first_published_at,last_published_at,title,slug,latest_revision_created_at,charges,legal_orders,updates,categories,links,equipment_seized,equipment_broken,targeted_journalists,authors,date,exact_date_unknown,city,state,latitude,longitude,body,introduction,teaser,teaser_image,primary_video,image_caption,arrest_status,arresting_authority,release_date,detention_date,unnecessary_use_of_force,case_number,case_statuses,case_type,status_of_seized_equipment,is_search_warrant_obtained,actor,border_point,target_us_citizenship_status,denial_of_entry,stopped_previously,did_authorities_ask_for_device_access,did_authorities_ask_about_work,assailant,was_journalist_targeted,charged_under_espionage_act,subpoena_type,subpoena_statuses,name_of_business,third_party_business,legal_order_target,legal_order_type,legal_order_venue,status_of_prior_restraint,mistakenly_released_materials,type_of_denial,targeted_institutions,tags,target_nationality,workers_whose_communications_were_obtained,politicians_or_public_figures_involved 2022-06-29 22:19:25.309147+00:00,2022-08-05 19:15:49.715017+00:00,Photographer detained at Arizona Capitol while documenting protests,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-detained-at-arizona-capitol-while-documenting-protests/,2022-08-05 19:15:49.629320+00:00,,,,Arrest/Criminal Charge,,,,Jack Sorgi (LLN Arizona),,2022-06-25,False,Phoenix,Arizona (AZ),33.44838,-112.07404,"
Photographer Jack Sorgi was detained by Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers while documenting reproductive rights protests at the capitol building in Phoenix on June 25, 2022.
Protests broke out across the country following the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial ruling overturning Roe v. Wade on June 24, which established that the right to abortion is guaranteed under the right to privacy. The Republic reported that protesters in Phoenix gathered at the Arizona Capitol complex, pounding on the doors and windows of the Senate building while the legislature was in session.
Troopers set up temporary fences around the perimeter of the Capitol the following morning, according to The Republic.
Sorgi, who documents for LLN Arizona, part of a newsgathering collective, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that hundreds gathered for demonstrations at the complex that day until most dispersed at around 11 p.m.
“Around the 11:15 p.m. mark, that’s when protesters started grabbing on the chain link fence that surrounded the Capitol,” Sorgi said. “[They] started shaking it, eventually pulling the fence down about a dozen feet of the fence.”
Approximately 45 seconds later, Sorgi said state troopers announced that it was an unlawful assembly and dozens of troopers swarmed the area from the north and south sides of the Capitol.
In footage Sorgi captured of the incident, a line of troopers can be seen running out from behind the fences with some shouting “Get on the ground!” and “Back up!”
Following hours of sit-ins and marches a small group remained after 11 PM at the state capitol where they began attempting to take down the fence surrounding the building. DPS quickly swarmed the area and surrounded the group ordering everyone to the floor (myself included) pic.twitter.com/9Tis98JsLB
— LLN Jack | Phoenix Metro (@LLN_Jack) June 26, 2022
The video continues as Sorgi moves away from the advancing troopers toward the sidewalk where multiple individuals who appear to be photographers and legal observers are already kneeling on the ground.
Sorgi told the Tracker he verbally identified himself as press while holding his press pass out in front of him. He also said he was wearing a T-shirt with “media” printed across the front and back.
“Get all the way down man, all the way down,” a state trooper directs him in the footage. “I don’t care what your pass says.”
Sorgi said that after getting on the ground he tried to position his camera at the trooper who was giving him orders, but the trooper told him to put his hands “all the way down” and grabbed his camera by the lens hood and forced it into the ground.
At least one other journalist, Arizona Republic photojournalist Alberto Mariani, was also detained by state troopers that night. The Tracker has documented that incident here.
Sorgi continued to record as multiple individuals nearby were allowed to stand and leave the area. After approximately a minute on the ground, Sorgi said a trooper who appeared to be supervising the others said, “This guy has a camera, get him out of here.” Sorgi was then directed to stand and follow the others across the street.
When reached for comment, DPS Media Relations Specialist Bart Graves provided this statement: “They were in a restricted area and once they identified themselves as news media (via credentials) they were released. Local media are well aware of the rules.”
Find press freedom violations documented by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker at reproductive rights demonstrations across the U.S. here.
LLN Arizona photographer Jack Sorgi, center, was ordered to get on the ground and briefly detained by state troopers while documenting reproductive rights protests in Phoenix on June 25, 2022.
",detained and released without being processed,Arizona Department of Public Safety,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"court verdict, protest, reproductive rights",,, 2020-09-11 17:46:39.284704+00:00,2022-03-10 22:23:03.961453+00:00,Video journalist hit with pepper spray while covering Boston protests,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/video-journalist-hit-pepper-spray-while-covering-boston-protests/,2022-03-10 22:23:03.895414+00:00,,,,Other Incident,,,,Jack Sorgi (Boston Stringer Media),,2020-05-31,False,Boston,Massachusetts (MA),42.35843,-71.05977,"Jack Sorgi, a video journalist for Boston Stringer Media, which sells video footage to news outlets, was pepper-sprayed by police while filming protests in Boston, Massachusetts, on the night of May 31, 2020, according to Sorgi and video of the incident.
The protests were held in response to 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.
Beginning around 11 p.m. on May 31, Sorgi filmed a series of tense standoffs between law enforcement and protesters in downtown Boston, the journalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email. In one chaotic scene, with sirens blaring in the background, bottles of water and other objects can be seen being thrown at officers with bicycles. In another, the windshield of a squad car is damaged with what appears to be a trash can.
Later in Sorgi’s footage, canisters of colored smoke can be seen landing near protesters, some of whom appeared to then kick or throw the canisters back at police. Sorgi said he believes these were a mild form of tear gas.
For a time, Sorgi said, police remained mostly stationary. At one point in Sorgi’s footage, an officer can be heard using a bullhorn to tell the demonstrators to disperse. Shortly thereafter, Sorgi captured officers advancing toward the protesters.
According to Sorgi, officers started to use pepper spray after a protester approached them and gestured in a hostile manner. From that point on, Sorgi said, one or two officers would deploy pepper spray to the line of people closest to the front of the police line, where Sorgi was filming.
Sorgi, who said he was wearing a vest, goggles and a helmet emblazoned with the word “PRESS,” told the Tracker that the first bursts of pepper spray didn’t affect him. But then, he said, police “deployed a different type of pepper spray” that seemed “to seep into my skin and burn much more intensely than the other sprays combined.”
“I was completely unable to see,” Sorgi told the Tracker. “I ran away shouting, ‘Press’ as I was unsure if the police were rushing the crowd.”
In Sorgi’s footage, the journalist can be heard shouting, “Water, water, water!” as he turns and runs from the area.
Sorgi said another photographer grabbed him and poured Gatorade in his eyes, which helped him to see slightly. Then, he said, a group of protesters took him by the arm and shepherded him into an alleyway, where he was then let into the back entrance of a hotel by a doorman. Sorgi said he sat in the hotel for about 25 minutes while the doorman brought him towels and water and some protesters stayed by his side. Sorgi said he then returned to the streets to continue filming.
Sorgi said the police generally seemed to be respecting journalists and that it was unlikely that he was targeted by those using pepper spray. He said he later contacted the Boston Police Department about the incident and that a representative denied that officers had targeted journalists and apologized that he was hurt by the pepper spray.
The BPD did not immediately respond to an email from the Tracker seeking comment.
Later in the evening, Sorgi was hit on the head by a bottle of frozen water and harassed by individuals who tried to take his camera. The Tracker has documented that incident here.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find these incidents here.
While filming protests on May 31, 2020, for Boston Stringer Media, Jack Sorgi captures the moment before he was caught in pepper spray for the sixth time. “I was completely unable to see,” he said.
",None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,False,None,None,None,False,False,None,None,None,None,False,None,[],None,None,None,None,None,None,False,None,,"Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter 1 year, Black Lives Matter 2020, chemical irritant, protest",,, 2020-09-11 17:56:24.514292+00:00,2020-09-11 17:56:24.514292+00:00,Video journalist hit by thrown object during Boston protest; individuals try to steal camera,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/video-journalist-hit-thrown-object-during-boston-protest-individuals-try-steal-camera/,2020-09-11 17:56:24.363961+00:00,,,,Assault,,,,Jack Sorgi (Boston Stringer Media),,2020-05-31,False,Boston,Massachusetts (MA),42.35843,-71.05977,"Video journalist Jack Sorgi said he was hit on the head by what he believes was a frozen water bottle while filming protests in Boston, Massachusetts, on the night of May 31, 2020. Individuals also tried to prevent him from filming by blocking his camera and attempting to steal it.
The protests were held in response to 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.
Beginning around 11 p.m. on May 31, Sorgi, who owns and runs Boston Stringer Media, which sells video footage to news outlets, filmed a series of tense standoffs between law enforcement and protesters in downtown Boston, the journalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in an email.
Sorgi said he believes he was hit accidentally by one of the individuals facing off against dozens of officers that evening. “Throughout the escalating demonstration people repeatedly threw objects (water bottles, fireworks, rocks and pieces of bricks),” he wrote to the Tracker.
“I have no reason to believe I was targeted by any member of the crowd and was hit merely for being close to the police line where objects were being thrown.”
Sorgi said he was wearing a helmet emblazoned with the word “PRESS” and was not seriously injured.
Later that night, while Sorgi was filming people looting a store whose glass front had been shattered, a man held up his hand to block the lens, the journalist said. A few seconds later, another man came from behind him and tried to grab the camera, a Panasonic AG UX90, out of his hand.
In a separate incident earlier that night, Sorgi was pepper-sprayed by police. The Tracker has documented that incident here.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting several hundred incidents of journalists assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas, or had their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country. Find these incidents here.
Jack Sorgi was filming protests for Boston Stringer Media on May 31, 2020, when a man blocked the camera and another tried to steal it. Earlier in the night the journalist was hit with a flying object as well as multiple rounds of pepper spray.
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