Minnesota law enforcement must stop obstructing journalists covering protests
Washington, D.C., April 19, 2021— Minnesota authorities must respect journalists’ rights and refrain from charging members of the press for doing their jobs, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On the evening of April 16, law enforcement in Brooklyn Center corralled dozens of journalists along with people demonstrating against the police killing of Duante…
CPJ calls on local law enforcement in US to ensure journalist safety amid protests
Washington, D.C., April 16, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on law enforcement in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and around the United States to ensure that journalists can freely and safely cover demonstrations against police violence. “We are deeply concerned by reports about law enforcement detaining members of the media covering protests in…
Iowa journalist Andrea Sahouri acquitted on misdemeanor charges from 2020 protest coverage
New York, March 10, 2021 — In response to today’s acquittal of Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri by a court in Polk County, Iowa, on two misdemeanor charges stemming from her coverage of protests last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The acquittal of journalist Andrea Sahouri in Iowa today…
When police patrol protests in military gear, journalists face a hostile reporting environment
When St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer David Carson was covering protests against police violence in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, he said other reporters often asked him what it was like to get teargassed night after night. These days, he told CPJ, he rarely gets asked that question: “Now all of my journalist friends have been teargassed.” Tear gassings, rubber…
Charges remain against journalists arrested during George Floyd protests
Washington, D.C., August 17, 2020 – Nearly three months after the height of national Black Lives Matter protests, at least six journalists are still facing charges stemming from their coverage, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists and its partner site, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. CPJ today called on state and municipal…
Reported press freedom violations in Black Lives Matter protests near 500
New York, July 15, 2020—The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is investigating nearly 500 reported press freedom incidents since May 26, representing the unprecedented nature of attacks on journalists during recent nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. The incidents include journalists arrested, assaulted, hit with rubber bullets, pepper sprayed, tear gassed and threatened with weapons. A vast…