With reporters shot and roughed up, advocates question whether those covering protests are targets
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The Committee to Protect Journalists, the First Amendment Coalition and Freedom of the Press Foundation were among the groups to express concern to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. In a letter, they said 'federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news.'
Noem hasn't replied, David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said Tuesday. A Noem spokesperson didn't have an immediate comment for The Associated Press.
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Protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles on Monday.
Joshua Lott/The Washington Post
Experts say the apparent hostility toward journalists, or a disregard for their role and safety, became particularly apparent during demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in 2020. A troubling indication of a decline in press freedom is the rapid escalation of threats journalists face in the United States, said Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University.
While most journalists covering wars receive training and safety equipment, it is apparent that many — particularly freelancers — don't have similar protection when assigned to events like the Los Angeles demonstrations, he said.
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'It's not like covering a war zone,' Shapiro said. 'But there are some very specific skills and strategies that people need to employ. The First Amendment is only as strong as the safety of the journalists covering these events.'
On Sunday,
New York Post photographer
A Los Angeles Police Department officer shot less-than-lethal munitions toward demonstrators on Monday.
Stephen Lam/Associated Press
'I completely understand being in the position where you could get injured,' Canham said. 'But at the same time, there was no justification for even aiming the rifle at me and pulling the trigger, so I'm a bit pissed off about that, to be honest.'
Ben Camacho, a reporter at the local news website The Southlander,
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Photojournalist Nick Stern was standing near some people waving a Mexican flags when he was shot in the thigh. He later had emergency surgery. 'I thought it was a live round because of the sheer intensity of the pain,' he told the AP. 'Then I passed out from the pain.'
Lexis Olivier-Ray of L.A. Taco, an alternative independent media platform, thought he was safely positioned with some television crews but instead had pepper balls shot at him. Some reporters may have taken less care: one posted a clip from film he shot about 10 yards (9.1 meters) from a police officer with a rifle pointed at him.
Not all of the incidents involved law enforcement. AP photographer Jae Hong was kicked and hit with sticks by protesters on Monday, his protective gear enabling him to escape injury. A Los Angeles TV reporter and her crew were forced away by demonstrators, one loudly yelling, 'get out of here.'
CNN aired video of its correspondent, Jason Carroll, and his crew with their hands behind their backs being led away from a protest by officers. They were later released.
Protesters demonstrate outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on Monday.
Joshua Lott/The Washington Post
In many past conflicts, journalists had a measure of protection because opposing sides wanted them to record their side of the stories, Shapiro said. Now many journalists are seen as superfluous by people who have other ways of delivering their messages, or a target by those who want to spread fear, he said.
It illustrates the importance of proper training and protection, he said. For reporters in the middle of the story now, they should plan carefully — being aware of exit routes and safe zones, working in tandem with others and in constant communication with their newsrooms.
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'We need everyone from major news outlets to television to citizen journalists,' he said. 'We need them on the street. But we need them to be safe.'
AP correspondent Jake Offenhartz in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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