitter.com/GIm9Zn7bUw
In Rivero’s police report about the incident, reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, he said that he was approached by three suspects, one of whom grabbed him by the arm and pushed him, telling him, “I will fuck you up!"
“The police escorted me across the street, and for a minute all eyes were on me on both sides of the line. But it’s not about me, it’s about the story,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. Rivero added that he was “totally fine” and was able to continue conducting interviews and photographing the demonstrations.
The Miami Police Department confirmed to the Tracker that Rivero filed a police report about the incident on Aug. 19.
Frank Stoltze, a correspondent for the NPR station KPCC and LAist, was threatened, shoved and kicked while covering an anti-vaccine protest outside LA’s City Hall on Aug. 14, 2021.
Demonstrators had gathered for a rally advertised as a “stop socialism, choose freedom march against medical tyranny” to protest COVID-19 vaccination requirements and mask mandates, Stoltze wrote in an account for LAist. Stoltze, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment, wrote that demonstrators carried pro-Trump flags, signs calling for the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other signs and banners.
While the demonstration on the south lawn of the City Hall grounds remained peaceful, Stoltze told LAist that some fights broke out on the edges of the rally.
“Just a few steps into the park, I noticed a man with a bloody bandage on his head,” Stoltze wrote. “I asked what had happened and he said he’d gotten into a fight with ‘antifa.’”
Stoltze wrote that he identified himself as a journalist and asked the man if he’d be willing to be interviewed; the man declined. When Stoltze asked if he’d be willing to speak anonymously, the men with the injured man immediately started cursing at and threatening Stoltze.
Something happened to me today that’s never happened in 30 yrs of reporting. In LA. @LAist I was shoved, kicked and my eyeglasses were ripped off of my face by a group of guys at a protest - outside City Hall during an anti-vax Recall @GavinNewsom Pro Trump rally. pic.twitter.com/6s2Jfm8Xrg
— Frank Stoltze (@StoltzeFrankly) August 15, 2021
“One shoved me in the chest. Another came from behind, grabbed my hat, and ripped my prescription sunglasses off my head,” Stoltze wrote. “As I turned to leave, I told them I was going to find a cop. They called me an anti-gay slur and ‘little bitch.’”
Footage captured by journalist Andrew Kimmel shows part of the attack; as Stoltze walked away from the group of men, they followed him. Someone also ran up behind Stoltze and kicked him. According to Stoltze’s written account, the same man later knocked his phone out of his hands while Stoltze tried to film the man harassing others. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to determine whether Stoltze’s phone was damaged.
“I was attacked,” Stoltze wrote. “I’m fine. But I’m mad as hell.”
The LAPD confirmed that Stoltze filed a police complaint, HuffPost reported. According to LAist, no arrests have been made in connection with the assault.
Independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg was assaulted while covering an anti-vaccine protest outside LA’s City Hall for the online outlet Status Coup on Aug. 14, 2021.
Demonstrators had gathered for a rally advertised as a “stop socialism, choose freedom march against medical tyranny” to protest COVID-19 vaccination requirements and mask mandates, LAist reported. Demonstrators carried signs from a cross-section of movements, including pro-Trump banners, signs calling for the recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other signs and banners. While the demonstration on the south lawn of the City Hall grounds remained peaceful, according to LAist, some fights broke out on the edges of the rally.
Berg told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she arrived approximately 45 minutes before the violence began and was standing across from the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters with a few other journalists. In footage Berg posted shortly after 2:30 p.m., a group of men can be seen gathering in a line as multiple people call out “Fuck antifa!”
At 0:22 in the clip, a man can be seen running up to Berg, pulling down his mask and saying “Hey bitch” before appearing to strike out at Berg and her camera; Berg said the man punched her and struck her camera. Another demonstrator intervenes and pulls the man away as Berg makes her way back to the sidewalk.
A few moments later, as a brawl appears to break out between the anti-vaccine demonstrators and counterprotesters, a second man runs up to Berg and attempts to pull the mask off her face while shouting, “Unmask them! Unmask them all!”
Anti-vaxxers in LA yell "Fuck Antifa" as one ATTACKS journalist @TinaDesireeBerg, who was injured as a result while reporting. More footage to come from fights that broke out. pic.twitter.com/hHfuesJ38L
— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) August 15, 2021
A photo of the incident shows the man pulling down Berg’s goggles and face mask; Berg’s press credentials can be seen on a lanyard around her neck.
Berg told Democracy Now that she will not let the increasing violence, especially incidents targeting the press, prevent her from covering protests across California.
“People need to see what’s going on and if I let [the Proud Boys] control what I do then they sort of win the conversation,” Berg said. “They don’t want the press, they don’t want people filming them, they don’t want to be exposed for their violent actions. And so the intention of what they’re doing is to try to silence me and other journalists like me from covering what they’re doing and I absolutely am not deterred from doing it. I will be much more aware, take more security precautions.”
Berg told the Tracker she has not filed a police report about the incident, but plans to speak with the special investigations unit about it and the assault she witnessed of videographer Rocky Romano on July 3.
This article has been updated to include comment from the journalist.
Jake Lee Green, an independent video journalist for News2Share, a collective that sells footage to news outlets, was slapped, kicked and sprayed with a chemical irritant while covering an anti-vaccination rally in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 14, 2021.
Green told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was covering the “stop socialism, choose freedom march against medical tyranny” rally, a demonstration outside LA’s City Hall, where demonstrators gathered to protest against mask and vaccination mandates.
When counterprotesters arrived, Green moved away from the gathering to record a brawl that had broken out on the outskirts of the rally. Footage of the incident shared on Twitter shows an individual slap Green, who was wearing a black ballistic helmet and flak jacket, both labeled “PRESS.”
Video footage shows the same person then swinging a helmet at Green while a second individual kicked Green and then grabbed at his camera in an attempt to pull it away. In footage captured by Green, he is heard identifying himself as a journalist.
Green said he backed away from the crowd to readjust his camera equipment and refocus his camera on the escalating violence when someone sprayed him with pepper gel.
“I couldn't see anything and then I felt someone grab my camera, start pulling at it, and that’s when my mic broke off and damaged the screen on the side,” Green said.
Green said the attack damaged his microphone but he attempted to keep recording until the pain from the irritant became unbearable.
Green told the Tracker he did not file a police report about the incident. At least two other journalists were assaulted by individuals during the rally.
Reporter Eric Baerren was attacked by a parent who wanted him to delete photos from his camera on Aug. 2, 2021, after covering a school board meeting, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Baerren told the Tracker that the school board at Mount Pleasant High School in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, had been discussing wearing masks in school and he had been covering the story for the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun and taking photographs.
He told the Tracker that after the meeting, at about 9 p.m., a man approached him while he was packing up his equipment in front of the school auditorium and asked if he'd taken photos of his daughter during the public comment period.
“I told him I didn't know and he asked me if I'd go through my camera to check. I told him I wasn't going to do that and that if I did, it was while his daughter was giving public comment during a public meeting. He told me that he'd asked me nicely, which I took as an implied threat.”
The parent then “tried to grab my phone out of my hand and kick my camera away from my grasp. From behind me, I heard the district superintendent call for the police, so I got my equipment and stood up to wait for them.”
“Then the man indicated that he wouldn't let me leave until I complied with his wishes, and I then pointed my thumb to the approaching officer.” An officer from the Mount Pleasant Police Department’s Youth Services Unit was on scene, and he responded quickly.
Baerren said that the officer took them into the lobby, and after a brief investigation asked the reporter if he wanted to file assault charges. He declined, and two more officers kept the parent in a corner until Baerren could leave.
Vishal Singh, a videographer who works on Netflix documentaries and has been covering demonstrations in Los Angeles since May 2020, said he was punched multiple times while documenting protests at a restaurant in Los Angeles, California, on July 29, 2021.
Local digital outlet WeHoTimes reported that the West Hollywood restaurant Harlowe had become a target of anti-vaccine protests because of its policy requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter the premises. Similar stipulations have been put in place across the country in order to curb the spread of coronavirus variations, particularly amid unvaccinated populations.
Singh told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he arrived to document the protest at approximately 7 p.m., having reported on violence that broke out at the restaurant the night before. By the time he began filming from across the street, a scuffle had broken out between the protesters and another individual and the crowd began following the man down the street.
I was just severely injured by a mob of anti-vaxxers. They were surrounding and assaulting someone. I went to film and help him escape. They attacked from behind. Possible concussion. Maced. Had to fight them off me by myself. Deployed mace in self defense after I was concussed. pic.twitter.com/NTkn6A8XJT
— Vishal P. Singh (They/He) (@VPS_Reports) July 30, 2021
As the crowd turned down an alley, Singh said they directed their attention on him; in footage of the incident a man can be seen positioning himself behind Singh, bumping the videographer with his shoulder and then punching Singh multiple times as Singh defends himself. In the footage, Singh’s press badge can be seen on a lanyard around his neck.
Singh said a second individual then ripped the mask off his face and the man again punched him, knocking him to the ground. Singh told the Tracker he continued defending himself and used pepper spray to disperse the crowd until he was eventually able to leave the area.
“I felt that if I turned around they would chase me and beat me more, so I really didn’t have a choice but to stand my ground and defend myself,” Singh said.
Singh said he immediately went to a hospital, where he was told he suffered multiple breaks to his eye sockets and nose as a result of the attack.
Singh told the Tracker the day after the incident that he hadn’t yet filed a police report about the incident.
Documentary writer, director and producer Rocky Romano was shoved and sprayed with bear mace and his camera was knocked from his hands while he was covering anti-mask protests in Los Angeles, California, on July 22, 2021.
Romano told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was covering demonstrations outside the Cedars-Sinai Breast Health Services Building in West Hollywood, where demonstrators had gathered to protest the clinic’s requirement that patients wear masks indoors. Similar rules have been put in place across the country in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 variations, particularly among unvaccinated populations.
“The group consisted of anti-maskers holding signs with anti-vaxx and QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theories gathered on the sidewalk by the cancer clinic harassing patients and doctors,” Romano wrote in an email to the Tracker. “Community members arrived and attempted to thwart the efforts of the anti-vaxxers and violence erupted.”
Romano said that at approximately 11 a.m. an anti-vaccine protester struck him, knocking his camera to the ground, when he attempted to ask why the protest was taking place. The individual then kicked the camera into the street, and both Romano and his assailant raced to get it; Romano said he was able to retrieve the camera before his assailant was able to kick it again into the intersection.
I was assaulted and had my camera knocked out of my hand when I tried to inquire as to why the anti-vaccine protestors chose to protest a cancer clinic. Later I was bear maced along with @Katerqburns. @PlasticJesus9 @wysiwygtv @chadloder @misstessowen pic.twitter.com/rALYP6ICHG
— Rocky Romano (he/him) (@directedbyrocky) July 24, 2021
The camera sustained minor damage Romano said, and he was able to continue filming the protest.
Approximately three hours later, Romano said he was covering the main crowd of protesters in front of the clinic when an individual pulled out what he described as a can of bear mace and sprayed Romano, as well as a cancer patient and multiple counterprotesters.
Anti-vax protestor assaults members of the community, a credentialed media person (me), and cancer patient @Katerqburns with bear mace to their faces. Notice the community member assisting the cancer patient to safety. @misstessowen @chadloder @VPS_Reports @PlasticJesus9 pic.twitter.com/rKhGii6MWn
— Rocky Romano (he/him) (@directedbyrocky) July 24, 2021
In footage of the incident Romano posted to Twitter, Romano appears to have been one of the first people targeted with the bear mace. In the footage, Romano can clearly be seen wearing a helmet and flak jacket labeled “PRESS.”
Romano told the Tracker his lungs and eyes were inflamed for four to six hours after he was sprayed, and it took him 24 hours to recover fully. He said he hasn’t yet filed a police report about the incident.
Independent journalist James Croxton, managing editor of Oregon-based website DoubleSidedMedia, said his life was threatened as he covered an anti-vaccine rally in Springfield, Oregon, on June 23, 2021.
He said he was in the plaza in front of Springfield Library around 4 p.m. to cover the event, which was also advertised as a protest against mask-wearing to combat COVID-19, and against critical race theory. Croxton said there were around 40 protesters at the rally.
“Many of them held signs about keeping critical race theory out of schools and mask mandates,” he wrote in a post for Left Coast Right Watch, a California-based website.
Two men approached Croxton and asked him who he worked for. Croxton wrote in the post that when he replied ”‘Double Sided Media” they muttered “fake press.” He said he was later circled by two protesters, one carrying a large pole. He wrote that the one carrying the flagpole was “notorious” for beating people with it.
He added that a man walked toward him and told him it would be wise if he walked away.
“Knowing I was largely outnumbered and the only member of the press there by this point, I agreed and stated, ‘Sure, I’ll walk away. No problem’,” Croxton wrote.
Two of the men then followed Croxton down the road, he said, and one said: “If you ever come back, it’ll be the last thing you do.”
“I was physically scared for myself. I thought I was about to be ambushed as two grown men—one with a large flagpole as normal—circled me like predatory vultures,” Croxton tweeted after the incident.
“In retrospect, I think this was the most dangerous situation I have found myself in so far. I say this because I was entirely alone and with a bunch of people who still think that 'the press is the enemy of the people,'” Croxton wrote.
Croxton told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had feared for his life.
“I felt scared due to the fact that I was all alone knowing that if anything happened, nobody was there to either document it or help me.”
He said he hadn’t filed a complaint to the police.
Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel said he was confronted and assaulted by an unidentified man while he was reporting in Los Angeles at the site of a planned anti-vaccination demonstration on Jan. 31, 2021.
Beckner-Carmitchel tweeted that when he arrived at the scene in West Hollywood in the early afternoon, only about three people had shown up to protest against lockdown rules and COVID-19 vaccinations, while about 15 counterprotesters were there. He shared a video of a verbal confrontation between several anti-lockdown protesters and counterprotesters, but noted that no violence had occurred.
"One man, who arrived after the verbal confrontation earlier, took issue with being filmed," Beckner-Carmitchel tweeted alongside a video he posted at 3:30 p.m. "He put himself near me, coughed in my face and threw my equipment down then attempted further assault."
In the video, the man repeatedly asks why Beckner-Carmitchel is following him. Beckner-Carmitchel responds that he has the right to film in a public space and asks the man to step back. The video shows the man continues to come closer and loudly coughs at Beckner-Carmitchel, who continues filming as the man walks away. The man is then seen turning back toward the videographer; he says "Keep it up" then reaches forward and slams the camera to the ground.
Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he wore National Press Photographers Association credentials around his neck and sustained injuries to his hand as well as "some intense bruising to the right forearm."
Freelance photojournalist Christopher Lee said he was harassed and roughed up by demonstrators while he covered riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.
Lee, who didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment, said during a panel with VII Insider — an event platform for photographers, journalists and curators — that he was on assignment for Time magazine covering protesters as they marched toward the west side of the Capitol from the National Mall. The demonstrators, spurred by a speech by then-President Donald Trump earlier that day, aimed to disrupt the Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
As rioters breached the Capitol in the early afternoon, Lee told Time, he tried to remain incognito as he followed them into the building. However, a group of at least six individuals recognized him as a journalist, shouted that he was “fake news” and a member of the “liberal media” and started to grab him to remove him from the Capitol.
“It was a moment that I realized, ‘If I don’t leave the situation right now by any way possible, it could escalate into something really, really bad,’” Lee said. “I’ve had it happen on a couple occasions in America, but not to that level of severity that quickly.”
Lee said during the VII Insider panel that the individuals targeted him in part because he was wearing an N-95 mask.
“I remember having interactions with people saying, ‘We know that you’re not one of us because you’re actually taking the virus seriously,’” Lee said. “When they did kind of rough me up a little bit, they did make it a point in all the chaos to try and pull my mask off of my face."
According to Time, after Lee left the initial group that had harassed him, he found another group breaking into the building through a different entryway and followed them back inside.
“While doing my job in America, that was probably the time that I feared the most for my safety,” said Lee, who has photographed conflicts and protests in the Middle East, Central Asia and elsewhere in the U.S.
Two journalists were assaulted by an individual while documenting an anti-lockdown protest at the Oregon Capitol in Salem on Dec. 21, 2020.
KGW8 reported that far-right group Patriot Prayer had organized the demonstration at the Capitol, where lawmakers had convened for a special one-day session to address bills related to COVID-19 and wildfire relief.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Sergio Olmos tweeted at 1:15 p.m. that police had already declared it an unlawful assembly and officers in riot gear were stationing themselves about a block from the Capitol. Olmos, who declined the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment, posted pictures and videos in subsequent tweets showing individuals gathered around the building’s west-side entrance. Some can be seen using poles and their legs to break a pair of glass doors.
Brian Hayes, a photojournalist for the Statesman Journal, told the Tracker that he’d been taking photos of this scene shortly before 1:30 p.m. when one of the men — whom Hayes identified as Albany resident Jeremy Roberts — noticed him.
Hayes said that Roberts had grabbed a 10-pound weight being used to hold down a tent outside the Capitol and was swinging it toward the glass door when the two locked eyes.
“He acted like he was actually going to throw [the weight] at me, thought better of it, dropped it and then jumped down, got in my face and pushed me around,” Hayes said.
In a video posted by Olmos, Roberts — who can be seen in a camouflage-print hoodie and black baseball hat — appears to shove and yell at Hayes, who attempts to walk away from him with his arms held up. A second man appears to run toward Hayes and shoves him back. When Hayes again attempts to walk away from the men, the second man appears to shove and punch Hayes; a third man, who had been standing to the side, shoves Hayes as well.
Hayes can be heard shouting, “I’m getting out of here!” The third man again shoves Hayes, who catches himself against the wall of the Capitol. Others in the crowd can be heard shouting, “See ya, buddy!”
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) December 21, 2020
Hayes said a right-wing livestreamer eventually reached him, wrapped his arm around him and led him out of the area. Hayes noted that he was wearing a press pass around his neck and was carrying his professional camera. The Tracker has documented his assault here.
A few minutes later, Hayes said he was standing with two other reporters approximately 50 to 100 feet from the demonstrators when another individual approached and started threatening them. Olmos captured part of that interaction and what followed.
“As we’re standing there … Jeremy comes back over and he’s still pretty keyed up and he gets in my face and threatens to beat me up,” Hayes said. In the footage, Roberts can be seen positioning himself nose-to-nose against Hayes, saying, “You took a picture of me.”
“At that point I decided, ‘Not worth it,’ and walked away to deescalate the situation,” Hayes said.
As Hayes looked back a few minutes later, however, he said he saw Roberts lunge at Olmos and tackle him to the ground.
Here is two clips: this man lunges toward me.
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) December 21, 2020
Second clip if after I’m tackled, I get up to walk away. pic.twitter.com/ESaa0BJDS1
“I bolted over there to check on Sergio and make sure he was all right,” Hayes said, “and I got him out of there.”
Hayes said both journalists then left the area and walked a block away to where Oregon State Police had set up a police line.
The Statesman Journal reported that both journalists spoke to police about the assaults and gave officers a description of the assailant. A warrant was issued for Roberts’ arrest after an OSP trooper submitted a probable cause statement testifying that they had personally seen Roberts kicking and shattering a door to the Capitol.
KGW8 reported that Roberts turned himself in to law enforcement on Dec. 27. Roberts faces charges of criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, assault, harassment and probation violation.
The OSP did not respond to an emailed request for comment as of press time.
Two journalists were assaulted by an individual while documenting an anti-lockdown protest at the Oregon Capitol in Salem on Dec. 21, 2020.
KGW8 reported that far-right group Patriot Prayer had organized the demonstration at the Capitol, where lawmakers had convened for a special one-day session to address bills related to COVID-19 and wildfire relief.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter Sergio Olmos tweeted at 1:15 p.m. that police had already declared it an unlawful assembly and officers in riot gear were stationing themselves about a block from the Capitol. Olmos, who declined the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s request for comment, posted pictures and videos in subsequent tweets showing individuals gathered around the building’s west-side entrance. Some can be seen using poles and their legs to break a pair of glass doors.
Brian Hayes, a photojournalist for the Statesman Journal, told the Tracker that he’d been taking photos of this scene shortly before 1:30 p.m. when one of the men — whom Hayes identified as Albany resident Jeremy Roberts — noticed him.
Hayes said that Roberts had grabbed a 10-pound weight being used to hold down a tent outside the Capitol and was swinging it toward the glass door when the two locked eyes.
“He acted like he was actually going to throw [the weight] at me, thought better of it, dropped it and then jumped down, got in my face and pushed me around,” Hayes said.
In a video posted by Olmos, Roberts — who can be seen in a camouflage-print hoodie and black baseball hat — appears to shove and yell at Hayes, who attempts to walk away from him with his arms held up. A second man appears to run toward Hayes and shoves him back. When Hayes again attempts to walk away from the men, the second man appears to shove and punch Hayes; a third man, who had been standing to the side, shoves Hayes as well.
Hayes can be heard shouting, “I’m getting out of here!” The third man again shoves Hayes, who catches himself against the wall of the Capitol. Others in the crowd can be heard shouting, “See ya, buddy!”
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) December 21, 2020
Hayes said a right-wing livestreamer eventually reached him, wrapped his arm around him and led him out of the area. Hayes noted that he was wearing a press pass around his neck and was carrying his professional camera.
A few minutes later, Hayes said he was standing with two other reporters approximately 50 to 100 feet from the demonstrators when another individual approached and started threatening them. Olmos captured part of that interaction and what followed.
“As we’re standing there … Jeremy comes back over and he’s still pretty keyed up and he gets in my face and threatens to beat me up,” Hayes said. In the footage, Roberts can be seen positioning himself nose-to-nose against Hayes, saying, “You took a picture of me.”
“At that point I decided, ‘Not worth it,’ and walked away to deescalate the situation,” Hayes said.
As Hayes looked back a few minutes later, however, he said he saw Roberts lunge at Olmos and tackle him to the ground. The Tracker has documented Olmos’ assault here.
“I bolted over there to check on Sergio and make sure he was all right,” Hayes said, “and I got him out of there.”
Hayes said both journalists then left the area and walked a block away to where Oregon State Police had set up a police line.
The Statesman Journal reported that both journalists spoke to police about the assaults and gave officers a description of the assailant. A warrant was issued for Roberts’ arrest after an OSP trooper submitted a probable cause statement testifying that they had personally seen Roberts kicking and shattering a door to the Capitol.
KGW8 reported that Roberts turned himself in to law enforcement on Dec. 27. Roberts faces charges of criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, assault, harassment and probation violation.
The OSP did not respond to an emailed request for comment as of press time.
Jacob Kornbluh, national politics reporter for the national news outlet Jewish Insider, was assaulted by a crowd during anti-lockdown protests in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Oct. 7, 2020, according to tweets from Kornbluh and news reports.
Videos of the assault, which were posted on Twitter, show a group of men in clothing typically worn by members of the Orthodox Jewish community surrounding Kornbluh and pinning him against a wall while screaming “moyser,” or “snitch” in Yiddish.
Kornbluh wrote on Twitter and confirmed in a conversation with the Committee to Protect Journalists that he was “hit in the head and kicked by an angry crowd of hundreds of community members” that were calling him “Nazi” and “Hitler.” New York Police Department officers and several community members helped Kornbluh leave the crowd, according to Kornbluh’s tweets.
The New York Police Department arrested one of the anti-lockdown protest organizers, Heshy Tischler, on Oct. 11, and charged him with inciting a riot and unlawful imprisonment in connection with an assault of a journalist, according to New York state’s online court record system and a tweet from the NYPD.
Before his arrest, Tischler posted on Twitter that he would be pleading not guilty.
The protests were against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new COVID-19 restrictions on neighborhoods with high infection rates, including in Borough Park, where the incident occurred and where both Kornbluh and Tischler live, according to Haaretz.
Protests erupted over new COVID-19 restrictions in areas with high infection rates, including this one in Brooklyn’s Borough Park on Oct. 7, 2020, where a reporter with Jewish Insider was assaulted by a crowd.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,private individual,yes,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,"coronavirus, protest",,, 2020-04-22 19:53:52.842241+00:00,2023-07-18 19:55:12.049248+00:00,Fox 11 News photojournalist held at knifepoint over footage of California shelter-in-place protest,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fox-11-news-photojournalist-held-knifepoint-over-footage-california-shelter-place-protest/,2023-07-18 19:55:11.940464+00:00,,,(2023-07-13 15:54:00+00:00) Attorney sentenced for false imprisonment of California photojournalist,Assault,,,,Unidentified photojournalist 1 (KTTV),,2020-04-17,False,Huntington Beach,California (CA),33.6603,-117.99923,"A man was arrested in Huntington Beach, California, and charged with kidnapping a Fox 11 News photographer at knifepoint during a protest on April 17, 2020.
Fox 11 reported that its two-person crew was covering a demonstration against the state’s shelter-in-place guidelines when a man approached the reporter and photographer with a pocket knife in hand and demanded they delete any video he might appear in.
A Fox News spokesperson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the crew requested to not be identified.
The man, later identified as 36-year-old Christien Petersen, then forced the photographer to go to his news van in order to delete the protest footage. Fox 11 reported that Petersen was still holding the cameraman at knifepoint in the van when police arrived at the scene at around 7:30 p.m.
Police told The Los Angeles Times that Petersen appeared intoxicated.
The Fox News spokesperson told the Tracker that the station turned over all footage to the police to aid in their investigation.
Officer Angela Bennett confirmed that to the Tracker that Petersen faces charges of kidnapping and exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm. Bennett also noted that Petersen was released from police custody on April 20 after he posted bail. Fox 11 reported the bail was set at $100,000.
In a statement to the New York Post, Petersen’s attorney, Christopher Darden, said the incident was a “gross misunderstanding.”
“A man took [Petersen]’s photo and [Petersen] objected because he was not part of the protest and did not want to be associated with it. We do not believe that an attempted kidnapping is supported by the facts and that all that has happened to [Petersen] is due to a gross misunderstanding,” Darden said.
Darden, who identified his client as a lawyer and father of two, says Petersen intends to apologize to the news photographer.
The spokesperson added that both the photographer and reporter were shaken but uninjured, and are looking forward to returning to work.