Journalists covering protests across the country are facing assault and arrest while doing their jobs – By Brian Stelter (CNN Business) / May 31 2020
From Minneapolis to Washington DC, from Louisville to Las Vegas, reporters are facing assault and arrest while reporting on widespread protests and unrest.
At least a half dozen different incidents were reported on Friday, starting with the wrongful arrest of a CNN crew in Minneapolis and ending with the arrest of two photographers in Las Vegas.
Another disturbing episode took place on Saturday, when Ian Smith, a photojournalist for KDKA TV in Denver, said he was “attacked” by protesters downtown. “They stomped and kicked me,” he wrote in a tweet from the back of an ambulance. “I’m bruised and bloody but alive. My camera was destroyed. Another group of protesters pulled me out and saved my life. Thank you!”
Reporters, by and large, said they wanted the attention to be focused on the communities they cover, not on their own safety concerns. Still, the incidents provoked concern from a range of advocacy groups.
“Journalists have a clear First Amendment right to cover public events,” Freedom of the Press Foundation advocacy director Parker Higgins said in a statement.
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