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{
"title": "Multiple reporters denied G20 summit credentials by Treasury Department",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-reporters-denied-g20-summit-credentials-by-treasury-department/",
"first_published_at": "2026-09-03T18:57:12.216000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-04T15:30:09.460762Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-04T15:30:09.315461Z",
"date": "2026-08-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Asheville",
"longitude": -82.55402,
"latitude": 35.60095,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3ipls\">Journalists for several major and local news outlets had their requests for credentials to cover a Group of 20 summit in Asheville, North Carolina, denied without explanation by the Treasury Department in August 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"40pfs\">Finance ministers, central bank governors and other senior officials from the world’s largest economies gathered from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 to discuss issues ranging from global market volatility and inflation to the U.S.-Iran war. Alan Rappeport of The New York Times and Matt Grossman of The Wall Street Journal had both sought credentials to cover the summit but were rebuffed, the <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/29/business/reporters-denied-g20-meeting.html\">Times reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gop3\"><a href=\"https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/us-treasury-bars-reporters-from-several-outlets-from-g20-meeting\">According to Bloomberg News</a>, its reporters based in the U.S., France, Italy, Japan and China were all denied credentials as well. It added that while German officials successfully lobbied for accreditation for Times reporter Jim Tankersley, they were unable to secure the same for a Bloomberg reporter traveling with German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil.</p><p data-block-key=\"3a391\">“I consider it unacceptable that journalists or entire news organizations are excluded. I have also made that clear, we have repeatedly made that clear in recent days,” Klingbeil told reporters on the second day of the summit. “I hope that there will be movement on this in the future.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8mek0\">The local not-for-profit newsroom Asheville Watchdog <a href=\"https://avlwatchdog.org/watchdog-other-selected-media-denied-access-to-cover-g20-finance-summit-in-asheville/\">reported</a> that it too was denied credentials without explanation, and the managing editor for the free weekly Mountain Xpress told the Watchdog that their request went unanswered.</p><p data-block-key=\"coevk\">“Shutting selected journalists out of the G20 is another example of this administration trying to control coverage and penalize news organizations for reporting that is accurate and protected by the First Amendment,” Watchdog Editor-in-Chief Michael Stowe said in a statement.</p><p data-block-key=\"2to8l\">A Treasury Department spokesperson told the Times that it was welcoming “nearly 300 members of the media from approximately a dozen countries” and highlighted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would participate in numerous media engagements during the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"cdjhh\">“Members of the media will have a high level of access to policymakers throughout the event,” the spokesperson added, “and with that access comes a responsibility to report factual information consistent with established journalistic standards.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5kv1k\">While the department did not offer an explanation for the exclusion of reporters from the Times, Journal and Bloomberg, Bessent told <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/g20-treasury-journalists-blocked-89e4fe117db8356562b811af1ada8242\">The Associated Press</a> “it has nothing to do with point of view.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2rgc6\">In a statement to the AP, the Times said that the refusal was “not just another disturbing effort by the administration to undermine independent journalism, but a blatant attempt to evade public scrutiny.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ujuh\">“Excluding specific reporters and entire news organizations is a disservice to the public and an assault on press freedoms that we strongly condemn,” it continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"e0rqv\">A spokesperson for Bloomberg similarly condemned the denials, telling the news outlet that it “undermines media freedom and public accountability.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4qafk\">“We will continue to advocate for full press access while reporting fairly and accurately on proceedings,” the spokesperson added.</p><p data-block-key=\"45mlf\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include details of the exclusion of reporters from additional outlets based in Asheville, North Carolina, from the G20 summit.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2kgk6\">U.S. Coast Guard and other law enforcement officers hold a checkpoint on Aug. 29, 2026, outside an Asheville, North Carolina, inn where finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries are meeting.</p>",
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"Asheville Watchdog",
"Bloomberg News"
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"Federal government: Agency"
],
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"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Alan Rappeport (The New York Times)",
"Matt Grossman (The Wall Street Journal)"
],
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"Press credential or media list"
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},
{
"title": "FCC Chair Brendan Carr targets news outlets",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-targets-news-outlets/",
"first_published_at": "2026-03-16T19:53:37.411000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-01T19:45:36.619978Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-01T19:47:36.428881Z",
"date": "2026-08-18",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ttem9\">As President Donald Trump’s second term continued in 2026, his Federal Communications Commission chair, Brendan Carr, took steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration critically. We’re documenting Carr’s efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"4vslk\">Also read about <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/brendan-carr-targets-news-outlets-as-chair-of-the-fcc/\">Carr’s efforts in 2025</a>, and how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage</a> and more.</p><p data-block-key=\"2jglf\"><i>This article was first published on March 16, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ttem9\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"1pbra\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Aug 18\">Aug. 18, 2026 | ABC sues FCC for ‘retaliatory campaign’ over unfavorable coverage</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 22\">July 22, 2026 | FCC says ABC license reviews to consider decision not to broadcast Trump speech</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#April 28\">April 28, 2026 | FCC orders early license renewal applications from ABC-owned stations</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#March 14\">March 14, 2026 | FCC chair threatens licenses of broadcasters for Iran war coverage</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ttem9\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"19vq8\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Aug 18\" name=\"Aug 18\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"aj4iu\">Aug. 18, 2026 | ABC sues FCC for ‘retaliatory campaign’ over unfavorable coverage</h4><p data-block-key=\"cjeo\">Disney, the parent company of ABC, sued the Federal Communications Commission and its commissioners on Aug. 18, 2026, alleging that the agency was waging a retaliatory campaign against the broadcaster in violation of the First Amendment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7midq\">In a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.295648/gov.uscourts.dcd.295648.1.0_1.pdf\">complaint</a> filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., attorneys for ABC alleged that, since the earliest days of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has carried out a sustained attack to punish and pressure the news outlet over coverage he deemed unfair.</p><p data-block-key=\"4f5ve\">The FCC, under the leadership of Brendan Carr, has pursued <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/brendan-carr-targets-news-outlets-as-chair-of-the-fcc/#Jan%2022\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/brendan-carr-targets-news-outlets-as-chair-of-the-fcc/#March%2027\">investigations</a> into Disney and ABC, most recently demanding all stations owned by the broadcaster submit <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-targets-news-outlets/#April%2028\">license renewal applications</a>, despite the process being at least two years premature for each.</p><p data-block-key=\"eumi5\">“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech—the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air,” the complaint said. “For months, the Administration has steadily increased the pressure on ABC, culminating in the present threat to the broadcasting licenses of the eight ABC Owned Stations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"32g66\">Attorneys for ABC highlighted that early license reviews are nearly unprecedented, and the FCC has never demanded simultaneous early renewal applications for all stations owned by a single network.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ioj5\">“The Commission’s true target is not the Stations’ employment practices or their carriage of a single presidential address; it is the content of Plaintiffs’ programming—and thus their speech,” the complaint argued, referencing an address Trump gave July 16. “Because the Commission cannot regulate that content directly, it has used its review of the Stations’ licenses as an instrument to the same end.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jjjj\">“If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c3srv\">The suit calls for the court to determine that the FCC’s actions amount to First Amendment retaliation and to bar the commission from further action related to the early license renewal applications and from using threats or coercion to influence ABC’s editorial decisions.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"July 22\" name=\"July 22\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"mx4uo\">July 22, 2026 | FCC says ABC license reviews to consider decision not to broadcast Trump speech</h4><p data-block-key=\"b6rpp\">Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said July 22, 2026, that the agency will consider ABC’s decision to not air a speech by President Donald Trump as part of its early review of the licenses for the eight TV stations the broadcaster owns.</p><p data-block-key=\"47g9k\">The FCC ordered the stations to apply for license renewals in April, at least two years before any of them were scheduled to expire, as part of investigations “for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3h6od\">Trump gave a <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5896448/trump-election-address\">primetime address</a> July 16, in which he repeated his long-standing allegations that the U.S. elections in 2018 and 2020 had been “rigged and stolen” without offering evidence to support those claims. He also <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/us/politics/trump-speech-television-networks.html\">called out</a> both ABC and NBC News for opting not to air the speech live, and said that they should lose their broadcast licenses as a result.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tfm9\">During the FCC’s <a href=\"https://youtu.be/n8TdKY6m3S0?t=4914\">Open Commission Meeting</a> the following week, Carr said that ABC’s decision will be raised amid proceedings over whether its stations have been operating in the public interest.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tisa\">“I think that when you have the president of the United States standing inside the White House delivering an important speech, I think that’s something that broadcasters should be carrying,” Carr said. “We’re going to hold all broadcasters to the public interest obligations, and we’re always looking to make sure that they’re doing exactly that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3g4fa\">Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democratic commissioner, <a href=\"https://youtu.be/n8TdKY6m3S0?t=6056\">pushed back</a> on Carr’s assertion that broadcasters have an obligation to air presidential speeches.</p><p data-block-key=\"f4qp2\">“The FCC has no authority to punish broadcasters for exercising their First Amendment right to choose what is newsworthy,” Gomez said. “It is not for the FCC to tell broadcasters how to make their editorial decisions or what content to place on their networks or their local broadcast stations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a6ro7\">ABC <a href=\"https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/26110068342/1\">filed an opposition</a> to the reviews July 29, asserting that the proceedings are “extraordinary and unprecedented.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fg20k\">“The FCC has spent the last 18 months searching for some pretext for revoking the Stations’ licenses. The Commission has found none,” attorneys for the broadcaster wrote. “The Commission has nonetheless pursued ABC on multiple fronts—which a bipartisan group of former FCC Commissioners has condemned as ‘an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process.’</p><p data-block-key=\"6ka6u\">“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"April 28\" name=\"April 28\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"3o3ah\"><b>April 28, 2026 | FCC orders early license renewal applications from ABC-owned stations</b></p><p data-block-key=\"167pc\">The Federal Communications Commission ordered The Walt Disney Company on April 28, 2026, to apply for license renewals for all of its ABC TV stations, two years or more before licenses for any of the eight stations were scheduled to expire. The order mandated that the stations comply by May 28.</p><p data-block-key=\"984rk\">The FCC’s order cited its investigations of the stations “for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC’s rules, including the agency’s prohibition on unlawful discrimination,” indicating the order was connected to FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/brendan-carr-targets-news-outlets-as-chair-of-the-fcc/#March%2027\">probe</a> into the company’s promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.</p><p data-block-key=\"8fd7i\">But observers have speculated that the move was a <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/04/29/nx-s1-5803567/fcc-orders-early-license-renewals-for-abc-stations-after-criticism-from-trump\">response</a> to President Donald Trump’s call for ABC to fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel, host of the late-night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”</p><p data-block-key=\"r2m7\">Kimmel had joked on his April 23 telecast that first lady Melania Trump had “the glow of an expectant widow,” a remark he later explained was a reference to the age difference with the president, who turns 80 in June (she is 56).</p><p data-block-key=\"44o8u\">Two days after the remark, at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by the president and first lady, a man armed with guns and knives <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-evacuated-white-house-correspondents-dinner-security-incident/\">ran past security</a> and was apprehended. He was <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/suspect-white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooting-charged-attempt-assassinate-president\">charged</a> with attempting to assassinate the president.</p><p data-block-key=\"55l3m\">Then, on April 27, Trump, who has <a href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114897600777919524\">criticized</a> Kimmel <a href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115222372625104790\">extensively</a>, <a href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116477838570626860\">called</a> for the comedian’s termination on social media, saying the widow joke was “beyond the pale.” The next day, the FCC issued its order to Disney.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ihmi\">Carr has also criticized Kimmel, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/business/media/abc-jimmy-kimmel.html\">suggesting</a> in September 2025 the FCC might take action against ABC in response to comments by Kimmel about the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. ABC then <a href=\"https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a67950912/jimmy-kimmel-suspended-abc-charlie-kirk-comments-explained/\">suspended</a> Kimmel’s show for six days.</p><p data-block-key=\"3bsae\">In response to the April 2026 order, Disney <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fcc-disney-abc-early-license-renewal-jimmy-kimmel-dei/\">told</a> CBS News, “We are confident that the record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2n17q\">The Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, condemned the FCC’s order.</p><p data-block-key=\"2653h\">“The First Amendment and the FCC’s mandate do not permit the agency to use broadcast licenses as weapons to punish broadcasters for constitutionally protected content they air,” FPF’s Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said. “This is nothing but illegal jawboning intended to intimidate ABC into kissing the ring.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"March 14\" name=\"March 14\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ttem9\"><b>March 14, 2026 | FCC chair threatens licenses of broadcasters for Iran war coverage</b></p><p data-block-key=\"ckhdh\">Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on March 14, 2026, threatened broadcasters with the loss of their licenses for what he characterized as “running hoaxes and news distortions” in their accounts of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.</p><p data-block-key=\"5s57v\">In a social media <a href=\"https://x.com/brendancarrfcc/status/2032855414233047172?s=46&t=cupRzX3UnU15_MPKyWvF6g\">post</a>, Carr quoted a screenshot of a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump, in which the president alleged that The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and “other Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media” want the U.S. to lose the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-03-16-2026\">war with Iran</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eeaa8\">Although Trump did not mention any TV news outlets by name, Carr noted, “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” The FCC chair then added that those broadcasters “have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. <br><br>The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they… <a href=\"https://t.co/7bBgnsbalw\">https://t.co/7bBgnsbalw</a></p>— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/2032855414233047172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 14, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ttem9\">“The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves,” he continued. “It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8kn89\">According to the <a href=\"https://www.fcc.gov/broadcast-news-distortion\">FCC</a>, while over-the-air local broadcast television stations are subject to the agency’s jurisdiction with respect to “news distortion,” newspapers are not.</p><p data-block-key=\"ck449\">In a Truth Social <a href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116235861005528220\">post</a> the next day, Trump said he was “thrilled” to see that Carr was looking into the licenses of “some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ces97\">Trump added: “They get Billions of Dollars of FREE American Airwaves, and use it to perpetuate LIES, both in News and almost all of their Shows, including the Late Night Morons, who get gigantic Salaries for horrible Ratings, and never get, as I used to say in The Apprentice, ‘FIRED.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"bobq3\">In a March 16 <a href=\"https://x.com/AGomezFCC/status/2033615599864013019\">statement</a>, Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, noted that the agency “licenses local broadcast stations, not networks, and no licenses are up for renewal until 2028.” She added that Carr’s threats “are grounded in neither reality nor law and would not survive judicial scrutiny, just as other recent attempts by this Administration to push beyond constitutional limits have repeatedly failed in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dedlg\">“The concern over the chilling effect of these actions, however, is very real,” she said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"obh49\">Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr testifies at a House hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2026.</p>",
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"Chilling Statement"
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{
"title": "Markwayne Mullin targets press as secretary of homeland security",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/markwayne-mullin-targets-press-as-secretary-of-homeland-security/",
"first_published_at": "2026-08-05T15:57:22.565000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-26T20:44:49.613910Z",
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"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"07hjk\">Upon replacing Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security, Markwayne Mullin joined President Donald Trump in taking steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Mullin’s efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"obdd\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">Read about</a> how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more.</p><p data-block-key=\"jmo\"><i>This article was first published on Aug. 5, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"07hjk\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"8r7dm\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Aug 18\">Aug. 18, 2026 | Media union sues DHS over changes to journalist visa rules</a></p>\r\n<div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 16\">July 16, 2026 | DHS secretary announces new visa limits for foreign journalists</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"07hjk\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"8r7dm\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Aug 18\" name=\"Aug 18\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"r462n\">Aug. 18, 2026 | Media union sues DHS over changes to journalist visa rules</h4><p data-block-key=\"29b7i\">The NewsGuild-CWA, the largest union representing media workers in the United States, joined a lawsuit on Aug. 18, 2026, against the Department of Homeland Security over new visa restrictions the agency has imposed on foreign journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"9hjrc\">DHS announced July 16 that it would <a href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/17/2026-14439/establishing-a-fixed-time-period-of-admission-and-an-extension-of-stay-procedure-for-nonimmigrant\">curtail visas for foreign journalists in the U.S</a>., which could previously last years, to just 240 days, and those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days.</p><p data-block-key=\"6u1qv\">The changes were part of a broader elimination of the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists, students and exchange visitors to remain in the U.S. as long as they meet eligibility requirements.</p><p data-block-key=\"1so45\">The <a href=\"https://newsguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DS-Complaint-Presidents-Alliance-et-al-v.-DHS.pdf\">lawsuit</a>, filed with associations representing universities, as well as unions for education and autoworkers, alleges that the new rule was set arbitrarily and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiffs asked for a preliminary injunction halting its implementation.</p><p data-block-key=\"995am\">The complaint names DHS and its Secretary Markwayne Mullin, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its acting Director David Venturella as defendants.</p><p data-block-key=\"8mdef\">In <a href=\"https://newsguild.org/guild-joins-suit-challenging-visas-affecting-foreign-journalists-and-others/\">announcing</a> the suit, NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss wrote, “These rule changes are just another attempt by this administration to chill reporting done by talented journalists.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"July 16\" name=\"July 16\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"07hjk\">July 16, 2026 | DHS secretary announces new visa limits for foreign journalists</h4><p data-block-key=\"1v571\">The Department of Homeland Security <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/07/16/trump-administration-issues-final-rule-end-foreign-student-visa-abuse\">announced</a> on July 16, 2026, that it would curtail visas for foreign journalists in the U.S. to 240 days, instead of years, and those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days.</p><p data-block-key=\"6pnoj\">The <a href=\"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-14439.pdf\">new rule</a> specifically eliminates the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists, students and exchange visitors to remain in the United States as long as they meet eligibility requirements.</p><p data-block-key=\"8cf7f\">DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin condemned the system as outdated, asserting that it had “compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4kvch\">“By implementing clear, finite limits on these visas, the United States is reclaiming its ability to properly screen, vet, and monitor individuals within our borders,” Mullin continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfi3d\">The policy change — specifically its changes to the nonimmigrant I visa for foreign journalists — was met with immediate condemnation from press freedom advocates.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ms0u\">“This change destroys international journalists’ ability to report from the US and makes it extremely difficult for international outlets to operate here at all,” <a href=\"https://rsf.org/en/us-imposes-sweeping-visa-restrictions-foreign-journalists-hindering-global-coverage-american?mc_cid=8e1149008c&mc_eid=77c7adaa85\">wrote</a> Ben Grazda, advocacy manager for Reporters Without Borders. “Not only does this impose unnecessary personal, legal, and financial burdens on journalists and their outlets, but it also represents yet another sanction on the press by the Trump administration and the unaccountable Department of Homeland Security. The relentless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom, as journalists will feel compelled to avoid drawing the administration’s ire, lest their applications be rejected.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3bjb6\">Jose Zamora, Americas regional director at the Committee to Protect Journalists, <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2026/07/cpj-condemns-trump-administration-rule-restricting-international-correspondents-access-to-the-united-states/\">called</a> it “the behavior of a backsliding democracy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6vc3r\">The rule is scheduled to go into effect Sept. 15, and China’s Foreign Ministry has already called the policy discriminatory and warned that it may take retaliatory action, The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/journalist-visas-trump-administration-china-357189fdffc55daecbc2585c4276a6cc\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7j7n3\">In 2020, DHS announced 90-day restrictions on visas for Chinese journalists as part of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/state-department-classifies-five-chinese-state-run-outlets-as-foreign-missions/\">at least eight months of escalations</a> between the U.S. and China, with journalists in the middle. The restrictions were ultimately <a href=\"https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-21898.pdf\">loosened</a> when President Joe Biden took office.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-06-03T151455Z_612530026_RC2E.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qgr5q\">Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies before the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:26-cv-13799",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed by federal officers at immigration protest in LA",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-by-federal-officers-at-immigration-protest-in-la/",
"first_published_at": "2026-08-13T17:06:15.414279Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-13T17:06:45.441248Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-08-13T17:06:45.307552Z",
"date": "2026-08-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"lb67c\">Independent photojournalist Steven Berumen was shoved by Department of Homeland Security officers during a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 9, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"61ji\">The protest was held outside the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being confined. Regular demonstrations against immigration raids have taken place in and around LA since <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/article/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">June 2025</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7uqtp\">Berumen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was wearing a National Press Photographers Association badge while documenting the protest. As federal authorities left the facility, DHS officers began pushing the crowd back to clear the driveway. Berumen said federal officers deliberately pushed him, but the force was not enough to knock him down or hurt him.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvi98\">“It was like a gut punch,” he said. “It felt localized to my stomach; that’s where they targeted me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2dldk\">As DHS pushed him aside, they arrested a protester standing nearby, which Berumen continued documenting.</p><p data-block-key=\"5cjjv\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 24, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"dsd2j\">“We remind members of the media and the public to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/DHS_push.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"rxd18\">Federal officers push back people at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 9, 2026. Independent photographer Steven Berumen was shoved while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Steven Berumen (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter confronted by police at his home in New York",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-confronted-by-police-at-his-home-in-new-york/",
"first_published_at": "2026-08-26T19:29:10.883383Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-26T19:29:10.883383Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-08-26T19:29:10.747219Z",
"date": "2026-08-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Malone",
"longitude": -74.2949,
"latitude": 44.84866,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fqohz\">After JB Nicholas reported on a pickup truck that struck and seriously injured a cyclist in Malone, New York, three police officers knocked on his door just after midnight on Aug. 2, 2026, and told him to stop contacting the driver’s family.</p><p data-block-key=\"1fj8d\">“The family that you’re messaging, that was involved in the accident,” a police sergeant told him, according to body camera footage. “You need to not message them anymore.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Body-camera video of Police in Malone, NY knocking on a reporter's home at Midnight and threatening to arrest him--me--for reporting. <br><br>READ MORE HERE <a href=\"https://t.co/bguYsHTgut\">https://t.co/bguYsHTgut</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/t5rZoSJyL7\">pic.twitter.com/t5rZoSJyL7</a></p>— JB Nicholas (@JasonBNicholas) <a href=\"https://x.com/JasonBNicholas/status/2087928421733064858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fqohz\">The sergeant warned Nicholas that the family would pursue charges if he continued contacting them. Nicholas replied that the family had contacted him first, asking him to take down his reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"e5ror\">As the officer turned to leave, he commented that Nicholas’ story “was nothing but a huge lie.”</p><p data-block-key=\"t7q4\">Nicholas, who runs the online outlet <a href=\"https://www.thefreelancenews.org/home/police-knock-on-reporters-door-at-midnight-to-threaten-to-arrest-him-for-reporting\">The Free Lance News</a>, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the late-night visit followed an earlier confrontation between him and police at the nearby <a href=\"https://www.thefreelancenews.org/home/new-details-emerge-in-duane-street-crash\">crash scene.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"cm3c\">“When you put it all together, it totally looks like an attempt to bully or scare a reporter into not covering a criminal investigation literally in my own backyard,” Nicholas said.</p><p data-block-key=\"gt4p\">Nicholas rushed to the site after hearing about the crash. Police told him the crash could be fatal and ordered him away from the scene, according to a video he posted on X.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">People wonder why the "news media" sucks, especially in small town areas. This is one of the reasons why. Generally speaking, police hate the press. Like these Malone Village cops and this New York State Trooper telling a reporter to get lost at the scene of an accident. <a href=\"https://t.co/Z4rbs5cu7L\">pic.twitter.com/Z4rbs5cu7L</a></p>— JB Nicholas (@JasonBNicholas) <a href=\"https://x.com/JasonBNicholas/status/2083789433644474638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"fqohz\">“Mind your business,” one of the officers said in the video.</p><p data-block-key=\"50kvo\">Nicholas replied, “I have a right to observe police activity in a public space.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ben6v\">Nicholas told the Tracker that the sergeant who later came to his home also told witnesses at the scene not to speak with him and said he was not a “real journalist.” Nicholas was wearing a press credential at the time.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ja95\">After police blocked him from the scene, Nicholas interviewed witnesses about the crash. One told him <a href=\"https://www.thefreelancenews.org/home/man-riding-bicycle-hit-by-pick-up-in-malone-may-dienbsp\">the driver had struck the cyclist intentionally</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"fskvf\">After the report was published, the driver’s parents demanded Nicholas take down the story. He refused. Hours later, police went to his home.</p><p data-block-key=\"4fcuv\">Nicholas later defended his reporting in <a href=\"https://www.thefreelancenews.org/home/journalist-under-attack\">a video</a> posted to The Free Lance News. “Even if I did call him, that’d be a legitimate exercise of journalism. And the police don’t have any right to interfere with it in Malone, New York, or anywhere else.”</p><p data-block-key=\"vgpl\">In a Facebook comment, the Malone Police Department wrote that they received a harassment complaint from an involved party. “We made contact with you as a result of that, not because of your reports,” the department wrote, according to the video.</p><p data-block-key=\"dodsm\">“These are the kind of things that should not be happening in America,” Nicholas told the Tracker. “You interfere with my reporting, you interfere with my ability to gather facts, and then show up at my door at midnight.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/PFT_header_images_15.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1q01m\">A screengrab of a police officer knocking on JB Nicholas’ door in the early hours of Aug. 2, 2026, after he reported on a crash in Malone, New York.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"JB Nicholas (The Free Lance News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth targets news outlets, leakers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-17T18:03:13.887000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-09T15:47:57.816544Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-09T15:47:40.117257Z",
"date": "2026-08-01",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Arlington",
"longitude": -77.10428,
"latitude": 38.88101,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\">As the second year of President Donald Trump’s second term began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Hegseth’s efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"thla\">Read about Hegseth’s efforts in 2025 to chill coverage <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">here</a>, and how Trump’s other appointees and allies in Congress are striving to intimidate reporters, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4outl\"><i>This article was first published on Feb. 17, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"8jq7u\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#August\">August 2026 | Pentagon carries out unprecedented polygraphing of Joint Staff in leak investigation</a></p> \r\n<p><a href=\"#July 13\">July 13, 2026 | Pentagon, DOJ launch joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers</a></p> \r\n<p><a href=\"#June 25\">June 25, 2026 | Fired Stars and Stripes ombudsman sues Defense Department</a></p> \r\n<p><a href=\"#June 3\">June 3, 2026 | Lawsuit alleges Pentagon is censoring military newspaper</a></p> \r\n<p><a href=\"#March 9\">March 9, 2026 | Pentagon sets increased oversight, content limits for military newspaper <i>(updated)</i></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 15\">Jan. 15, 2026 | Defense Department announces overhaul of military newspaper, calling it ‘woke’</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"bm868\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"August\" name=\"August\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"qqjx1\">August 2026 | Pentagon carries out unprecedented polygraphing of Joint Staff in leak investigation</h4><p data-block-key=\"1s32u\">The Pentagon polygraphed approximately 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff in August 2026 as part of an investigation into the sources behind recent reporting on the nation’s dwindling weapons stockpiles.</p><p data-block-key=\"73jfo\">The polygraph tests, first <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/us/politics/pentagon-staff-polygraph-tests.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\">reported</a> by The New York Times, were administered to both military officers and civilian employees of the senior military advisory body that helps the president and defense secretary make decisions about U.S. military strategy and operations. They were asked about general disclosures to the press, as well as the depletion of crucial munitions amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.</p><p data-block-key=\"90u11\">In a statement to the Times, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4b6ra\">“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” he continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"epcmk\">The investigation followed not only <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers/#July%2013\">the announcement</a> of the Pentagon and Justice Department’s joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers, but also President Donald Trump’s <a href=\"https://taps.pressfreedomtracker.us/post/b7580759710d/\">post on Truth Social</a> disputing the reports of the munition shortages.</p><p data-block-key=\"302v1\">“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down,” he wrote. “Long term jail sentences will be sought!”</p><p data-block-key=\"74nk9\">According to the Times, mass polygraphing of senior military officials is unprecedented in modern history, and appears intended not only to identify leakers but also to deter others from doing the same.</p><p data-block-key=\"9nn6k\">Pentagon <a href=\"https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/521091p.pdf\">guidelines</a> for polygraphing employees require investigators conducting counterintelligence examinations to have interviewed the subject, reasonably believe they have relevant knowledge or involvement, pursued other investigative avenues as thoroughly as possible and determined that a polygraph is essential.</p><p data-block-key=\"ae7c3\">CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-military-officials-polygraphs-leaks-pentagon-weapons-hegseth-trump/\">reported</a> that none of the targeted staff members failed the polygraph.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"July 13\" name=\"July 13\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"qqjx1\">July 13, 2026 | Pentagon, DOJ launch joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers</h4><p data-block-key=\"1s32u\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on July 13, 2026, that he and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/todd-blanche-targets-press-leakers-as-acting-attorney-general/\">acting Attorney General Todd Blanche</a> have created a joint task force to expedite the identification and prosecution of those leaking to the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"9g17m\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/SecWar/status/2076673841913344136\">video posted to social media</a>, Hegseth said that the Defense Department’s Office of General Counsel had been given the authority “to request and receive all information, records and support across the department concerning media leak investigations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"53jb0\">He added that all department components and personnel will be expected to prioritize the OGC’s requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qolj\">“Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law,” Hegseth said.</p><p data-block-key=\"aakqk\">Neither the Justice Department nor Blanche made their own public announcements of the joint task force, and they did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"75ccv\">The announcement came just days after the Justice Department subpoenaed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-10&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times\">multiple New York Times reporters</a>, seeking grand jury testimony “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ah3iv\">The journalists, citing sources who only agreed to speak if kept anonymous, had reported that the Secret Service urged President Donald Trump to revert to the old Air Force One because the new, Qatari-donated aircraft lacks the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"c218n\">When asked about the subpoenas, a Justice Department spokesperson <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html\">told the Times</a> that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8j1hd\">The task force is the latest effort to root out leakers undertaken by the Pentagon under Hegseth’s leadership.</p><p data-block-key=\"f1h2s\">In October 2025, the department <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/#Oct%201\">announced plans</a> to require all employees within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff to sign nondisclosure agreements, and to subject them to random polygraph testing.</p><p data-block-key=\"bf6jf\">The Defense Department has also issued multiple rounds of new press restrictions — <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-restricts-journalists-access-inside-pentagon/#update-1009\">compelling journalists to pledge</a> not to solicit unapproved information, mandating they have escorts inside the building and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pentagon-responds-to-court-ruling-with-new-press-access-restrictions/\">moving their offices</a> into a separate annex — intended to prevent any future “unauthorized disclosure.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"June 25\" name=\"June 25\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"qtkwm\">June 25, 2026 | Fired Stars and Stripes ombudsman sues Defense Department</h4><p data-block-key=\"e6cam\">Jacqueline Smith, the former ombudsman for the military news outlet Stars and Stripes, sued the Department of Defense on June 25, 2026, alleging that her firing in April was in retaliation for her criticism of the Pentagon’s new restrictions on the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ff9i\">She was hired in December 2023 for a three-year term as ombudsman, a position charged by Congress with defending the outlet’s editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"2huqm\">But according to <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.293839/gov.uscourts.dcd.293839.1.0.pdf\">the complaint</a>, Smith was fired 10 days after publishing an April 8 <a href=\"https://www.stripes.com/opinion/2026-04-08/stripes-ombudsman-bring-back-color-comics-21317857.html\">op-ed</a> in Stars and Stripes that criticized the DOD and various officials within the department. Her piece took aim at their efforts to increase oversight and take over editorial decision-making at the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"84unv\">Smith’s suit argues she was terminated “for telling the public the truth: That Defendants were working to undermine Stripes’ editorial independence as part of a broader effort to control and neuter the mainstream media’s ability to report on matters of national security and public interest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5dpi9\">The complaint — which names Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg and chief spokesman Sean Parnell — alleges First Amendment retaliation against Smith and asks the court to grant an injunction to restore her as ombudsman until the conclusion of her term.</p><p data-block-key=\"5kbvc\">The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"244r\">Smith’s suit came less than a month after two journalists on the advisory board for Stars and Stripes filed their own lawsuit against the department and the same officials. That complaint alleges that the department’s “modernization” efforts, put into effect in March, violate the paper’s First Amendment press freedom rights and federal law.</p><p data-block-key=\"5al65\">Parnell <a href=\"https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2062279338582552631?s=20\">wrote</a> on social media at the time that the DOD was aware of that case. “The lawsuit is without merit, and the Department expects to prevail,” he continued.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"June 3\" name=\"June 3\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"hdzd8\">June 3, 2026 | Lawsuit alleges Pentagon is censoring military newspaper</h4><p data-block-key=\"bbsfp\">Two journalists who serve on the advisory board of the military news outlet Stars and Stripes filed a federal lawsuit against the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and two senior Department of Defense officials on June 3, 2026. The suit alleges that the department’s “modernization” efforts violate the paper’s First Amendment press freedom rights and federal law, and asks a judge to strike down a March 2026 memo that put the changes into effect.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ub0l\">In the March memo, the DOD laid out plans to expand military oversight of the newspaper, while maintaining that Stars and Stripes will continue to “operate with editorial independence.” But <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/14/nx-s1-5748020/pentagon-tightens-controls-over-stars-and-stripes-after-calling-it-woke\">directives included</a> barring the outlet from republishing wire content and shifting the outlet’s ombudsman position from an independent congressional adviser to one operating within the military chain of command.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mi7l\">The lawsuit was filed by Susan “Suki” Dardarian, former editor of The Minnesota Star Tribune, and Bill Church, executive editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kjfp\">“The changes that have been forced upon Stripes are a disservice to a global military audience that has relied on this First Amendment-protected and Congressionally backed institution for generations,” Church said in a <a href=\"https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/in-fight-for-freedom-of-speech-journalists-challenge-trump-vance-administrations-censorship-of-stars-and-stripes/\">statement</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2koae\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.293084/gov.uscourts.dcd.293084.1.0_2.pdf\">complaint</a> alleges that the DOD’s actions are a violation of the First Amendment, due to its restriction of “rights guaranteed to the press” and denial of readers’ access to a wide range of material, especially by interfering with editorial curation of wire content.</p><p data-block-key=\"31ae7\">The suit also contends that the DOD’s memo violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it was published without notice and comment. Journalists at Stars and Stripes first learned of the memo from the DOD’s website, rather than being informed directly.</p><p data-block-key=\"e29rs\">Of the suit, Dardarian <a href=\"https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/in-fight-for-freedom-of-speech-journalists-challenge-trump-vance-administrations-censorship-of-stars-and-stripes/\">said</a>, “It was clear to us that this action was the only way to protect Stars and Stripes and preserve its mission and values at such a critical time in our nation’s history.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f3akk\">Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell — a defendant in the suit — <a href=\"https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2062279338582552631?s=20\">said</a> on X, “The Department of War is aware of the lawsuit filed today by two civilian members of the Stars and Stripes publisher’s advisory board challenging the Department’s modernization of Stars and Stripes. The lawsuit is without merit, and the Department expects to prevail.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"March 9\" name=\"March 9\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"moywj\">March 9, 2026 | Pentagon sets increased oversight, content limits for military newspaper <i>(updated April 2026)</i></h4><p data-block-key=\"7q35q\">The Department of Defense laid out plans to expand oversight of military newspaper Stars and Stripes in a March 9, 2026, memo, as part of a “modernization” of the outlet that left some press freedom observers alarmed over the potential loss of independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"3bvdp\">The memo, sent by Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg and first <a href=\"https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-03-13/pentagon-modernization-plan-stars-and-stripes-21051529.html\">reported</a> by Stars and Stripes, outlines an “interim policy” governing the outlet that takes effect immediately.</p><p data-block-key=\"8s0f0\">The memo states that Stars and Stripes will continue to “operate with editorial independence.” But it prohibits the outlet’s use of wire service stories, comic strips and editorial cartoons due to the “digital availability of such content globally,” unless an exception is granted by the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.</p><p data-block-key=\"a88r0\">According to the memo, the “primary justification for Stripes’ continued existence is to deliver content, specifically relevant to Service members and their families, that is not usually covered by commercial media.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1o8nu\">It continued, “Accordingly, there is no operational need to serve as a reprint vehicle for commercial news publications that are otherwise readily accessible.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8o3io\">Jacqueline Smith, Stars and Stripes’ ombudsman who is charged by Congress with defending the outlet’s editorial independence, told the outlet that without access to wire service content, the paper would lose the ability to provide reporting on topics such as national sports and entertainment, which “contribute to the morale of troops.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ifde\">Among other changes, the memo states that the outlet “should” republish Defense Department public affairs materials — clearly labeled as such — as deemed necessary by the publisher, and requires the outlet’s ombudsman to send information previously sent directly to Congress through the department’s Legislative Affairs Office first.</p><p data-block-key=\"81tc\">It also bans reporters from making Freedom of Information Act requests in an official capacity, though it does allow for them to make submissions “in their individual capacities” when not acting on behalf of the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"1a5rr\">The policy changes came in the wake of a <a href=\"https://x.com/seanparnellasw/status/2011802849903009991?s=46\">January social media post</a> by Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell, in which he announced plans to overhaul Stars and Stripes and “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3grph\">Stars and Stripes reported that its leadership and staff were not informed of the changes directly, but instead learned of them when the memo was found in a search of the Defense Department website.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4g8l\">Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes’ editor-in-chief, said in a statement published by the outlet, “It is unlikely that the Pentagon was aware of the extensive modernization that Stars and Stripes had already begun.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5atj0\">He added, “Over the past year, the changes to our digitally produced news and information have resulted in significant increases in pageviews, engagement and subscribers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c98k\">The Pentagon memo also states that all content must be consistent with “good order and discipline,” a phrase used in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.</p><p data-block-key=\"6t5m8\">In an <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/14/nx-s1-5748020/pentagon-tightens-controls-over-stars-and-stripes-after-calling-it-woke\">interview with NPR</a>, Slavin expressed concern about that aspect of the policy as it applied to staff who are members of the military. “If they were to complete a story that the Defense Department did not like, and did not find ‘consistent with good order and discipline,’ would they be in legal jeopardy?” Slavin said. “We don’t know the answer to that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ihho\">Smith, the ombudsman, told <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/13/pentagon-memo-stars-stripes/\">The Washington Post</a> in an interview that the memo “threatens Stars and Stripes’ continued editorial independence, and it does so at the detriment of the troops who rely on the newspaper for complete coverage and continued accurate coverage that is not propaganda.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aulgt\">Smith was <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/04/23/stars-stripes-ombudsman-fired-pentagon/\">later terminated without explanation,</a> according to the Post — she told the paper’s staff she believed she was fired for publicly opposing the changes at the paper.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gq1f\">Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America, <a href=\"https://pen.org/press-release/alarm-over-pentagon-move-to-impose-restrictions-on-stars-and-stripes-editorial-independence/\">said</a>, “We are alarmed that a Pentagon memo claims to preserve the independence of Stars and Stripes while simultaneously imposing new restrictions that undermine it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7dc4r\">He called on Congress to “reaffirm First Amendment protections for Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence and ensure the decades-long firewall between the Pentagon and the newsroom remains firmly intact.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d8fi6\">Parnell, in a March 13 statement reported by Stars and Stripes, said that the Defense Department is returning the outlet to “its original mission: an independent news source for service members stationed overseas that is by the warfighter and for the warfighter.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"Jan 15\" name=\"Jan 15\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"9b0q7\">Jan. 15, 2026 | Defense Department announces overhaul of military newspaper, calling it ‘woke’</h4><p data-block-key=\"5vfqn\">The Department of Defense announced plans on Jan. 15, 2026, to take over editorial decision-making for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, in a move that jeopardizes its long-held editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"idmh\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/seanparnellasw/status/2011802849903009991?s=46\">statement</a> posted to social media, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the move as “returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"140gb\">“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” he continued. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2q9uv\">While the newspaper is partially funded by the Pentagon and its staffers are department employees, the outlet <a href=\"https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-01-15/pentagon-refocus-stars-and-stripes-content-20415816.html\">reported</a> that it is directed to emulate the best practices of commercial news organizations and provide a free flow of “news and information to its readership without news management or censorship.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3d3r\">Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin wrote in a Jan. 15 note to staff that the military deserves independent news.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ih8b\">“The people who risk their lives in defense of the Constitution have earned the right to the press freedoms of the First Amendment,” Slavin wrote. “We will not compromise on serving them with accurate and balanced coverage, holding military officials to account when called for.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1prks\">The Daily Wire <a href=\"https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-refocuses-stars-stripes-on-reporting-for-our-warfighters\">reported</a> that department officials told the outlet that Stars and Stripes’ content will no longer be written by its civilian staff but by active-duty service members. Half the newspaper’s content will be generated by the Pentagon, including materials written by the department and images captured by combat cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8srp\">Stars and Stripes reported that its ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, said the changes would amount to “unnecessary control and the perception of propaganda.” The ombudsman is a congressionally mandated position tasked with ensuring the outlet’s editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"9q4s1\">“That is public relations, not independent journalism,” she said. “The other ‘fifty percent’ of the content would hold no credibility.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5gce4\">The news came the day after The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/14/stars-and-stripes-trump-loyalty-test/\">reported</a> that applicants for positions at the newspaper were being asked, “How would you advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7ttls\">Leadership at Stars and Stripes wasn’t aware of the questions until asked about them, Smith told the Post, later confirming that they had been added by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management without notifying them.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci8hr\">“Asking prospective employees how they would support the administration’s policies is antithetical to Stripes’ journalistic and federally mandated mission,” Smith told the Post. “Journalistically, it’s against ethics, because reporters or any staff member — editors, photographers — should be impartial.”</p><p data-block-key=\"boqov\">Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee told Stars and Stripes that any efforts to infringe on the newspaper’s editorial independence amounted to an attack on the First Amendment, with several voicing support for the newspaper. None of the Republican lawmakers contacted by Stars and Stripes responded to requests for comment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
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{
"title": "Photographer’s camera swatted by pedestrian during live shot in LA",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographers-camera-swatted-by-pedestrian-during-live-shot-in-la/",
"first_published_at": "2026-08-13T20:22:33.426231Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-13T20:22:33.426231Z",
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"date": "2026-07-30",
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"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uis65\">Videographer Kip Ebanks had his camera shoved by a passerby, jamming it into his face while he was filming a Newsmax report in Los Angeles, California, on July 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"d1s8b\">Newsmax correspondent Joe Moeller recounted the incident in a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1MR16vGegw/\">news segment</a>, saying that he and a photographer went to the city’s Skid Row neighborhood to report on animal abuse and homelessness in the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"5mee8\">“During a live shot, a homeless person actually walked up and smashed my photographer’s face with a camera,” Moeller said. A clip of the incident shows the photographer’s camera jostling, followed by a man’s hand appearing in the frame before he walks away.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Downtown LA for you. While reporting on animal abuse on Skid Row, a homeless man walked up and struck my photographer’s camera while it was against his face, smashing it during our live report. <a href=\"https://t.co/LvTAQ9nYtU\">pic.twitter.com/LvTAQ9nYtU</a></p>— Joe Moeller (@joemoeller44) <a href=\"https://x.com/joemoeller44/status/2082999775717462142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 31, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uis65\">Newsmax later confirmed the photographer was Ebanks. He did not return a request for comment for this story.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/PFT_header_images_10.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nwh59\">Above, a man shoving photographer Kip Ebanks’ camera into his face during a live shot for “The Todd Starnes Show” on Newsmax, in Los Angeles, California, on July 30, 2026.</p>",
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"arrest_status": null,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Kip Ebanks (Newsmax Media)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Venezuelan journalist detained by federal immigration agents in Florida",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/venezuelan-journalist-detained-by-federal-immigration-agents-in-florida/",
"first_published_at": "2026-08-06T16:55:45.328000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-19T17:30:07.775487Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-08-19T17:30:07.510288Z",
"date": "2026-07-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Miami Beach",
"longitude": -80.13005,
"latitude": 25.79065,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"t2uq7\">Wilmer Solano Dávila, a Venezuelan journalist, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection during a traffic stop in Miami Beach, Florida, on July 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"9i4tv\">Solano entered the United States legally on a journalist visa in January 2015 and applied for asylum later that year, <a href=\"https://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/florida/sur-de-la-florida/article316685695.html\">El Nuevo Herald reported</a>. He had a valid work permit and driver’s license, a pending asylum case and an immigration court hearing scheduled for Aug. 26, according to El Nuevo Herald and <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DbTsDF_pQhL/?hl=en\">an Instagram post</a> by fellow Venezuelan journalist Sergio Novelli.</p><p data-block-key=\"d446r\">Solano’s wife, Maria Moreno, <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-my-family-during-this-difficult-timebringwilmerhome\">described the arrest in a GoFundMe post</a>, writing that her husband “was taken into custody without a warrant or any criminal charges. He has no criminal record, has lived in the United States for almost 12 years, and has a pending asylum case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2c25j\">In a statement to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Solano had been taken into custody and said he lacked a legal status that would permit him to remain in the U.S.</p><p data-block-key=\"1e6go\">“To be clear, work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States,” a DHS spokesperson wrote, adding that Solano would receive due process while in removal proceedings and encouraging undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the country.</p><p data-block-key=\"79t69\">According to El Nuevo Herald, Solano held temporary protected status from 2021 until September 2025, when the Trump administration <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-ends-temporary-protected-status-venezuelan-migrants-2025-09-03/\">ended the designation for Venezuelans.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"f1ggn\">Before leaving Venezuela, Solano worked as a political reporter for the television network Globovisión from 2002 to 2008, according to Novelli. He later founded and directed Zorro Comunicaciones, where he covered political campaigns and provided communications and consulting services until April 2023, the <a href=\"https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/a-venezuelan-journalist-detained-in-miami-wilmer-roberto-solano-davila-krome-detention-center-asylum-hugo-chavez-ice-cbp-dhs-immigration-journalism-retaliation.php\">Columbia Journalism Review reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"entda\">Solano has previously faced violence and retaliation for his reporting in Venezuela. In 2011, Solano and a cameraman were attacked by supporters of then-President Hugo Chávez, <a href=\"https://ifex.org/news-agency-director-assaulted-camera-operators-equipment-destroyed/\">according to Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela</a>, a Venezuela-based organization that promotes freedom of expression. The assailants destroyed their camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"5h4ai\">Solano does not appear to have been working as a journalist at the time of his arrest, and his wife did not respond to a Tracker request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"5u0mj\">Solano is at least the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-01-01&date_upper=2026-08-05&tags=ICE+detention\">fourth</a> journalist — and third Latino journalist — detained by federal immigration authorities since the start of President Donald Trump’s second administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"9pu0e\">In 2025, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/spanish-language-reporter-arrested-at-atlanta-area-protest-faces-deportation/\">Mario Guevara</a> was deported after being detained by immigration officials while covering a protest in Georgia. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/spanish-language-journalist-arrested-by-ice-in-tennessee/\">Estefany Rodríguez</a> was arrested earlier this year, after reporting on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid for Nashville Noticias in Tennessee.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"e0sit\">A Customs and Border Protection agent’s patch in February 2026. CBP agents detained Venezuelan journalist Wilmer Solano Dávila in Miami Beach, Florida, on July 26, 2026.</p>",
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"name": "Florida",
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"(2026-08-14 12:07:00+00:00) Venezuelan journalist released from immigration detention in Florida"
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"ICE detention"
],
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
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"Wilmer Solano Dávila (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Rep. Jason Smith targets press as chair of Ways and Means Committee",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rep-jason-smith-targets-press-as-chair-of-ways-and-means-committee/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-29T20:49:06.670868Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-29T20:49:06.670868Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-29T20:49:06.559936Z",
"date": "2026-07-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ogfdc\">Jason Smith, a U.S. representative for Missouri, has used his position as chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means to further President Donald Trump’s efforts to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Smith’s efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"e5l7d\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">Read about</a> how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more.</p><p data-block-key=\"fa2c5\"><i>This article was first published on July 29, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ogfdc\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"r0vc\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 21\">July 21, 2026 | Ways and Means Committee demands financial records from nonprofit newsroom</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ogfdc\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"r0vc\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"July 21\" name=\"July 21\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"ogfdc\">July 21, 2026 | Ways and Means Committee demands financial records from nonprofit newsroom</h4><p data-block-key=\"d4jto\">The House Committee on Ways and Means, led by Rep. Jason Smith, issued a subpoena seeking documents from nonprofit outlet BreakThrough News on July 21, 2026, along with two other nonprofits.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvkcj\">In <a href=\"https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Subpoenas-to-The-Peoples-Forum-BreakThrough-News-Tricontinental.pdf\">letters</a> <a href=\"https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/050426-Letters-to-The-Peoples-Forum-BreakThrough-News-Tricontinental.pdf\">reviewed</a> by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Smith wrote that the committee was examining the tax-exempt status of the organizations as part of an investigation into whether existing tax laws “adequately account for foreign influence and control.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4bui9\">All three organizations have reportedly received funding from Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. citizen and tech financier based in Shanghai, purportedly as part of efforts to advance Chinese Communist Party interests.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkh98\">The House committee <a href=\"https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/02/2.9.26-letter-to-breakthrough-news.pdf\">first requested</a> BreakThrough’s financial records concerning donations or contracts involving foreign nationals or foreign entities, as well as any communications with Singham, on Feb. 9.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnanc\">“The Committee is disturbed by the connections between BreakThrough News and Chinese Communist Party linked organizations,” Smith wrote. “Therefore, given the Committee’s concerns, and in furtherance of the Committee’s oversight, I seek to understand why, and if, BreakThrough News deserves their tax-exempt status.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1bia5\">BreakThrough refused in a response letter dated Feb. 23. The committee <a href=\"https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/050426-Letters-to-The-Peoples-Forum-BreakThrough-News-Tricontinental.pdf\">responded to the challenges</a> May 4, asserting that not only does it have jurisdiction to request the documents but that doing so does not violate the news outlet’s First Amendment rights to freedom of the press, nor of free speech or association.</p><p data-block-key=\"ff3mm\">After BreakThrough again refused, Smith wrote in a <a href=\"https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Subpoenas-to-The-Peoples-Forum-BreakThrough-News-Tricontinental.pdf\">July 21 letter</a> that the committee would be “issuing compulsory process,” in this case a subpoena compelling production of documents and materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"cj2a\">In an <a href=\"https://breakthroughnews.org/2026/07/22/breakthrough-news-is-under-attack/\">article</a> published the following day, BreakThrough wrote that it was “under attack.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c9imh\">“For years, Republican lawmakers have painted a target on our backs, falsely claiming that our political views and reporting are part of some foreign plot,” it wrote. “Make no mistake, this is a flagrant abuse of power, and a direct attack on our work as journalists and on the First Amendment generally.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bc3p\">BreakThrough Editor-in-Chief Ben Beckler said in an email to Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, that the First Amendment was written precisely to protect journalism that the government does not approve of.</p><p data-block-key=\"3hurq\">“That’s why so many of the country’s decisive free speech cases involved the abolitionist press, the radical labor press and the antiwar press,” Beckler <a href=\"https://theintercept.com/2026/07/27/breakthrough-news-journalists-subpoena/\">wrote</a> in an email to FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern. “But history looks back on these episodes for what they were — shameful violations of free speech — and that’s the same thing that’s happening here.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2023-12-13T231843Z_857665934_RC2N.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"59mtv\">U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in 2023.</p>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"Chilling Statement"
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{
"title": "Wartime Pentagon goes two-plus months without media briefing",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wartime-pentagon-goes-two-plus-months-without-media-briefing/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-24T17:13:41.735626Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-24T17:13:41.735626Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-24T17:12:36.447682Z",
"date": "2026-07-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Arlington",
"longitude": -77.10428,
"latitude": 38.88101,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"abox6\">The Pentagon hasn’t held a news conference for 2 1/2 months, leaving renewed airstrikes with Iran and recent deaths of U.S. service members unexplained by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a CNN analysis reported on July 20, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"el92h\">“The public deserves transparency about the US war in Iran. But that’s not what we’re getting — not even close,” CNN’s chief media analyst Brian Stelter <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/20/media/pentagon-trump-hegseth-iran-press-briefings\">wrote.</a> He noted that news briefings were held regularly during past conflicts, but under Hegseth the most recent was May 5.</p><p data-block-key=\"fejlu\">“It’s all indicative of a larger effort to control information, limit access and avoid difficult questions about the war,” Stelter added.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcpfa\">During his tenure, Hegseth has sharply <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-restricts-journalists-access-inside-pentagon/\">restricted press access</a> by <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pentagon-responds-to-court-ruling-with-new-press-access-restrictions/\">requiring media escorts</a>, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographers-barred-from-pentagon-briefings-after-unflattering-photos/\">barring photographers from briefings</a> and repeatedly trying to chill coverage throughout <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">2025</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers/\">2026.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"3ue\">As official information has become increasingly scarce, Stelter pointed out that reporters have relied more heavily on anonymous sources to uncover significant developments, a practice Hegseth has sought to curb by <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">targeting alleged leakers</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4g7rp\">In a statement to CNN, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell said the U.S. government “has consistently provided comprehensive, real-time updates” on the strikes in Iran.</p><p data-block-key=\"63lcm\">“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have been constantly providing updates directly to the media and the American people online, delivering clear, unfiltered insight into our objectives and decisive actions,” Parnell said. “Additionally, questions from Fake News reporters do very little to inform the public at all. Their primary goal is to get clips that can be used online to promote themselves and push their preferred narrative.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9t8mc\">In a related development in July, the Navy denied an Associated Press request for a sailor’s biography, initially stating that it had changed its policy to restrict press access to sailors’ service histories — information that had been routinely available for decades.</p><p data-block-key=\"d4p0c\">The service later reversed course and walked back the statement, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/media-navy-press-policy-access-pentagon-b4d5d0f60709692e107e3331370422cd\">the outlet reported</a>. It has since provided AP with the requested biography.</p><p data-block-key=\"a1mom\">A Navy official, who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity, said a Navy spokeswoman had misinterpreted a <a href=\"https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Messages/NAVADMIN/NAV2026/NAV26170.pdf?ver=djN-vsaS8C7eqh0Y9eYjjw%3d%3d\">recently released Navy policy</a> mandating the service remove all public-facing information about its commanding officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"5j8ae\">Parnell, in <a href=\"https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2080353233537499620?s=20\">a lengthy post on X</a>, wrote, in part: “There has been NO change to the Navy’s policies governing the release of service records.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"fg7lj\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth holds the Pentagon’s last formal press briefing in Arlington, Virginia, on May 5, 2026.</p>",
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Virginia",
"abbreviation": "VA"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Defense"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "NY Times reporters’ phone, text records sought by DOJ in secret subpoenas",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-text-records-sought-by-doj-in-secret-subpoenas/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-21T19:58:20.172000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-03T21:37:04.725933Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-03T21:37:04.525354Z",
"date": "2026-07-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4jo5r\">Phone records for multiple New York Times reporters were targeted in secretive subpoenas issued by the Department of Justice starting on July 10, 2026, as part of a rushed investigation to identify the sources leaking information to the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"diahe\">The journalists had reported on <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">July 8</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\">July 9</a> that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage to Turkey for a NATO meeting, Trump reverted to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service because of safety concerns, including that it lacked the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"f52uq\">On July 10, FBI Director Kash Patel was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#July%2010\">tapped to oversee</a> a leak investigation into the Times’ reporting and, in a major departure from precedent, he ran the inquiry from the White House, establishing a “war room” with Trump’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/susie-wiles-intimidates-leakers-press-as-white-house-chief-of-staff/\">chief of staff Susie Wiles</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah5v2\">That evening, FBI agents served grand jury testimony subpoenas to reporters <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-intelligence-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-grand-jury-testimony/\">Julian E. Barnes</a>, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-investigative-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-testimony/\">Eric Lipton</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-national-security-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj/\">Eric Schmitt</a> at their homes. According to a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.27.0.pdf\">letter</a> written by an attorney for the Times, the Justice Department also attempted but failed to serve similar subpoenas to journalists Adam Goldman and Tyler Pager.</p><p data-block-key=\"k9p6\">A week later, the DOJ revealed that it had also issued multiple subpoenas to phone service providers seeking call and text records for accounts believed to be associated with the five journalists. At least three of the numbers belonged to family members of the journalists, the newspaper <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/business/media/new-york-times-subpoenas-phone-records.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ut6j\">In a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.27.0.pdf\">letter</a> to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, attorneys for the Times wrote that while the department served “<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-10&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times&legal_order_target=THIRD_PARTY&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">some</a>” of the subpoenas July 10, additional requests were sent on <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-records-sought-in-secret-doj-subpoenas\">July 14</a> and July 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"bqn04\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to confirm the precise number of subpoenas issued or which journalists were targeted in each. At least two of the subpoenas also sought records dating back to Jan. 1, but it was not immediately clear which.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2ks1\"><a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.29.0.pdf\">According to the DOJ</a>, the last two subpoenas were issued after it was determined that the provider that had been served initially did not host the underlying phone number. The department also revealed that the July 16 subpoena was issued to Google along with a nondisclosure order issued by a different judge and under the false impression that the investigation was not public.</p><p data-block-key=\"4gama\">Attorneys for the Times asked the court July 18 to consider the third-party subpoenas alongside the grand jury requests in their motion to quash, arguing that they only further demonstrated the irregularity of the department’s requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"8vgfo\">“These actions demonstrate abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad-faith attacks on the Journalists, violations of the Department’s own internal regulations, and disregard for the law in this Circuit intended to protect critical First Amendment interests,” wrote attorney David O’Neil. “They raise pressing questions about the conduct of this purported national security investigation and confirm the absence of any regularity in the department’s use of the grand jury in this case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2mgjd\">The department, in its response, argued that the investigation is ongoing, and asked that the court place a two-week hold on all of the subpoenas in order for it to pursue “particular investigative steps.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dldq7\">The DOJ also said that it has asked the service providers to postpone turning over records for the time being.</p><p data-block-key=\"bl549\">A hearing on the Times’ motion to quash the subpoenas — understood to concern all of them — is scheduled for July 23.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-09-16T181358Z_572998437_RC26.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j63j6\">Phone records for multiple New York Times reporters were subpoenaed by the Justice Department in July 2026 as part of an attempt to uncover their confidential sources. Above, the Times building in New York City in 2025.</p>",
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"updates": [
"(2026-07-23 22:35:00+00:00) DOJ withdraws subpoenas for NY Times reporters' records"
],
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"The New York Times"
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{
"title": "Intruder enters ‘Today’ show studio, shouts racial slur at anchor",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/intruder-enters-today-show-studio-shouts-racial-slur-at-anchor/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-22T18:43:01.587985Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-22T18:43:01.587985Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-22T18:43:01.455518Z",
"date": "2026-07-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1k4oz\">NBC News anchor Craig Melvin was harassed by a man who shouted a racial slur at him after entering an unauthorized area near the “Today” show studio in New York, New York, on July 16, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"5df1m\">The man, Andrew Truelove, who has a criminal history and several cases pending in New York, was arrested after the incident, <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/police-arrest-man-shouted-racial-slur-today-co-anchor-craig-melvin-rcna587824?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawTMz69leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE1aDZpazN2R3lhN24xYVY1c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvEAyfo4ypHVVehh-Nj2ZPPRrFcQ399JL-OyuGZFAuRmNA-Z8yWZyjUdywdD_aem_gvee2DfLoXYiSBxC6csoMg\">according to NBC News.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"7sn3i\">Truelove told police he was looking for weather anchor Al Roker, <a href=\"https://abc7ny.com/post/man-detained-sneaking-30-rock-looking-today-show-host-police/19520956/\">WABC-TV reported</a>. But the suspect approached Melvin instead, who then alerted security, according to a “Today” show statement.</p><p data-block-key=\"4hnv3\">In its statement, the show said no one was hurt during the encounter, and that it would cooperate with law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"bvm9j\">“NBC and TODAY take the safety and security of our employees, talent, staff and guests extremely seriously,” the statement said. “We are reviewing the incident and our security protocols and remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who works at and visits our studios.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hey everyone. I’ve heard from so many of you over the last few hours. I’m doing just fine. Thanks for reaching out. I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning on <a href=\"https://x.com/TODAYshow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TODAYshow</a>. <br><br>Statement from NBC News' TODAY:<br><br>There was a security incident this morning at the TODAY show…</p>— Craig Melvin (@craigmelvin) <a href=\"https://x.com/craigmelvin/status/2077860466383049158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1k4oz\">During a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1081082971156826\">broadcast on July 17</a>, Melvin said the man was apprehended quickly, and that he was fine.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbq44\">“We are just very happy that everyone is safe,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1fh2r\">Truelove <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/today-show-intruder-arraigned-hate-crime-charges-rcna587989\">is charged</a> with burglary as a hate crime and menacing as a hate crime.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Craig_Melvin_.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6jcoc\">NBC News anchor Craig Melvin, who was harassed with a racial slur by a man who entered the “Today” show studio in New York City on July 16, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"subpoena_type": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
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"Other Incident"
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"Craig Melvin (NBC News)"
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},
{
"title": "NY Times reporters’ phone records sought in secret DOJ subpoenas",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-records-sought-in-secret-doj-subpoenas/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-21T20:00:11.464000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-03T21:39:59.974106Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-03T21:39:59.792054Z",
"date": "2026-07-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9rgoo\">Phone records for multiple New York Times reporters were targeted in secretive subpoenas issued by the Department of Justice starting on July 10, 2026, as part of a rushed investigation to identify the sources leaking information to the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"9qetn\">The journalists had reported on <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">July 8</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\">July 9</a> that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage to Turkey for a NATO meeting, Trump reverted to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service because of safety concerns, including that it lacked the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmvb9\">On July 10, FBI Director Kash Patel was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#July%2010\">tapped to oversee</a> a leak investigation into the Times’ reporting and, in a major departure from precedent, he ran the inquiry from the White House, establishing a “war room” with Trump’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/susie-wiles-intimidates-leakers-press-as-white-house-chief-of-staff/\">chief of staff Susie Wiles</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e69hv\">That evening, FBI agents served grand jury testimony subpoenas to reporters <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-intelligence-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-grand-jury-testimony/\">Julian E. Barnes</a>, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-investigative-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-testimony/\">Eric Lipton</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-national-security-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj/\">Eric Schmitt</a> at their homes. According to a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.27.0.pdf\">letter</a> written by an attorney for the Times, the Justice Department also attempted but failed to serve similar subpoenas to journalists Adam Goldman and Tyler Pager.</p><p data-block-key=\"bl3tg\">A week later, the DOJ revealed that it had also issued multiple subpoenas to phone service providers seeking call and text records for accounts believed to be associated with the five journalists. At least three of the numbers belonged to family members of the journalists, the newspaper <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/business/media/new-york-times-subpoenas-phone-records.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"94qt2\">In a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.27.0.pdf\">letter</a> to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, attorneys for the Times wrote that while the department served “<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-10&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times&legal_order_target=THIRD_PARTY&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">some</a>” of the subpoenas July 10, additional requests were sent on July 14 and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-text-records-sought-by-doj-in-secret-subpoenas\">July 16</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8uhj3\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to confirm the precise number of subpoenas issued or which journalists were targeted in each. At least two of the subpoenas also sought records dating back to Jan. 1, but it was not immediately clear which.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmcpu\"><a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.29.0.pdf\">According to the DOJ</a>, the last two subpoenas were issued after it was determined that the provider that had been served initially did not host the underlying phone number. The department also revealed that the July 16 subpoena was issued to Google along with a nondisclosure order issued by a different judge and under the false impression that the investigation was not public.</p><p data-block-key=\"r9vj\">Attorneys for the Times asked the court July 18 to consider the third-party subpoenas alongside the grand jury requests in their motion to quash, arguing that they only further demonstrated the irregularity of the department’s requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"bjaar\">“These actions demonstrate abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad-faith attacks on the Journalists, violations of the Department’s own internal regulations, and disregard for the law in this Circuit intended to protect critical First Amendment interests,” wrote attorney David O’Neil. “They raise pressing questions about the conduct of this purported national security investigation and confirm the absence of any regularity in the department’s use of the grand jury in this case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c4ab4\">The department, in its response, argued that the investigation is ongoing, and asked that the court place a two-week hold on all of the subpoenas in order for it to pursue “particular investigative steps.”</p><p data-block-key=\"154kl\">The DOJ also said that it has asked the service providers to postpone turning over records for the time being.</p><p data-block-key=\"51ev1\">A hearing on the Times’ motion to quash the subpoenas — understood to concern all of them — is scheduled for July 23.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-09-16T181358Z_952899114_RC25.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5b3ag\">Phone records for multiple New York Times reporters were subpoenaed by the Justice Department in July 2026 as part of an attempt to uncover their confidential sources. Above, the Times building in New York City in 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": "unidentified",
"third_party_business": "telecom company",
"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-07-23 22:32:00+00:00) DOJ withdraws subpoenas for NY Times reporter's records"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved to the ground by police in Minnesota, breaking his camera",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-to-the-ground-by-police-in-minnesota-breaking-his-camera/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-30T18:59:28.626000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-03T18:14:49.209564Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-08-03T18:14:49.074503Z",
"date": "2026-07-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "St. Paul",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f77gj\">Independent journalist Aaron Johnson was pushed down by police while filming a law enforcement action in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 14, 2026, causing minor injuries and smashing his camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ko77\">Johnson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was headed to interview residents about an upcoming encampment eviction when he saw a large police presence. Officers, including a K-9 unit and some carrying rifles, were searching for a man who had fled on foot after a traffic stop.</p><p data-block-key=\"41vjv\">Johnson, who publishes his reporting on social platforms and shares video with nonprofit newsroom Unicorn Riot, began documenting the police search.</p><p data-block-key=\"edjdd\">As officers moved from yard to yard with weapons drawn, Johnson and others followed at a distance along a public alley, filming as police searched the neighborhood.</p><p data-block-key=\"n1ro\">Officers warned them to stay back. Johnson told the Tracker he complied, remaining roughly 50 feet away while continuing to film.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jr2a\">But as three officers returned from searching one home, Johnson said their attention shifted from another person recording with a cellphone to him. One in particular spoke to him.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vq8t\">“I said, ‘I’m press, I’m press,’” Johnson recalled. “And he said, ‘No, you’re not.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"f4u83\">Johnson said he had arrived unexpectedly at the unfolding scene and was not wearing his press credential at the time. Without warning, the officer shoved him, knocking him to the ground and sending his camera tumbling. The impact shattered its screen and lens.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dayt5tEg9mr/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dayt5tEg9mr\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cu1a6\">Johnson, who is disabled from a previous stroke, said the fall left him with whiplash, muscle spasms, cuts and scrapes. Paramedics treated him at the scene before advising him to seek additional medical care.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mvj3\">A video Johnson later posted on Instagram captures the aftermath. In it, Johnson says he identified himself as press before officers “got very aggressive at me, got in my face and threw me to the ground, smashing my camera.” He later holds up the damaged camera, saying, “They are the most scared of this.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DayaGEgg3SQ/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DayaGEgg3SQ\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f77gj\">Two days later, Johnson received a citation for obstructing or interfering with a peace officer. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 27.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvfpg\">“The fact that I’m asking the real questions and I’m getting assaulted like this, I think that speaks volumes about the state of press freedom,” Johnson told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"iu0d\">The St. Paul Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Aaron_Johnson.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hics9\">Independent journalist Aaron Johnson shows the damage to his camera and lens after police threw him to the ground in St. Paul, Minnesota, while he was documenting officers chasing a suspect on foot on July 14, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "law enforcement",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera lens"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Aaron Johnson (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter hit with skateboard while covering Maine immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-hit-with-skateboard-while-covering-maine-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-24T21:35:54.193341Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-24T21:35:54.193341Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-24T21:35:54.083589Z",
"date": "2026-07-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Biddeford",
"longitude": -70.45338,
"latitude": 43.49258,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"26trf\">Journalist Jon Fetherston was struck in the head with a skateboard by an individual, and his cellphone damaged, at a Biddeford, Maine, immigration enforcement protest on July 13, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jp7d\">Protesters <a href=\"https://mainemorningstar.com/2026/07/13/hundreds-protest-fatal-ice-shooting-in-biddeford/\">gathered in the Portland-area city</a> after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Colombian motorist earlier that day, with many expressing anger at ICE actions in the state.</p><p data-block-key=\"8fagn\">Fetherston, a reporter for the <a href=\"https://www.themainewire.com/\">Maine Wire</a> — a conservative digital media outlet and project of the nonprofit think tank Maine Policy Institute — told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=subN3nDDXvA\">livestreaming</a> the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"4j5lr\">At <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/subN3nDDXvA?t=2388s\">one point</a> in the livestream, a woman asks the reporter why he’s there, and he responds that he’s covering the event for the Maine Wire. Someone yells, “It’s not media, it’s propaganda.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7vumq\">Another woman blocks his camera and appears to hit him with a cardboard sign, which he asks her not to do. Then, a man walking with the crowd says, “You’re not a billionaire,” to which the reporter replies, “I don’t think you are either.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aest5\">The man then asks Fetherston why he’s there, and the reporter asks him the same question. The man says he’s there to protest, then slams Fetherston with a skateboard, knocking his cellphone to the ground. “Get the fuck out of here,” he says.</p><p data-block-key=\"e556e\">The Maine Wire <a href=\"https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/2076712882301993142\">posted a clip</a> of the incident on the social platform X.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"26trf\">“I was struck in the head, and my phone went flying,” Fetherston told the Tracker. “I am fine; just a bump on my head and a headache.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ccdo4\">The man continues to engage with Fetherston, asking, “What do you want?” The reporter responds, “I don’t want anything other than for you not to hit me with your skateboard.”</p><p data-block-key=\"avcd\">Another woman is then seen yelling out of her car window, “Fuck the Maine Wire!”</p><p data-block-key=\"6rsfe\">Fetherston said he <a href=\"https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/2077052716883357867?s=20\">filed a report</a> with the Biddeford Police Department the next day and asked for charges to be pressed against the individual who hit him. Biddeford police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether charges had been filed against the individual.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2od1\">The journalist added that he later had the screen on his iPhone replaced using his AppleCare insurance.</p><p data-block-key=\"bpvde\">Fetherston told the Tracker that he had been subjected to several instances of harassment while covering the protest, which can be seen in the livestream and in <a href=\"https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/2077107340927525247?s=20\">social media</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/MaineWireJon/status/2077019396824879255?s=20\">posts</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ftcu1\">He added that while covering a <a href=\"https://mainemorningstar.com/2026/07/14/hundreds-protest-outside-scarborough-ice-facility-after-fatal-biddeford-shooting/\">protest</a> outside an ICE facility in nearby Scarborough, Maine, on July 14, someone <a href=\"https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/2078149371149824138\">slashed</a> his <a href=\"https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/2077069241409208345\">car’s tires</a>. He said he filed a police report, and that he believed he was targeted as a member of the media in that incident as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"cjqv\">Another Maine Wire reporter was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shoved-while-covering-maine-demonstration/\">shoved</a> while covering a demonstration the previous week, and Fetherston was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-at-city-council-meeting-in-maine/\">assaulted</a> at a city council meeting in January.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gvqu\">He said he believed the Maine Wire was targeted because it is a conservative outlet. “In one of the videos, I ask an angry protester, ‘Are you yelling at ABC, NBC and the CBS station? They are all here.’ The answer was no.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Fetherston.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q9vkn\">An individual can be seen at left hitting Maine Wire reporter Jon Fetherston with a skateboard while he is livestreaming a July 13, 2026, protest in Biddeford, Maine. The blow knocked his phone to the ground, seen at right.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Maine",
"abbreviation": "ME"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jon Fetherston (Maine Wire)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Todd Blanche targets press, leakers as acting attorney general",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/todd-blanche-targets-press-leakers-as-acting-attorney-general/",
"first_published_at": "2026-05-15T17:53:11.227000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-04T16:29:36.417113Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-04T16:29:36.261707Z",
"date": "2026-07-13",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f7fjk\">As President Donald Trump’s second term continued in 2026, he removed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pam-bondi-targets-journalists-leakers-as-us-attorney-general/\">Pam Bondi</a> as attorney general. Her deputy, now-Attorney General Todd Blanche, joined Trump in efforts to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration critically. We’re documenting Blanche’s efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"eb0qq\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"e754c\"><i>This article was first published on May 15, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f7fjk\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"d93s\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 13\">July 13, 2026 | Pentagon, DOJ launch joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 12\">May 12, 2026 | Acting attorney general defends DOJ subpoenas to WSJ, others</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#April 7\">April 7, 2026 | Acting attorney general willing to subpoena journalists in leak investigations</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"f7fjk\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"d93s\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"July 13\" name=\"July 13\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"r2v0t\">July 13, 2026 | Pentagon, DOJ launch joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers</h4><p data-block-key=\"7b9og\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers/\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth</a> announced on July 13, 2026, that he and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche have created a joint task force to expedite the identification and prosecution of those leaking to the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"52ss4\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/SecWar/status/2076673841913344136\">video posted to social media</a>, Hegseth said that the Defense Department’s Office of General Counsel had been given the authority “to request and receive all information, records and support across the department concerning media leak investigations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"86epc\">He added that all department components and personnel will be expected to prioritize the OGC’s requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"e54ma\">“Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law,” Hegseth said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8s7tj\">Neither the Justice Department nor Blanche made their own public announcements of the joint task force, and they did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4h299\">The announcement came just days after the Justice Department subpoenaed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-10&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times\">multiple New York Times reporters</a>, seeking grand jury testimony “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"21b7b\">The journalists, citing sources who only agreed to speak if kept anonymous, had reported that the Secret Service urged President Donald Trump to revert to the old Air Force One because the new, Qatari-donated aircraft lacks the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"b3qtg\">When asked about the subpoenas, a Justice Department spokesperson <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html\">told the Times</a> that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”</p><p data-block-key=\"28h3l\">In April, Blanche affirmed his willingness to demand records and testimony from journalists as part of leak investigations, and the following month he defended the issuing of subpoenas to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-03-04&date_upper=2026-03-04&targeted_institutions=The+Wall+Street+Journal&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">three Wall Street Journal reporters</a>. The Washington Post later reported that <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/doj-withdraws-subpoena-seeking-washington-post-reporters-testimony/\">one of its journalists</a> had been targeted in the investigation as well.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 12\" name=\"May 12\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"f7fjk\">May 12, 2026 | Acting attorney general defends DOJ subpoenas to WSJ, others</h4><p data-block-key=\"p6id\">Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the issuing of federal subpoenas to The Wall Street Journal as part of a leak investigation, after the legal orders were made public on May 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"7s95r\">In a May 12 social media post, Blanche <a href=\"https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2054197699486908639\">wrote</a>, “Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"d7qvc\">“Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material,” he continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7977\">A Justice Department official <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-wall-street-journal-subpoenas/\">emphasized to CBS News</a> the same day that the subpoenas were issued as part of an investigation into the source behind the leaks, not the journalists themselves.</p><p data-block-key=\"daqon\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, <a href=\"https://freedom.press/issues/national-security-lies-fuel-wall-street-journal-probe/\">condemned</a> the subpoenas and the use of “national security” as justification.</p><p data-block-key=\"auj8c\">“These subpoenas are a direct threat to the public’s right to know, and the Journal is correct to fight them,” FPF Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said. “Since the Department of Justice has abandoned the First Amendment, it’s up to the courts to restrain the government’s attempts to crush investigative journalism.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cj4b3\">The subpoenas to the Journal are just the latest instance of the news media being caught up in or deliberately targeted in federal investigations since then-Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pam-bondi-targets-journalists-leakers-as-us-attorney-general/#April%2025\">rescinded Biden-era protections</a> for journalists in April 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahqkq\">Earlier this year, the DOJ <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-subpoenaed-as-part-of-doj-leak-investigation/\">subpoenaed</a> The Washington Post, and the FBI <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-reporters-home-searched-by-fbi-devices-seized/\">executed a search warrant</a> at the home of its reporter, Hannah Natanson, seizing her equipment. Independent photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-questions-oregon-photographer-about-protesters-identities/\">Robert Scherle</a> was questioned by two FBI agents at his home seeking information about protesters. And FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly ordered investigations into <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#Feb%2028\">two</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#May%206\">reporters</a> following unfavorable coverage.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"April 7\" name=\"April 7\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"f7fjk\">April 7, 2026 | Acting attorney general willing to subpoena journalists in leak investigations</h4><p data-block-key=\"fpi77\">During his first press briefing as acting attorney general on April 7, 2026, Todd Blanche said he would not hesitate to subpoena members of the press to uncover sources behind leaks of classified information.</p><p data-block-key=\"31aph\">The previous day, President Donald Trump vowed to investigate the source behind a leak concerning the downing of a U.S. fighter jet by Iran.</p><p data-block-key=\"ch61v\">“We’re going to go to the media company that released it,” Trump said, “and we’re going to say, ‘National security — give it up or go to jail.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"1so1d\">When asked about Trump’s <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/business/media/trump-jail-journalists-fighter-crew.html\">comments</a>, Blanche <a href=\"https://www.c-span.org/program/news-conference/acting-attorney-general-todd-blanche-announces-developments-in-federal-fraud-cases/676945\">said</a> that classified information leaks will always be investigated.</p><p data-block-key=\"lc80\">“If that means sending a subpoena to the reporter, that’s exactly what we should do, and that’s exactly what we will be doing,” Blanche said. “If it means doing regular investigations to identify who within the government feels like it’s OK to leak classified information, to put lives at risk, then we’ll try to root him or her out as well.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-04-29T204145Z_1143287252_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jrlkd\">Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche at a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "NY Times national security reporter subpoenaed by DOJ",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-national-security-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-13T18:13:23.779000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-03T21:38:45.577294Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-03T21:38:45.387733Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rbwqf\">Eric Schmitt, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, was subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 10, 2026, ordering him to appear in a New York City courtroom five days later.</p><p data-block-key=\"4eh43\">The Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html\">reported</a> that Schmitt was one of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-31&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">several of its reporters</a> subpoenaed that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"4m7k8\">The journalists had reported days prior that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage, President Donald Trump <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">reverted</a> to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service. Subsequent <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\">reporting</a> revealed that the new plane was not outfitted with the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gjsv\">Both articles cited sources who only agreed to discuss sensitive security issues on the condition of anonymity.</p><p data-block-key=\"917qn\">The Times reported that, prior to the first article publishing, a senior FBI official asked the newspaper to hold it, citing national security but declining to elaborate on the nature of the security issue. The official also asked the Times to identify its sources for the article; the newspaper refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"vt8\">FBI Director Kash Patel was tapped to oversee a leak investigation into the Times’ reporting, the newspaper <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/white-house-patel-investigation-times.html\">reported</a>. In a major departure from precedent, Patel ran his investigation from the White House and briefed senior administration officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"b4bvm\">In an <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.23.4.pdf\">affidavit</a> unsealed July 20, Schmitt said an FBI agent — outfitted with a holstered sidearm and an armored vest emblazoned with “FBI” — served him the subpoena in the driveway of his home at approximately 9 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"dn85o\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.23.1_1.pdf\">subpoenas</a>, issued by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, were vague, according to the Times, only compelling testimony “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d2cqo\">Clayton was nominated by Trump on June 11 to serve as director of national intelligence.</p><p data-block-key=\"ers77\">In a statement shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the Times denounced the subpoenas and the federal government’s decision to serve some of the reporters at their homes.</p><p data-block-key=\"6egkh\">“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” wrote David McCraw, the Times’s top newsroom lawyer.</p><p data-block-key=\"aom2u\">“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” McCraw continued. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"421s0\">A Justice Department spokesperson told the Times that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d68c3\">“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but D.O.J. also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information,” said spokesperson Emily Covington. “We recognize there may always be natural tension there, but we are not going to ignore the law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"neq3\">In an email sent to Times staff, and shared with the Tracker, Executive Editor Joseph Kahn called the subpoenas impulsive, and a naked attempt to intimidate the newspaper and its reporters, as well as the media as a whole. He added that the Times will “mount a full defense of our staff.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2b4ps\">“We expect to prevail. We have the best legal team in the business,” he wrote. “The law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power. It is essential that the courts reaffirm that protection and quash this overreach. We are confident they will in this case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1cn8r\">An additional Times reporter, London-based Adam Goldman, is also expected to receive a subpoena in connection with the leak investigation, according to Kahn’s email.</p><p data-block-key=\"buab3\"><i>Update: This article has been revised to include details from court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-07-04T021229Z_1788911496_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"14t3r\">President Donald Trump deboards the new Air Force One, a plane gifted by Qatar, in South Dakota on July 3, 2026. Multiple New York Times reporters were subpoenaed July 10 by the Justice Department after reporting on safety concerns with the aircraft.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-07-15 16:45:00+00:00) NY Times asks court to strike down DOJ subpoenas",
"(2026-07-23 22:05:00+00:00) DOJ withdraws subpoenas for NY Times reporter's records"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
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"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"Eric Schmitt (The New York Times)"
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},
{
"title": "NY Times reporters’ phone, text records targeted in secret DOJ subpoenas",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-text-records-targeted-in-secret-doj-subpoenas/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-21T19:27:09.596000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-23T22:37:02.175183Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-23T22:37:01.983675Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ktfub\">Phone records for multiple New York Times reporters were targeted in secretive subpoenas issued by the Department of Justice starting on July 10, 2026, as part of a rushed investigation to identify the sources leaking information to the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"a5rj9\">The journalists had reported on <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">July 8</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\">July 9</a> that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage to Turkey for a NATO meeting, Trump reverted to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service because of safety concerns, including that it lacked the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"376r1\">On July 10, FBI Director Kash Patel was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#July%2010\">tapped to oversee</a> a leak investigation into the Times’ reporting and, in a major departure from precedent, he ran the inquiry from the White House, establishing a “war room” with Trump’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/susie-wiles-intimidates-leakers-press-as-white-house-chief-of-staff/\">chief of staff Susie Wiles</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"92h6\">That evening, FBI agents served grand jury testimony subpoenas to reporters <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-intelligence-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-grand-jury-testimony/\">Julian E. Barnes</a>, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-investigative-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-testimony/\">Eric Lipton</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-national-security-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj/\">Eric Schmitt</a> at their homes. According to a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.27.0.pdf\">letter</a> written by an attorney for the Times, the Justice Department also attempted but failed to serve similar subpoenas to journalists Adam Goldman and Tyler Pager.</p><p data-block-key=\"3o43p\">A week later, the DOJ revealed that it had also issued multiple subpoenas to phone service providers seeking call and text records for accounts believed to be associated with the five journalists. At least three of the numbers belonged to family members of the journalists, the newspaper <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/business/media/new-york-times-subpoenas-phone-records.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9esab\">In a <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.27.0.pdf\">letter</a> to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, attorneys for the Times wrote that while the department served “<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-text-records-secretly-targeted-in-doj-subpoenas\">some</a>” of the subpoenas July 10, additional requests were sent on <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-records-sought-in-secret-doj-subpoenas\">July 14</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-reporters-phone-text-records-sought-by-doj-in-secret-subpoenas\">July 16</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8t9dt\">The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to confirm the precise number of subpoenas issued or which journalists were targeted in each. At least two of the subpoenas also sought records dating back to Jan. 1, but it was not immediately clear which.</p><p data-block-key=\"627v6\"><a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.29.0.pdf\">According to the DOJ</a>, the last two subpoenas were issued after it was determined that the provider that had been served initially did not host the underlying phone number. The department also revealed that the July 16 subpoena was issued to Google along with a nondisclosure order issued by a different judge and under the false impression that the investigation was not public.</p><p data-block-key=\"8bj7i\">Attorneys for the Times asked the court July 18 to consider the third-party subpoenas alongside the grand jury requests in their motion to quash, arguing that they only further demonstrated the irregularity of the department’s requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"b6i4c\">“These actions demonstrate abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad-faith attacks on the Journalists, violations of the Department’s own internal regulations, and disregard for the law in this Circuit intended to protect critical First Amendment interests,” wrote attorney David O’Neil. “They raise pressing questions about the conduct of this purported national security investigation and confirm the absence of any regularity in the department’s use of the grand jury in this case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bke9g\">The department, in its response, argued that the investigation is ongoing, and asked that the court place a two-week hold on all of the subpoenas in order for it to pursue “particular investigative steps.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cpt1n\">The DOJ also said that it has asked the service providers to postpone turning over records for the time being.</p><p data-block-key=\"9u05g\">A hearing on the Times’ motion to quash the subpoenas — understood to concern all of them — is scheduled for July 23.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2020-08-03T182246Z_1669922841_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bbj0g\">Phone records for multiple New York Times reporters were subpoenaed by the Justice Department in July 2026 as part of an attempt to uncover their confidential sources. Above, the Times building in New York City in 2020.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": "unidentified",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-07-23 22:18:00+00:00) DOJ withdraws subpoenas for testimony from NY Times reporters"
],
"case_statuses": [],
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"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer struck by Proud Boy at LA rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-struck-by-proud-boy-at-la-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-16T14:36:15.260000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-16T17:15:21.953676Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-16T17:15:21.821605Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c74nm\">Independent photographer Jonny Morales was punched in the face by a right-wing extremist while documenting a political protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on July 10, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"75rtu\">Morales went to City Hall to photograph a news conference organized by far-right political activists, two of whom were among the Jan. 6, 2021, defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump.</p><p data-block-key=\"7k053\">The event, which centered on Spencer Pratt’s failed campaign for mayor of LA and allegations of voter fraud after he lost in the primary, drew counterprotesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"dthr4\">When Morales arrived, one of the organizers had been punched, and clashes were breaking out between individuals at the rally and others gathered outside the news conference.</p><p data-block-key=\"4fhgo\">“I felt it was important to document,” Morales said.</p><p data-block-key=\"amuh8\">Morales said he was photographing the scene when another organizer, <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DaqGQMNK3g4/\">a member</a> of the far-right Proud Boys, struck a woman, who stumbled backward, dazed, and fell into Morales. The man then aimed his fists at Morales.</p><p data-block-key=\"ajvrv\">“He started swinging toward me like a lunatic; it’s just disgusting violence, basically,” Morales said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dav_wMLSq2O/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dav_wMLSq2O\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c74nm\">In a video posted to Instagram, a shirtless man can be seen punching Morales, who is wearing a jean jacket and holding a camera. The journalist then falls to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"7krst\">Morales, who was not wearing press credentials at the time, said he confronted the individual, telling him that he had just attacked a member of the press. According to Morales, the man responded by accusing him of being a counterprotester. Later, the individual allowed Morales to photograph him.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c74nm\">Morales said the same man had also punched him at an <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-punched-by-proud-boy-at-la-protest/\">earlier protest in June</a>. He and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-pepper-spray-by-proud-boy-at-la-rally/\">another photojournalist</a>, whom the individual also pepper-sprayed on July 10, have filed a police report.</p><p data-block-key=\"aq2no\">After the assault, Morales said he experienced jaw pain and headaches. At first, he did not believe he had been targeted because he was focused on photographing the event. After reviewing videos of the incident, however, he said he believes otherwise.</p><p data-block-key=\"vk6b\">“They did stop me from pursuing my job, my work, being a journalist,” Morales said. “These guys should be held accountable for their actions.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/87ECDE9C-E12F-4C80-85F5-4A4486677.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7c32f\">A far-right activist punches independent photographer Jonny Morales, whose arm and camera are visible in the frame, during a political protest outside City Hall in Los Angeles, California, on July 10, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"election",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jonny Morales (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Andrea Lucas targets news media as equal employment opportunity chair",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/andrea-lucas-targets-news-media-as-equal-employment-opportunity-chair/",
"first_published_at": "2026-05-08T16:31:27.345000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-20T20:54:18.819056Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-20T20:54:12.890692Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8qzfs\">As President Donald Trump’s second term continued in 2026, his Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chair, Andrea Lucas, used her office to further Trump’s efforts to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration critically. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"2trv6\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"andha\"><i>This article was first published on May 8, 2026.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"6van7\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p>\r\n<div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 10\">July 10, 2026 | NYT alleges EEOC suit violated First Amendment</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 5\">May 5, 2026 | EEOC files lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring practices at NYT</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8qzfs\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"a5fer\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"July 10\" name=\"July 10\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"c96d2\">July 10, 2026 | NYT alleges EEOC suit violated First Amendment</h4><p data-block-key=\"7fln1\">The New York Times alleged in a July 10, 2026, federal court filing that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission violated its First and Fifth amendment rights when the agency sued the paper over alleged discrimination against a white male employee.</p><p data-block-key=\"256kh\">The EEOC’s May <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.663349/gov.uscourts.nysd.663349.1.0.pdf\">complaint</a> asserts that the Times’ diversity goals and production of annual diversity and inclusion reports demonstrate an institutional practice of discrimination against white men.</p><p data-block-key=\"1r0rj\">In a social media post <a href=\"https://x.com/USEEOC/status/2051776336432099375\">announcing</a> the suit, the commission highlighted that a “qualified white male employee was excluded from final interviews” while only non-white males were selected, and that the role went to another candidate “with less relevant experience.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ecu97\">In its July counterclaim, the Times <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.663349/gov.uscourts.nysd.663349.28.0.pdf\">said</a> that the EEOC’s complaint, which came soon after it published two articles about the agency, was an act of retaliation for its critical coverage of the Trump administration and EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas.</p><p data-block-key=\"77dk4\">One of those articles cited employees who said they felt pressured to bring cases alleging discrimination against white men and antisemitism on college campuses, the Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/business/media/new-york-times-eeoc-lawsuit.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"raa8\">“The commission’s retaliatory, bad faith use of its authority to target The Times violates the First and Fifth Amendments,” lawyers for the news organization wrote, adding that it “poses a uniquely insidious threat to a free and independent press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ef7ta\">The white male employee, Bryant Rousseau, had sought a deputy real estate editor position but was not selected; the role ultimately went to a multiracial woman. Rousseau, who resigned from the paper in June, filed a separate claim in the same case that month, according to <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/business/media/new-york-times-eeoc-lawsuit.html\">the Times</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"b9hr7\">The paper said it had informed the EEOC before the filing of the agency’s May lawsuit that “candidates of color of both sexes <i>with more real estate experience than Rousseau</i> also were not advanced during the hiring process.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fbcsr\">The Times also cited numerous other reasons that the selected candidate was the most qualified person for the job.</p><p data-block-key=\"a56li\">“The facts here preclude any claim that Rousseau was discriminated against,” the Times’ attorneys wrote in asking the court to dismiss the complaint.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 5\" name=\"May 5\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"8qzfs\">May 5, 2026 | EEOC files lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring practices at NYT</h4><p data-block-key=\"b9mr6\">The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued The New York Times on May 5, 2026, following a monthslong investigation led by Chair Andrea Lucas over the newspaper’s alleged discrimination against a white male employee.</p><p data-block-key=\"121ri\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.663349/gov.uscourts.nysd.663349.1.0.pdf\">complaint</a> asserts that the Times’ diversity goals and production of annual diversity and inclusion reports demonstrate an institutional practice of discrimination against white men.</p><p data-block-key=\"dj47j\">In a social media post <a href=\"https://x.com/USEEOC/status/2051776336432099375\">announcing</a> the suit, the EEOC highlighted that a “qualified white male employee was excluded from final interviews” while only non-white males were selected, and that the role went to another candidate “with less relevant experience.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5vre3\">“No one is above the law — including ‘elite’ institutions,” Lucas said in a statement. “No matter the size or power of the employer, the EEOC under my leadership will not pull punches in ensuring evenhanded, colorblind enforcement of Title VII to protect America’s workers, including white males.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d0jj5\">Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/business/economy/eeoc-discrimination-claim-new-york-times.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share\">called</a> the allegations “politically motivated,” asserting that they represent just the latest effort to leverage the tools of the federal government to pursue President Donald Trump’s personal aims.</p><p data-block-key=\"2m3t\">“Throughout this process, the E.E.O.C. deviated from standard practices in highly unusual ways, blatantly weaponizing a traditionally independent government body to serve a predetermined narrative,” Rhoades Ha told the Times. “We will defend ourselves and our values vigorously as there is not a single piece of evidence to support any claim of discrimination.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bb87v\">Kalpana Kotagal, the sole Democrat on the commission, voted against authorizing the lawsuit. In a <a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kalpana-kotagal-26998b72_i-voted-against-authorizing-litigation-against-share-7457508684823212033-fCb_/\">post on social media</a>, she argued that a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility alone is not evidence of discrimination.</p><p data-block-key=\"511q2\">“These programs are critical to building and maintaining successful workplaces as well as attracting and retaining top talent,” Kotagal wrote. “I fear this litigation is driven not by the merits, but by a desire to advance the administration’s political agenda, which weakens civil rights protections for workers and undermines employer efforts to advance equal employment opportunity.</p><p data-block-key=\"2uhsl\">“Notably, this litigation is filed on the heels of New York Times reporting on the weaponization of the agency, and the diversion of limited resources toward cases that align with the administration’s priorities,” she added.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-12-18T213031Z_452698786_RC26.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ubcqd\">U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas in her office in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 18, 2025.</p>",
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{
"title": "Susie Wiles intimidates leakers, press as White House chief of staff",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/susie-wiles-intimidates-leakers-press-as-white-house-chief-of-staff/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-21T18:02:06.312567Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-21T18:02:06.312567Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-21T17:58:32.617688Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
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"city": "Washington",
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"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6db50\">As White House chief of staff and Donald Trump’s closest aide, Susie Wiles has supported the president in taking steps to intimidate leakers and members of the news media. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"bamb\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"308gt\"><i>This article was first published on July 21, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6db50\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"h3rn\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 10\">July 10, 2026 | Wiles asks for White House staffers’ phones in leak investigation</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6db50\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"h3rn\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"July 10\" name=\"July 10\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"6db50\">July 10, 2026 | Wiles asks for White House staffers’ phones in leak investigation</h4><p data-block-key=\"4ae57\">Susie Wiles — President Donald Trump’s chief of staff and his closest aide — orchestrated an expansive leak investigation at the White House alongside FBI Director Kash Patel on July 10, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"a7p20\">The pair sought to identify the source behind The New York Times’ <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">recent</a> reporting that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage to Turkey for a NATO meeting, Trump reverted to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service. Subsequent<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\"> reporting</a> revealed that the new plane was not outfitted with the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgg1\">Patel was tapped to oversee a leak investigation into the Times’ coverage, the newspaper<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/white-house-patel-investigation-times.html\"> reported</a>, and in a major departure from precedent, he ran his July 10 inquiry from the White House.</p><p data-block-key=\"70c2b\">CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/politics/susie-wiles-kash-patel-leak\">reported</a> that Patel and Wiles established a “war room” next to her office in the West Wing and directly oversaw the investigation, which included asking officials from various agencies who had traveled with Trump or had a role in his trip to turn over their cellphones for review.</p><p data-block-key=\"5he14\">Later that day, a U.S. attorney issued <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-17&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">multiple subpoenas</a> targeting the Times: three were issued to the Times reporters behind the articles, demanding they appear to testify about their confidential sources. At least two others were issued to a phone provider seeking subscriber information and usage reports for accounts connected to the journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"b14ur\">Additional third-party subpoenas seeking the journalists’ records were issued July 14 and July 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"9l5p2\">In a statement to CNN, a White House official said: “Leaks that jeopardize the safety of the President, his staff, and the traveling press pool are dangerous and a threat to national security. The White House takes these leaks seriously and will do everything legally to ensure the individual or individuals are caught and it does not happen again.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e5f1u\">The Times has filed a motion to quash the subpoenas and has asked the court to unseal its filings in the interest of public access.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-12-18T201016Z_664251451_RC26.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"at5ei\">White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., in December 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
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"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
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},
{
"title": "NY Times investigative reporter subpoenaed by DOJ for testimony",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-investigative-reporter-subpoenaed-by-doj-for-testimony/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-13T18:14:53.662000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-09-03T21:40:18.878278Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-09-03T21:40:18.709305Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
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"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tacgz\">Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, was subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 10, 2026, ordering him to appear in a New York City courtroom five days later.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ft4q\">The Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/business/media/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas.html\">reported</a> that Lipton was one of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-31&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">several of its reporters</a> subpoenaed that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"6i71\">The journalists had reported days prior that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage, President Donald Trump <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">reverted</a> to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service. Subsequent <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\">reporting</a> revealed that the new plane was not outfitted with the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"g0dc\">Both articles cited sources who only agreed to discuss sensitive security issues on the condition of anonymity.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2uoh\">The Times reported that, prior to the first article publishing, a senior FBI official asked the newspaper to hold it, citing national security but declining to elaborate on the nature of the security issue. The official also asked the Times to identify its sources for the article; the newspaper refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"402rd\">FBI Director Kash Patel was tapped to oversee a leak investigation into the Times’ reporting, the newspaper <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/white-house-patel-investigation-times.html\">reported</a>. In a major departure from precedent, Patel ran his investigation from the White House and briefed senior administration officials.</p><p data-block-key=\"2i7e2\">In an <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.23.5.pdf\">affidavit</a> unsealed July 20, Lipton said two FBI agents wearing clothing bearing FBI logos and insignia served him the subpoena at his home at approximately 9 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"co4b9\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455/gov.uscourts.nysd.668455.23.1_1.pdf\">subpoenas</a>, issued by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, were vague, according to the Times, only compelling testimony “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"91eoi\">Clayton was nominated by Trump on June 11 to serve as director of national intelligence.</p><p data-block-key=\"58gs1\">In a statement shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the Times denounced the subpoenas and the federal government’s decision to serve some of the reporters at their homes.</p><p data-block-key=\"1cqc3\">“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” wrote David McCraw, the Times’s top newsroom lawyer.</p><p data-block-key=\"esra\">“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” McCraw continued. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"arqg6\">A Justice Department spokesperson told the Times that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ca310\">“We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but D.O.J. also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information,” said spokesperson Emily Covington. “We recognize there may always be natural tension there, but we are not going to ignore the law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"51una\">In an email sent to Times staff, and shared with the Tracker, Executive Editor Joseph Kahn called the subpoenas impulsive, and a naked attempt to intimidate the newspaper and its reporters, as well as the media as a whole. He added that the Times will “mount a full defense of our staff.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7rlnk\">“We expect to prevail. We have the best legal team in the business,” he wrote. “The law protects news gatherers from this sort of retaliatory abuse of prosecutorial power. It is essential that the courts reaffirm that protection and quash this overreach. We are confident they will in this case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1r46d\">An additional Times reporter, London-based Adam Goldman, is also expected to receive a subpoena in connection with the leak investigation, according to Kahn’s email.</p><p data-block-key=\"be8ou\"><i>Update: This article has been revised to include details from court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-07-02T011631Z_1366946712_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"i3fc1\">President Donald Trump deboards the new Air Force One, a plane gifted by Qatar, in Maryland on July 1, 2026. Multiple New York Times reporters were subpoenaed July 10 by the Justice Department after reporting on safety concerns with the aircraft.</p>",
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-07-15 16:46:00+00:00) NY Times asks court to strike down DOJ subpoenas",
"(2026-07-23 21:48:00+00:00) DOJ withdraws subpoenas for NY Times reporter's records"
],
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"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Eric Lipton (The New York Times)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Editor questioned by officials at Virginia airport; phone seized and searched",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/editor-questioned-by-officials-at-virginia-airport-phone-seized-and-searched/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-21T21:02:01.298000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-08-21T17:58:37.099273Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-08-21T17:58:36.853455Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
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"city": "Dulles",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4jch5\">Journalist Max Blumenthal was stopped, questioned and had his cellphones seized and searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia after returning from a reporting trip to Iran on July 10, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"de8b1\">Blumenthal had traveled to Iran on a press visa to cover the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for <a href=\"https://thegrayzone.com/2026/07/13/israeli-influence-max-blumenthals-devices-tehran-reporting/\">The Grayzone,</a> the online news outlet he edits and founded in 2015.</p><p data-block-key=\"6u7s5\">While there, he covered official press events alongside reporters from other U.S. news organizations. He also reported on the aftermath of the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, and interviewed government officials and residents for a series of videos and articles.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcu1r\">Blumenthal told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the boarding pass for his connecting flight from Istanbul, Turkey, to Dulles was flagged for secondary screening before he arrived in the United States.</p><p data-block-key=\"28bh1\">When he landed, CBP officers escorted him to a secondary inspection room, where he waited about 30 minutes before being questioned, according to <a href=\"https://adc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/002-Memorandum-in-Support.pdf\">a federal lawsuit</a> filed later against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https://x.com/adc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@adc</a> has filed a lawsuit on my behalf against DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin over the seizure of my phones upon my return from reporting in Iran<br><br>It is clear to me I was targeted because of my journalism - for exposing US-Israeli atrocities and expressing views that upset the… <a href=\"https://t.co/3wg1CsXQQJ\">pic.twitter.com/3wg1CsXQQJ</a></p>— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) <a href=\"https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2077863944203444420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 16, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4jch5\">Officers searched Blumenthal’s carry-on bags and asked whether he felt threatened while reporting in Iran, whether he had been compensated for interviews he conducted there, how he paid for his travel and whether he planned to return to Iran.</p><p data-block-key=\"a2q3n\">After about 10 minutes of questioning, officers accompanied Blumenthal to baggage claim, where they also searched his checked luggage, according to the federal complaint. They then told him they needed to examine his two cellphones to look for evidence of criminal activity or child sexual abuse material.</p><p data-block-key=\"6dpea\">When Blumenthal declined to provide the passcodes, officers seized both his cellphones. One officer told him they were going to “hook them up to machines” to extract data from them, according to the lawsuit. Blumenthal was detained for about 2 1/2 hours before being released without his phones.</p><p data-block-key=\"eabt7\">Blumenthal said he has never been accused of or convicted of a crime, and that officers had no basis to suspect him of criminal activity. He questioned why they seized only his phones, rather than his laptop or digital camera, if they were searching for such material.</p><p data-block-key=\"9rmft\">Blumenthal told the Tracker that the stop came after conservative activist Laura Loomer, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/us/politics/trump-nsc-firings-laura-loomer.html\">who has been an informal adviser</a> to President Donald Trump, <a href=\"https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/2073934330158886922?s=20\">publicly urged</a> the administration to arrest him.</p><p data-block-key=\"alsvi\">He said the CBP officers’ questions mirrored Loomer’s accusations and that he believes he was targeted because he reports critically, and sometimes shares his opinion, on U.S. foreign policy and Israel.</p><p data-block-key=\"89m0f\">“It’s pretty obvious that I’m being targeted for political reasons and for my reporting,” Blumenthal said. “The only political activity I engage in is reporting. I don’t do activism, I don’t organize protests, I’m not running for office.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fkd4m\">The search of Blumenthal’s cellphones could expose the identities of his confidential sources, communications with his contacts, unpublished reporting and the methods by which he conducts his journalism, the lawsuit alleged.</p><p data-block-key=\"91tnh\">“Every journalist should be concerned and especially vigilant when the First and Fourth amendments are subjugated ruthlessly in order to repress those who are perceived as enemies for their reporting,” Blumenthal told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"5g5i\">After he filed his lawsuit on July 16 seeking the return of his devices, Blumenthal posted on social platform X that he had received a phone call informing him that he could retrieve them.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Soon after <a href=\"https://x.com/adc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@adc</a> filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Mullin for the illegal seizure of my devices, I received a call from CBP informing me that I could retrieve them<br><br>This does not make our case moot, however<br><br>I demand the return of any information, data, or copies obtained from… <a href=\"https://t.co/g9PIGp3jvT\">pic.twitter.com/g9PIGp3jvT</a></p>— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) <a href=\"https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2078559261114700007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 18, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4jch5\">“This does not make our case moot, however,” he wrote. “I demand the return of any information, data, or copies obtained from my phones, and will be exploring further action related to the violation of my First and Fourth amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bbrsv\">In a response to a request for comment, CBP said in a statement that anyone entering the U.S. is subject to inspection.</p><p data-block-key=\"6um7i\">“Additional scrutiny and increased inspection may be conducted, including if an individual has worked in or traveled to a high-risk country such as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, including Iran,” the statement said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9p5df\">The statement did not address agents’ questions about Blumenthal’s journalistic work or the seizure of his cell phones.</p><p data-block-key=\"klp3\">Blumenthal was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/editor-stopped-and-questioned-by-official-at-virginia-airport/\">stopped by CBP in 2025</a> after returning from a vacation in Nicaragua.</p><p data-block-key=\"b2qpb\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include a comment from Customs and Border Protection.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Blumenthal_phones.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nz2ag\">Journalist Max Blumenthal holds up his two cellphones, which were seized and searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on July 10, 2026. They were later returned.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "1:26-mc-00016",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": "Washington Dulles International Airport",
"target_us_citizenship_status": "U.S. citizen",
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": true,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": "yes",
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": "yes",
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "work product"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Virginia",
"abbreviation": "VA"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-08-17 10:43:00+00:00) Editor sues federal agencies over cellphone seizure at Virginia airport"
],
"case_statuses": [
"ongoing"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [
"United States"
],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Border Stop",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Max Blumenthal (The Grayzone)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "FBI Director Kash Patel targets press",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-20T19:46:25.941000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-24T23:10:37.440603Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-24T23:10:37.298193Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j0t80\">As President Donald Trump’s second term continued in 2026, his FBI director, Kash Patel, took steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration critically. We’re documenting Patel’s efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"e52s8\">Also read about <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kash-patel-targets-press-leakers-as-fbi-director/\">Patel’s efforts in 2025</a>, and how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\"> to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage</a> and more.</p><p data-block-key=\"fekh9\"><i>This article was first published on April 20, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"g23md\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"2shan\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 10\">July 10, 2026 | Patel asks for White House staffers’ phones in leak investigation</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 7\">May 7, 2026 | Patel orders polygraphs for his security detail, other staff <i>(updated)</i></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 6\">May 6, 2026 | FBI investigates reporter who wrote about Patel’s alleged excess drinking <i>(updated)</i></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#April 20\">April 20, 2026 | Patel sues The Atlantic for defamation</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Feb 28\">Feb. 28, 2026 | FBI investigates reporter who wrote about Patel’s girlfriend</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j0t80\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"fu1kb\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"July 10\" name=\"July 10\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"f0u98\">July 10, 2026 | Patel asks for White House staffers’ phones in leak investigation</h4><p data-block-key=\"dsa1u\">FBI Director Kash Patel and President Donald Trump’s chief of staff <a href=\"/all-incidents/susie-wiles-intimidates-leakers-press-as-white-house-chief-of-staff/\">Susie Wiles</a> orchestrated an expansive leak investigation at the White House on July 10, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bhfl\">The pair sought to identify the source behind The New York Times’ <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-security.html\">recent</a> reporting that, after taking his new Qatari-donated Air Force One on its maiden voyage to Turkey for a NATO meeting, Trump reverted to the former plane at the urging of the Secret Service. Subsequent<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/us/politics/new-air-force-one-defensive-countermeasures.html\"> reporting</a> revealed that the new plane was not outfitted with the same defensive countermeasures.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ghi\">Patel was tapped to oversee a leak investigation into the Times’ coverage, the newspaper<a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/politics/white-house-patel-investigation-times.html\"> reported</a>, and in a major departure from precedent, he ran his July 10 inquiry from the White House.</p><p data-block-key=\"bude8\">CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/politics/susie-wiles-kash-patel-leak\">reported</a> that Patel, along with Wiles, Trump’s closest aide, had established a “war room” in the West Wing and directly oversaw the investigation, which included asking officials from various agencies who had traveled with Trump or had a role in his trip to turn over their cellphones for review.</p><p data-block-key=\"4cu6k\">Later that day, a U.S. attorney issued <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-07-10&date_upper=2026-07-17&targeted_institutions=The+New+York+Times&categories=Subpoena%2FLegal+Order\">multiple subpoenas</a> targeting the Times: three were issued to the Times reporters behind the articles, demanding they appear to testify about their confidential sources. At least two others were issued to a phone provider seeking subscriber information and usage reports for accounts connected to the journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"1h4pu\">Additional third-party subpoenas seeking the journalists’ records were issued July 14 and July 16.</p><p data-block-key=\"aa0kq\">In a statement to CNN, a White House official said: “Leaks that jeopardize the safety of the President, his staff, and the traveling press pool are dangerous and a threat to national security. The White House takes these leaks seriously and will do everything legally to ensure the individual or individuals are caught and it does not happen again.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8j8bm\">The Times has filed a motion to quash the subpoenas and has asked the court to unseal its filings in the interest of public access.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 7\" name=\"May 7\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"nubk3\">May 7, 2026 | Patel orders polygraphs for his security detail, other staff <i>(updated May 2026)</i></h4><p data-block-key=\"5o3mf\">FBI Director Kash Patel has ordered polygraphs for more than two dozen members of his security detail and other staff as part of his quest to unmask those who’ve spoken with the press, MS NOW <a href=\"https://www.ms.now/news/kash-patel-ordered-polygraphs-of-more-than-two-dozen-members-of-his-team-sources-tell-ms-now\">reported</a> on May 7, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"6t9kr\">Following an April 17 <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/\">article</a> by Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick on Patel’s alleged excessive drinking, erratic behavior and absences from the agency’s headquarters, the FBI director has <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#April%2020\">sued</a> the magazine and Fitzpatrick, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/#May%206\">opened an investigation</a> into her.</p><p data-block-key=\"9khb6\">According to MS NOW, Patel has also isolated himself from some senior bureau leaders. FBI spokesman Ben Williamson disputed those claims, telling MS NOW Patel has been regularly meeting with operational leaders. Williamson declined to comment, however, on whether Patel ordered polygraphs.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvp62\">During a hearing before the U.S. Senate on May 12, Patel vehemently <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKj-MqYPpUI\">denied</a> allegations about his conduct and that he had subordinates sit for polygraph examinations over the recent reports. “I don’t order any polygraph tests,” he insisted.</p><p data-block-key=\"4k0o0\">The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/us/politics/kash-patel-hearing-fbi-drinking.html\">reported</a> that multiple people familiar with recent polygraphs and internal investigations said that they were ordered by the director.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ara\">Patel had <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kash-patel-targets-press-leakers-as-fbi-director/#April%2028\">previously announced</a> the use of polygraphs to identify the sources behind leaks to the media in April 2025, and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tulsi-gabbard-targets-press-leakers-as-national-intelligence-director/#March%2014\">similar efforts</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/#March%2021\">have been</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers-as-homeland-security-secretary/#May%2020\">undertaken</a> by other agency heads.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 6\" name=\"May 6\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"rxrxm\">May 6, 2026 | FBI investigates reporter who wrote about Patel’s alleged excess drinking <i>(updated May 2026)</i></h4><p data-block-key=\"5bomc\">The FBI is conducting a criminal leak investigation focused on Atlantic journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick, <a href=\"https://www.ms.now/news/fbi-investigating-leaks-to-journalist-who-wrote-explosive-article-on-kash-patel-sources\">MS NOW reported</a> on May 6, 2026, following her exclusive reporting on Director Kash Patel’s alleged excessive drinking, erratic behavior and absences from the agency’s headquarters.</p><p data-block-key=\"4l8i9\">Fitzpatrick’s <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/\">article</a>, published April 17, reported that Patel’s conduct on the job has included “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences,” and that more than two dozen sources, including current and former FBI officials, “described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6nvh3\">Patel <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/1/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/\">sued</a> The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick for defamation April 20, claiming that the article’s allegations were “designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” and demanding $250 million in damages.</p><p data-block-key=\"394m6\">MS NOW reported that two sources close to the matter confirmed that an investigation focusing on Fitzpatrick was underway, but during a hearing before the U.S. Senate on May 12, Patel vehemently <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/12/kash-patel-senate-hearing-drinking-updates--live/90027796007/#glc90049384007\">denied</a> its existence.</p><p data-block-key=\"cd1n6\">“I can tell you unequivocally, this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists,” Patel said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5s8gp\">Such an investigation could enable federal agents to obtain her phone records, examine her social media networks and run her name through the bureau’s databases.</p><p data-block-key=\"1qvms\">In an email to subscribers, Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg wrote that such an investigation, if true, would be disturbing. But, he added, the magazine will defend itself and its staff vigorously.</p><p data-block-key=\"85qtk\">“We will not be intimidated by illegitimate investigations or other acts of politically motivated retaliation; we will continue to cover the FBI professionally, fairly, and thoroughly; and we will continue to practice journalism in the public interest,” Goldberg continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ckhr\">“This isn’t our first rodeo. We’ve faced extraordinary government pressure, and Trump-administration calumny, before. We live in a period in which some media organizations buckle under government pressure. I promise you that we will never give in. If a story is true, we will publish it.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"April 20\" name=\"April 20\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"j0t80\">April 20, 2026 | Patel sues The Atlantic for defamation</h4><p data-block-key=\"epb33\">Attorneys for FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic and its reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, on April 20, 2026, accusing them of defaming him in an article about Patel’s alleged erratic behavior and poor job performance.</p><p data-block-key=\"dm0qg\">Fitzpatrick’s <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/\">article</a>, published April 17, reported that Patel’s conduct on the job has included “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences,” and that more than two dozen sources, including current and former FBI officials, “described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability.”</p><p data-block-key=\"75ll2\">Patel’s lack of availability has exacerbated bureaucratic delays at the FBI, Fitzpatrick reported, and his alleged excessive drinking may have led to his sharing inaccurate information about active law enforcement investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"n8v5\">Fitzpatrick quoted a statement from the FBI, attributed to Patel, responding to her list of questions: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”</p><p data-block-key=\"30ekd\">The day the article was published, Patel’s attorney Jesse Binnall <a href=\"https://x.com/jbinnall/status/2045287437325254768/photo/1\">posted</a> a letter on social platform X that he said he had sent to The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick, alleging that Fitzpatrick’s questions had contained false claims and threatening legal action if those claims were published.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0j4l\">Three days later, Patel’s attorneys filed their <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/1/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/\">complaint</a> in federal court for defamation, claiming that the article’s allegations were “designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” and that the article’s publication was done with “actual malice,” and demanded $250 million in damages.</p><p data-block-key=\"oghf\">“The statements,” the complaint argued, “falsely assert that the Director of the FBI—the nation’s chief federal law-enforcement officer—is a habitual drunk, unable to perform the duties of his office, is a threat to public safety, is vulnerable to foreign coercion, has violated DOJ ethics rules, is unreachable in emergencies, has required the deployment of ‘breaching equipment’ to extract him from locked rooms, allows alcohol to influence his public statements about criminal investigations, and behaves erratically in a manner that compromises national security.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c97un\">The Atlantic <a href=\"https://x.com/TheAtlanticPR/status/2046239419422675189\">responded</a> to the suit on X, writing: “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend <i>The Atlantic</i> and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"Feb 28\" name=\"Feb 28\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"pab1u\">Feb. 28, 2026 | FBI investigates reporter who wrote about Patel’s girlfriend</h4><p data-block-key=\"3lqb1\">The FBI investigated New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson after she published a report on Feb. 28, 2026, that the agency’s director, Kash Patel, had provided unprecedented transportation and security resources for his girlfriend.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt8r5\">FBI agents searched databases for information on Williamson and recommended further investigation to determine whether she had broken federal stalking laws while reporting the story, the Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/us/politics/fbi-times-reporter.html\">reported</a> April 22.</p><p data-block-key=\"12r3o\">Justice Department officials, however, “determined there was no legal basis to proceed with the investigation,” and the FBI dropped the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"20o3s\">Williamson had reported that Patel’s girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, has been assigned an escort of SWAT personnel and that “Mr. Patel’s demand that rotating SWAT teams provide his girlfriend with security for singing appearances, personal engagements and errands is unprecedented in the F.B.I.”</p><p data-block-key=\"64dbu\">The day the article was published, Wilkins received a threatening, anonymous email, which she forwarded to the FBI, the Times wrote. The email’s alleged sender was later criminally prosecuted and said they had sent the email after reading Williamson’s article, according to an affidavit in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"1lt5b\">The FBI then interviewed Wilkins, who said she felt “harassed” by Williamson’s reporting, which had involved reaching out to numerous people who knew her. Agents then launched the investigation into Williamson, citing laws against stalking and threats as justification.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m6kf\">Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn called the investigation “alarming,” telling the paper, “The F.B.I.’s attempt to criminalize routine reporting is a blatant violation of Elizabeth’s First Amendment rights and another attempt by this administration to prevent journalists from scrutinizing its actions.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/FBI_Director_Kash_Patel_testifies.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"y8qlo\">FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026.</p>",
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"Department of Justice",
"Donald Trump"
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"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
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{
"title": "Photographer hit with pepper spray by Proud Boy at LA rally",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-pepper-spray-by-proud-boy-at-la-rally/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-16T14:37:01.098659Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-16T14:37:01.098659Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-16T14:36:47.709117Z",
"date": "2026-07-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xwiff\">Independent photographer Christopher Almaraz was hit with chemical irritant by a right-wing extremist while documenting a political protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on July 10, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"30ko2\">Almaraz went to City Hall to photograph a news conference organized by far-right political activists, two of whom were among the Jan. 6, 2021, defendants pardoned by President Donald Trump.</p><p data-block-key=\"lif\">The event, which centered on Spencer Pratt’s failed campaign for mayor of LA and allegations of voter fraud after he lost in the primary, drew counterprotesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"9s1jo\">During the protest, one of the organizers was punched and knocked to the ground. Almaraz said another organizer, <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DaqGQMNK3g4/\">a member</a> of the far-right Proud Boys, then began pepper-spraying people in the crowd and turned toward him.</p><p data-block-key=\"ful56\">Almaraz, who publishes his work on social media and <a href=\"https://substack.com/@almoofum?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4xmi3c&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnVermJeerHHu2i-WNwCYPKPHQexQs-x3yqJHyI_7m00zZTeDQHXe90ydw8-w_aem_ugLwzcfqdFWs3wwO0z8aoA&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3\">Substack</a>, and is working on a documentary project, said he gestured to his clothing to identify himself as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"fc80u\">According to Almaraz, the Proud Boy warned him not to move behind him. Almaraz, who said he often works close to the action to capture photographs, continued documenting the scene. When the man warned him again, Almaraz told him not to tell him what to do.</p><p data-block-key=\"eeolr\">“And right when I said that, he Maced me,” Almaraz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ok76\">Almaraz said the man continued pepper-spraying people nearby. At that point, he said, he tried to stop him.</p><p data-block-key=\"85cbg\">“I know what I was doing at that point was no longer acting as a member of the press,” Almaraz said. “I just wanted to stop him from macing people and incapacitate him as fast as possible.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f25cu\">During the ensuing struggle, Almaraz said he was struck in the head with a pepper-spray can, which fractured his skull and required three stitches.</p><p data-block-key=\"ff46q\">Also at the protest that day, the same individual punched another <a href=\"/all-incidents/photographer-struck-by-proud-boy-at-la-rally/\">photographer</a> in the face. Both photographers said they filed police reports following the incidents.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m85mq\">A far-right activist pepper-sprays people at a political protest in Los Angeles, California, on July 10, 2026. Photographer Christopher Almaraz was hit by the chemical irritant while documenting the event.</p>",
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"election",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Christopher Almaraz (Independent)"
],
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}
]
