Report: Revolt At WaPo after Reporter Is Suspended

Reporters at the Washington Post have demanded the newspaper provide protection for a journalist who was suspended after she tweeted a link on Sunday to a years-old story about rape allegations against Kobe Bryant just hours after the basketball legend and his daughter were killed in a helicopter crash.

According to The Daily Mail, the reporters, all members of the newspaper's union, defended political reporter Felicia Sonmez, who said she has received death threats after posting the tweets.

'Felicia received an onslaught of violent messages, including threats that contained her home address, in the wake of a tweet Sunday regarding Kobe Bryant,' the Washington Post Newspaper Guild wrote on behalf of the reporters in a letter to Marty Baron, the newspaper's editor and Tracy Grant, managing editor for staff development and standards.

'Felicia had to leave her home out of fear for her safety and has gotten insufficient guidance from The Post on how to protect herself,' the letter says.

The reporters coming to her defense noted that the hours after Bryant's death Sunday were 'a fraught time to share reporting about past accusations of sexual assault'.

'The loss of such a beloved figure, and of so many other lives, is a tragedy. But we believe it is our responsibility as a news organization to tell the public the whole truth as we know it — about figures and institutions both popular and unpopular, at moments timely and untimely.

The letter also mentions that 'this is not the first time that The Post has sought to control how Felicia speaks on matters of sexual violence. Felicia herself is a survivor of assault who bravely came forward with her story two years ago.

'When articles attacking her were published in other outlets, The Post did not release a statement in support of one of its respected political reporters. Instead, management issued a warning letter against Felicia for violating The Post's vague and inconsistently enforced social media guidelines.'

The reporters urged the Post to immediately assign Sonmez a security detail 'and take whatever other steps are necessary to ensure her safety, as it has done in the past when other reporters were subject to threats.'