Producer Jack Keller arrested at Trump inauguration protest

Incident Details

Date of Incident: January 20, 2017
Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Targets: Jack Keller (Story of America)
Case number: 1:18-cv-00120
Case Status: Settled
Type of case: Class Action

Arrest Status: Arrested and released
Arresting Authority: Metropolitan Police Department
Charges: Rioting

Jan. 21, 2017: Charges pending

Jan. 30, 2017: Charges dropped
Detention Date: January 20, 2017
Release Date: January 21, 2017
Unnecessary use of force?: No

Equipment Seized: Camera, 1

Cellphone, 1
Status of Seized Equipment: Returned in full
Search Warrant Obtained: No

September 17, 2021 - Update

Journalist joins class-action suit alleging wrongful arrest; gets $4K

Journalist Jack Keller joined a class-action suit in January 2018 that alleged he was unlawfully arrested while covering protests at President Donald Trump’s 2017 Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C. He received a settlement payout of around $4,000 in September 2021.

In 2017, Keller was a producer of the web documentary series Story of America. He told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in February 2025 that just before his Jan. 20, 2017, arrest, he was documenting the actions of a group of militant demonstrators, as well as what Keller described as a “disproportionate” police response that included launching smoke grenades, flash grenades, pepper spray and tear gas at the protesters.

“I was ultimately kettled with the protestors being targeted” and arrested, he wrote to the Tracker. Keller and Story of America co-director Annabel Park told police repeatedly that he was press. “In all the chaos of getting everyone to lock up, however, they weren’t interested,” Keller said, and he was taken to jail three hours later.

Keller was held for 36 hours and charged with felony rioting, a charge that was later dropped on Jan. 30. His DSLR camera was returned, but his phone, which included video footage of the protest, remained in police custody. Two months later, Keller’s sister, who knew staff members at Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, connected Keller to a sergeant who got the phone and handed it to Keller on the street.

“No paperwork to fill out or explanation for it being confiscated and held,” Keller wrote to the Tracker. “It was strange. But I did get it back, and to my knowledge none of the footage had been manipulated or deleted.” The only damage to his equipment was residual pepper spray on his camera bag, he said.

Keller added that although the arrest didn’t deter him from his reporting work at the time, it continues to affect his life: “I am currently applying to law school, and I have to report on my Character & Fitness statement that I had felony rioting charges filed against me in 2017,” he wrote.

Keller confirmed that he later became part of the class-action lawsuit against the District of Columbia and a group of MPD officers. The suit alleged that the class-action members had been unlawfully arrested on Inauguration Day and held without access to food, water or bathrooms. The suit was settled in September 2021, and Keller received around $4,000.

“So there was at least a tacit admission of guilt and a minor financial penalty, but not the institutional accountability we would hope for,” Keller said.

“The lack of accountability following the J20 protests was incredibly disheartening,” he added. “I worry that this continued lack of accountability has lead to greater excesses in the tactics and uses of force our law enforcement officials utilize when dealing with the public. In turn, I worry this will result in a further chilling effect on our journalists, and the discretion they use in deciding which stories to cover.”

January 20, 2017

Jack Keller, producer of the web documentary series Story of America, was arrested on Jan. 20, 2017, while covering protests on the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration. Annabel Park, the co-director of the web series, confirmed that Keller was arrested and detained for 36 hours while covering the protest. He was returned his video camera after being released, but both the video and his cellphone remained in police custody.

He was charged with the highest level of offense under Washington D.C.’s law against rioting, which applies when there are injuries as a result of the activity or property damage in excess of $5,000, which can be punished by a maximum of 10 years in jail and fines of up to $25,000.

On Jan. 30, the charges against Keller were dropped.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].