How press can survive interactions with police on the skirmish line
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Keith
Journalists have the right to cover protests and demonstrations.
Protests are one of the most dangerous places for journalists in America. Journalists are routinely prevented from gathering the news, illegally arrested, and attacked by law enforcement and demonstrators.
Journalists have a First Amendment right to cover public protests. Protecting and expanding that right ensures that the public can learn what’s happening at protests and how they are policed.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been assaulting journalists around the country, in some cases so severely that journalists have been hospitalized. Tell Congress to take a stand and demand answers.
In the days since the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd began in Minneapolis, attacks on journalists and press freedom have been recorded at an unprecedented level. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is investigating or has confirmed 242 such incidents—including physical assaults, arrests, damaged equipment, and more.
This morning, viewers watching CNN for coverage of the ongoing protests in Minneapolis instead witnessed an unbelievable curtailment of press freedom, as an entire film crew was arrested — on air — apparently without even being notified of the cause of their arrest.
The same week that President Donald Trump traveled to Orlando, Florida, to announce his bid for reelection, his escalating negative rhetoric against the media reached an all-time high.
The Royal Mounted Canadian Police are preventing journalists from covering members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s opposition to the construction of a natural gas pipeline that would run through British Columbia.Members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation—including the hereditary leaders—began running checkpoints that block access to the planned construction site …
The ability of the press to cover pipeline protests is critical—but some states are passing legislation that drastically escalates penalties for journalists who do so.
Journalists need to be able to cover public events without fear of physical attack.
It’s not illegal to be disrespectful to police officers. But police officers are abusing their positions of power and co-opting hate crime laws to censor criticism and offensive language.
The government’s ongoing and aggressive prosecution of people arrested merely for their presence at a protest where crimes allegedly occurred is dangerous, and will have chilling effects on the future of dissent in the United States.
Counting 2017 press freedom violations in the United States.
Two journalists still face charges and potentially decades in prison for covering Inauguration Day protests in Washington D.C. The continued prosecution of Aaron Cantú and Alexei Wood for doing their jobs is outrageous, and the U.S. Attorney should immediately drop its charges against these journalists.The Freedom of the Press …
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Thank you for encouraging Congress to speak out against ICE’s appalling attacks on journalists.
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