Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- August 12, 2017
- Location
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Targets
- Jen Patrice (Independent)
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Jen Patrice, an independent journalist who livestreams under the handle witlessX, was repeatedly attacked by white nationalist protesters while livestreaming demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017.
Patrice told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that she was filming a group of marching protesters at a "Unite the Right" rally when three of the protesters assaulted her. She said that one protester knocked her camera to the ground, a second tried to grab it after she picked it up, and a third kicked her in the back of the shin to try to trip her. She said that the kick was forceful enough to bruise her bone.
Patrice, who is trans, said that many of the protesters also mocked her gender identity and appearance.
Later in the protest, she said, a wearing a "Traditionalist Worker Party" shirt grabbed her shoulders and threw her to the ground.
The witlessX livestream recorded a 'Unite the Right' protester grabbing Jen Patrice camera.
witlessX
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
