Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- May 30, 2020
- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Targets
- Stefan Simons (Deutsche Welle)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Police attacked dozens of journalists with rubber bullets, tear gas, and pepper spray on May 30, 2020, during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Protests began in Minnesota on May 26, sparked by a video showing a police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, during an arrest the day before. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Minneapolis police fired projectiles at Deutsche Welle reporter Stefan Simons and his camera operator, according to a tweet from the news agency.
“A DW reporter and his camera operator have been shot at with projectiles by Minneapolis police and threatened with arrest while covering the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd,” the network tweeted.
More than three dozen journalists were assaulted, arrested or had equipment damaged while covering protests that night. The Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Police, and Minnesota National Guard did not reply to emailed requests for comment about these incidents.
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.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
