As of Dec. 15, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented 32 detainments or charges against journalists in the U.S. — 28 of those at immigration-related protests — according to a new report released by the Freedom of Press Foundation (FPF) project this week.
The report notes how, unlike most years, the majority of journalists were released without charges or had them soon dropped, with law enforcement instead focusing on deterring news gathering rather than pursuing charges.
Tracker Senior Reporter Stephanie Sugars, who authored the report, said it was “shocking” to see the sharp increase in the number of journalists released without being charged.
“While perhaps a sign that officers know the journalists cannot be charged as protesters, each detention pulls eyes and ears from often chaotic protest scenes, and that may well be the point,” Sugars said.
For journalist Dave Decker, being arrested at an anti-deportation demonstration in Miami last month and held in custody for more than 30 hours was a way to “put the brakes on press freedom,” he told the Tracker.
“News is only news for a couple of hours, when it’s breaking like that,” Decker said. “I would say that there were no wires out there, there were no local people, there were no stand-ups, no TV, no helicopter. There was none of that there. So I was literally the only journalist out there. They effectively stopped the news from getting out.”
In 2025, more than 30 journalists were detained or charged for doing their jobs.
