Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- August 3, 2019
- Location
- New Brunswick, New Jersey
- Assailant
- Private security
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
- Equipment Broken
- Actor
- Private security
Equipment Damage
![Screenshot via New Brunswick Today](https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Kratovil1.width-910.png)
While giving the keynote speech at an event in New Jersey, White House correspondent April Ryan is informed of video recording by a member of her private security (back to the camera). The camera was then confiscated.
Ryan speaks out; Hearing delayed to no-show
The private security guard who forcefully removed New Brunswick Today founder and editor Charlie Kratovil from an event was charged with harassment, assault and theft, according to an article published by The Daily Beast on Aug. 20, 2019.
In an Aug. 25 interview on CNN’s Reliable Sources, April Ryan spoke publicly about the incident. Ryan told host Brian Stelter that no permission had been asked for or granted for filming the event.
Ryan referred to Joel Morris, the private security guard involved in the alleged assault, as her “then-bodyguard” and “former bodyguard,” making it clear in the interview that she had terminated the contract with the security company because Morris “broke protocol by leaving her in the room” during the incident.
Ryan reiterated to Stelter that she receives death threats, and said she assumed Morris was acting out of concern for her safety.
Kratovil told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he attended a Sept. 16 hearing for the assault charges in New Brunswick, New Jersey, but that Morris was not in attendance so the matter did not move forward.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include details of the charges against Joel Morris.
Charlie Kratovil, founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, filed a police report alleging assault by a private security guard after being forcibly removed from covering an event on Aug. 3, 2019.
The NBT news team was invited to cover an education summit hosted by the non-profit Project Ready. Kratovil was covering the event on behalf of a reporter who could not, he tweeted, and planned to record the gala ceremonies and post the video to the outlet’s YouTube channel without any editing. Kratovil said he was there for the keynote speech, given by White House correspondent and CNN analyst April Ryan.
Kratovil told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that when he checked in and set up his camera at about 6:45 p.m., the public relations officials did not inform him that there would be any limitations or restrictions on filming the proceedings. Kratovil said that he was able to film the first hour and a half of the event without issue.
When Rep. Donald Payne took the stage to introduce Ryan at approximately 8:30 p.m., Kratovil tweeted, he was approached by a man who said he was “with the speaker,” and asked Kratovil to identify himself. He did so and said he had received approval to cover the event. The man left, Kratovil wrote, but returned and threatened to “take down” his camera if Kratovil did not do so himself.
Kratovil refused.
Over the next several minutes, Kratovil debated with the man, later identified as Ryan’s private security guard Joel Morris, and several public relations officials who began to gather around his table, according to his account.
“I maintained a firm position re: video recording, saying I wouldn’t take action until I could get more info on the man who threatened to mess w/ my camera,” Kratovil tweeted. “I told them ‘If he doesn’t give me his name & tell me on the record why I can’t [video], I’m not turning off the camera.’”
In Kratovil’s video, security guard Morris can be seen approaching Ryan onstage, who pauses her speaking, appears to look at Kratovil’s camera and nods. Ryan remains silent as Morris then walks towards Kratovil’s camera, grabs it and walks off.
In the video, which keeps recording, Ryan resumes speaking as Morris grabs the camera and is heard trying to explain the interruption. “When I speak, I don’t have news covering my speech,” Ryan said, adding that she wanted to have an “unfettered conversation with you all.”
However, New Brunswick-based reporter Chuck O’Donnell from TAPInto, a network of local news websites, was allowed to remain in the room.
Kratovil told the Tracker that he quickly gathered up his belongings and followed after Morris.
According to a police report about the incident filed by Kratovil, Morris walked to the front lobby and turned over Kratovil’s camera to the security staff at the hotel’s front desk. The camera was shortly returned to Kratovil.
Kratovil shared with the Tracker a surveillance recording from the lobby that shows Kratovil holding his camera and moving away from Morris. In the video, Kratovil can be heard saying, “This guy is chasing me.” Morris quickly moves around behind him, and appears to grab and twist Kratovil’s left arm behind his back while pushing him out of the frame.
The police report noted the injury.
“According to Kratovil,” Officer Ryan Daughton wrote in the police report, “the privately hired Security Guard utilized some kind of compliance hold and subsequently caused pain to Kratovil’s left wrist. I offered Kratovil medical attention and he refused the same.”
Kratovil told the Tracker that he ended up seeking care at an urgent care a few days after the incident, where they advised him to treat his shoulder injury as a sprain. He said he plans to press charges.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].