Charges dropped against Oregon journalist

Courtesy Joseph Rushmore
Too often, police arrest journalists for doing their jobs. These arrests and prosecutions chill important reporting.
Arrests and prosecutions of journalists often violate the First Amendment, and they undermine the public’s right to learn about newsworthy events.
Data from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker shows that journalists are at heightened risk of arrest while covering protests. But police have also arrested reporters just for gathering news or asking questions. Journalists should never be arrested for doing their jobs.
A jury in Polk County, Iowa voted to acquit reporter Andrea Sahouri after she was arrested last summer while covering a protest. The case has been widely criticized by press freedom and human rights advocates around the world.
At least four journalists around the country will face trial this month following their arrests while covering Black Lives Matter protests, part of the unprecedented number of legal detentions of reporters in 2020.
New report, "U.S. Press Freedom in Crisis: Journalists Under Arrest in 2020," details how more than 117 journalists were arrested across the country in 2020.
A photojournalist and a documentary filmmaker were among 10 people violently arrested by NYPD officers on Sunday, undermining the department's denial that journalists were arrested.
The unfolding story of the Daniel Prude case has been a testament to the importance of transparency laws in police accountability. Across New York State, police departments and unions have resisted those efforts.
Hong Kong police have arrested Jimmy Lai, publisher of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, and his two sons under collusion charges associated with the country’s controversial new national security law. Under the notoriously vague law, China has claimed the jurisdiction to silence essentially anyone that criticizes the Chinese Communist Party or publicly supports the pro-democracy movement.
An unprecedented assault on press freedom has been carried out by police since the George Floyd protests started in May.
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 coronavirus crisis has highlighted the importance of whistleblowers to a free and unfettered press. Throughout this emergency, it has been whistleblowers playing a critical role in informing the general public and forcing governments to make important public health decisions.