Number of Journalists Arrested On Felony Charges After Covering Inauguration Unrest
Things got a little violent at the recent inauguration and for the journalists who unfortunately found themselves caught up in the mix, several of them have been arrested and detained on felony charges.
One of them is a documentary producer, one is a photojournalist, another a freelance reporter, and another is a live-streamer journalist. It's said that at least six media workers have been detained, with at least four of them facing up to 10 years in prison and a potential $25,000 fine.
All six media workers were arraigned in court on Saturday and they are waiting on further hearings in February and March to take place. It's really too bad that the public needs to have their law enforcement resources purely wasted on an incident like this, on trying media workers in court. Other journalists have called the charges inappropriate and for them to be dropped immediately but that doesn't look like it's about to happen.
They say that this sends a worrisome message to anyone who will be trying to cover future protests, but this isn't the first time that journalists have been targeted for trying to cover events in the U.S. We also saw a heavy police hand come down on those who were covering the previous Occupy protests around the United States, and surely there have been more incidents then that.
If the U.S. authorities want to maintain the image that they are a free country or promote any sort of semblance of a free press, then they need to stop targeting journalists who are covering these events. Officers need to operate with a little more discretion, in trying to know when they should let someone go (like a journalist covering an event) and stop wasting the public's time and money on persecuting individuals like this.
Aside from the journalists who were trying to cover the event, it's estimated that at least 200 people were arrested and detained after many people started vandalizing property in the DC area. It's also alleged that at least 6 officers suffered minor injuries because of the incident.
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Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/24/journalists-charged-felonies-trump-inauguration-unrest
I know someone who is a photojournalist. He was arrested several times and in almost every demonstration he covers, he gets pushed and even hit by policemen. He says it's part of the job.
sure there are lots of them with similar stories out there!
Inciting a riot so you can cover it is outside the protection of a Free Press.
Evidence of inciting a riot is kinda important if you're gonna make accusations like that.
Just going by the article you linked. They were apparently arrested as part of a "crowd" who were inciting a riot. But since I am not arresting anyone or appearing in court, your own link is evidence enough for conversation.
you'd have to be a part of a crowd if you wanted to.. ya know... cover the incident.. or maybe you dont know how journalism works..there hasn't been one shred of evidence that they are guilty of anything you allege.
Well, when personal insults start, I leave.
he didn't insult you. you don't seem to know how journalism or justice work, based on your comments.
i expect the charges will be dropped. as so many of the trumped up ones usually are during events like this so we shall see!
Being caught in a mass arrest is evidence of nothing.
I don't believe there is any evidence that this is what they did.... even the police haven't detailed what specific charges they are guilty of. Perhaps lets wait on even one shred of evidence before making sweeping generalizations?
Anyone who damaged private property should be accurately held accountable. Following due process of law and that silly inconvenient thing called evidence.
I made a general statement based on statements in the linked article, not sweeping or accusatory. Do you think inciting a riot so you can cover it is within the Freedom of Press clause?
Nice strawman. so you just believe what the state says blindly without any pause for skepticism?.....
Like i said there hasn't been one piece of evidence presented that they were engaging in any criminality, all that has been said is they were seen with a crowd and that members in that crowd were engaging in criminality. This is what a courtroom is for..... to sort these things out.
oh man this is twisted, how things are moving along.
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