On September 11, 2020, five police officers threw a female journalist to the ground and handcuffed her as she repeatedly screamed that she was with a local news network and her press credentials dangled from her neck as they shoved her into a patrol car. This was all captured on video wherein she can be clearly heard shouting that she was a reporter. At the time, she was covering an incident between police and a small group of protesters. Local authorities explained that she was taken into custody for five hours on suspicion of obstruction of justice by “interfering with a lawful arrest.” However, the same authorities later explained: “There is footage of the incident and an active investigation is underway.”
In late May 2020, two members of a TV crew from Reuters news agency were shot at with rubber bullets while police dispersed protesters defying an 20:00 curfew. Around the same time, a riot police officer charged his shield at a BBC cameraman covering another protest. The cameraman was clearly identifiable as a member of the media. An identified reporter from Germany’s international news broadcaster Deutsche Welle, again covering a protest, was shot with projectiles by police while preparing to go live on air.
These attacks on the media did not occur in Russia or Belarus, but right at home in the U.S. In June, the US Press Freedom Tracker, a non-profit project, said it was investigating more than 100 “press freedom violations” at protests. About 90 cases involved attacks. The Committee to Protect Journalists has claimed that dozens of journalists covering anti-racism protests in the U.S. have reported being targeted by security forces using tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. In many cases, the Committee said it was despite showing clear press credentials. The Society of Professional Journalists has stipulated that this excessive use of force represents a serious threat to the First Amendment guarantee which protects the press, free speech, and the right to protest.
Meanwhile, you have President Trump who continues to blatantly attack the media. He has tweeted: “The Lamestream Media is doing everything within their power to foment hatred and anarchy.” He also said that journalists were “truly bad people with a sick agenda”. Statements like these only add to a perceived justification for enforcement officials to harass and even physically attack reporters and their crews. Such crews are simply carrying out their primary role to provide citizens with the information they need to effectively govern a democracy. Attempts to prevent the media from performing this role in a safe and secure manner are in itself a deliberate attack on democracy. Such attacks do not help the image of law enforcement which is primarily to serve and protect members of the community, including those diligently and importantly working within the media. On-going coverage of the protests cannot and must not be used as an excuse to arbitrarily attack representatives of the media, despite dangerous and unwarranted pronouncements by certain politicians.
FROLITICKS 
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