SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Vindication for Press Freedom as Charges Dropped Against Journalist Amy Goodman
By filing the charges in the first place, Democracy Now!'s Goodman told the crowd, "the state's attorney was attempting to stop journalism"
Oct 17, 2016
In a vindication for press freedom and land protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline, North Dakota has dismissed the "riot" charges against Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman, issued after she reported on pipeline company security guards physically assaulting nonviolent, mostly Indigenous land protectors in September.
"The judge's decision...is a great vindication of the First Amendment and...native people on the frontlines," Goodman told a crowd of supporters in Mandan, North Dakota on Monday, across the street from the courthouse.
By filing the charges in the first place, she said, "the state's attorney was attempting to stop journalism."
Goodman elaborated in a statement:
This is a complete vindication of my right as a journalist to cover the attack on the protesters, and of the public's right to know what is happening with the Dakota Access pipeline. We will continue to report on this epic struggle of Native Americans and their non-Native allies taking on the fossil fuel industry and an increasingly militarized police in this time when climate change threatens the planet.
Delphine Halgand, U.S. director for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Monday afternoon: "We are relieved that the charges against Amy Goodman have been dismissed, but they never should have been filed in the first place. It is unacceptable that a journalist's right to cover a story of major public interest was threatened by North Dakota authorities."
The decision was widely celebrated on social media, where journalists and activists alike had decried the attack on democracy:
Still, Goodman noted that other activists and journalists are facing charges for their part in the ongoing resistance.
To that end, press advocacy group Free Press delivered nearly 25,000 petitions to the office of the North Dakota state's attorney demanding that authorities drop all charges against Goodman and anyone else covering the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
"Threatening to throw journalists in jail is a blatant attempt to silence the Indigenous coalition that's protesting the construction of the pipeline on tribal lands," said Free Press campaign director Mike Rispoli. "This is a no-brainer--journalism is not a crime. The public has a right to know about protests like these. All charges must be dropped and local authorities reprimanded for violating rights that are essential to a free and functioning democracy."
Similarly, Food and Water Watch on Monday demanded the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the arrests of both Goodman and filmmaker Deia Schlosberg, who faces up to 45 years in prison for documenting a solidarity protest last week. Cracking down on Goodman, Schlosberg, and other journalists "constitutes nothing less than a war on journalism and a victory for fossil fuel interests that have banked on the pipeline," the organization's executive director, Wenonah Hauter, said in a statement.
Watch Goodman's full remarks below:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
In a vindication for press freedom and land protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline, North Dakota has dismissed the "riot" charges against Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman, issued after she reported on pipeline company security guards physically assaulting nonviolent, mostly Indigenous land protectors in September.
"The judge's decision...is a great vindication of the First Amendment and...native people on the frontlines," Goodman told a crowd of supporters in Mandan, North Dakota on Monday, across the street from the courthouse.
By filing the charges in the first place, she said, "the state's attorney was attempting to stop journalism."
Goodman elaborated in a statement:
This is a complete vindication of my right as a journalist to cover the attack on the protesters, and of the public's right to know what is happening with the Dakota Access pipeline. We will continue to report on this epic struggle of Native Americans and their non-Native allies taking on the fossil fuel industry and an increasingly militarized police in this time when climate change threatens the planet.
Delphine Halgand, U.S. director for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Monday afternoon: "We are relieved that the charges against Amy Goodman have been dismissed, but they never should have been filed in the first place. It is unacceptable that a journalist's right to cover a story of major public interest was threatened by North Dakota authorities."
The decision was widely celebrated on social media, where journalists and activists alike had decried the attack on democracy:
Still, Goodman noted that other activists and journalists are facing charges for their part in the ongoing resistance.
To that end, press advocacy group Free Press delivered nearly 25,000 petitions to the office of the North Dakota state's attorney demanding that authorities drop all charges against Goodman and anyone else covering the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
"Threatening to throw journalists in jail is a blatant attempt to silence the Indigenous coalition that's protesting the construction of the pipeline on tribal lands," said Free Press campaign director Mike Rispoli. "This is a no-brainer--journalism is not a crime. The public has a right to know about protests like these. All charges must be dropped and local authorities reprimanded for violating rights that are essential to a free and functioning democracy."
Similarly, Food and Water Watch on Monday demanded the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the arrests of both Goodman and filmmaker Deia Schlosberg, who faces up to 45 years in prison for documenting a solidarity protest last week. Cracking down on Goodman, Schlosberg, and other journalists "constitutes nothing less than a war on journalism and a victory for fossil fuel interests that have banked on the pipeline," the organization's executive director, Wenonah Hauter, said in a statement.
Watch Goodman's full remarks below:
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
In a vindication for press freedom and land protectors fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline, North Dakota has dismissed the "riot" charges against Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman, issued after she reported on pipeline company security guards physically assaulting nonviolent, mostly Indigenous land protectors in September.
"The judge's decision...is a great vindication of the First Amendment and...native people on the frontlines," Goodman told a crowd of supporters in Mandan, North Dakota on Monday, across the street from the courthouse.
By filing the charges in the first place, she said, "the state's attorney was attempting to stop journalism."
Goodman elaborated in a statement:
This is a complete vindication of my right as a journalist to cover the attack on the protesters, and of the public's right to know what is happening with the Dakota Access pipeline. We will continue to report on this epic struggle of Native Americans and their non-Native allies taking on the fossil fuel industry and an increasingly militarized police in this time when climate change threatens the planet.
Delphine Halgand, U.S. director for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Monday afternoon: "We are relieved that the charges against Amy Goodman have been dismissed, but they never should have been filed in the first place. It is unacceptable that a journalist's right to cover a story of major public interest was threatened by North Dakota authorities."
The decision was widely celebrated on social media, where journalists and activists alike had decried the attack on democracy:
Still, Goodman noted that other activists and journalists are facing charges for their part in the ongoing resistance.
To that end, press advocacy group Free Press delivered nearly 25,000 petitions to the office of the North Dakota state's attorney demanding that authorities drop all charges against Goodman and anyone else covering the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline project.
"Threatening to throw journalists in jail is a blatant attempt to silence the Indigenous coalition that's protesting the construction of the pipeline on tribal lands," said Free Press campaign director Mike Rispoli. "This is a no-brainer--journalism is not a crime. The public has a right to know about protests like these. All charges must be dropped and local authorities reprimanded for violating rights that are essential to a free and functioning democracy."
Similarly, Food and Water Watch on Monday demanded the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the arrests of both Goodman and filmmaker Deia Schlosberg, who faces up to 45 years in prison for documenting a solidarity protest last week. Cracking down on Goodman, Schlosberg, and other journalists "constitutes nothing less than a war on journalism and a victory for fossil fuel interests that have banked on the pipeline," the organization's executive director, Wenonah Hauter, said in a statement.
Watch Goodman's full remarks below:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.