Social media journalist arrested, injured while covering Wisconsin protest

October 8, 2020
Independent social media journalist Brendan Gutenschwager was one of four journalists arrested or detained while covering a protest in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin on Oct. 8, 2020.The protest followed a Milwaukee County prosecutor’s Oct. 7 announcement that his office would not bring charges against a Wauwatosa police officer who shot and killed Black teenager Alvin Cole on Feb. 2. Cole, 17, had refused to put down a gun and ran away from police following a disturbance at a Wauwatosa mall. The Wauwatosa …

Freelance journalist arrested while covering Wauwatosa, Wisconsin protests

October 8, 2020
Freelance journalist Blair Nelson was arrested while covering a protest in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, on Oct. 8, 2020.Demonstrations began after a Milwaukee County prosecutor said on Oct. 7 his office wouldn’t bring charges against a Wauwatosa police officer who shot and killed Black teenager Alvin Cole on Feb. 2. Police said Cole refused orders to put down a gun after he ran away from police following a disturbance at a mall. The protests came as demonstrations against police violence and racial …

Journalist arrested while covering a Portland protest, equipment confiscated and damaged

September 26, 2020
A journalist with Full Revolution Media said he was arrested by police while covering a protest on the night of Sept. 26, 2020, in downtown Portland, Oregon.The protest was among the many demonstrations that broke out in response to police violence and in support of Black Lives Matter following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents involving journalists covering protests across the country.Law enforcement officers in …

Student photojournalist arrested, equipment seized during L.A. protest

September 8, 2020
Pablo Unzueta, a freelance photojournalist and video editor for California State University, Long Beach’s newspaper, the Daily 49er, was arrested while documenting protests in the South Los Angeles area on Sept. 8, 2020.Unzueta told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was following a group of protesters as they gathered for the fourth consecutive night outside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department following the fatal shooting of Dijon Kizzee, a Black man, by deputies on Aug. 31.At approximately 8:30 p.m. on …

Journalist hit with tear gas and crowd-control rounds during Portland protest

August 16, 2020
Law enforcement officers hit Juniper Simonis with pepper spray and impact rounds as the independent journalist and scientist reported on protests in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 16, 2020, they told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.On the night of Aug. 15 and early into the morning of Aug. 16, Simonis was covering demonstrations against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Simonis has been publishing information for several months about law enforcement’s use of chemical irritants at …

Independent journalist’s equipment searched while reporting on Chicago protest

August 15, 2020
Independent journalist Raven Geary said her bag was searched by police without her consent while she reported on a protest in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 15, 2020.Geary, a freelancer who later wrote about the demonstration for the Chicago Reader, was covering a protest against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Protests against racial injustice had been held across the United States since George Floyd was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25. The …

Journalist arrested, cameras seized while covering protests in Washington, DC

August 13, 2020
Freelance journalist Kian Kelley-Chung was arrested while covering protests in Washington D.C. on Aug. 13, 2020, and held overnight in jail. Although police dropped felony riot charges against him, the journalist’s two cameras and cell phone were seized by law enforcement officers and were not returned for over two months, Kelley-Chung told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.On the evening of Aug. 13 and into the morning of Aug. 14, protestors demonstrating against police brutality and in support of the Black …

Photographer slammed to the ground, arrested by Portland police

August 8, 2020
Joseph Rushmore, a freelance documentary photographer, was arrested by police officers and charged with two misdemeanors while covering a demonstration in the early hours of Aug. 8, 2020, in northeast Portland, Oregon.The protest was one of many that have broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is documenting assaults, arrests and other incidents involving journalists …

Videojournalist arrested, equipment seized and damaged during Austin protests

July 17, 2020
Independent videojournalist Hiram Gilberto Garcia was arrested and his equipment seized while covering protests in Austin, Texas, on July 17, 2020.Garcia, who posts his livestreams and interviews on Facebook and his website, was documenting protests against police brutality in front of the Austin Police Department Headquarters downtown when officers tackled him to the ground and punched him, KXAN News reported. Garcia’s livestream from that evening can be seen here.According to an affidavit obtained by KXAN, Austin Police Department officers were …

Independent journalist assaulted and detained by federal agents while covering a Portland protest

July 2, 2020
Independent journalist Ari Taylor told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was assaulted and detained by federal officers while covering a protest in Portland, Oregon, on July 2, 2020.Taylor, who was livestreaming for Halospace Community Media and filming for the Grassroots Activist International Association, was documenting one of the many protests that have been ongoing for months in Portland and across the U.S. in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis …

Portland journalist arrested, his equipment damaged and seized

July 1, 2020
Freelance journalist Justin Yau was arrested on July 1, 2020, while filming the arrest of a protester in northeast Portland, Oregon.Yau, a student at the University of Portland whose work has been featured by the Daily Mail and The New York Times, was covering one of the many protests that had broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd. The U.S.…

Photojournalist says Portland police seized GoPro as ‘evidence’ during protest

June 30, 2020
Portland photojournalist Alex Milan Tracy said the Portland Police Bureau seized his GoPro camera “as evidence” when he was covering a protest outside the police union office in the Oregon city’s North Portland neighborhood on June 30, 2020.The protest was one of the many that broke out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is …

Freelance journalist suing after being arrested and placed in isolation while covering Portland protest

June 30, 2020
Freelance journalist Cory Elia was arrested on June 30, 2020, while covering a protest in Portland, Oregon. Elia — together with Lesley McLam, a colleague at Village Portland and KBOO radio station who was arrested with him — has since filed a lawsuit against the city of Portland, the state, and law enforcement for their arrest and treatment afterwards.Elia was covering one of the many protests that have broken out across the U.S. in response to police violence and in …
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