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
New York City police detain demonstrators during a protest sparked by the death of African-American George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis. (Photo: Maria Khrenova\TASS via Getty Images)
Watchdog Calls on Authorities to Drop 'Absurd' Charges Against Journalists Covering Black Lives Matter Protests
More than 600 attacks against members of the press covering the ongoing protests have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
Aug 18, 2020
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called for authorities to drop charges against members of the news media who were arrested while covering Black Lives Matter protests across the United States.
"It is absurd that law enforcement officials around the country continue to pursue charges against journalists who were doing their jobs at the time they were arrested," Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ program director, said in a statement. "It's high time for authorities to drop this pursuit, which is frivolous and wasteful."
More than 600 attacks against the press during the protests, ongoing since the end of May, have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, and many detained journalists were released without charges, according to CPJ.
As of Monday, at least six journalists still faced charges after covering the protests, the tracker showed. The charges against them--lodged by local authorities in Nevada, Minnesota, New York, and Iowa--are misdemeanors with fines up to $1,000, according to the watchdog group.
\u201cCPJ today called on authorities in the U.S. to drop charges against journalists covering #BlackLivesMatter protests and ensure that the press can work freely.\n\nCharges are still pending against at least 6 journalists over their work covering the protests.\nhttps://t.co/uXvCr2rpkk\u201d— Committee to Protect Journalists (@Committee to Protect Journalists) 1597700388
The call from CPJ comes just weeks after Amnesty International released a report detailing human rights violations by police in the United States against protestors and journalists, and following reports that the Department of Homeland Security compiled "intelligence reports" on American journalists covering BLM protests in Portland, Oregon.
\u201c"If a journalist or legal observer is incidentally exposed to crowd control devices after remaining in the area, you will not [be] held liable."\n\n"Incidentally means...while not the target of the crowd control devices, still end up being exposed" \nhttps://t.co/vLyuk3ZECo\u201d— Ken Klippenstein (@Ken Klippenstein) 1596139996
Andrea Sahouri, a reporter for the Des Moines Register who has pleaded not guilty to charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts, demanded that the freedom of the press be protected in a tweet about CPJ's latest call for authorities to drop charges.
"Freedom of the press must be protected, as well as freedom to peacefully protest," Sahouri wrote. "I stand in solidarity with my fellow journalists still facing charges and protestors who have been unlawfully arrested."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called for authorities to drop charges against members of the news media who were arrested while covering Black Lives Matter protests across the United States.
"It is absurd that law enforcement officials around the country continue to pursue charges against journalists who were doing their jobs at the time they were arrested," Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ program director, said in a statement. "It's high time for authorities to drop this pursuit, which is frivolous and wasteful."
More than 600 attacks against the press during the protests, ongoing since the end of May, have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, and many detained journalists were released without charges, according to CPJ.
As of Monday, at least six journalists still faced charges after covering the protests, the tracker showed. The charges against them--lodged by local authorities in Nevada, Minnesota, New York, and Iowa--are misdemeanors with fines up to $1,000, according to the watchdog group.
\u201cCPJ today called on authorities in the U.S. to drop charges against journalists covering #BlackLivesMatter protests and ensure that the press can work freely.\n\nCharges are still pending against at least 6 journalists over their work covering the protests.\nhttps://t.co/uXvCr2rpkk\u201d— Committee to Protect Journalists (@Committee to Protect Journalists) 1597700388
The call from CPJ comes just weeks after Amnesty International released a report detailing human rights violations by police in the United States against protestors and journalists, and following reports that the Department of Homeland Security compiled "intelligence reports" on American journalists covering BLM protests in Portland, Oregon.
\u201c"If a journalist or legal observer is incidentally exposed to crowd control devices after remaining in the area, you will not [be] held liable."\n\n"Incidentally means...while not the target of the crowd control devices, still end up being exposed" \nhttps://t.co/vLyuk3ZECo\u201d— Ken Klippenstein (@Ken Klippenstein) 1596139996
Andrea Sahouri, a reporter for the Des Moines Register who has pleaded not guilty to charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts, demanded that the freedom of the press be protected in a tweet about CPJ's latest call for authorities to drop charges.
"Freedom of the press must be protected, as well as freedom to peacefully protest," Sahouri wrote. "I stand in solidarity with my fellow journalists still facing charges and protestors who have been unlawfully arrested."
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called for authorities to drop charges against members of the news media who were arrested while covering Black Lives Matter protests across the United States.
"It is absurd that law enforcement officials around the country continue to pursue charges against journalists who were doing their jobs at the time they were arrested," Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ program director, said in a statement. "It's high time for authorities to drop this pursuit, which is frivolous and wasteful."
More than 600 attacks against the press during the protests, ongoing since the end of May, have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, and many detained journalists were released without charges, according to CPJ.
As of Monday, at least six journalists still faced charges after covering the protests, the tracker showed. The charges against them--lodged by local authorities in Nevada, Minnesota, New York, and Iowa--are misdemeanors with fines up to $1,000, according to the watchdog group.
\u201cCPJ today called on authorities in the U.S. to drop charges against journalists covering #BlackLivesMatter protests and ensure that the press can work freely.\n\nCharges are still pending against at least 6 journalists over their work covering the protests.\nhttps://t.co/uXvCr2rpkk\u201d— Committee to Protect Journalists (@Committee to Protect Journalists) 1597700388
The call from CPJ comes just weeks after Amnesty International released a report detailing human rights violations by police in the United States against protestors and journalists, and following reports that the Department of Homeland Security compiled "intelligence reports" on American journalists covering BLM protests in Portland, Oregon.
\u201c"If a journalist or legal observer is incidentally exposed to crowd control devices after remaining in the area, you will not [be] held liable."\n\n"Incidentally means...while not the target of the crowd control devices, still end up being exposed" \nhttps://t.co/vLyuk3ZECo\u201d— Ken Klippenstein (@Ken Klippenstein) 1596139996
Andrea Sahouri, a reporter for the Des Moines Register who has pleaded not guilty to charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts, demanded that the freedom of the press be protected in a tweet about CPJ's latest call for authorities to drop charges.
"Freedom of the press must be protected, as well as freedom to peacefully protest," Sahouri wrote. "I stand in solidarity with my fellow journalists still facing charges and protestors who have been unlawfully arrested."
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.