Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- April 26, 2017
- Location
- Mount Juliet, Tennessee
- Targets
- Bob Stinnett (WTVF)
- Assailant
- Private individual
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Charges dropped against man who brandished an ax at WTVF photojournalist
All charges were dropped on May 22, 2017, against the man who charged three WTVF journalists while they were attempting to interview him in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, the Wilson County Clerk told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Photojournalist Bob Stinnett, reporter Ben Hall and producer Kevin Wisniewski visited the Nashville suburb in April 2017 to investigate claims that Jude Pischke had been living in an unoccupied house there for more than two years despite having no legal claims to the property.
Stinnett filmed Hall approaching Pischke to question him about the house; Pischke responded by refusing to answer his questions, demanding that the news crew leave and then charging toward Hall with an ax. Pischke then got into a vehicle and drove aggressively toward them, The Tennessean newspaper reported.
Pischke was later arrested by the Mount Juliet Police and charged with three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of reckless endangerment.
The Wilson County Clerk told the Tracker that the prosecutor declined to pursue charges against him, however, and the case was closed.
WTNV reported that prosecutors struck a deal with Pischke, requiring him to move out within two weeks from the house where the confrontation took place.
Photojournalist Bob Stinnett of NewsChannel 5 was assaulted on April 26, 2017, while reporting on an individual living in a vacant home in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
According to NewsChannel 5, Stinnett and reporter Ben Hall were investigating claims that the individual, Jude Pischke, had been living in an unoccupied house in a suburban Nashville neighborhood for more than two years despite not having any legal claims to the property. Hall, whose assault was documented here, confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Stinnett was with him at the time of the incident.
Video taken by Stinnett of the incident shows Hall approaching Pischke and questioning him about the house. Pischke demands that the reporter and news crew leave, then retrieves an ax from the bed of a pickup truck and charges toward the reporter.
As Stinnett and Hall back away from Pischke, Hall can be heard saying, “We’re backing up. We’re leaving right now,” as Pischke swung the ax toward the news crew’s feet.
The Tennessean reported that as the news crew rushed to leave, Pischke got into his vehicle and drove aggressively toward them. Police officers issued an arrest warrant for Pischke, and he was detained during a traffic stop later that same day. Pischke was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of reckless endangerment for assaulting the news crew.
The Tracker filed a public records request for the incident report with the Mt. Juliet Police Department, which was unfulfilled as of publication.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
