Denial of Access

Total cases	31

Bill Shine, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway

White House bans CNN reporter from event for ‘inappropriate’ questions

July 26, 2018

The event was open to all members of the press — at least, all members of the press except for Kaitlan Collins.

The Nation reporter forcibly removed from Trump–Putin press conference

July 16, 2018

Sam Husseini, an op-ed reporter for The Nation, was forcibly removed from a press briefing between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018.Husseini is the communications director of the nonprofit Institute for Public Accuracy, which connects reporters with progressive experts as alternative sources. He was attending the presser as an accredited member of the press, reporting on behalf of The Nation magazine.NBC reports that two men approached Husseini just before the press …

Independent journalist Matt Lee forcibly removed from UN, stripped of press credentials

August 20, 2018

Matt Lee — an independent journalist who covers the United Nations — was forcibly removed by security from the UN …

EPA security guards refuse entry to AP reporter, then shove her out the door

May 22, 2018

On May 22, 2018, security guards at the Environmental Protection Agency prevented a number of journalists from entering a building …

Pentagon revokes embed opportunity for Washington Post reporter following critical coverage

October 17, 2018

After Dan Lamothe wrote a critical article about Afghan commandos, the Pentagon revoked his opportunity to embed with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan.

Rhode Island judge orders journalists not to contact jurors after trial

May 3, 2018

On May 8, the judge issued a new order allowing journalists to contact jurors

Kentucky State Police spokesperson threatens news organizations with denial of access

March 16, 2018

A Kentucky State Police public affairs officer told a newspaper and a radio station that they had to wait until the state police sent out an official press release before reporting on breaking news.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert refuses question from Russian TV reporter

March 17, 2018

On March 1, 2018, at a U.S. State Department Press Briefing, spokesperson Heather Nauert refused to take a question from a reporter after learning the reporter worked for Channel One in Russia.The press briefing followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual state of the nation address, in which President Putin shared a video touting Russia’s new nuclear weapons capabilities. The video included an animation showing the launch of nuclear missiles. One of the missiles is shown flying over a piece of …

More Incidents

How we track Denials Of Access

Denial of access to government events that are traditionally open or attended by the press and where the denial of access either deprives the public of significant information, appears to be retaliatory, or is done without meaningful justification. Concrete changes in policy or practice to restrict or deny access may also be included in this category.

Denial of access to individuals in some cases, such as where the available space limits the number of journalists allowed to attend or where individuals arguing for access do not meet reasonable standards for credentials, can be seen as meaningful justifications and will not be included.