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 2023-09-21 20:33:05.960893+00:00,2023-09-22 14:07:18.545970+00:00,Miami mayor tries to grab phone from reporter’s hands,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/miami-mayor-tries-to-grab-phone-from-reporters-hands/,2023-09-22 14:07:18.432166+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Sarah Blaskey (Miami Herald),,2023-09-09,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez attempted to “snatch” the phone from Miami Herald investigative reporter Sarah Blaskey’s hands at City Hall on Sept. 9, 2023, after she asked him about a complaint being investigated by the state ethics commission.
The Herald reported that Blaskey approached Suarez in a hallway outside a city budget hearing and asked him about his multiday appearance at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix using tickets provided by a hedge fund executive. Suarez initially told Blaskey that once she made an appointment with his assistant he’d be happy to speak with her.
In footage of the interaction, Blaskey then appeared to tilt her phone up in order to capture Suarez’s face, at which point the mayor noticed that he was being filmed and attempted to grab the device from her hands. A sergeant-at-arms who serves as his bodyguard intervened and acknowledged Blaskey’s right to record, according to the Herald.
Blaskey seemed visibly shaken by the interaction in her footage, but persisted in asking Suarez about whether he had been approached by federal investigators and how much he paid back for the tickets.
Following the incident, the mayor’s office released this statement: "Mayor Francis Suarez has repeatedly answered questions from the local newspaper about the Formula One (F1) event. Last Saturday, after having answered several questions on the subject, without prior notice and unnecessarily, the reporter placed her cell phone inches from the mayor's personal space, who was surprised and, as any human being would react, moved the device away from his face.”
The mayor’s office did not respond to an emailed request for further comment.
In a column for the newspaper, Herald Executive Editor Alex Mena condemned Suarez’s attempt to grab the phone from Blaskey, stating that, “Any kind of physical interaction with our reporters is not acceptable.”
Mena also criticized the mayor’s response to the incident, noting that more than half of the outlet’s 55 requests for comment from the mayor have gone unanswered.
“The mayor has since misrepresented to other news outlets his willingness to speak with our reporters, with his office issuing a statement saying the mayor has ‘repeatedly responded’ to the Miami Herald’s questions and that Saturday’s confrontation occurred after he answered ‘several questions on the topic,’” Mena wrote. “In fact, Suarez answered none of our questions that day — until our reporters confronted him with a camera rolling.”
Senior Managing Editor Dana Banker told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Suarez has not apologized to Blaskey, but agreed to meet with leadership from the Herald on Sept. 22.
“[Blaskey] was shaken up and understandably so,” Banker said. “We want to get with the mayor and talk this through tomorrow. ... It was 100% unacceptable and we’re going to make that clear.”
Banker added: “At the end of the day we’re just going to keep digging and we’re going to let our reporting speak for itself. But it definitely is not going to chill anything we’re doing here at the Herald.”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to clarify that two ethics complaints were filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. One of the complaints, before the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust, was dismissed after it was found to be legally insufficient. A second complaint is under investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, pictured here speaking at an event in February 2023, attempted to ‘snatch’ the phone from Miami Herald investigative reporter Sarah Blaskey when she asked him a question outside a budget hearing on Sept. 9, 2023.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,politician,yes,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2023-11-30 20:30:54.001585+00:00,2023-11-30 20:30:54.001585+00:00,Media barred from identifying officer working DeSantis security,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/media-barred-from-identifying-officer-working-desantis-security/,2023-11-30 20:30:49.205351+00:00,,,,Prior Restraint,,,,Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats),,2023-08-30,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"A Florida circuit court judge issued a prior restraint on Aug. 30, 2023, barring members of the press from publishing anything that might identify an officer who had provided security for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by Grant Stern, the executive editor of the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats, after he and a columnist were barred by a plainclothes officer from attending the governor’s Sept. 22, 2022, press conference at Miami Dade College.
The officer, who refused to identify himself at the time, filmed the pair of journalists on a cellphone and ordered a uniformed officer to remove them from the building. Stern made an on-the-spot records request for a copy of the recording and ultimately filed a formal records request to identify the plainclothes officer.
The Miami Police Department refused to identify the officer, asserting that he was working undercover, as distinct from simply in civilian clothes, and was therefore exempt from such disclosures. Stern filed the lawsuit in October 2022 challenging the decision.
During a hearing on Aug. 30, 2023, Circuit Court Judge Migna Sanchez-Llorens told the parties she would reserve judgment on the distinction. Attorneys for the city then asked that — if the judge were to rule that the officer was working undercover — the images and videos filed as evidence in the suit be sealed, redacted or blurred out to protect his identity.
Sanchez-Llorens noted an objection raised by Stern’s attorney but heard no arguments before ruling that Stern’s photograph and any other identifiers of the officer would be placed under seal until she ruled on the question of his status.
The following day, the judge expanded the gag order to include all media and said that no one should disclose the identity of the officer. “This means that all persons shall refrain from releasing name, photos, or badge number of the undercover agent,” Sanchez-Llorens wrote.
“[The judge] did all of that without briefing, motion, nothing,” Stern told the Tracker. “They [city’s attorneys] merely suggested, just to get a sense of the court, if they could get a further order after the ruling. That’s all they asked for. She went ahead and did the rest.”
Stern told the Tracker that there is virtually no limit on how long the judge can reserve judgment, and that he and other media will remain gagged until she issues a ruling.
“This is two out of the three branches of Florida government now censoring this,” Stern said. “If the state doesn’t want you around they exercise every lever of government to prevent state officials from facing tough questions.”
Stern subsequently filed a motion asking the judge to recuse herself from the case, arguing that not only did she issue her order without following proper procedure but had also prejudged that the officer was working undercover, showing bias in the case. Sanchez-Llorens denied the motion, which Stern has since appealed to the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida.
A portion of the order, filed Aug. 31, 2023, ordering Occupy Democrats’ Executive Editor Grant Stern and all other media not to publish photos or other identifying information for a police officer who had worked security for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,pending,False,[],Media,,,, 2023-09-29 16:35:44.603839+00:00,2023-10-04 13:43:00.970626+00:00,ProPublica receives 'sprawling' subpoena following tax evasion series,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-receives-sprawling-subpoena-following-tax-evasion-series/,2023-10-04 13:43:00.843306+00:00,,LegalOrder object (243),,Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,,,2023-08-22,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"ProPublica and five of its journalists were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, seen here speaking at a conference in 2022, subpoenaed ProPublica and five of its journalists on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,Institution,subpoena,Federal,None,False,None,ProPublica,,,, 2023-09-29 17:08:21.320043+00:00,2023-09-29 17:08:21.320043+00:00,ProPublica journalist subpoenaed over IRS lawsuit,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/propublica-journalist-subpoenaed-over-irs-lawsuit/,2023-09-29 17:08:21.128535+00:00,,LegalOrder object (244),,Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,Ash Ngu (ProPublica),,2023-08-22,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"ProPublica and five of its journalists — including reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Ngu, former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; and reporter Paul Kiel. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
ProPublica and five of its journalists — including senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Ernsthausen; former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
ProPublica and five of its journalists — including senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Eisinger, former reporter Mick Dumke; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
ProPublica and five of its journalists — including former reporter Mick Dumke — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Dumke, who left the outlet in December 2022; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; reporter Paul Kiel; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
ProPublica and five of its journalists — including reporter Paul Kiel — were each subpoenaed on Aug. 22, 2023, in connection with an ongoing lawsuit filed by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin against the Internal Revenue Service, the nonprofit newsroom confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Griffin filed the suit in federal court in Miami in December 2022, alleging that the IRS failed to establish “appropriate administrative, technical, and/or physical safeguards” to protect his private data.
A ProPublica spokesperson told the Tracker via email that the outlet and journalists received “sprawling subpoenas for documents” in an apparent attempt to identify ProPublica’s source following the publication of its series, “The Secret IRS Files,” which relied on what it called “a vast cache” of tax documents.
“As we reported from the first day the series appeared, we don’t know the identity of the source who provided this trove of information on the taxes paid by the wealthiest Americans,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are deeply committed to protecting our sources — who are the lifeblood of our journalism — and maintaining the independence of our newsroom. These principles are sacrosanct at ProPublica and will remain our priority as we address Griffin’s subpoenas. If necessary, we are prepared to defend our rights in court.”
ProPublica declined to provide further information about the content of the subpoenas or how the outlet is responding to them.
A joint status report filed in the underlying lawsuit identified the journalists subpoenaed as Kiel; former reporter Mick Dumke; senior editor and reporter Jesse Eisinger; senior data reporter Jeff Ernsthausen; and reporter, designer and developer Ash Ngu. According to the report, responses to the subpoenas were due on Sept. 26 and the deadline to begin production of materials is Oct. 6.
A WPLG-TV photographer was assaulted in Miami, Florida, on Aug. 17, 2023, while covering the release from jail of a woman accused of grand theft and fraudulent use of a credit card.
The station reported that the woman ran out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center covering her face with papers when she was released on bond. A man, identified as the woman’s father, confronted the WPLG photojournalist for filming her, shoving the journalist and shouting expletives.
In footage from the incident, the man can be heard shouting, “Stop fucking filming my fucking kid” and “You’re a fucking criminal.”
South Miami Police Sgt. Fernando Bosch told WPLG, “I just saw the video and that’s an assault.” The Miami Police Department Public Information Office did not respond to a voicemail requesting additional information.
WPLG did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Two journalists with the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats were barred from attending a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Miami, Florida, on Sept. 22, 2022.
Editor-at-Large Grant Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and Reported Opinion Columnist Thomas Kennedy learned about the press conference after DeSantis put it on his public agenda. The pair was ultimately stopped before they could enter the venue at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus.
Was just denied entrance to DeSantis’ press event. Police put their hands on me and forcibly removed me from this publicly funded event despite me not raising my voice and police acknowledging we are not violent. We wanted to ask why DeSantis is using migrants as political props.
— Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) September 22, 2022
In a video Kennedy posted on Twitter of the interaction, a person he identifies as a Miami police detective says he and Grant have already been advised they are not welcome. “You’re not invited. You’re not press.”
Officer Roberto Heredia Rubio subsequently told the journalists that it was a private event and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement instructed the officers to prevent them from entering.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis signed two bills into law that day aimed at combating foreign influence in Florida’s universities and increasing the penalties for selling trade secrets, particularly to foreign governments.
Stern told the Tracker that during the interaction, another officer at the venue refused to identify himself and then began filming them on a cellphone. Stern requested that the officer send him a copy of the recording in compliance with the state’s public records law. The officer refused and forced them to exit the building under threat of arrest.
“This is the second time that an officer from the City of Miami has responded to me making an on-the-spot records request with retaliatory conduct,” Stern said. “There’s a pattern and practice of civil rights violations in Miami.”
The governor’s office has barred press from covering press conferences or bill signings on at least four other occasions since March 2020, including an incident in April when both Stern and Kennedy were forcefully removed from a press conference with DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñes. The Tracker documented that incident here.
Two journalists with the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats were forcibly removed from a press conference at Miami Dade College in downtown Miami, Florida, on April 12, 2022.
Executive Editor Grant Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and Reported Opinion Columnist Thomas Kennedy were alerted to a press conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñes via email from the governor’s press office. Stern said both he and Kennedy sent emails confirming that they would attend the press conference, but received no response. Stern told the Tracker that due to Kennedy’s activist activities prior to his work for Occupy Democrats, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiled a dossier on Kennedy and his known associates in 2020 and functionally blacklisted him from attending the governor’s press conferences.
When reached for comment, Kennedy said that politicians in Florida too often pick and choose which press to engage with, and that his emails to RSVP for press conferences are routinely ignored.
“Then, when we get [to the press conference] they tell us we’re not on the list or we haven’t gone through the proper credentialing. They could say ‘no,’ which I think is unfair and selective, especially when it’s not a campaign event, but they don’t even bother to do that,” Kennedy said.
When the pair arrived on April 12, they were directed to the media area at the back of the room alongside other members of the press.
Before the event began, DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, approached the press area with other staff members and multiple law enforcement officers. In footage shared on Twitter by NBC reporter Marc Caputo, another woman can be seen approaching Kennedy and asking him whether he is a member of the press; Kennedy responds that he is.
As with other Miami pressers, @GovRonDeSantis kicks his off with the customary removal of @tomaskenn & @grantstern
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) April 12, 2022
Here’s Tomas
1/2 pic.twitter.com/v8cjHQK2ml
The woman says that Kennedy isn’t on their RSVP list and that because he did not go through their screening process he must step out of the room. At least three police officers then roughly guide Kennedy out of the room as he voices a question for DeSantis.
In footage posted by Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio, Pushaw can be seen pointing out Stern to a man who appears to also be acting as security for the event as Kennedy is led away. Moments later Stern is directed to leave the press conference as well.
“Do you suspect me of committing a crime?” Stern can be heard asking an officer before walking out of the room. “I sent an RSVP, I am a member of the press: I am an editor of a national publication called Occupy Democrats.”
Stern told the Tracker he asked the officers for the names and badge numbers before the pair left to report on their removal.
DeSantis’ office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The governor’s office has barred press from covering press conferences or bill signings on at least three other occasions since March 2020, including an incident in August 2021 when Stern was forcefully removed from a press conference with DeSantis and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The Tracker documented that incident here.
“Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio captured footage of police escorting two Occupy Democrats journalists out of a gubernatorial press conference at Miami Dade College on April 12, 2022.”
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,['GOVERNMENT_EVENTS'],,,,,State government: Governor 2023-10-13 16:38:11.828377+00:00,2023-10-13 16:38:11.828377+00:00,"Univision reporter ‘blocked, shoved’ by Miami mayor’s security",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/univision-reporter-blocked-shoved-by-miami-mayors-security/,2023-10-13 16:38:05.209624+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Erika Carrillo (WLTV-DT),,2021-10-06,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"Erika Carrillo, then-investigative reporter for Univision affiliate WLTV-DT, said she was “blocked and shoved” by security for Mayor Francis Suarez when seeking to question him on Oct. 6, 2021.
According to a report published by the outlet, Carrillo waited after a public event at City Hall to ask Suarez his opinion on the controversy surrounding then-Miami Police Department Chief Art Acevedo.
Carrillo reported that at least 13 staff members and security personnel blocked her and her team’s path in an attempt to prevent her from reaching the mayor. In the footage, Carrillo appears to be held back, jostled and pushed on multiple occasions, including as she followed Suarez up a set of stairs.
Nearly a week later, on Oct. 12, the mayor’s talking points from a press conference revealed a handwritten note that read (translated from the Spanish), “Ericka Carillo [sic] — tripped in a limited space.”
Carrillo subsequently wrote on social media that contrary to Suarez’s notes, she didn’t trip or stumble. “I was blocked and shoved by the Mayor’s security when I was trying to ask him about chief [Acevedo],” she wrote.
Btw, for the record… I didn’t trip or stumble as the mayor’s @FrancisSuarez notes say. I was blocked and shoved by the Mayor’s security when I was trying to ask him about chief @ArtAcevedo https://t.co/I2558wIphn
— Erika Carrillo (@ErikaCarrilloTV) October 12, 2021
Dan Shelley, the president and CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association condemned the incident at the time, writing that it was “unacceptable” that Carrillo was shoved while “merely trying to ask the mayor questions about the police chief’s dismissal.”
Neither Carrillo nor Mayor Suarez’s office responded to later requests for comment.
In footage published by WLTV-DT, investigative reporter Erika Carrillo, center in blue, is held back and jostled by a security officer for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on Oct. 6, 2021, while seeking comment on a scandal involving the city’s police chief.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,private security,yes,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2021-08-26 13:23:17.635642+00:00,2021-08-26 13:23:17.635642+00:00,Reporter assaulted during Miami anti-mask mandate protest,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-during-miami-anti-mask-mandate-protest/,2021-08-26 13:23:17.609922+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Danny Rivero (WLRN-FM),,2021-08-18,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"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.
Bobeth Yates, a reporter for CBS4 News in Miami, Florida, was attacked on May 12, 2021, while she was working on a story about rising crime rates in South Beach.
Yates was near Fifth Street and Ocean Drive in South Beach to report on the Miami Beach City Commission passing a resolution to stop alcohol sales past 2 a.m. in the city’s entertainment district as a way to curb unruly behavior, the station reported.
Yates was with photojournalist Ebenezer Mends doing research in the busy nightlife area about 9 p.m. when they started recording a fight in front of them. After Mends started filming, some of the people involved in the fight came over and demanded not to be filmed.
When they started pushing the camera and hitting Mends, Yates said in the report, she tried to get in the way.
“To be honest, I've been reporting for a very long time,” Yates said in the report. “I don't want to date myself, but about 20 years and I've never been attacked like this on a story.”
She said both she and Mends were hit. “The first hit came when we tried to kind of block the camera and I kind of stood in between everything because they started really coming on to Ebenezer and attacking him.”
At one point, Yates said, maybe four or five people surrounded Mends. She said she tried to push them back but they hit her and tried to attack Mends and the camera, which was damaged.
“They also threw a bottle of liquid what I believe is some sort of alcohol because it was literally burning our skin, my eyes,” she said.
Yates, who didn’t respond to U.S. Press Freedom Tracker requests for comment, called police and followed the people who harassed her and Mends, the report said.
Miami Beach police officers detained two subjects near Seventh Street and Ocean Drive. The subjects were arrested for criminal mischief, resisting an officer and battery, the Miami Beach Police Department confirmed to the Tracker.
Police also confirmed damage to the Sony PXW-X400 video camera, belonging to the CBS News crew, and stated damage was estimated at $90,000, if the camera needed to be replaced. Mends’ assault and the equipment damage is documented by the Tracker here.
Editor's Note: The date of the assault is May 12, 2021, not May 15, as originally published.
Ebenezer Mends, a photojournalist for CBS4 News in Miami, Florida, was attacked and his camera was damaged while he was working on a story about rising crime rates in South Beach on May 12, 2021.
Mends was with CBS4 reporter Bobeth Yates near Fifth Street and Ocean Drive in South Beach. The journalists were there to report on the Miami Beach City Commission’s passage of a resolution to stop alcohol sales past 2 a.m. in the city’s entertainment district as a way to curb unruly behavior, the station reported.
Mends and Yates were doing research in the busy nightlife area about 9 p.m. when a fight broke out. Mends began recording the fight, but some of the people involved in it came up to him and demanded that he not film them.
When they started pushing his camera and hitting Mends, Yates said in the station’s report, she tried to get in the way.
“To be honest, I've been reporting for a very long time,” Yates said, according to the report. “I don't want to date myself, but about 20 years and I've never been attacked like this on a story.”
She said both she and Mends were hit. “The first hit came when we tried to kind of block the camera and I kind of stood in between everything because they started really coming on to Ebenezer and attacking him.”
At one point, Yates said, four or five people surrounded Mends. Yates said they hit her and tried to attack Mends and the camera, which was damaged.
“They also threw a bottle of liquid what I believe is some sort of alcohol because it was literally burning our skin, my eyes,” she said.
Yates called police and followed the people who harassed her and Mends, according to the station’s report. Neither Yates nor Mends responded to U.S. Press Freedom Tracker requests for comment.
Miami Beach police officers later detained two people near Seventh Street and Ocean Drive. The subjects were arrested for criminal mischief, resisting an officer and battery, the Miami Beach Police Department confirmed to the Tracker.
A charge sheet shared by police with the Tracker confirmed that Mends reported he had received a cut on his head during the incident and that Yates had reported being struck on her arms and being targeted when a liquid was thrown at the journalists. The police report also confirmed damage to the CBS4 crew’s Sony PXW-X400 video camera, which has a replacement value of $90,000. A CBS news report confirmed that the camera was damaged but did not specify the degree of damage.
Editor's Note: The date of the assault is May 12, 2021, not May 15, as originally published.
Freelance photojournalist Sam Navarro said in an interview that he was shoved into a wall by a police officer while covering a protest against police violence in Miami, Florida on June 6, 2020.
The protest was one of many across the country sparked by the May 25 police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis. Navarro, who was photographing the June 6 demonstration for the Miami Herald, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the protest had been peaceful.
However, he said, at around 7:30 p.m., a large number of police officers confronted the protesters and declared an unlawful assembly. Navarro said most of the demonstrators left, but a few dozen remained.
Navarro was photographing the scene at the intersection of 107th Avenue and Eighth Street when one protester ran around behind him. He turned and saw police officers advancing rapidly toward him. An officer wearing a helmet and carrying a shield shoved him up against a concrete wall with a raised metal railing on the edge of the street.
Navarro said the officer let him go almost immediately after the impact, and he resumed photographing the scene.
Navarro said he later had a large bruise on his upper left arm from the impact. His two cameras banged up against the wall, but weren’t damaged, he said.
The incident was filmed in a video posted on Twitter by Herald reporter Joey Flechas.
About 25 officers hopped the barricade and slammed two people to the wall with their shields. One was running away. One was a photographer working for the Herald. Another woman sitting on the ground was arrested. This small number of people was declared an “unlawful assembly.” pic.twitter.com/jYpLEjqNrC
— Joey Flechas (@joeflech) June 7, 2020
Later, as police were finishing arresting demonstrators, another officer asked Navarro if he was alright, the photographer said. The officer said he tried to pull Navarro away so he wouldn’t have been caught up when police advanced, but that there wasn’t time.
Navarro said he was clearly identifiable as a journalist. He was wearing press credentials on a lanyard around his neck, and carried two cameras with him.
The Miami-Dade Police Department didn’t return a request for comment about the incident.
The Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering these protests across the country. Find these incidents here.
Photographer Sam Navarro covering a rally in Miami in July 2020.
,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,law enforcement,no,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, protest",,, 2020-09-21 20:18:32.022251+00:00,2022-05-12 21:48:18.792089+00:00,Miami social media producer arrested for curfew violation while covering protests; charges dropped,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/miami-social-media-producer-arrested-curfew-violation-while-covering-protests-charges-dropped/,2022-05-12 21:48:18.720125+00:00,curfew violation (charges dropped as of 2020-06-01),,,Arrest/Criminal Charge,,,,Joel Franco (WSVN),,2020-05-31,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"Joel Franco, a social media producer with WSVN 7News, a Fox affiliate station based in Miami, Florida, was arrested while covering protests in the city on May 31, 2020.
Franco reported the arrest on Twitter the morning of June 1, writing: “I was arrested last night as I was walking to my car after covering the protests in Downtown Miami. Charged with violating curfew. The curfew ordinance exempts media (I had my credentials).”
Franco, contacted on Twitter by the Committee to Protect Journalists, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. WSVN also did not respond to CPJ’s requests for comment, sent via Twitter direct messages and email. The Miami Herald reported that Franco no longer works for WSVN.
On June 1, in an interview with WSVN, Franco recounted how he’d completed a livestream of protests downtown and was headed back to his car when he noticed a line of police vehicles that appeared to be looking for people who were in violation of the city’s 9 p.m. curfew order. He said he began to film the scene.
“That’s when they noticed I was filming,” Franco told WSVN. “They just swarmed me, got out of the pickup truck, threw me against their pickup truck, raised my arms behind my back and put a little zip tie on me.”
In his account to WSVN, Franco said that he told police he was a member of the press and that he had his work ID on him. He said police “grabbed” the ID and his phone case and started “acting clueless.”
Franco’s girlfriend was with him at the time. She was not arrested.
WSVN reported that Franco spent nine hours in police custody before he was released on bond for the charge of curfew violation. WSVN reported that the charges were subsequently dropped.
WSVN also noted in its June 1 report that the Miami-Dade Police Department was investigating Franco’s arrest. When reached via email for comment by CPJ, a founding partner of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the department instructed CPJ to submit a media request on its website. CPJ submitted a request for more information on Franco’s arrest, specifically asking whether an investigation into his arrest had begun or been completed. The department did not respond as of press time.
According to WSVN, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle released a statement at the time saying, “Working journalists, who pose no threat to law enforcement or public safety, have a First Amendment right to keep us all informed of public developments and public news in our community and in every community in America.”
Speaking at a press conference on June 1, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said of Franco’s arrest when questioned about it: “That was a mistake. He should not have been. The media is exempt from the curfew.”
On June 2, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists released a statement condemning assaults by law enforcement on journalists covering protests and asking for investigations to be launched into the unlawful arrest of journalists, particularly journalists of color, including Franco.
Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Movement have been held across the country after a viral video showed the death of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find these incidents here.
More than half of the news outlets depicted in a graphic fake video of President Donald Trump assaulting his critics have also been singled out in anti-press tweets published by the president.
In a video shared with The New York Times over the weekend, a fake Trump in a pinstripe suit rampages through a church, shooting, stabbing and assaulting those in the pews, many of whom bear the faces of his political opponents, critics and journalists. As Trump massacres his way through the “Church of Fake News,” the faces of two media figures and the logos of at least 23 news organizations are superimposed on his victims, ranging from Bloomberg and NPR to HuffPost and BuzzFeed, from The Guardian to PBS.
The video was played at one point during a pro-Trump conference from Oct. 10–12, 2019, at the president’s hotel and golf resort near Miami, but has been circulating across the internet since at least July 2018, according to CNN.
Following the Times’ publication and amid national outcry, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham posted a tweet stating that the president had not yet seen the edited scene. “But based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video,” Grisham wrote.
As of publication, Trump has not personally condemned the video.
A database of Trump’s negative tweets about the press, compiled by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reporter Stephanie Sugars, finds that 11% of all of his tweets since declaring his candidacy contain negative language about news organizations, specific journalists and the media as a whole.
To date, 13 of the news organizations represented in the video have been mentioned by name in his anti-press tweets.
According to the database, CNN has been directly mentioned in 215 such tweets, NBC in 124 and The Washington Post in 107.
Over the years, Trump has referred to NBC staff as “losers,” “degenerate… Trump haters,” “crazy” and “the enemy of the American People,” and has implied that the station’s broadcasting license should be reevaluated or revoked.
.@politico covers me more inaccurately than any other media source, and that is saying something. They go out of their way to distort truth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2015
Politico has been featured in 19 of the president’s anti-press tweets, CBS in 16 and Univision in eight.
In August 2015, Trump tweeted, “[Politico] covers me more inaccurately than any other media source, and that is saying something.”
In a statement released on Twitter, White House Correspondents’ Association President Jonathan Karl of ABC News expressed horror at the video: “We have previously told the President his rhetoric could incite violence. Now we call on him and everybody associated with this conference to denounce this video and affirm that violence has no place in our society,” Karl said.
WHCA Statement on video depicting President Trump murdering journalists. pic.twitter.com/52lHFaQjU2
— WHCA (@whca) October 14, 2019
ABC News, which the video depicts being shot in the head by the president, has been featured in 48 of the president’s anti-press tweets.
The two journalists clearly identifiable in the video—Mika Brzezinski and Rachel Maddow, both of MSNBC—have also been featured in Trump’s negative tweets about the press. Trump has directly targeted Maddow four times and Brzezinski 13 times, referring to her as “a neurotic and not very bright mess” and a “very angry Psycho.”
The Times reported that the video’s creation and display at the conference demonstrates how Trump’s anti-press language has influenced his supporters and political allies.
Trump has tweeted and retweeted similar videos in both tone and content—albeit less violent—in the past. In 2017, he received condemnation from media outlets and press freedom advocates after he posted a video of himself participating in WrestleMania, edited to have the CNN logo replacing the face of the man he body slams and beats up.
On Sept. 6 of this year, he tweeted a video that ended with the CNN logo, photoshopped onto an out-of-control vehicle, crashing and bursting into flames.
Despite the news about the video’s placement at the conference breaking over the weekend, Trump has continued to use negative language against the press on social media. Since Sunday, he has posted at least 11 more tweets attacking the media, including ABC News and CNN—both of which were depicted in the graphic video—along with The Times and Fox News’ Chris Wallace and Brian Kilmeade.
A highly-edited video showing a fake President Donald Trump violently murdering opponents, critics and news organizations was reportedly shown during a pro-Trump conference at one of his hotels in Florida.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,Media,,,, 2019-09-27 16:53:19.714292+00:00,2023-07-05 18:47:52.778976+00:00,Tech journalist subpoenaed in ongoing Bitcoin lawsuit,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tech-journalist-subpoenaed-ongoing-bitcoin-lawsuit/,2023-07-05 18:47:52.572431+00:00,,LegalOrder object (70),,Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,,,2019-08-27,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"Brendan Sullivan, a journalist at Modern Consensus, received a subpoena for all documents and communications between him and Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and businessman who has claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin.
Wright is currently the defendant in a lawsuit brought against him by the Estate of David Kleiman, Wright’s late partner. David’s brother, Ira Kleiman, is the executor of the estate and claims Wright attempted to steal his brother’s Bitcoin holdings, now worth approximately $10 billion.
Wright agreed to an interview with Sullivan, giving him a scoop on the case before the courts made an announcement of the judge's order. The next day, on Aug. 27, 2019, someone was waiting outside of Sullivan’s home to serve him the subpoena, according to his article outlining the events.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reviewed the subpoena, which Sullivan posted with his article. It orders him to hand over any documents and communications between him and Wright since 2006 (before Bitcoin was invented), listing out more than 110 items that count as “documents,” including their encrypted WhatsApp and Signal messages, every social media conversation, interview notes and transcripts, drafts of his article and any relevant documents protected by computer encryption.
“I’m a journalist and the court has no right to any of my files, notes, thoughts or personal belongings. They are not getting anything from me,” Sullivan wrote.
Sullivan told the Tracker that he refused to attend the deposition hearing scheduled for Sept. 10. His lawyer filed a motion to quash on Sept. 9, arguing that the breadth of documents requested suggests that the subpoena is a fishing expedition with no clear idea how, if at all, the documents are relevant to the case.
The filing also included an affidavit from Sullivan authenticating his article and stating that it truly and accurately reflects his interview with Wright. In addition to asking that the subpoena be quashed, they are asking for Kleiman to cover Sullivan’s legal fees.
“I can fight this for years if I need to,” Sullivan told the Tracker. “What I really want is just to have my press freedom back.”
On Sept. 20, a judge granted Kleiman’s attorney a 21-day extension to respond to the motion to quash the subpoena against Sullivan. In a joint filling from Wright and Kleiman they state, “The parties have been engaged in extensive settlement negotiations and have reached a non-binding agreement in principle to settle this matter.”
If a settlement is reached, Sullivan told the Tracker, it is likely that the subpoena against him would be dropped.
The Bitcoin logo
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,journalist communications or work product,['PENDING'],None,None,Institution,subpoena,Federal,None,False,None,Modern Consensus,,,, 2019-06-11 19:20:49.681875+00:00,2023-08-15 18:05:27.946966+00:00,Miami freelancer has phone and camera seized by police,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/miami-freelancer-has-phone-and-camera-seized-police/,2023-08-15 18:05:27.788680+00:00,,,,Equipment Search or Seizure,,"camera: count of 1, cellphone: count of 1",,Jacob Katel (Freelance),,2019-05-25,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"Miami freelance photographer Jacob Katel had his phone and camera seized by police after he attempted to take pictures of a motorcycle crash on May 25, 2019.
According to Miami New Times, Katel stopped while en route to Miami Beach to take photographs of the crash, which was causing a traffic standstill. Katel took out his camera, but before he even snapped a photograph, a Miami police officer handcuffed him and seized his camera and phone.
Katel explained that he was a reporter, and even offered to leave the scene, but he was detained and questioned by police. He was released without charge, but police retained his equipment, claiming that they were “evidence.”
Miami New Times reported that Katel was able to retrieve the cellphone and camera on May 30.
"I feel if they did this to me, it happens to a lot of people," Katel told Miami New Times. "I feel if I was anybody except me, I might have gotten kicked in the head or shot."
Katel filed complaints with the Miami Police Department internal affairs office, and with the city’s independent police oversight board.
Manuel Rapalo, a freelance journalist, was stopped and pulled aside for additional screening measures while entering the United States on Feb. 16, 2019. During the screening, Rapalo was questioned about his work, and specifically his reporting along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was the third time in 2019 he was stopped by border patrol while on a reporting trip.
Rapalo, an American citizen, covered the migrant caravan from Tijuana, Mexico for Al-Jazeera. Every time he has re-entered the U.S. since the beginning of 2019, he says, he has been pulled aside for a secondary screening. Rapalo believes that a flag or marker has been placed on his travel documents because border officials have consistently stopped him only after scanning his passport.
He said he was pulled aside in February when re-entering the U.S. in Miami from Haiti. He was previously stopped for secondary screening measures when returning from Mexico on Jan. 5, when his notebooks were searched, and Jan. 26, when his notebooks and photos on his camera were searched.
“When coming into Miami, an officer scanned my passport and immediately said, ‘Hmm, I guess we have to pull you aside, Mr. Rapalo,’” he said of the Feb. 16 stop.
Although Rapalo was returning from Haiti, he was questioned about his work and reporting on the migrant caravan along the Mexican border. Then his notebooks were searched.
One of his reporter notebooks included notes and information about the process of filing a Freedom of Information Act request, which he intended to do for his work.
“The officer took exception to this, and asked me why I was interested in filing FOIAs,” Rapalo said. “I told him, because I’m a journalist, and it’s one of the tools we have.”
Rapalo said during this border stop in Miami, an official who seemed to “like him” indicated that these stops would be an ongoing problem. “He said I could try Global Entry to make this go faster next time.”
Global Entry is a government program for expediting international travel.
Like the previous incidents, Rapalo said the secondary screenings began with about 30 minutes of questioning, then he was held for 1-2 hours while his luggage was searched. During this search, however, Rapalo said a large amount of attention focused on the paper receipts in his bag and wallet.
Rapalo said that he has changed his behavior due to concerns about protecting his sources and reporting materials. He now brings new memory cards with him each time he travels for work.
CBP did not immediately respond to request for comment.
A journalist captures the movement of migrant children around the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 31, 2018.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,returned in full,False,None,Miami International Airport,U.S. citizen,False,False,no,yes,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,migrant caravan,United States,, 2019-02-26 15:21:46.934752+00:00,2024-01-11 17:43:43.358279+00:00,"Journalist subpoenaed for reporting materials by Jason Miller, Trump’s former adviser",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-subpoenaed-reporting-materials-jason-miller-trumps-former-adviser/,2024-01-11 17:43:43.251273+00:00,,LegalOrder object (43),"(2019-04-18 11:00:00+00:00) Defamation suit dismissed, (2019-08-27 14:02:00+00:00) Judge dismisses defamation lawsuit against Splinter, its managing editor and parent company",Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,J. Arthur Bloom (Independent),,2019-02-04,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"As part of a defamation lawsuit against Gizmodo Media Group, journalist J. Arthur Bloom has received a subpoena for his communications — including Facebook messages and emails — from legal counsel for a former Trump adviser, Jason Miller. Bloom is pushing back on the subpoena, claiming that reporter’s privilege protects him from disclosure of unpublished materials.
The subpoena, dated Feb. 4, 2019, orders Bloom to produce numerous reporting materials, communications, and documents by Feb. 22.
The subpoena was issued as part of a $100 million lawsuit filed by Miller against Gizmodo Media Group and its reporter Katherine Krueger over an article Kruger authored for Splinter News. The article cites court documents filed by A.J. Delgado, another former Trump adviser who was in a relationship with Miller, alleging that Miller had gotten another woman pregnant and drugged her. Later, Chapo Trap House podcast co-host Will Menaker was added to the lawsuit.
The subpoena orders Bloom to produce communications he may have had with Krueger or Delgado. It also demanded any of Bloom’s reporting materials on investigations into Miller’s sexual relationships, including notes, memos, or records created during his research.
Bloom was served the subpoena at his home on the evening of Feb. 5. He responded to the subpoena with an objection letter, writing that any subpoenas requiring the disclosure of privileged or otherwise protected material should be quashed.
“Any information I may have relating to the material requested in Exhibit A would have been developed in my capacity as a professional journalist (as defined by Section 90.5015 of the Florida Statutes) at the time, investigating a story I did not run with,” his objection reads.
Miller’s attorney Shane B. Vogt of Bajo Cuva Cohen & Turkel PA did not respond to request for comment.
In an interview with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Bloom took particular issue with the subpoena’s demand for relevant social media posts, including tweets. He noted that Miller had blocked Bloom on Twitter, so if Miller wanted copies of his tweets, he could simply unblock him and view the posts.
When a process server called him, Bloom said he was asked if he knew where to find reporter Yashar Ali, indicating that he would also receive a subpoena.
Ali did not immediately respond to requests for comment and questions as to whether he was also served a subpoena by Miller’s legal team.
A portion of the subpoena issued to journalist J. Arthur Bloom for his work product and social media communications. Shared by the journalist to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker; edited in 2023 to remove identifying information.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,journalist communications or work product,['IGNORED'],None,None,Journalist,subpoena,Federal,None,False,[],,,,, 2018-03-03 01:12:18.686002+00:00,2020-03-19 19:17:39.182374+00:00,Miami Herald reporter Alex Harris harassed after fake tweets go viral,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/miami-herald-reporter-alex-harris-harassed-after-fake-tweets-go-viral/,2020-03-19 19:17:39.086352+00:00,,,,Other Incident,"'Miami Herald' Journalist Explains How A Hoax Tweet Affected Her Reporting On Shooting (https://www.npr.org/2018/02/27/589279395/miami-herald-journalist-explains-how-a-hoax-tweet-affected-her-reporting-on-shoo) via NPR, Twitter to explain on Capitol Hill how their platform was used in Herald, fake tweet hoaxes (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article202976064.html) via McClatchy DC, Twitter Now Says Rules About Journalists Being Impersonated In Tweets Need To Be Revised (https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/doctored-reporter-tweets) via Buzzfeed",,,Alex Harris (Miami Herald),,2018-02-14,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"Alex Harris, a reporter at the Miami Herald, was harassed online after fake tweets attributed to her went viral in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
On Feb. 14, 2018, while reporting on the mass shooting, Harris tweeted at some of the people who had survived the mass shooting and tweeted about it, asking them if they wanted to talk to the Herald about what happened.
These are two of the real tweets that she sent to people who tweeted about the shooting:
Hi Alan, I'm heartbroken to hear about your friend. I hope your friend is OK. I know you're probably overwhelmed right now, but if you'd be comfortable talking to me about it for the @MiamiHerald , you can follow back to DM
— Alex Harris (@harrisalexc) February 14, 2018
Hi Mads, I'm so sorry to hear that you and your friends went through such a trauma. It's good to hear you guys are safe. I know you're overwhelmed right now, but if you're comfortable with it I'd like to ask you questions for the @MiamiHerald. Follow back if it's OK to DM
— Alex Harris (@harrisalexc) February 14, 2018
In response, a number of random Twitter users criticized Harris for doing her job. It's not uncommon for random people on Twitter to harass journalists for attempting to reach out to sources on Twitter, but the harassment campaign against Harris escalated when one of her critics created and shared doctored versions of two of her tweets.
The first fake tweet read: "Hi Alan, I know you're probably overwhelmed right now, but could you please get us pictures or videos of the dead bodies? @MiamiHerald, you can follow back to DM"
The second fake tweet read: "Hi Mads, I'm so sorry to hear that you and your friends went through such a trauma. Did you see the shooter? Was he white? If so, I'd like to ask you questions for the @MiamiHerald. Follow back if it's OK to DM"
As the fake tweets went viral, Harris tried to set the record straight:
There are 2 fake tweets circulating today attributed to me. They are doctored versions of tweets I sent while trying to tell the stories of victims and survivors -- important stories that need to be heard. I did not ask if the shooter was white nor ask for photos of dead bodies.
— Alex Harris (@harrisalexc) February 15, 2018
Harris told Buzzfeed that the fake tweets likely made people less willing to talk to her, preventing her from doing her job.
"Someone offered a victim $30 to talk to the competition and asked for people to send them money so they could offer more," she told Buzzfeed News. "People kept saying, 'Don't talk to her, she's racist,' and it just kept getting worse."
She told NPR that she tried to get Twitter to remove screenshots of the fake tweets, to no avail.
"I reported every tweet where someone sent me the screenshot," she said. "I reported them for abuse, for harassment, from impersonation. And Twitter sent me back continuous this is not a violation of our policy, so nothing was done. Twitter's policy on impersonation only covers people who impersonate an entire account, not a specific tweet."
Senator Bill Nelson, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, has asked Twitter executives to appear before the committee on March 6 in order to explain its handling of the situation
"Officials from Twitter on Monday will be providing us with a briefing on how these perpetrators were able to use the company’s popular online platform to pull off this hoax," a spokesman for the senator told McClatchy DC.
Alastair Jamieson, a journalist for NBC News, was detained for hours and repeatedly referred to as “fake news” by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer when arriving in Miami, Florida, on Nov. 30, 2017.
Before leaving for the United States, a Homeland Security official, whom Jamieson identified as William Fernandez, had questioned him and searched his bag before allowing him to board at London’s Heathrow Airport. There Jamieson noticed his boarding pass was flagged with “SSSS.”
Jamieson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that his boarding pass had often been flagged with the marker used to signal travelers for secondary screening, which he believed was due to his reporting trips to the Middle East and unusual travel patterns. He added that since registering with CBP’s Global Entry trusted traveler program a few years before, he had not been flagged.
Jamieson told the Tracker that after he landed at Miami International Airport at around 7:30pm, the automated machines at U.S. Customs flagged his picture with a red ‘X’ and he was directed into the normal processing line, a first for him since applying for Global Entry.
“When I got to an agent, he immediately sent me off, without explanation, to the secondary questioning area, so I knew I was in for a long wait,” Jamieson said.
The secondary screening, Jamieson told the Tracker, was “wild.”
“I had expected a long wait,” he said. “I had not expected to be barked at by CBP agents who were trying to create a kind of ‘boot camp’ atmosphere in which everyone was intimidated and in fear of giving the wrong answer.”
The CBP officer, whom Jamieson identified as Officer Jones, confiscated his phone and kept it out of his view. Jamieson noted that because he had a screen lock, he does not believe it was accessed or searched. Officer Jones questioned him over the course of an hour, repeatedly using the term “fake news” in reference to his job and asking inappropriate questions about his romantic life.
“She knew my job without asking, and had clearly Googled my social media profile. She would ask why someone ‘with a good job at an American company’ would visit ‘these kind of countries,’” Jamieson said, referring to Turkey and other Middle Eastern states. “She then went through the list of my Facebook friends to ask which ones were friends or which ones I’d had sex with, or both.”
Totally. I couldn't believe the venom of these particular officers. They also read the list of my Facebook friends out loud in the waiting/holding area and asked me to confirm which ones I had slept with. The rules allow it...
— Alastair Jamieson (@alastairjam) October 5, 2019
Officer Jones also asked Jamieson to write out a list of countries he had visited—information listed in both the Global Entry and ESTA visa systems—but refused to give him a pen, and waited for him to borrow one from another detained traveler.
“Having written out a list of countries, she looked at it, said ‘That’s ridiculous,’ and ripped up the paper in front of me,” Jamieson said. Shortly after, she told him to take his passport and “get out.”
Jamieson was directed to the specialized baggage inspection area where an officer he identified as Officer Yueng mumbled a disparaging remark and questioned whether Jamieson was a cop or insurance salesman. When Jamieson said he was a journalist, the officer responded, “Ugh, worse,” and waved him away without searching his bag.
Jamieson filed a complaint with CBP on Dec. 6, detailing the encounters and expressing his frustration with a process he said was unnecessary and avoidable.
“Assertive and robust interrogation is a useful and important tactic for agents in keeping the US border secure. Yelling idiotic and vague questions, hurling insults and generally acting like elementary school bullies is neither effective nor an appropriate use of federal resources,” Jamieson wrote in his complaint.
CBP responded to Jamieson’s complaint on Dec. 19, writing, “Please allow me to express regret for any conduct that may have been perceived as rude or unprofessional during CBP processing. CBP takes allegations of employee misconduct very seriously and has instituted policies pertaining to abuses of authority.”
As a matter of policy, CBP does not disclose the outcomes of internal investigations or disciplinary actions taken against personnel.
In a 2019 interview, Jamieson told the Tracker that while he no longer works for NBC News, this incident has stayed with him. He said, “I haven’t been back to the U.S. since. Not exclusively because of this incident, but I’m certainly not in a hurry to return.”
Alastair Jamieson, here on a reporting assignment in Hungary in May 2018, said he was harassed and called ‘fake news’ by a U.S. Customs Border and Protection agent last time he entered the United States.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,Miami International Airport,U.S. non-resident,False,False,no,yes,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,United Kingdom,, 2017-08-02 06:32:01.411493+00:00,2023-12-21 21:02:49.211826+00:00,Appeals court says that hearing in murder case can be secret,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/appeals-court-says-hearing-murder-case-can-be-secret/,2023-12-21 21:02:49.078066+00:00,,,,Denial of Access,,,,,,2017-04-26,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"The Third District Court of Appeal in Florida ruled on April 26, 2017, that a pre-trial hearing in a Florida murder case can be held in secret, siding with a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge’s ruling to close a bond hearing for two defendants, citing “pervasive publicity” as a threat to their right to fair trial.
Miami Herald and WPLG-ABC10 opposed the closure and, in a brief filed to the Third DCA, argued: “That hearings of such magnitude and public importance should be held in secret and outside the presence of the public is unconstitutional.”
The appellate court affirmed “evidence of extensive local, national and international print and broadcast media coverage of the instant case,” which jeopardized the defendants’ right to a fair trial.
“The speed of dissemination and the high percentage of likely jurors with access to social media and the internet also support the trial judge’s concern,” the opinion states. “The Closure Order is a temporary ruling subject to reconsideration as to subsequent hearings and the trial itself. Following our review of the petitioners’ requests, the records themselves, and the trial court’s analysis, we find no departure from the essential requirements of law.”
Scott Ponce, a lawyer for the Miami Herald, said, “The courtroom belongs to the public, and it’s difficult to accept that the public is being kicked out of a hearing during which the judge will consider whether two people indicted for first-degree murder should be released into public pending trial.”