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 2022-08-01 20:02:20.219023+00:00,2023-09-29 13:39:49.447627+00:00,Photojournalist assaulted while reporting at Portland park,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-assaulted-while-reporting-at-portland-park/,2023-09-29 13:25:50.103509+00:00,,,"(2023-01-25 00:00:00+00:00) Photojournalist gets apology from assailant, drops assault charges",Assault,,,,Unidentified photojournalist 25 (KGW),,2022-07-25,False,Portland,Oregon (OR),45.52345,-122.67621,"
An unidentified photojournalist with KGW News was assaulted while on assignment in Lents Park in Portland, Oregon, on July 25, 2022.
The station reported that the photographer was covering an community outreach event hosted by the group PDX Saints Love, which was providing a cooling station and water from July 25 to 29 amid a heatwave in the region.
Right now @pdxsaintslove and Portland Street Response are at Lents Park in SE Portland until 7pm. The plan is to hand out water/electrolytes/food and provide a cool spot every day this week from 11am-7pm. Organizers say they need more volunteers and always welcome ice donations. pic.twitter.com/C39pUVVKvy
— Christine Pitawanich (@CPitawanichKGW) July 25, 2022
According to the station, the photojournalist was finishing filming and was holding his camera by his side when one of the individuals attending the event became agitated and charged at him. The man jumped over a picnic table and chased the photojournalist toward his station vehicle, punching him before he was able to get into the car.
Though the photojournalist was able to enter the vehicle, KGW reported that the man opened the door before the journalist could lock it and punched him again. The event organizers then told the man to leave and he walked away.
The station reported that the unidentified photojournalist suffered several cuts and a bruised eye and received treatment by medics at the scene.
A second KGW journalist at the scene, not named in the report, called 911 and told officers which direction the suspect had fled. Portland Police Bureau officers found the man nearby a short while later and placed him under arrest. Joshua David Sears was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault, which is punishable by a fine of up to $6,250, a year in jail or both.
In a statement to the outlet, KGW News Director Greg Retsinas said: “We are distressed at this unprovoked act of violence against our employees who were working to tell a positive story in the community. Thankfully, community members at the scene stepped in right away to assist and prevent more serious injury.”
Neither Retsinas or KGW reporter Christine Pitawanich, who tweeted about the event, responded to requests for comment.
CNN was served a criminal trial subpoena on July 25, 2022, by a defendant facing charges stemming from his alleged participation in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The subpoena, which sought approximately two hours of raw footage from an interview with a Capitol Police officer, was subsequently quashed.
According to court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, defendant Kyle Fitzsimons is facing an 11-count indictment and is accused of having attacked multiple law enforcement officers near the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace.
CNN broadcasted an interview with two Capitol Police officers on June 4, one of whom is believed to have been assaulted by Fitzsimons. The subpoena — which was issued on July 20, 2022, and served five days later — requests “any and all raw footage” from the officer’s interview.
According to CNN’s motion to quash the subpoena, the officer does not mention Fitzsimons by name and Fitzsimons does not appear in any of the footage.
CNN attempted to narrow the request for only the telecast footage but Fitzsimons’ counsel declined. The outlet did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
The outlet’s Aug. 10 motion to quash argued that the subpoena was a “fishing expedition,” and that Fitzsimons has no reason to believe that the outtakes from the interview will help his defense when the alleged acts were captured by Capitol surveillance cameras and the officers’ body cams.
“Allowing speculative discovery of the press here, on the basis that an unsworn statement in unpublished newsgathering information might theoretically become useful to the defense for purposes of impeachment, would expose a host of media organizations to similar speculative subpoenas in similar January 6 prosecutions,” the motion stated. “That would undeniably chill news reporting about this topic of clear national importance — the ‘violent breach of the Capitol’ that ‘was a grave danger to our democracy.’”
District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled in favor of CNN on Aug. 14, finding that while Fitzsimons was able to specifically name the material sought, he failed to justify the request with more than hopes of what might be found in the outtakes.
Fitzsimons’ trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 16.
A portion of the subpoena issued to CNN seeking approximately two hours of raw footage from an interview with a Capitol Police officer in connection with the criminal trial of a Capitol rioter.
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