By Arresting Reporters Ferguson Police Violate Signed Court Agreement

[bigtree]

Last edited Tue Aug 19, 2014, 12:19 PM - Edit history (2)

Retweeted by Freedom of the Press
Trevor Timm @trevortimm · 17h
So what happens now that the police in #Ferguson have violated this signed court agreement not to arrest journalists?



Freedom of the Press @FreedomofPress · 17h
By arresting reporters last night, the #Fergusion police violated a signed court agreement. http://www.aclu-mo.org/files/2014/0814/3464/8-15-14_Agreement.pdf …



Freedom of the Press @FreedomofPress · 1m
At least 11 reporters have been arrested in #Ferguson. We're documenting them all here: https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/blog/2014/08/documenting-arrests-journalists-ferguson …


bmaz ?@bmaz 2h
Update on journalist @rdevro, who was shot with "non-lethal" rounds and arrested while returning to his car:




Documenting the Arrests of Journalists in Ferguson

On Aug. 13, 2014, police in Ferguson, Missouri, assaulted and arrested two journalists for allegedly failing to exit a McDonald's quickly enough while on a break from covering the protests. Since then, police actions against journalists in Ferguson have escalated in severity and frequency. Many have been tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets and at least nine more have been arrested.

It should go without saying that these arrests are a gross violation of the reporters' First Amendment rights, and attempts to prevent journalists from lawfully doing their job on the streets of Ferguson are downright illegal. We will be documenting each journalist arrest below and are filing public records requests for the arrest records of the journalists who have been assaulted, detained, and arrested in Ferguson. All requests are publicly available on MuckRock.

We insist that the St. Louis County Police Department, Ferguson Police Department, and Missouri Highway Patrol cease and desist from violating the Constiutional rights of reporters covering the protests, and respect the court document they all signed agreeing that the media and members of the public have a right to record public events without abridgement. This document is not necessary, as the First Amendment provides that right to all members of the media and public, but it's an indication of how the police have decided to ignore the law.

read/monitor updates: https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/blog/2014/08/documenting-arrests-journalists-ferguson


Freedom of the Press @FreedomofPress · 11h
Every journalist arrest in #Ferguson gives every despotic regime around the world an excuse to ignore press freedom.

[bettyellen]

1. I hope they sue them, and the FPD chief loses his job.

[bigtree]

2. this is one of the most egregious police crimes in Ferguson, outside of the violence

. . . without press freedom, their crimes go mostly unaccounted for.

The most disturbing, to me is the way Ron Johnson made it his dominion to define who's a journalist and who isn't. That's the most defining debate and struggle, I believe, for the future of government, police, and military, accountability.

[bettyellen]

4. And I hope this is the tipping point. Citizens need to organize and start talking about

next April's elections and take their city back.

[kath]

3. This is abominable.

[gordianot]

5. When your tactics only inflame and escalate the protest you need an easy target to push around.

[951-Riverside]

6. No worries, the tax payers will be on the hook for whatever settlement takes place

and as usual no one will be held accountable.

[Generic Other]

7. 11 journalists arrested thus far

(CNN) -- Six journalists were taken into custody while covering the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday and early Tuesday, aggravating what one press freedom group has called a "concerted, top-down effort to restrict the fundamental First Amendment rights of the public and the press."

The incidents bring the total number of journalists arrested during the mid-August protests to 11.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-journalists-arrested/

[Kelvin Mace]

8. Read from the word "unless"

That is their escape clause. When it is your word against the police, absent COMPELLING and UNIMPEACHABLE evidence to the contrary, the police WIN.

[ReRe]

9. I noticed that too. :-( n/t

[RufusTFirefly]

10. Yes. You could drive an armored personnel carrier through that particular loophole. n/t

[RobertEarl]

13. Camera capture of event

Every journalist should have a go-pro.

At least an audio recording.

The out of control cops can only be controlled by the people at this point. We must not quit.

[frylock]

11. jack shit?

[bigtree]

12. possibly

[Uncle Joe]

14. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, bigtree.