Monday, June 1, 2020

Journalists Attacked Covering Weekend Unrest

Patrol Car On Fire in Madison
As protests across the USA raged over police brutality and the killing of George Floyd, police forces aimed to disperse demonstrators.  In some incidents, members of the news media appeared to be targeted, by police and protesters alike, USAToday reports.

“Targeted attacks on journalists, media crews and news organizations covering the demonstrations show a complete disregard for their critical role in documenting issues of public interest and are an unacceptable attempt to intimidate them,” said Carlos Martínez de la Serna, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.  The CPJ said it is investigating reports of attacks and arrests in Louisville, Kentucky,  Las Vegas, Atlanta and Washington.

Branden Hunter, a reporter for the Detroit Free Press, part of the USAToday Network, went to an emergency room in Detroit on Saturday night after police administered tear gas during a protest. A cellphone, which was livestreaming the event, was  knocked from a Free Press photographer's hand. Free Press reporter JC Reindl was taken to an emergency room after he was pepper sprayed, though he showed a badge identifying himself as a member of the media.

Last thing I saw before I got sprayed. I was even holding up “media” badge

Molly Beck and Lawrence Andrea, USAToday Network reporters for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, were tear gassed and pepper sprayed  early Sunday morning in Madison, Wisconsin.


Late Saturday night, Paul Woolverton, a reporter for the Fayetteville Observer, also part of the USAToday Network, was attacked while shooting video at a looting of a J.C. Penney in the area and was treated for a concussion at a hospital.

Tyler J. Davis, a Des Moines Register reporter, was in Minneapolis Thursday, detailing the night of demonstrations when he observed police using chemical irritants to subdue protesters.

"I pulled out my camera to record the incident while being sure not to walk toward officers or have any other items in my hand," Davis wrote in an essay for USAToday. "The officer redirected his chemical spray from the fleeing duo toward me."

Davis said the officer "laid on the trigger for a few seconds" as Davis told him he was a journalist.

"My eyes refused to open, and my face and arm felt as if they were dipped in a deep-fryer," he wrote.

Protesters pummeled and chased Fox News journalist Leland Vittert outside the White House early Saturday.  Vittert said the attack clearly targeted his news organization. "We took a good thumping," he told The Associated Press.

Friday in Minneapolis, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested while covering protests.

Jimenez and his crew were arrested on air by members of the Minnesota State Patrol after identifying themselves and showing their press credentials. After getting identification information from himself and his crew, he said, "they eventually came back with our belongings … unclipped our handcuffs" and led the crew out.


CNN's headquarters in Atlanta was damaged Friday by a group of protesters who fought with police and set cars afire. While police tried to keep them away from the CNN Center, demonstrators broke windows and scrawled obscene graffiti on the network's logo.

Saturday night, MSNBC journalist Ali Velshi wrote on Twitter that he was "hit in the leg by a rubber bullet" in Minneapolis but was fine. "State Police supported by National guard fired unprovoked into an entirely peaceful rally," he said.


Los Angeles Times journalist Molly Hennessy-Fiske said Saturday evening that she was at the 5th Precinct in Minneapolis with "at least a dozen" journalists when members of the Minnesota State Patrol advanced toward the group. She said the journalists identified themselves, but officers "fired tear gas canisters on us at point-blank range."

Hennessy-Fiske said they asked officers where they should go to avoid dispersal tactics. "They did not tell us where to go," she said. "They did not direct us. They just fired on us."

She said she "got hit with a rubber bullet ... maybe two."

Reuters producer Julio César Chávez said early Sunday morning he "was shot in the arm and the back of my neck with rubber bullets" and his security adviser "was shot in the face," though a gas mask protected him.

Vice News correspondent and producer Michael Anthony Adams shared video of Minneapolis troopers approaching him and several other journalists Sunday morning at a gas station where they had taken shelter. Though he shouted "press" multiple times, one officer ordered him on the ground before another came and pepper sprayed him.


Police just raided the gas station we were sheltering at. After shouting press multiple times and raising my press card in the air, I was thrown to the ground. Then another cop came up and peppered sprayed me in the face while I was being held down.

Freelance photographer Linda Tirado wrote on Twitter early Saturday morning that she was struck by a rubber bullet  on her left eye in Minneapolis and went to a hospital to have emergency surgery. In an update a few hours later, she reported that she became "permanently blind" in her left eye but that she would continue to work.


The Denver Post said photographer Hyoung Chang was covering a protest Thursday night in downtown Denver when police fired two pepper balls directly at him.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Saturday, photographer Ellen Schmidt and freelance photographer and former Review-Journal employee Bridget Bennett were arrested while covering protests on the Strip.

In Louisville early Saturday morning, protesters vandalized a car with the logo of  news station WLKY on the driver side door. According to one of the station's reporters, Deni Kamper, chief photographer Paul Ahmann was attacked by a mob of protesters and thrown to the ground. Kamper posted on Twitter that Ahmann was "being treated but is also ok."

The previous day in Louisville, WAVE 3 News reporter Kaitlin Rust and photojournalist James Dobson were struck by pepper balls fired at them by a Louisville Metro Police Department officer. WAVE 3 news issued a statement to "strongly condemn the actions of the LMPD officer."

In Phoenix, a protester charged and made contact with CBS 5 and 3TV reporter Briana Whitney Saturday night outside Police Department headquarters.

The Pittsburgh Public Safety Department said Sunday that three journalists were injured by protesters. KDKA photojournalist Ian Smith tweeted Saturday evening that he “was attacked by protestors downtown” and that he was “bruised and bloody but alive.” He said his camera was destroyed, but “another group of protesters” pulled him to safety.

On Sunday, treatment of media prompted an apology from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“It is unacceptable. ... I take full responsibility for that and won’t equivocate no matter how difficult the environment,” he said at a news conference Sunday.

The State Patrol is also reviewing the incidents and its training protocols to prevent similar interactions, and the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists condemned the violence. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety issued new guidance to journalists to wear visible credentials that can be seen from 4 feet away.
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