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 2023-10-20 14:31:21.344529+00:00,2023-10-23 15:27:54.580975+00:00,Man leaves fake bomb outside Ohio newspaper offices,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-leaves-fake-bomb-outside-ohio-newspaper-offices/,2023-10-23 15:27:54.477728+00:00,,,,Other Incident,,,,,,2023-09-24,False,Elyria,Ohio (OH),41.36838,-82.10765,"
An Ohio man left a mailbox, lighter fluid and a note that said, “Bomb Don’t Touch,” outside the entrance to offices of The Chronicle-Telegram in the metro Cleveland area city of Elyria, Ohio, on Sept. 24, 2023, the newspaper reported.
Elyria police and firefighters, along with the Lorain County bomb squad, investigated the items and did not find any explosives.
The next day, local resident Robert S. Reynolds Jr. turned himself in at the Lorain County Sheriff's Office and admitted to leaving the items, the newspaper reported. He was charged by the Lorain County prosecutor with inducing panic, a felony, and taken into custody and held without bond.
A detective told the paper that Reynolds threatened the publication because he “was upset about coverage of his family earlier this year in the Chronicle.” Reynolds’ father owns a drive-through restaurant in the adjacent Elyria Township; the paper has reported on several complaints by the restaurant’s customers about racist remarks allegedly made by both Reynolds and his father.
“He was mad about our work,” the Chronicle-Telegram’s managing editor, Julie Wallace, told the Tracker via email. She added that the paper has not made any changes to safety protocols since the incident.
“Our building was remodeled and added onto in about 2008 and many safety precautions were added at that time,” Wallace said. “We are safe.”
An Ohio man threatened a WTRF-TV news crew reporting outside the Jefferson County Justice Center in Steubenville, Ohio, on March 21, 2023. The man, Santino Chiovitti, 20, was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to inducing panic, according to court records.
WTRF, which is located 40 miles away in Wheeling, West Virginia, reported that a man first called the newsroom on March 21 to demand that it take down an article about his sister’s arrest the day before. While speaking to News Director Brenda Danehart, Chiovitti allegedly became belligerent and verbally abusive, reportedly saying, “I think I see a WTRF car down the road, why don’t I just blow their heads off?”
Chiovitti hung up on Danehart before calling back and reaching Web Manager John Lynch. According to WTRF, Chiovitti asked whether he was speaking with the reporter he was looking at outside the justice center in Steubenville, which houses the sheriff’s department, county prosecutor’s office and juvenile detention center.
The station reported that Chiovitti then approached the WTRF news crew while reaching into his jacket as though he had a firearm, telling the journalists — who were covering a press conference — that they’d want to hear what he had to say and instructing bystanders to leave.
Chiovitti was arrested on one felony count of inducing panic and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 175 days in prison, which was stayed — meaning he will not serve the time — pending the completion of one year of probation and attendance of a counseling session.
WTRF reported that Chiovitti may face additional charges in Wheeling for the threats against the station. The office of the prosecuting attorney in Ohio County, West Virginia, reached by phone in May 2023, was unable to confirm whether there is an ongoing investigation into Chiovitti but said there are no open charges against him.
NewsNation Correspondent Evan Lambert was forced to the ground and arrested while covering a news conference held by Ohio’s governor in East Palestine on Feb. 8, 2023. The outlet reported live as he was released approximately five hours later.
Lambert was reporting live at around 5 p.m. as Gov. Mike DeWine spoke in a school gymnasium about cleanup efforts around a recent train derailment. Law enforcement officers approached Lambert at the back of the room, telling him to be quiet. After finishing his live report, officers again approached him and asked that he leave.
In footage of the incident, Lambert can be seen speaking with four law enforcement officers as one of them pulls on Lambert’s arm to forcibly remove him. Officers ultimately forced Lambert to the ground, pinning him on his stomach while handcuffing him. Two officers then place him in what appears to be a Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office vehicle.
NewsNation Washington Bureau Chief Mike Viqueria said during a broadcast that he spoke to Lambert while he was jailed.
“The first thing I’m going to tell you is Evan continues to act with a calm professionalism and equanimity despite what appears to me to be an infuriating outrage and violation of the First Amendment,” Viqueria said.
NewsNation reported live as Lambert was released from the Columbiana County Jail at around 10:15 p.m. He faces charges of criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. It was not immediately clear which law enforcement agency filed the charges. When reached by phone, the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office directed the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to contact the East Palestine Police Department. A EPPD officer said that they would be releasing a press release on Feb. 9.
After his release, Lambert said he was doing fine and that it had been an extremely long day.
“I’m just trying to do my job — as I am continuing to do right now — and that’s what it’s all about,” Lambert said. “No journalist expects to be arrested when you’re doing your job, and I think that’s really important that that doesn’t happen in our country.”
"No journalist expects to be arrested when you're doing your job," @EvanLambertTV says. He goes on to say he will continue to do his job and report what people need to know.
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) February 9, 2023
Watch #Banfield: https://t.co/s8z9kEhRC4 pic.twitter.com/tqHDvxHbk7
The governor told reporters shortly after the arrest that he had not ordered or authorized it.
“It has always been my practice that if I’m doing a press conference, someone wants to report out there and they want to be talking back to the people back on channel, whatever, they have every right to do that,” DeWine said. “If someone was stopped from doing that, or told they could not do that, that was wrong.”
NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert is pinned to the ground after being stopped from covering a news conference held by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Feb. 8, 2023. He was arrested and later released with pending charges.
",arrested and released,East Palestine Police Department,None,None,True,4:23-cv-02200,['DISMISSED'],Civil,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,law enforcement,yes,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,[],,,,, 2022-11-08 21:27:20.582038+00:00,2023-08-16 17:13:11.128343+00:00,Ohio editor charged with wiretapping after publishing obtained court recording,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ohio-editor-charged-with-wiretapping-after-publishing-obtained-court-recording/,2023-08-16 17:13:10.959830+00:00,"wiretapping: interception of wire, oral or electronic communications (charges dropped as of 2023-08-10)",LegalOrder object (203),(2023-08-14 13:11:00+00:00) Wiretapping charge against Ohio editor dropped after more than nine months,"Arrest/Criminal Charge, Subpoena/Legal Order",,,,Derek Myers (Scioto Valley Guardian),,2022-10-31,False,Waverly,Ohio (OH),None,None,"Scioto Valley Guardian Editor-in-Chief Derek Myers was charged with felony wiretapping on Oct. 31, 2022, after publishing a recording of witness testimony from an ongoing trial in Waverly, Ohio.
Myers told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he has been covering the murder trial of George Wagner IV, which began in September. As part of that coverage, the newspaper was using a laptop to livestream witness testimony and exhibits. Judge Randy Deering issued an order before the trial began allowing anyone testifying in the case to “opt out” of being filmed by the media. The Fourth District Court of Appeals issued an emergency order overruling him partway through the testimony of Wagner’s brother, Jake, who was indicted alongside Wagner and their parents for the 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family.
The court ordered that media be allowed to film unless Deering was able to show cause that it could jeopardize the fairness of the trial. Deering ruled that if Jake were to appear on camera he might be “nervous” and untruthful, again barring media from recording video or audio of him.
Myers told the Tracker that he was out of the country when Jake took the stand, but that someone in the courtroom surreptitiously recorded his testimony and provided it to the Guardian. After deliberation, Myers published a condensed version of the audio on Oct. 28.
According to files reviewed by the Tracker, Judge Anthony Moraleja approved a search warrant that day for a Guardian laptop being used to livestream the trial. The Tracker documented the laptop seizure and the illegal seizure of Myers’ cellphone here.
The Pike County Sheriff’s Office subsequently charged Myers with interception of wire, electronic or oral communications, a fourth degree felony. According to court records, he was charged under Ohio Revised Code Section 2933.52 (A)(3), which forbids the use of a recording that one knows or has reason to believe was illegally obtained.
Myers turned himself into custody on Nov. 1 and was released after paying a $20,000 bond. He told the Tracker that he pleaded not guilty at a hearing the following day. He also waived his right to a preliminary hearing, where evidence is presented before a judge who decides whether the case should advance to trial. Instead, his case will be heard by a grand jury, which will determine whether to indict him on the charges.
When reached for comment, the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office told the Tracker that the next grand jury session is scheduled to begin in February 2023, when the new prosecutor takes office.
One of Myers’ attorneys, John Greiner, highlighted the Supreme Court ruling in Bartnicki v. Vopper, which ruled that the media cannot be held liable for publishing information that was obtained illegally by a source.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the Tracker, condemned the equipment seizure and the charges against Myers in a statement.
“The incompetency of local law enforcement to abide by basic legal proceedings would be comical if it were not so concerning,” said CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Not only have Pike County authorities confiscated journalist Derek Myers’ cellphone and the Scioto Valley Guardian’s laptop without presenting a valid warrant, but they have also lobbed wiretapping charges against Myers for keeping the community informed about an ongoing murder trial. Retaliating against a news outlet, especially a small local publication, for doing their jobs in matters of public interest is completely unacceptable.”
Myers told the Tracker he hasn’t been able to cover the trial since his arrest.
“I tasked myself with covering this eight-week trial and I should be there covering it, but I can’t because I don’t have the equipment,” Myers said. “And, frankly, I don’t feel safe in that courthouse. If I take another cellphone down there they’ll probably seize that too.”
Scioto Valley Guardian Editor-in-Chief Derek Myers was charged with felony wiretapping on Oct. 31, 2022, after publishing an obtained recording of testimony from an ongoing murder trial in Waverly, Ohio.
",arrested and released,Pike County Sheriff's Office,None,2022-11-01,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,Journalist,warrant,State,None,False,None,,,,, 2022-11-08 20:51:03.315316+00:00,2023-11-03 18:02:12.856665+00:00,"Editor’s laptop, cellphone seized following publication of courtroom recording",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/editors-laptop-cellphone-seized-following-publication-of-courtroom-recording/,2023-11-03 18:02:12.719391+00:00,,LegalOrder object (202),,"Equipment Search or Seizure, Subpoena/Legal Order",,"cellphone: count of 1, computer: count of 1",,Derek Myers (Scioto Valley Guardian),,2022-10-28,False,Waverly,Ohio (OH),39.12673,-82.98546,"An Ohio judge authorized the search and seizure of a laptop belonging to the Scioto Valley Guardian on Oct. 28, 2022. An officer with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office also seized the cellphone of the outlet’s top editor — without a warrant — a few days later.
Guardian Editor-in-Chief Derek Myers told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he has been covering the ongoing murder trial of George Wagner IV, which began in September. As part of that coverage, the newspaper was using a laptop to livestream witness testimony and exhibits. Judge Randy Deering issued an order before the trial began allowing anyone testifying in the case to “opt out” of being filmed by the media. The Fourth District Court of Appeals issued an emergency order overruling him partway through the testimony of Wagner’s brother, Jake, who was indicted alongside Wagner and their parents for the 2016 killings of eight members of the Rhoden family.
The court ordered that media be allowed to film unless Deering was able to show cause that it could jeopardize the fairness of the trial. Deering ruled that if Jake were to appear on camera he might be “nervous” and untruthful, again barring media from recording video or audio of him.
Myers told the Tracker that he was out of the country when Jake took the stand, but that someone in the courtroom surreptitiously recorded his testimony and provided it to the Guardian. After deliberation, Myers said he elected to move forward with publishing a condensed version of the audio on Oct. 28.
According to files reviewed by the Tracker, county court Judge Anthony Moraleja approved a search warrant for the Guardian laptop that same day, authorizing the search of the MacBook Pro and any computer software or communications contained on its hard drive. Myers told the Tracker someone from the court then seized the laptop, causing the outlet’s livestream to go down.
One of Myers’ attorneys, Greg Barwell, sent a letter on Oct. 31 asking the sheriff, prosecutor and the court to return the equipment, as the Guardian had not been presented with a subpoena or search warrant.
Myers went to the Pike County Courthouse on Nov. 2 to ask for the return of the laptop in person, as he still believed it had been seized by someone from the court. Unbeknownst to the Guardian, the laptop had been taken into custody by the sheriff’s office the previous day.
Myers told the Tracker that when he passed through the metal detector, a captain from the sheriff’s department told him he would have to take his cellphone back outside. He responded that he wouldn’t be going into the courtroom — where cellphones and laptops are prohibited — but would be remaining on the first floor.
Myers said the officer then kept his cellphone, claiming, “On second thought, I think I have a search warrant for that.”
The officer also told Myers that they had a search warrant for the laptop. The item seizure report reviewed by the Tracker has “Black I-Phone” written below the MacBook, confirming that it was seized at 10:29 a.m. on Nov. 2.
One of Myers’ attorneys, John Greiner, told the Tracker that the seizure of the devices likely violated Ohio’s shield law and the federal Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits searching or seizing journalistic work products with few exceptions.
In connection with the publication of the testimony recording, Myers was charged with intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications — a fourth degree felony — on Oct. 31. The Tracker has documented those charges here.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a founding partner of the Tracker, condemned the equipment seizure and the charges against Myers in a statement.
“The incompetency of local law enforcement to abide by basic legal proceedings would be comical if it were not so concerning,” said CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Not only have Pike County authorities confiscated journalist Derek Myers’ cellphone and the Scioto Valley Guardian’s laptop without presenting a valid warrant, but they have also lobbed wiretapping charges against Myers for keeping the community informed about an ongoing murder trial. Retaliating against a news outlet, especially a small local publication, for doing their jobs in matters of public interest is completely unacceptable.”
Myers told the Tracker that he was able to regain control over his cellphone number on Nov. 4, but having the devices returned remains his and his attorneys’ first priority. He said he was extremely concerned about the potential search of the devices as they contain sensitive work product and source communications
“I can’t effectively do my job because I’m so focused and scared and worried about all these other people and their livelihoods are now on the line,” Myers said. “And I can’t cover the trial because I don’t have the equipment.”
On Oct. 28, 2022, an Ohio judge authorized the search and seizure of a Scioto Valley Guardian laptop, shown here in a screenshot from the search warrant, that the outlet was using to livestream a Waverly murder trial.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,in custody,True,law enforcement,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,Journalist,warrant,State,None,False,None,,,,, 2022-04-27 18:30:48.340088+00:00,2022-04-27 18:35:44.368534+00:00,WOIO photojournalist assaulted while covering police standoff,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/woio-photojournalist-assaulted-while-covering-police-standoff/,2022-04-27 18:35:44.299780+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Unidentified photojournalist 22 (WOIO),,2022-04-22,False,Cleveland,Ohio (OH),41.4995,-81.69541,"An unidentified photojournalist with WOIO 19 News was assaulted by individuals while covering an arrest in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 22, 2022.
WOIO reported that one of its news crews was reporting on a tense standoff in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood connected to a viral video of two men pointing guns at a police officer.
Investigative reporter Kelly Kennedy said in a report for the outlet that a few nearby residents were angry that there were journalists filming.
“When we got to the scene, some neighbors were really angry when they saw our cameras and one man actually tried to grab one of our photographers’ cameras and then he actually knocked over another TV station’s camera and broke it,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy reported that the police then handcuffed the man. “So, it was a kind of scary situation out there — that’s kind of what you have to go through sometimes in the field,” she said.
Neither WOIO nor Kennedy responded to emailed requests for additional comment.
Kennedy wrote on Twitter that everyone was okay, and that the incident was just one example of the kind of harassment journalists face daily when just trying to do their jobs.
This is just one example of the kind of harassment we face day after day as journalists just for doing our jobs. Thankfully everyone was okay, but it was definitely a scary situation. @cleveland19news pic.twitter.com/PBuIscEena
— Kelly Kennedy (@KellyEKennedyTV) April 23, 2022
A police report identified that photojournalist as WKYC 3 Studios’ Craig Roberson; the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented his equipment damage here.
According to the police report released to the Tracker, the man was charged with felony vandalism for damaging the $9,000 WKYC camera, which is punishable by 6 to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
A screenshot from a WOIO report shows two men harassing another photojournalist attempting to document a police standoff in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 22, 2022. One of the men later assaulted a WOIO photojournalist.
",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,None,,,,, 2022-04-27 18:35:08.819726+00:00,2023-10-03 20:14:22.285160+00:00,WKYC photojournalist’s camera damaged while covering police standoff,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wkyc-photojournalists-camera-damaged-while-covering-police-standoff/,2023-10-03 20:14:21.877492+00:00,,,(2022-08-31 00:00:00+00:00) Cleveland man who broke photojournalist’s camera ordered into treatment,Equipment Damage,,,camera: count of 1,Craig Roberson (WKYC),,2022-04-22,False,Cleveland,Ohio (OH),41.4995,-81.69541,"WKYC 3 Studios photojournalist Craig Roberson was harassed by individuals and his camera damaged while covering an arrest in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 22, 2022.
WOIO 19 News reported that journalists from multiple broadcast stations were covering a tense standoff in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood connected to a viral video of two men pointing guns at a police officer.
Kelly Kennedy, an investigative reporter with the WOIO team on scene, said in a report for the outlet that a few nearby residents were angry that there were journalists filming.
“When we got to the scene, some neighbors were really angry when they saw our cameras and one man actually tried to grab one of our photographers’ cameras and then he actually knocked over another TV station’s camera and broke it,” Kennedy said, referring to Roberson’s equipment.
According to the police report, the $9,000 WKYC camera was destroyed and broken into multiple pieces. The man was charged with felony vandalism, punishable by 6 to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
When reached for comment, WKYC President and General Manager Micki Byrnes confirmed that Roberson’s camera was damaged and that he was unharmed; Roberson did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
WOIO’s Kennedy wrote on Twitter that everyone was OK, and that the incident was just one example of the kind of harassment journalists face daily when just trying to do their jobs.
This is just one example of the kind of harassment we face day after day as journalists just for doing our jobs. Thankfully everyone was okay, but it was definitely a scary situation. @cleveland19news pic.twitter.com/PBuIscEena
— Kelly Kennedy (@KellyEKennedyTV) April 23, 2022
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documented the WOIO assault here.
A screenshot from a WOIO report on April 22, 2022, shows a photojournalist looking on after an individual threw his camera equipment to the ground in Cleveland, Ohio.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,private individual,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,,,, 2020-06-20 17:43:35.048750+00:00,2021-05-17 20:21:19.050766+00:00,Ohio prosecutor subpoenas outlet for reporting materials from protest,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ohio-prosecutor-subpoenas-outlet-reporting-materials-protest/,2021-05-17 20:21:19.007896+00:00,,LegalOrder object (105),,Subpoena/Legal Order,,,,,,2020-06-05,False,Cleveland,Ohio (OH),41.4995,-81.69541,"Ohio newspaper The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and its digital site, cleveland.com, were served a subpoena by the county prosecutor’s office for videos, photos and audio captured by its reporters during recent protests in downtown Cleveland.
Protests have taken place in dozens of cities across the country since late May, sparked by a video showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The subpoena, filed on June 5, 2020 by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley’s office, orders the outlet to turn over all recordings and photographs that depict any “potential criminal activity” during the May 30 riots, cleveland.com reported.
It also seeks copies of any recorded interviews with individuals who may have described illegal activities.
Editor Chris Quinn told cleveland.com in an emailed statement that the company is compiling responsive documents before speaking with its attorneys about possible options, but that it intends to turn over all materials already published, as the outlet has done previously.
“I’m always troubled when prosecutors seek to use the work of journalists as evidence in criminal cases because it sends a terrible message to criminals that journalists should be considered part of the criminal justice process,” Quinn said.
“We are not part of the criminal justice process. We are the watchdog of the criminal justice process. I just fear that this kind of thing puts a target on the backs of our reporters, photographers and videographers as they do their jobs.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented many assaults of journalists amid the ongoing protests related to Black Lives Matter and police brutality, and at least a dozen journalists who have been assaulted by private individuals. In many of these instances, journalists reported being harassed for capturing video or photos of demonstrators’ faces.
Cleveland.com reported that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor spokesman Tyler Sinclair declined to comment on the subpoena or whether similar subpoenas have been issued to other news outlets, citing the ongoing investigation. Sinclair did not immediately respond to the Tracker’s request for comment.
Ohio shield law protects journalists from disclosing their confidential sources, but this protection does not extend to journalistic work product gathered in the course of reporting, according to the Digital Media Law project.
A Cleveland, Ohio, police officer blocks a road to the city after a mandatory lockdown on June 1, 2020, after days of protests and riots followed the death of George Floyd, a black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,journalist communications or work product,['PENDING'],None,None,Institution,None,State,None,False,None,"Cleveland.com, The Plain Dealer","Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, protest",,, 2020-06-11 04:26:10.563431+00:00,2021-11-19 16:24:30.837966+00:00,Cincinnati Enquirer journalist detained as cameras roll,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cincinnati-enquirer-journalist-detained-cameras-roll/,2021-11-19 16:24:30.772213+00:00,,,,"Arrest/Criminal Charge, Assault",,,,Pat Brennan (Cincinnati Enquirer),,2020-06-01,False,Cincinnati,Ohio (OH),39.12711,-84.51439,"Cincinnati police temporarily detained Enquirer journalist Pat Brennan as he covered protests against police violence in the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood on June 1, 2020.
Brennan told the Tracker that he normally covers professional soccer but has reported on many police scenes in his career. With a short staff due to furloughs, he was recruited to help cover the protests that swept through Cincinnati and the rest of the nation after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
Cincinnati police began to enforce a curfew shortly after 8 p.m., the paper reported. A video provided by Brennan shows a SWAT vehicle advancing as a loudspeaker blares warnings to leave the streets or face arrest. Protesters run away from the police line. Brennan decided to stay put, identify as a journalist, and let the police pass, he told the Tracker.
His colleague Maddie Mitchell told the Enquirer that Brennan was separated from the group and she called out to him to rejoin. But he suddenly disappeared from view as he crossed behind a police vehicle.
Brennan had crossed behind the vehicle on the orders of the police, his video shows. Brennan records police arresting two people. One officer tells Brennan to “do what you want but back up.” Brennan says he is trying to reconnect with his crew. An officer says to go on the other side of the vehicle. So Brennan crossed to the other side of the street and sought a way to reconnect with his colleagues, he told the Tracker.
The detention was captured in two videos filmed by other media present.
Courtney Francisco, a senior journalist with the local ABC affiliate WCPO, posted on her social media a video that begins moments before police took Brennan into custody.
In the video, two police officers warn Francisco and the WCPO crew to leave the area. “Sir, we are with the news,” she says. “I know but we need space,” one officer responds before warning her again to get back.
Within a minute, the camera swings towards a commotion and records at least seven officers taking Brennan to the ground. As an officer pulls out plastic restraints to cuff Brennan, Francisco gets quickly caught up herself. The two police officers who previously warned her begin shoving her backwards. The officers force the crew around the corner of a building and out of sight of Brennan.
“They were pushing very hard and very fast. I couldn’t keep up,” she says to the camera.
Nick Swartsell, a journalist on furlough from the Cincinnati CityBeat, posted a video on Twitter showing Brennan walk by a police SWAT vehicle toward the police line. Police officers stop Brennan, who is wearing a mask, goggles, and a badge around his neck. A police loudspeaker blares “He’s been told” before the officers take him to the ground.
Brennan told the Tracker he did his best to avoid face-planting as one officer stuck his leg out to trip him. He collapsed to the ground with the officers, who shoved his cheek into the pavement and cuffed him. Police then brought him to a wall where others were being held.
The police released Brennan from custody without charge after 30 minutes, according to the Enquirer.
That night Brennan said on Twitter that he had a “respectful conversation” with Cincinnati’s chief of police, Eliot Isaac. Brennan told the Tracker that Isaac arrived on scene and immediately went to apologize to Brennan.
The police department apologized on Twitter for “any inconvenience” regarding Brennan’s detention and Francisco’s removal from the area. According to Swartsell, Isaac said Brennan “got mixed up in the crowd,” claiming he was wearing goggles and a mask without an obvious ID.
Lt. Steve Saunders, a spokesman for the Cincinnati police department, told the Tracker on June 10 that the department had entered ongoing conversations with media outlets to help better identify journalists and ensure they can report while not interfering in police operations. “If we can do things better, we want to do things better,” he said, while insisting that this applies to journalists, too.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley also apologized on Twitter, calling the arrest a “big mistake” and stating that reporters are crucial to democracy.
Francisco and Swartsell did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred total incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country related to the death of George Floyd while in police custody. Find all of these cases here.
While documenting protests in Cincinnati, journalists with ABC affiliate WCPO captured multiple officers forcing Cincinnati Enquirer journalist Pat Brennan to the ground to detain him.
",detained and released without being processed,Cincinnati Police Department,None,None,True,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,law enforcement,yes,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, protest",,, 2020-06-29 17:36:38.156494+00:00,2023-07-17 20:18:32.208543+00:00,"Journalist choked, pushed in encounter with police officers while covering protest in Ohio",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-choked-pushed-encounter-police-officers-while-covering-protest-ohio/,2023-07-17 20:18:32.072706+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Nick Swartsell (Independent),,2020-06-01,False,Cincinnati,Ohio (OH),39.12711,-84.51439,"Journalist Nick Swartsell said police officers grabbed and pulled him by the bandana around his neck as he reported on protests in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 1, 2020.
The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.
Police officers began to arrest protesters in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew went into effect, said Swartsell, news editor for the weekly publication CityBeat Cincinnati. When Swartsell and another journalist, Pat Brennan of the Cincinnati Enquirer, walked around the right side of a police vehicle to observe an arrest taking place near the intersection of West McMicken Avenue and Mohawk Place, an officer told them to move to the other side of the vehicle, Swartsell said.
While complying with the orders, Swartsell said an officer suddenly yanked him by the back of the bandana tied around his neck, and pulled him backwards. The journalist was pulled so forcibly, he said, that he was choked by the bandana and felt like he couldn't breathe for several seconds. He was then pushed into a crowd of officers with shields who shoved him off to the side.
Police grabbing media. I was grabbed by my bandana from behind and pulled into a group of officers as they approached me. An enquirer reporter just hauled off. pic.twitter.com/cNreMVFgyH
— Nick Swartsell (@nswartsell) June 2, 2020
Swartsell told the Tracker that he momentarily glimpsed body armor but otherwise couldn’t see the officer who had pulled him. He also said that he was unaware of body camera footage that captured the incident.
The force of the assault left red marks around Swartsell’s neck for several hours but he told the Tracker that he was otherwise uninjured. He immediately resumed reporting on the arrests. The journalist is covering the protests pro bono for CityBeat while on furlough due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Enquirer’s Brennan was then forcibly detained by police, which the Tracker documented separately.
The Cincinnati Police Department did not return requests for comment.
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 related to the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Find all of these cases here.
Three journalists from The Lantern, the Ohio State University student newspaper, were pepper sprayed and threatened with arrest by police officers while covering protests in Columbus, Ohio, on June 1, 2020. The three students clearly and repeatedly identified themselves as members of the media before the assault, according to interviews with the journalists and video footage of the incident.
The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.
On the night of June 1, Lantern editors Maeve Walsh, Sarah Szilagy and Max Garrison were covering peaceful protests that had moved from the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus toward the Ohio State University campus. About 20 minutes after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, the protesters reached the intersection of North High Street and Lane Avenue on the edge of campus.
Up until this point, the journalists had not noticed a police presence. A few minutes after reaching the intersection, however, police cars suddenly arrived and stopped behind the protesters, Walsh and Garrison told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Police officers got out of their cars, walked swiftly through the crowd, and began using pepper spray to disperse the protesters, they said. The three journalists, who were standing behind a concrete barrier on the sidewalk, somewhat removed from the protesters in the street, remained on the scene as the protesters left, Walsh and Garrison told the Tracker. Szilagy, the Lantern’s campus editor, did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
The journalists were then “approached from multiple directions by police officers telling them to ‘go home’ because of the curfew,” according to an account of the incident Garrison wrote for The Lantern.
Walsh, special projects editor, said that all three journalists were holding their press passes in the air to show them to the officers and repeatedly identified themselves as press. In a video Walsh posted to Twitter, an officer tells her, “Leave or you’re going to jail.” When Walsh responds, “we’re members of the media,” the officer says, “I don’t care.”
Columbus Police began spraying protestors around 10:25 at the corner of High and Lane. @m_p_garrison @sarahszilagy and I were also sprayed despite making them aware we are members of @TheLantern. The press is exempt from the curfew. pic.twitter.com/BcyitLujyQ
— Maeve Walsh (@maevewalsh27) June 2, 2020
Another group of officers approached and “got very close to us,” according to Garrison, forcing them to step back. Garrison said one officer pushed him. Another shot pepper spray at the group from point-blank range, hitting him on the arm and Szilagy in the eyes, Garrison said. Walsh was not directly hit, but said the gas made her cough.
In a video of the incident The Lantern posted to Twitter, the journalists are pepper sprayed after repeatedly identifying as media who are “exempt from curfew.”
Hi everyone: this was me. I was sprayed in the face after we identified ourselves and presented our press passes multiple times. Media are exempt from curfew. Media are exempt from curfew. https://t.co/DAIDudVpud
— Sarah Szilagy (@sarahszilagy) June 2, 2020
Adam Cairns, a staff photographer with the Columbus Dispatch, witnessed the attack. Cairns told the Tracker that he had been standing near the edge of the intersection with the student journalists, but turned to walk away before another officer came around the corner and shot pepper spray at the journalists. “[I] will attest that they were screaming at the cops that they were media,” Cairns posted to Twitter. “Police, despite clearly seeing press credentials, did not care. I crossed Lane at that point and missed the pepper spray.”
Here is a photo of @TheLantern journalists showing their press IDs to police moments before being pepper sprayed pic.twitter.com/Mvr4TLT83F
— Adam Cairns (@atomicphoto) June 2, 2020
The three journalists turned to flee but were followed by an officer who fired pepper spray at their backs before they turned into an alley, according to Garrison. They then sought refuge nearby at the house of their editor, Sam Raudins, where they spent several hours recovering. None of them returned to the protests that night. “They basically just censored us,” Szilagy told The Washington Post, “and made us incapable of covering other things that happened that night.”
In the hours following the attack, Raudins sent an email to the Columbus Division of Police reporting the incident. “This was not our team getting caught in the crossfire; this was a direct interaction between CPD and The Lantern,” she wrote in the letter posted to Twitter.
Our editor-in-chief @sam_raudins emailed @ColumbusPolice, reporting how officers threatened to arrest and then pepper-sprayed our reporters after our reporters identified themselves as members of the news media. #columbusprotest pic.twitter.com/UXaSYC9bVQ
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) June 2, 2020
In a press conference the following day, Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan was asked about the police officers’ treatment of journalists.
“There’s no malice involved, there’s no intent, it’s just a very chaotic situation,” Quinlan said. “And in that regard, I’d ask the public to have some patience and please comply, and we’ll work it out afterward. But please don’t stand there and argue; move along and comply and we’ll fix this after the fact so nothing bad happens.”
Quinlan also said, “we are dealing with imperfect human beings in imperfect situations. Mistakes will happen and we will take action to correct them and make sure that we do not allow our mistakes to be repeated.”
When asked specifically about the incident involving the Ohio State student journalists, Quinlan said the reporters were not easily recognizable as news media, but the department had launched an internal affairs investigation of the officers, the Dispatch reported.
“We are aware of the incident in question and it is currently under investigation per our use of force policy,” Sergeant James Fuqua, public information officer, said in response to the Tracker’s request for a status update.
The Columbus Division of Police did not respond to the Tracker’s request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
Three journalists from The Lantern, the Ohio State University student newspaper, were pepper sprayed and threatened with arrest by police officers while covering protests in Columbus, Ohio, on June 1, 2020. The three students clearly and repeatedly identified themselves as members of the media before the assault, according to interviews with the journalists and video footage of the incident.
The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.
On the night of June 1, Lantern editors Max Garrison, Sarah Szilagy and Maeve Walsh were covering peaceful protests that had moved from the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus toward the Ohio State University campus. About 20 minutes after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, the protesters reached the intersection of North High Street and Lane Avenue on the edge of campus.
Up until this point, the journalists had not noticed a police presence. A few minutes after reaching the intersection, however, police cars suddenly arrived and stopped behind the protesters, Garrison and Walsh told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Police officers got out of their cars, walked swiftly through the crowd, and began using pepper spray to disperse the protesters, they said. The three journalists, who were standing behind a concrete barrier on the sidewalk, somewhat removed from the protesters in the street, remained on the scene as the protesters left, Garrison and Walsh told the Tracker. Szilagy, the Lantern’s campus editor, did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
The journalists were then “approached from multiple directions by police officers telling them to ‘go home’ because of the curfew,” according to an account of the incident Garrison wrote for The Lantern.
“Our reporters continued to film and identify themselves as members of the news media, who are exempt from the curfew,” wrote Garrison, who is the assistant campus editor. “A group of police officers continued to yell over our reporters, saying they ‘don’t care’ and ‘get inside.’ The officers also threatened our reporters with arrest.”
Columbus Police began spraying protestors around 10:25 at the corner of High and Lane. @m_p_garrison @sarahszilagy and I were also sprayed despite making them aware we are members of @TheLantern. The press is exempt from the curfew. pic.twitter.com/BcyitLujyQ
— Maeve Walsh (@maevewalsh27) June 2, 2020
Another group of officers approached and “got very close to us,” according to Garrison, forcing them to step back. Garrison said one officer pushed him. Another shot pepper spray at the group from point-blank range, hitting him on the arm and Szilagy in the eyes, Garrison said. Walsh was not directly hit, but said the gas made her cough.
In a video of the incident The Lantern posted to Twitter, the journalists are pepper sprayed after repeatedly identifying as media who are “exempt from curfew.”
Hi everyone: this was me. I was sprayed in the face after we identified ourselves and presented our press passes multiple times. Media are exempt from curfew. Media are exempt from curfew. https://t.co/DAIDudVpud
— Sarah Szilagy (@sarahszilagy) June 2, 2020
Adam Cairns, a staff photographer with the Columbus Dispatch, witnessed the attack. Cairns told the Tracker that he had been standing near the edge of the intersection with the student journalists, but turned to walk away before another officer came around the corner and shot pepper spray at the journalists. “[I] will attest that they were screaming at the cops that they were media,” Cairns posted to Twitter. “Police, despite clearly seeing press credentials, did not care. I crossed Lane at that point and missed the pepper spray.”
Here is a photo of @TheLantern journalists showing their press IDs to police moments before being pepper sprayed pic.twitter.com/Mvr4TLT83F
— Adam Cairns (@atomicphoto) June 2, 2020
The three journalists turned to flee but were followed by an officer who fired pepper spray at their backs before they turned into an alley, according to Garrison. They then sought refuge nearby at the house of their editor, Sam Raudins, where they spent several hours recovering. None of them returned to the protests that night. “They basically just censored us,” Szilagy told The Washington Post, “and made us incapable of covering other things that happened that night.”
In the hours following the attack, Raudins sent an email to the Columbus Division of Police reporting the incident. “This was not our team getting caught in the crossfire; this was a direct interaction between CPD and The Lantern,” she wrote in the letter posted to Twitter.
Our editor-in-chief @sam_raudins emailed @ColumbusPolice, reporting how officers threatened to arrest and then pepper-sprayed our reporters after our reporters identified themselves as members of the news media. #columbusprotest pic.twitter.com/UXaSYC9bVQ
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) June 2, 2020
In a press conference the following day, Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan was asked about the police officers’ treatment of journalists.
“There’s no malice involved, there’s no intent, it’s just a very chaotic situation,” Quinlan said. “And in that regard, I’d ask the public to have some patience and please comply, and we’ll work it out afterward. But please don’t stand there and argue; move along and comply and we’ll fix this after the fact so nothing bad happens.”
Quinlan also said, “we are dealing with imperfect human beings in imperfect situations. Mistakes will happen and we will take action to correct them and make sure that we do not allow our mistakes to be repeated.”
When asked specifically about the incident involving the Ohio State student journalists, Quinlan said the reporters were not easily recognizable as news media, but the department had launched an internal affairs investigation of the officers, the Dispatch reported.
“We are aware of the incident in question and it is currently under investigation per our use of force policy,” Sergeant James Fuqua, public information officer, said in response to the Tracker’s request for a status update.
The Columbus Division of Police did not respond to the Tracker’s request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
Three journalists from The Lantern, the Ohio State University student newspaper, were pepper sprayed and threatened with arrest by police officers while covering protests in Columbus, Ohio, on June 1, 2020. The three students clearly and repeatedly identified themselves as members of the media before the assault, according to interviews with the journalists and video footage of the incident.
The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.
On the night of June 1, Lantern editors Sarah Szilagy, Max Garrison and Maeve Walsh were covering peaceful protests that had moved from the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus toward the Ohio State University campus. About 20 minutes after a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, the protesters reached the intersection of North High Street and Lane Avenue on the edge of campus.
Up until this point, the journalists had not noticed a police presence. A few minutes after reaching the intersection, however, police cars suddenly arrived and stopped behind the protesters, Walsh and Garrison told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Szilagy, the Lantern’s campus editor, did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Police officers got out of their cars, walked swiftly through the crowd, and began using pepper spray to disperse the protesters, they said. The three journalists, who were standing behind a concrete barrier on the sidewalk, somewhat removed from the protesters in the street, remained on the scene as the protesters left, Walsh and Garrison told the Tracker.
The journalists were then approached from multiple directions by officers ordering them to “go home” because of the curfew, according to an account of the incident Garrison wrote for The Lantern. They continued to film and identify themselves as press, holding their press passes in the air, Walsh said. The officers responded that they “don’t care” and threatened to arrest the journalists if they didn’t disperse.
Another group of officers approached and “got very close to us,” according to Garrison, forcing them to step back. Garrison said one officer pushed him. Another shot pepper spray at the group from point-blank range, hitting him on the arm and Szilagy in the eyes, Garrison said. Walsh was not directly hit, but said the gas made her cough.
In a video of the incident The Lantern posted to Twitter, the journalists are pepper sprayed after repeatedly identifying as media who are “exempt from curfew.”
Hi everyone: this was me. I was sprayed in the face after we identified ourselves and presented our press passes multiple times. Media are exempt from curfew. Media are exempt from curfew. https://t.co/DAIDudVpud
— Sarah Szilagy (@sarahszilagy) June 2, 2020
Adam Cairns, a staff photographer with the Columbus Dispatch, witnessed the attack. Cairns told the Tracker that he had been standing near the edge of the intersection with the student journalists, but turned to walk away before another officer came around the corner and shot pepper spray at the journalists. “[I] will attest that they were screaming at the cops that they were media,” Cairns posted to Twitter. “Police, despite clearly seeing press credentials, did not care. I crossed Lane at that point and missed the pepper spray.”
Here is a photo of @TheLantern journalists showing their press IDs to police moments before being pepper sprayed pic.twitter.com/Mvr4TLT83F
— Adam Cairns (@atomicphoto) June 2, 2020
The three journalists turned to flee but were followed by an officer who fired pepper spray at their backs before they turned into an alley, according to Garrison. They then sought refuge nearby at the house of their editor, Sam Raudins, where they spent several hours recovering. None of them returned to the protests that night. “They basically just censored us,” Szilagy told The Washington Post, “and made us incapable of covering other things that happened that night.”
In the hours following the attack, Raudins sent an email to the Columbus Division of Police reporting the incident. “This was not our team getting caught in the crossfire; this was a direct interaction between CPD and The Lantern,” she wrote in the letter posted to Twitter.
Our editor-in-chief @sam_raudins emailed @ColumbusPolice, reporting how officers threatened to arrest and then pepper-sprayed our reporters after our reporters identified themselves as members of the news media. #columbusprotest pic.twitter.com/UXaSYC9bVQ
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) June 2, 2020
In a press conference the following day, Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan was asked about the police officers’ treatment of journalists.
“There’s no malice involved, there’s no intent, it’s just a very chaotic situation,” Quinlan said. “And in that regard, I’d ask the public to have some patience and please comply, and we’ll work it out afterward. But please don’t stand there and argue; move along and comply and we’ll fix this after the fact so nothing bad happens.”
Quinlan also said, “we are dealing with imperfect human beings in imperfect situations. Mistakes will happen and we will take action to correct them and make sure that we do not allow our mistakes to be repeated.”
When asked specifically about the incident involving the Ohio State student journalists, Quinlan said the reporters were not easily recognizable as news media, but the department had launched an internal affairs investigation of the officers, the Dispatch reported.
“We are aware of the incident in question and it is currently under investigation per our use of force policy,” Sergeant James Fuqua, public information officer, said in response to the Tracker’s request for a status update.
The Columbus Division of Police did not respond to the Tracker’s request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
Nick Swartsell, news editor for CityBeat Cincinnati, was shoved by officers while filming an arrest during protests in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 31, 2020.
The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Swartsell was with a group of reporters who were attempting to document the mass arrest of people he believed to be protesters on Green Street in the neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine. Police officers refused to let the journalists get close enough to see what was happening and told them “You don’t need to see this,” Swartsell told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. On Twitter, he wrote that he was threatened with arrest if he argued further.
Hearing roughly 150 people being arrested on Green. I have not been allowed to get within a distance at which I can observe. Threatened w arrest if I argue further.
— Nick Swartsell (@nswartsell) June 1, 2020
After moving a block away from the mass arrests, Swartsell said the journalists witnessed police officers near the intersection of Elm and Liberty streets arresting a woman on the street for violating curfew. The woman repeatedly asked the group of journalists to film her arrest. When the journalist began to film, a group of police officers started pushing them away with their shields and ordered them to leave immediately, Swartsell said.
In videos posted to Twitter of the incident, Swartsell, as well as the other journalists, can be heard yelling repeatedly “We’re press,” as the officers pushed into the group with their shields.
This woman asked her arrest be filmed. This is response we got. pic.twitter.com/VUeOqxsZQf
— Nick Swartsell (@nswartsell) June 1, 2020
One officer in the video is then heard telling the journalists that their identification needs to be more prominently visible. In a tweet about the incident, Enquirer journalist Sarah Brookbank said she had her press badge in her hand.
“That was a little disturbing to me, we were not right up on them, obviously we weren’t trying to do anything other than film it and we weren’t close enough to disrupt anything and they still pushed us pretty far back,” said Swartsell.
The Tracker reached out to the Cincinnati Police Department for comment, but did not receive a reply.
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 all of these cases here.
Adam Cairns, a staff photographer for the daily Columbus Dispatch, was hit with a projectile while covering protests in Columbus, Ohio, on May 31, 2020.
The protests were held in response to a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the U.S. since the end of May.
On the night of May 31, Cairns and his colleague Dean Narciso left the Dispatch office and walked half a block to the intersection of Broad and High streets adjacent to the Ohio state capitol building where protesters had gathered. At around 9:45 p.m., shortly before a 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, Cairns observed a large police presence moving into formation in the middle of the intersection, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. As the officers lined up, he said he saw something that resembled a water bottle thrown at the police. Immediately, and without warning, according to Cairns, police began shooting projectiles and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Cairns and Narciso were standing at a distance from the group of protesters who had congregated. They turned to leave the scene. At that moment, Cairns told the Tracker, he was struck on the back of his right ear and cheek by what appeared to be a wooden bullet, knocking his safety glasses off his head. Narciso was not hit, according to Cairns. The men returned to the Dispatch office and Cairns said he did not resume photographing the protests until the following night. The projectile left a welt on his cheek for several hours and a scratch on his ear, he said. His equipment was not damaged.
In a photograph taken by Cairns shortly before he turned away and was hit, a police officer can be seen aiming in his direction.
Police open fire with non-lethal rounds to disperse protesters from Broad/High as curfew neared pic.twitter.com/lYxdzwXGDF
— Adam Cairns (@atomicphoto) June 1, 2020
In an editorial for the paper, Dispatch Editor Alan D. Miller wrote of the photograph, “It’s unclear whether it was that officer’s bullet that grazed Cairns’ ear and cheek… It’s unclear whether the officer who fired at Cairns was targeting a journalist. But there was no mistaking Cairns for a protester, given the camera equipment and press credentials he was carrying.”
Cairns told the Tracker “it’s really hard to say” whether he was targeted by law enforcement. “As I look back on it, there was nobody else in the area other than me with cameras pointed at them,” he said.
The Columbus Division of Police did not immediately respond to phone and emailed requests for comment.
In his editorial, Miller wrote that when asked in a press conference two days later about police treatment of journalists covering the protests, Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan responded, “There’s no malice involved, there’s no intent. ... We ask the public to have some patience and please comply, and we’ll work it out afterward. Please don’t stand there and argue; move along and comply and we’ll fix this after.”
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 Black Lives Matter protests across the country. Find these incidents here.
Soon after taking this photograph for Ohio's Columbus Dispatch, staff photographer Adam Cairns was hit with a projectile on May 31, 2020.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,law enforcement,unknown,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, protest, shot / shot at",,, 2020-06-01 02:02:18.097177+00:00,2022-03-10 22:05:23.398364+00:00,"Student journalist chased, pepper sprayed during protests in Columbus",https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-chased-pepper-sprayed-during-protests-columbus/,2022-03-10 22:05:23.337036+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Julia Lerner,,2020-05-30,False,Columbus,Ohio (OH),39.96118,-82.99879,"A student journalist at the University of Maryland was chased by police and maced three times while covering protests in Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of May 30, 2020.
Protests that began in Minnesota on May 26 have spread across the country, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Student journalist Julia Lerner told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that at about 1 a.m. she was making her way toward her car after documenting protests near the courthouse in Columbus. Three or four people were on the sidewalk near her, but most protesters had dispersed, at least from that area.
Lerner told the Tracker that she had stopped on the sidewalk to put her camera away when she noticed a line of police officers up the block, including two on bicycles. The officers began shouting at those still present to leave the area.
“[The officers] started screaming. The woman next to me took off running in the other direction and I put my hands up — with my camera in my hand — and yelled, “I’m a journalist, I’m just trying to go to my car,” Lerner said.
She said that one of the bicycle officers responded, “It’s too fucking late to leave.”
The officer then came at her, Lerner said, and pepper sprayed her, primarily hitting her arms and camera as she held her hands in front of her face.
Lerner said the officer pepper sprayed her at least two more times as she attempted to run away, only letting up once Lerner rounded another street corner into an alleyway. She told the Tracker she hid in the alley for approximately 20 minutes before finally making her way to her car.
Lerner said that her camera appears to still be in working order.
“As journalists, we have the responsibility to expose violence and corruption within our systems. We have the responsibility to stand steadfast when threatened,” Lerner tweeted after the incident. “We can’t let cops chase us away.”
The Columbus Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting damage of equipment and multiple journalists arrested or struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas while covering related protests across the country. Find all of these cases here.
A Columbus, Ohio, police officer on a bike chased student journalist Julia Lerner and pepper sprayed her multiple times after she identified herself as press.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,law enforcement,yes,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, chemical irritant, protest, student journalism",,, 2020-08-12 17:42:52.856166+00:00,2022-03-10 22:07:11.684768+00:00,Journalist targeted with tear gas during Ohio protest,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-tear-gassed-hit-police-projectiles-during-ohio-protest/,2022-03-10 22:07:11.625773+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Nolan Cramer (Toledo City Paper),,2020-05-30,False,Toledo,Ohio (OH),41.66394,-83.55521,"Nolan Cramer, a journalism student interning for the Toledo City Paper, said he was targeted with tear gas by law enforcement while covering protests in Toledo, Ohio, on May 30, 2020.
The protest was held in response to a video showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for more than eight minutes during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The incident sparked anti-police brutality and Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.
Cramer told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was photographing near the corner of East Woodruff and Franklin Avenues as Toledo Police Department officers worked to disperse protesters in the street at around 5:45 p.m.
“I had my camera out, my press credentials displayed and was clearly identifiable as press,” he said. “That is when a TPD officer deployed and threw a tear gas canister in my direction.”
Cramer said that the officer deliberately targeted him and Toledo Blade editor Nolan Rosenkrans, who was standing next to them, despite both of them wearing visible press passes. Both journalists were caught in the cloud of tear gas.
“Luckily, neither of us were physically injured and our equipment was not damaged,” Cramer said. “I was very fortunate that all I had to deal with was being tear gassed. So many journalists around the country are experiencing way worse.”
Rosenkrans told the Tracker that he had not felt targeted with tear gas that day, but noted that he did not know what Nolan had experienced or seen.
Reflecting on the incidents that day, Cramer told the Tracker, “What is even worse is knowing my incident was not isolated. I witnessed multiple journalists either have less lethal force used on them or be threatened with less lethal weapons.”
“In my opinion, it seemed like Toledo police officers did not care whether someone was a protester or a member of the press; their main concern was dispersing everyone in sight.”
Lt. Kellie Lenhardt, who commands the Toledo Police Public Information Section, told the Tracker over email that the department did not receive complaints from Cramer or other journalists that day.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said during a press conference on June 22 that there was an investigation into officers’ conduct during the protests. Kapszukiewicz also announced that officers will no longer be permitted to wear military-style camouflage.
On July 22, Toledo police announced that three officers were disciplined for misconduct during the May 30 protests. One officer received a written reprimand while the other two were suspended and given last chance warnings, meaning they could be fired following another infraction.
“Police legitimacy cannot improve if departments fail at policing their own,” Police Chief George Kral said in a press release announcing the disciplinary measures. “I will ensure that officers are held accountable when their actions are found to violate department policies, and I will always support the hundreds of officers that positively represent Toledo Police.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
As an intern for the [Ohio] Toldeo City Paper, Nolan Cramer said he was photographing during the early evening of May 30, 2020 when a Toldeo police officer threw a tear gas canister in his direction.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,law enforcement,yes,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, chemical irritant, protest",,, 2021-10-18 17:40:09.029464+00:00,2022-03-10 21:16:55.190309+00:00,Blade photojournalist struck with projectiles during Ohio protest,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/blade-photojournalist-struck-with-projectiles-during-ohio-protest/,2022-03-10 21:16:55.132796+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Kurt Steiss (The Toledo Blade),,2020-05-30,False,Toledo,Ohio (OH),41.66394,-83.55521,"Blade photojournalist Kurt Steiss was struck with crowd-control munitions while covering protests in Toledo, Ohio, on May 30, 2020.
The protest was held in response to a video showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for more than eight minutes during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The incident sparked anti-police brutality and Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.
Steiss reported on Twitter he was fired upon by police while documenting the police advance from the Lucas County Courthouse toward the police headquarters that afternoon. In a series of tweets, he recounted being struck multiple times with pepper balls, which left a welt on his arm.
Been hit a few times as police advanced their line between the Lucas County Courthouse and the Safety Building (TPD HQ). Heading in to edit and file. @AmyEVoigt is taking over for now on photo. pic.twitter.com/vitIM4ZNkQ
— Kurt Steiss ⚔️ (@kurtsteiss) May 31, 2020
Steiss, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment, was also struck on the forehead.
“Ironically there isn’t much of a mark there (compared to my arm), but I can still feel soreness on my head while my arm feels fine,” he wrote.
Lt. Kellie Lenhardt, who commands the Toledo Police Public Information Section, told the Tracker over email that the department did not receive complaints from Steiss or other journalists that day.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said during a press conference on June 22 that there was an investigation into officers’ conduct during the protests. Kapszukiewicz also announced that officers will no longer be permitted to wear military-style camouflage.
On July 22, Toledo police announced that three officers were disciplined for misconduct during the May 30 protests. One officer received a written reprimand while the other two were suspended and given last chance warnings, meaning they could be fired following another infraction.
“Police legitimacy cannot improve if departments fail at policing their own,” Police Chief George Kral said in a press release announcing the disciplinary measures. “I will ensure that officers are held accountable when their actions are found to violate department policies, and I will always support the hundreds of officers that positively represent Toledo Police.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
Toledo Blade editor Nolan Rosenkrans said he was caught in tear gas and shot at with crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while covering protests in Toledo, Ohio, on May 30, 2020.
The protest was held in response to a video showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for more than eight minutes during an arrest on May 25. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The incident sparked anti-police brutality and Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country.
Nolan Cramer, a journalism student interning for the Toledo City Paper, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was photographing near the corner of East Woodruff and Franklin Avenues as Toledo Police Department officers worked to disperse protesters in the street at around 5:45 p.m.
Cramer said that an officer deliberately threw a tear gas canister at him and Toledo Blade editor Nolan Rosenkrans, who was standing next to them, despite both of them wearing visible press passes. Both journalists were caught in the cloud of tear gas.
Rosenkrans told the Tracker that he had not felt targeted with tear gas that day, but noted that he did not know what Nolan had experienced or seen.
“What police did do was shoot pepper spray balls when I crossed some arbitrary line toward them,” he said.
Rosenkrans tweeted shortly after 6:30 p.m. that he had also been shot at with a “paintball gun” by an officer who knew he was a reporter.
Just was shot at with a paintball gun by a cop who knows I’m a reporter. He’s wearing fatigues.
— Nolan_Rosenkrans⚔️ (@NolanRosenkrans) May 30, 2020
He told the Tracker that he had continued documenting the protest and speaking with protesters and police as the march continued down Franklin Avenue to where it becomes 17th Street.
“[The police] knew I was a journalist. The camo team was near me for several miles and I had been talking to them from the street for quite some time,” he said. “I can’t say I was targeted because I was a journalist, but I can’t say for sure.”
Lieutenant Kellie Lenhardt, who commands the Toledo Police Public Information Section, told the Tracker over email that the department did not receive complaints from Rosenkrans or other journalists that day.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said during a press conference on June 22 that there was an investigation into officers’ conduct during the protests. Kapszukiewicz also announced that officers will no longer be permitted to wear military-style camouflage.
On July 22, Toledo police announced that three officers were disciplined for misconduct during the May 30 protests. One officer received a written reprimand while the other two were suspended and given last chance warnings, meaning they could be fired following another infraction.
“Police legitimacy cannot improve if departments fail at policing their own,” Police Chief George Kral said in a press release announcing the disciplinary measures. “I will ensure that officers are held accountable when their actions are found to violate department policies, and I will always support the hundreds of officers that positively represent Toledo Police.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
While returning from a news event, a WTVG 13abc news crew van was shot at on July 13, 2019 in Toledo, Ohio.
13abc reported that the crew member was heading back to the station at around 8:30 p.m. following an event at the Toledo Museum of Art when multiple shots were fired at the station’s vehicle.
Investigative reporter Shaun Hegarty posted a photo of the damage to the vehicle to Twitter following the incident. Hegarty later told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that there were two members of the WTVG 13abc news crew in the van.
Shot fired at 13abc news vehicle. No members of our news team were injured https://t.co/XeXDwWa5Jx #13abc pic.twitter.com/TicgZSkdoM
— Shaun Hegarty (@Shaun_Hegarty) July 14, 2019
The Toledo Blade, 13abc’s media partner, reported that police at the scene collected multiple shell cases. No members of the 13abc team were injured.
Hegarty later posted to Twitter that the police believe they’ve identified the silver Ford Mustang involved in the shooting.
The Toledo police department was not immediately available for comment. The department’s investigation is ongoing.
While returning from a news event, a WTVG 13abc news crew van was shot at on July 13, 2019 in Toledo, Ohio.
13abc reported that the member of the news crew was heading back to the station at around 8:30 p.m. following an event at the Toledo Museum of Art when multiple shots were fired at the station’s vehicle.
Investigative reporter Shaun Hegarty posted a photo of the damage to the vehicle to Twitter following the incident. Hegarty later told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that there were two members of the WTVG 13abc news crew in the van.
Shot fired at 13abc news vehicle. No members of our news team were injured https://t.co/XeXDwWa5Jx #13abc pic.twitter.com/TicgZSkdoM
— Shaun Hegarty (@Shaun_Hegarty) July 14, 2019
The Toledo Blade, 13abc’s media partner, reported that police at the scene collected multiple shell cases. No members of the 13abc team were injured.
Hegarty later posted to Twitter that the police believe they’ve identified the silver Ford Mustang involved in the shooting.
The Toledo police department was not immediately available for comment. The department’s investigation is ongoing.
Cleveland political reporter Seth Richardson was removed from the Ohio Democratic Party press release mailing list by staff in March 2019.
Richardson posted a thread on Twitter that he had apparently been “frozen out” from covering the Ohio Democratic Party, and suggested he may have been removed from the press distribution list in response to his reporting.
So I normally hate threads like these, but I've tried solving this privately and it feels like it deserves to be out there in the open. @DavidPepper and @kirstinalv are apparently trying to freeze me out of covering the @OHDems 1/
— Seth A. Richardson (@SethARichardson) May 7, 2019
Richardson, who reports for Cleveland.com, noted that not receiving the press releases made it difficult for him to do his job.
Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper responded to Richardson on Twitter, and told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was not aware of the problem until he saw the tweets. Pepper confirmed that Richardson was added back to the press release list immediately.
Seth, I was not aware of this and have already made clear you should be on the press list.
— David Pepper (@DavidPepper) May 7, 2019
Take care.
“Any suggestion that I requested a reporter be removed from an email list because of a story, general coverage or any other reason is false,” he said.
“We pride ourselves on not only being open to the press, but in supporting the freedom of the press at all levels,” Pepper wrote to the Tracker. “This was a poor decision made at a staff level that I immediately reversed when it came to my attention."
Pepper said that while there is not a written policy for removing reporters from the distribution, he said that practically, “we do not remove people from our press list,” and would never ask anyone to be removed. Pepper emphasized that the Ohio Democratic Party welcomes press coverage.
Two newspapers in Ohio — the Circleville Herald and the Columbus Dispatch — received threatening letters containing unknown substances in early July 2018.
On July 5, the Circleville Herald newspaper received a threatening letter. The letter contained an unknown substance, which the letter claimed was the powerful opioid drug Fentanyl.
The next day, Herald managing editor wrote about the incident:
On Thursday afternoon, a Herald employee opened a nondescript business envelope addressed to “Circleville Herald.” The letter threatened to physically harm the staff and said that the envelope contained the narcotic Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid often found in powder form that can penetrate the skin and cause death in high doses. The staff member stopped reading and dropped the letter when they noticed an unknown substance in the envelope.
The staff member immediately washed their hands while another staff member called Circleville Police. On arrival, CPD officers donned protective gear and collected the letter, as well as any residual substance that came out of the envelope.
Police investigating threatening letter sent to Herald (Circleville Herald)
In a statement published on Facebook, the Circleville Police Department said that a hazmat team had been called in to bring the unknown substance to the Pickaway County Emergency Medical Authority for testing. The police have not yet publicly identified the substance.
In a July 6 tweet, Bahney said that the paper’s response to the threatening letter was to “put out a damn paper” — a reference to what had happened a week earlier at the Capital Gazette, when staff rallied to publish a newspaper following a deadly mass shooting at the newspaper’s offices.
You know what we did after we received a "Fentanyl-laced" death threat in the mail Thursday? "We put out a damn paper," just like our brothers and sisters @capitalgazette #FirstAmendment
— Jennifer Bahney (@JBBahney) July 6, 2018
On July 11, the Columbus Dispatch newspaper received a letter containing an unknown white powder. The letter was stamped as inmate mail from the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
After the Dispatch’s security manager opened the letter and noticed the white powder, a hazmat team from the Columbus fire department and the FBI’s joint terrorism task force went to the Dispatch’s offices to test the unknown powder.
Fairfield County sheriff Dave Phalen later told the Lancaster Eagle that the powder “was harmless and caused no injuries.”
According to the Eagle, local police and federal authorities are investigating whether the cases are connected.
The Circleville Herald and the Columbus Dispatch received threatening letters containing unknown substances in early July 2018.
",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,None,False,[],"Circleville Herald, Columbus Dispatch",,,, 2018-11-30 03:15:46.565780+00:00,2020-03-19 20:20:16.186825+00:00,Oberlin College subpoenas local newspaper editor in defamation suit,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oberlin-college-subpoenas-local-newspaper-editor-defamation-suit/,2020-03-19 20:20:16.046496+00:00,,LegalOrder object (31),,Subpoena/Legal Order,"Oberlin College goes after another news organization’s communications (https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/07/oberlin-college-goes-after-another-news-organizations-communications/) via Legal Insurrection, Court: Oberlin College can’t question journalist as to sources in Gibson’s Bakery case (https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/08/court-oberlin-college-cant-question-journalist-as-to-sources-in-gibsons-bakery-case/) via Legal Insurrection",,,Jason Hawk (Oberlin News Tribune),,2018-05-30,False,Oberlin,Ohio (OH),41.29394,-82.21738,"On May 30, 2018, attorneys for Oberlin College in Ohio subpoenaed local newspaper editor Jason Hawk to testify about his confidential sources.
Hawk, the editor of the Oberlin News Tribune, had reported in November 2016 on protests outside of Gibson’s Bakery, a local bakery that Oberlin College administrators and students accused of racial discrimination. In November 2017, the bakery sued Oberlin College in state court for defamation.
As part of the defamation suit, Oberlin’s attorneys subpoenaed Gibson’s Bakery for records of its communications with journalists, including Hawk. When that subpoena was denied, Oberlin’s attorneys subpoenaed Hawk directly, ordering him to testify at a deposition on June 27, 2018. (Oberlin's attorneys also subpoenaed William Jacobson, a legal blogger who had written extensively about the defamation suit.)
During the June 27 deposition, Hawk refused to answer many questions, citing his reporter’s privilege not to divulge information about his sources.
Neither Oberlin’s attorneys nor Hawk’s attorneys were happy with the deposition. Oberlin’s attorneys asked the court to force Hawk to answer more questions about what he witnessed at the protest, while Hawk’s attorneys asked the court to quash the subpoena.
On Aug. 22, the court ruled that Oberlin could not ask Hawk questions about his sources, but Hawk did have to answer questions about what he witnessed during the protest.
Andy Grimm, a news editor and photographer for The New Carlisle News, was shot while setting up his camera to photograph a traffic stop during a lightning storm, according to a statement from the Clark County Sheriff's Office. At around 10:15 pm on Sept. 4th, Grimm was holding his camera when Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jack Shaw shot him twice without warning.
According to WGCT Fox 45, one of the bullets struck him in the side and another grazed his shoulder. Grimm was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was released the next day. He’s expected to recover.
Grimm told Fox 45 that he and Shaw knew one another before the shooting. He said that after he was shot, he said, “What the [bleep] Jake Shaw, you shot me, dude” and Shaw responded, “Oh my God, Andy,” and repeatedly said, “I thought it was a gun.”
According to WHIO-TV 7, Shaw was placed on administrative leave and will attend a “critical incident debriefing.” At the request of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the Attorney General of Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation will conduct the investigation into the shooting.
“We’re still investigating to determine what exactly occurred,” a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Grimm is confident in the investigation and told WRGT Fox 45 that he is not upset with Shaw.
"There's so much animosity toward police officers,” he said. “He was just doing his job. I think he made a bad decision. He shot somebody, an unarmed civilian. Realistically there's going to be consequences.”
“Our hearts and prayers are with Mr. Grimm as he recovers and with Deputy Jake Shaw and we ask the community to keep both of them in your hearts and prayers as well,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.