Photographer arrested while filming pro-Palestinian protest at University of Texas

KTBC broadcast photographer Carlos Sanchez was charged with two new misdemeanor counts on April 30, 2024, following his arrest while documenting protests at the University of Texas at Austin the week prior, the station reported.

According to the local Fox affiliate, a previous felony “assault against a peace officer” charge was dropped, with the Texas Department of Public Safety detective investigating the incident acknowledging that the allegations did not rise to a felony offense.

E.G. “Gerry” Morris, an attorney representing Sanchez, told the Austin American-Statesman that they learned the felony charge had been dropped when Sanchez arrived at the jail on April 30 to turn himself in.

Two new misdemeanor counts — for assault against a peace officer and impeding a public servant — were filed against Sanchez soon after. Morris did not respond to a request for comment as of press time, and it was not immediately clear whether a new arrest warrant for Sanchez was issued.

In a thread posted on the social media platform X, Society of Professional Journalists President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins called the new misdemeanor charges “blatant retaliation and intimidation.”

“TX DPS is trying to make an example out this photographer to scare other journalists from covering these highly publicized protests on campuses across TX,” Blaize-Hopkins wrote. “What they are doing is unconstitutional and just plain vindictive.”

Editor’s Note: The incident data associated with this report has been updated to reflect that related charges filed against this journalist, stemming from an investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety, are documented separately here.

A photographer with TV station KTBC was charged on April 26, 2024, with the felony assault of a peace officer, the Austin American-Statesman reported, two days after he was arrested while filming a student protest at the University of Texas at Austin. The charge and associated arrest warrant were withdrawn three days later.

The photographer, identified as Carlos Sanchez by NBC affiliate KXAN-TV, was filming as Texas Department of Public Safety officers drove back a pro-Palestinian protest line on campus when he said he was pushed into a state trooper. Another officer immediately pulled him backward and threw him to the ground, arresting him. Sanchez was initially charged with criminal trespassing, but the charge was dismissed the following day.

The American-Statesman reported that the law enforcement agency then launched a criminal investigation into the incident. A warrant for Sanchez’s arrest on the second-degree felony charge was issued on April 26, after additional witnesses — including the trooper who was said to have been hit — were identified and additional footage obtained.

In a statement posted on social media, Society of Professional Journalists President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins wrote that the new charge was an act of intimidation and retaliation. “There will undoubtedly be a chilling effect on journalists who will cover this developing story, not just in Austin, but across TX,” Blaize-Hopkins wrote.

Freedom of the Press Foundation, which operates the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, condemned the assault charge as “unacceptable, authoritarian bullying.”

“Protests are newsworthy, and journalists need to be allowed to cover them and their aftermath, even when protesters are dispersed,” FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern wrote.

E.G. “Gerry” Morris, an attorney representing Sanchez, told the American-Statesman that they learned the charges had been dropped when Sanchez arrived at the jail on April 30 to turn himself in.

The trespassing charge against a KTBC photojournalist who was thrown to the ground and arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety officers was dismissed, KTBC reported on April 25, 2024.

The photographer, who was not named by the station, was filming members of law enforcement as they moved back a pro-Palestinian protest line at the University of Texas in Austin when he stumbled into a state trooper. Another officer then pulled him backward onto the ground and handcuffed him.

The photographer was booked at Travis County jail and charged with criminal trespassing; he was released the following morning, KTBC reported.

Sheridan Nolen, press secretary for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said in an email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that in multiple videos, the photographer “is seen hitting a DPS Trooper in front of him with his camera before fellow Troopers pull him back and take him to the ground to arrest him.”

Videos reviewed by the Tracker show the photographer being pushed or falling into the back of a trooper with his camera. It is not evident that he does so intentionally. The photographer said that he was pushed and did not hit the officer.

“While the department understands the need to be on-site, it is never acceptable to interfere with official police duties and assaulting an officer of the law – no matter the degree – will never be tolerated,” Nolen told the Tracker. “This case has now been turned over to DPS’ Criminal Investigations Division for further investigation.”

Nolen did not respond as of press time to a follow-up request for clarification after the dismissal of the photojournalist’s trespassing charge was reported.