Documenting the Arrests of Journalists in Ferguson
Runa A. Sandvik
August 19, 2014
Last updated: November 26 2014, 10:50 AM EST - 24 journalists arrested
On Aug. 13, 2014, police in Ferguson, Missouri, assaulted and arrested two journalists for allegedly failing to exit a McDonald's quickly enough while on a break from covering the protests. Since then, police actions against journalists in Ferguson have escalated in severity and frequency. Many have been tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets and at least nine more have been arrested.
It should go without saying that these arrests are a gross violation of the reporters' First Amendment rights, and attempts to prevent journalists from lawfully doing their job on the streets of Ferguson are downright illegal. We will be documenting each journalist arrest below and are filing public records requests for the arrest records of the journalists who have been assaulted, detained, and arrested in Ferguson. All requests are publicly available on MuckRock.
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November 25, 2014
November 22, 2014
October 13, 2014
October 2, 2014
September 28, 2014
August 20, 2014
August 19, 2014
August 18, 2014
August 17, 2014
August 13, 2014
We insist that the St. Louis County Police Department, Ferguson Police Department, and Missouri Highway Patrol cease and desist from violating the Constitutional rights of reporters covering the protests, and respect the court document they all signed agreeing that the media and members of the public have a right to record public events without abridgement. This document is not necessary, as the First Amendment provides that right to all members of the media and public, but it's an indication of how the police have decided to ignore the law.
Freedom of the Press Foundation is monitoring the situation and will be filing requests and updating this blog post for as long as necessary.