Bradley Manning Trial: the Press Under Pressure

[snot]

Reporters are required to work in a building about a quarter mile away from the actual courtroom. Conditions have been made noticeably more hostile during the last days of the trial. Tweets from journalists:

Press deserve explanation from public affairs on why they're now, after months of court martial, having armed MPs patrol press

Armed military police officer leaned over me during closing argument & said don't have Twitter open at all

Media don't have press freedom here. We have press security. We are all protected from our own electronic devices

I wonder if individuals who signed up for military ever thought they'd be policing press.

Spent close to an hour standing in a TSA-style checkpoint military public affairs now has media going through

Journalists sending me emails telling me soldier stationed right behind me with a gun.

This is new: armed soldiers roam media center quietly reprimanding journalists for even browsing Internet when #Manning trial's in session

The pressroom now has armed MPs looking over every journalists shoulder to see if they are tweeting.

MDW spokesperson came out screaming at press for not transmitting anything during USG closing arguments.

No more internet allowed during court session.

So, @FreedomofPress crowd-funded stenographers can’t transmit transcripts. “@carwinb: No more internet allowed during court session.”

(More at http://boingboing.net/2013/07/25/journalists-at-bradley-manning.html .)

What are our fearless leaders so afraid of?