FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
New York, Oct. 24, 2024 — Isaac White, a journalist for Indian Time in northern New York, was arrested in May while covering a demonstration opposing a proposed settlement of a land claim by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe involving New York’s Barnhart Island.
He’s not accused of doing anything illegal besides failing to disperse when police broke up the protest. Here’s the problem: The U.S. Department of Justice has repeatedly said — most recently this month — that under the First Amendment, police dispersing protesters can’t also disperse journalists covering the protests, because how police respond to protests is news.
Over 20 national and local press freedom and civil liberties organizations signed a letter led by Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) calling on St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary Pasqua to drop all charges against White.
The following statement can be attributed to Seth Stern, director of advocacy at FPF:
“Arresting journalists for reporting on protests has always been a constitutional nonstarter. But with the DOJ, courts, and legislatures all recognizing the rights of journalists (and others) to document how police respond to protests, there’s no excuse to continue prosecuting White for doing his job. Authorities in St. Lawrence County need to drop the case against White, and police and prosecutors nationwide need to better educate themselves about the First Amendment so this doesn’t keep happening.”
You can read the letter here or below.
Please contact us if you would like further comment.
