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 2023-11-30 20:30:54.001585+00:00,2023-11-30 20:30:54.001585+00:00,Media barred from identifying officer working DeSantis security,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/media-barred-from-identifying-officer-working-desantis-security/,2023-11-30 20:30:49.205351+00:00,,,,Prior Restraint,,,,Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats),,2023-08-30,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"
A Florida circuit court judge issued a prior restraint on Aug. 30, 2023, barring members of the press from publishing anything that might identify an officer who had provided security for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by Grant Stern, the executive editor of the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats, after he and a columnist were barred by a plainclothes officer from attending the governor’s Sept. 22, 2022, press conference at Miami Dade College.
The officer, who refused to identify himself at the time, filmed the pair of journalists on a cellphone and ordered a uniformed officer to remove them from the building. Stern made an on-the-spot records request for a copy of the recording and ultimately filed a formal records request to identify the plainclothes officer.
The Miami Police Department refused to identify the officer, asserting that he was working undercover, as distinct from simply in civilian clothes, and was therefore exempt from such disclosures. Stern filed the lawsuit in October 2022 challenging the decision.
During a hearing on Aug. 30, 2023, Circuit Court Judge Migna Sanchez-Llorens told the parties she would reserve judgment on the distinction. Attorneys for the city then asked that — if the judge were to rule that the officer was working undercover — the images and videos filed as evidence in the suit be sealed, redacted or blurred out to protect his identity.
Sanchez-Llorens noted an objection raised by Stern’s attorney but heard no arguments before ruling that Stern’s photograph and any other identifiers of the officer would be placed under seal until she ruled on the question of his status.
The following day, the judge expanded the gag order to include all media and said that no one should disclose the identity of the officer. “This means that all persons shall refrain from releasing name, photos, or badge number of the undercover agent,” Sanchez-Llorens wrote.
“[The judge] did all of that without briefing, motion, nothing,” Stern told the Tracker. “They [city’s attorneys] merely suggested, just to get a sense of the court, if they could get a further order after the ruling. That’s all they asked for. She went ahead and did the rest.”
Stern told the Tracker that there is virtually no limit on how long the judge can reserve judgment, and that he and other media will remain gagged until she issues a ruling.
“This is two out of the three branches of Florida government now censoring this,” Stern said. “If the state doesn’t want you around they exercise every lever of government to prevent state officials from facing tough questions.”
Stern subsequently filed a motion asking the judge to recuse herself from the case, arguing that not only did she issue her order without following proper procedure but had also prejudged that the officer was working undercover, showing bias in the case. Sanchez-Llorens denied the motion, which Stern has since appealed to the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida.
A portion of the order, filed Aug. 31, 2023, ordering Occupy Democrats’ Executive Editor Grant Stern and all other media not to publish photos or other identifying information for a police officer who had worked security for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,None,None,None,None,None,None,pending,False,[],Media,,,, 2022-10-14 16:21:32.547749+00:00,2023-12-20 20:43:01.646919+00:00,Two Occupy Democrats journalists barred from DeSantis press conference,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/two-occupy-democrats-journalists-barred-from-desantis-press-conference/,2023-12-20 20:43:01.567674+00:00,,,,Denial of Access,,,,"Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats), Thomas Kennedy (Occupy Democrats)",,2022-09-22,False,Miami,Florida (FL),25.77427,-80.19366,"Two journalists with the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats were barred from attending a press conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis in Miami, Florida, on Sept. 22, 2022.
Editor-at-Large Grant Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and Reported Opinion Columnist Thomas Kennedy learned about the press conference after DeSantis put it on his public agenda. The pair was ultimately stopped before they could enter the venue at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus.
Was just denied entrance to DeSantis’ press event. Police put their hands on me and forcibly removed me from this publicly funded event despite me not raising my voice and police acknowledging we are not violent. We wanted to ask why DeSantis is using migrants as political props.
— Thomas Kennedy (@tomaskenn) September 22, 2022
In a video Kennedy posted on Twitter of the interaction, a person he identifies as a Miami police detective says he and Grant have already been advised they are not welcome. “You’re not invited. You’re not press.”
Officer Roberto Heredia Rubio subsequently told the journalists that it was a private event and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement instructed the officers to prevent them from entering.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis signed two bills into law that day aimed at combating foreign influence in Florida’s universities and increasing the penalties for selling trade secrets, particularly to foreign governments.
Stern told the Tracker that during the interaction, another officer at the venue refused to identify himself and then began filming them on a cellphone. Stern requested that the officer send him a copy of the recording in compliance with the state’s public records law. The officer refused and forced them to exit the building under threat of arrest.
“This is the second time that an officer from the City of Miami has responded to me making an on-the-spot records request with retaliatory conduct,” Stern said. “There’s a pattern and practice of civil rights violations in Miami.”
The governor’s office has barred press from covering press conferences or bill signings on at least four other occasions since March 2020, including an incident in April when both Stern and Kennedy were forcefully removed from a press conference with DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñes. The Tracker documented that incident here.
Two journalists with the news arm of progressive political organization Occupy Democrats were forcibly removed from a press conference at Miami Dade College in downtown Miami, Florida, on April 12, 2022.
Executive Editor Grant Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and Reported Opinion Columnist Thomas Kennedy were alerted to a press conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñes via email from the governor’s press office. Stern said both he and Kennedy sent emails confirming that they would attend the press conference, but received no response. Stern told the Tracker that due to Kennedy’s activist activities prior to his work for Occupy Democrats, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiled a dossier on Kennedy and his known associates in 2020 and functionally blacklisted him from attending the governor’s press conferences.
When reached for comment, Kennedy said that politicians in Florida too often pick and choose which press to engage with, and that his emails to RSVP for press conferences are routinely ignored.
“Then, when we get [to the press conference] they tell us we’re not on the list or we haven’t gone through the proper credentialing. They could say ‘no,’ which I think is unfair and selective, especially when it’s not a campaign event, but they don’t even bother to do that,” Kennedy said.
When the pair arrived on April 12, they were directed to the media area at the back of the room alongside other members of the press.
Before the event began, DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, approached the press area with other staff members and multiple law enforcement officers. In footage shared on Twitter by NBC reporter Marc Caputo, another woman can be seen approaching Kennedy and asking him whether he is a member of the press; Kennedy responds that he is.
As with other Miami pressers, @GovRonDeSantis kicks his off with the customary removal of @tomaskenn & @grantstern
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) April 12, 2022
Here’s Tomas
1/2 pic.twitter.com/v8cjHQK2ml
The woman says that Kennedy isn’t on their RSVP list and that because he did not go through their screening process he must step out of the room. At least three police officers then roughly guide Kennedy out of the room as he voices a question for DeSantis.
In footage posted by Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio, Pushaw can be seen pointing out Stern to a man who appears to also be acting as security for the event as Kennedy is led away. Moments later Stern is directed to leave the press conference as well.
“Do you suspect me of committing a crime?” Stern can be heard asking an officer before walking out of the room. “I sent an RSVP, I am a member of the press: I am an editor of a national publication called Occupy Democrats.”
Stern told the Tracker he asked the officers for the names and badge numbers before the pair left to report on their removal.
DeSantis’ office did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The governor’s office has barred press from covering press conferences or bill signings on at least three other occasions since March 2020, including an incident in August 2021 when Stern was forcefully removed from a press conference with DeSantis and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The Tracker documented that incident here.
“Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio captured footage of police escorting two Occupy Democrats journalists out of a gubernatorial press conference at Miami Dade College on April 12, 2022.”
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,['GOVERNMENT_EVENTS'],,,,,State government: Governor 2021-09-15 20:42:56.490127+00:00,2023-12-20 21:10:41.130252+00:00,Journalist at advocacy news organization dragged from press conference,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-at-advocacy-news-organization-dragged-from-press-conference/,2023-12-20 21:10:41.028817+00:00,,,,"Denial of Access, Assault, Equipment Damage",,,cellphone: count of 1,Grant Stern (Occupy Democrats),,2021-08-05,False,Hialeah Gardens,Florida (FL),25.8651,-80.3245,"Grant Stern, executive editor of the news arm of the progressive political organization Occupy Democrats, said he was forcefully removed from a press conference at the Hialeah Gardens Museum in Hialeah Gardens, Florida, on Aug. 5, 2021.
Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was alerted to a press conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republican lawmakers via email from the governor’s press office. The email noted that the press conference was open to all and did not require an RSVP. When he arrived, Stern said, he identified himself as a reporter for Occupy Democrats and was granted entry.
“I went into the press conference like anybody else and I was there recording with my audio recorder,” Stern said, “and everything else I did with a cellphone or hand-held camera, recording all of these speeches.”
Approximately 30 minutes into the press conference, Stern said, a congressional staffer approached him and asked him to identify himself and who he worked for. Stern said he identified himself again and offered to show them his Twitter profile and author bio, as he does not carry press credentials with him. When the staffer asked him to leave, Stern said he had complied with the procedure to enter and would leave only if asked to do so by a museum employee.
During the Q&A session at the end of the press conference 15 minutes later, he said, Stern began to ask a question about the House’s proposed Jan. 6 commission. In his footage of the incident, Stern’s camera suddenly begins shaking and moving backward as he attempts to finish his question. Stern said four officers dragged him out of the room on his heels and ordered that he leave the museum.
I tried to ask @GOPLeader McCarthy a question after he decried Cuban police pickup up people in the streets.
— Grant Stern is fully vaccinated (@grantstern) August 5, 2021
Why does he oppose the bipartisan #January6thCommission?
A Congressional staffer had four cops pick me up and drag me from the room.
I still asked the question. pic.twitter.com/HDqrhvARaC
“I start asking a question and I feel a hand on the small of my back through my backpack,” Stern said. “My first thought was whether someone was trying to steal my journalistic equipment and then I realized that they were searching me for weapons.”
Stern said the officers then grabbed him, pulled him out of the room and turned off his phone recording with such force they scratched the face of his cellphone in multiple places; he said he intends to replace the screen as a result of the damage.
“They dragged me clear out of the room, told me to go away, involuntarily turned off my camera and pushed me out of the front door,” Stern said. “They did not make any attempt to identify me, to arrest or detain me further, to ask me any other questions.”
A spokesperson for McCarthy told The Independent that “congressional staff had nothing to do [with Stern’s] removal.” McCarthy’s office did not respond to a request for additional comment.
Stern told the Tracker his left knee capsule was ruptured as the officers pushed and dragged him, and he will need occupational therapy to restore full mobility.
The Hialeah Gardens Police Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment.