Photographer held in multiple kettles by LA police while covering Wi Spa protest

July 17, 2021
Freelance photographer Joey Scott said he and other members of the media were twice corralled and stopped from moving by police as they covered a protest in Los Angeles on July 17, 2021.Scott said and other journalists were reporting on protests around the Wi Spa when they were held by police using a crowd-control technique called kettling, which corrals and restricts people from dispersing. The spa, located in L.A.’s Koreatown, became a flashpoint for anti-transgender demonstrators as the result of …

Photojournalist charged with grand larceny following filing assault complaint against NYPD officer

July 6, 2021
Independent photojournalist Gabe Quinones said he was arrested on charges of grand larceny by the New York City Police Department on July 6, 2021.The department alleges that Quinones attempted to steal an NYPD officer’s baton on June 5, the photojournalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. On that evening, Quinones was covering demonstrations in Washington Square Park, which had been the site of both protests and street parties in the weeks preceding. Gothamist reported that for several months the NYPD …

Independent videographer arrested while documenting L.A. homeless camp cleanup

July 1, 2021
Independent videographer Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was arrested while filming a homeless camp cleanup operation in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on July 1, 2021.Beckner-Carmitchel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he has been documenting such cleanup operations, which aim to remove trash and encourage unhoused populations to seek out shelters, for four months as the city has responded aggressively to a rise in homelessness in the county.Upon arriving at the site alongside two activists, a worker with LA …

NC editor jailed after reporter records court proceedings

June 22, 2021
Gavin Stone, an editor for the Richmond County Daily Journal, was charged on June 22, 2021, with criminal contempt of court for violating an administrative order that forbade the use of electronic equipment in the courtroom, according to the charging document reviewed by the Committee to Protect Journalists.Stone was charged along with Daily Journal reporter Matthew Sasser, who had brought a tape recorder into a courtroom while covering a murder trial. Stone acknowledged that he incorrectly instructed Sasser that he …

Reporter fined for contempt after recording NC court proceedings

June 22, 2021
Matthew Sasser, a reporter for the Richmond County Daily Journal, was charged on June 22, 2021, with criminal contempt of court for bringing a tape recorder into a courtroom while covering a murder trial, according to the charging document reviewed by the Committee to Protect Journalists.The charging document states that on June 21 and 22 Sasser violated a standing administrative order from August 2019 forbidding the use of electronic equipment in the courtroom.Resident Superior Court Judge Stephan Futrell fined Sasser …

Reporter, colleague arrested while documenting Elizabeth City protests

May 19, 2021
Two reporters for The Staunton News Leader, a USA TODAY network paper, were detained while covering a social justice protest in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on May 19, 2021.The protest was in response to an announcement earlier that day from the prosecutor’s office that the police shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man, on April 21 was justified and that none of the Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies would face charges. The demonstration was the latest in a wave …

Reporter and colleague arrested during protests in Elizabeth City

May 19, 2021
Two reporters for The Staunton News Leader, a USA TODAY network paper, were arrested while covering a social justice protest in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on May 19, 2021.The protest was in response to an announcement earlier that day from the prosecutor’s office that the police shooting death of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man, on April 21 was justified and that none of the Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies would face charges. The demonstration was the latest in a wave …
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