“From the list of names to prison”: Journalists arrested while covering protests

Editor’s Note: “From Bylines to Behind Bars” was recorded before news broke that a student reporter from the Stanford Daily arrested while reporting on the occupation of a Stanford University campus building by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Alarming new data from the US Press Freedom Tracker shows that less than halfway through 2024, the number of journalists arrested or detained this year is already higher than in the past two years. combined.

Most of these arrests and detentions occurred during protests, particularly the nationwide protests related to the Israel-Gaza war. The tracker has also documented numerous cases of attacks on journalists and reports of damage to equipment.

On June 5, we spoke with two experts, Mickey Osterreicher of the National Press Photographers Association and law professor Susan E. Seager, about why protests remain one of the most dangerous places for journalists and what reporters and everyone else can do about it.

Listen to the entire conversation about X.

Police arrest journalists doing their job

Seager and Osterreicher both reported cases in which police arrested or detained reporters covering protests, despite First Amendment and other laws designed to protect their right to cover demonstrations.

Police in California, where Seager works, “generally ignore the law by arresting reporters who are just doing their jobs,” she said.

Osterreicher described the situation in New York as a “mixed picture.” After police in New York City beat, arrested and harassed numerous journalists while covering protests for racial justice surrounding the police killing of George Floyd, the NPPA and others filed suit and obtained a settlement intended to curb the New York Police Department’s abuse of journalists.

However, this has not stopped police from violating reporters’ rights during recent protests, including using “catch and release” tactics, in which officers detain journalists for several hours or more, preventing them from reporting, but never charging them.

Protection or danger through press passes

Freelance journalists and photojournalists are particularly vulnerable to police attacks, said Seager and Osterreicher. Both stressed the importance of having a press pass that reporters can use when dealing with police.

Identity cards issued by a news broadcaster or a journalists’ organization such as the NPPA, or even created by the reporters themselves, can help journalists identify themselves to the police as members of the press and assert their rights.

At the same time, clearly identifying yourself as a member of the press can leave reporters exposed to violence from protesters who may not want to be filmed or photographed. “It’s a fine line for visual journalists,” said Osterreicher. He recommended that reporters always keep an eye on the situation and continue filming even if they are attacked.

Search and confiscation of journalists’ equipment

Osterreicher and Seager also spoke about police confiscating journalists’ equipment and the risk that police might try to obtain a search warrant to search the devices even if the law prohibits it.

“If you are charged with conspiracy, or the arrest papers say you were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy,” Seager warned reporters, “that’s a sign they’re probably going to get a search warrant for your phone.”

Seager pointed to the case of journalist Pablo Unzueta, who was arrested in 2020 while covering a protest and whose device was seized, along with the devices of several protesters facing conspiracy charges. Seager’s Press Freedom Project eventually secured a settlement in Unzueta’s favor, in part due to the illegal searches of his devices.

Most recently, police at the University of California, Los Angeles, arrested journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel and prominent police critic William Gude while they were documenting arrests of protesters in May 2024. Police charged Beckner-Carmitchel with conspiracy to commit burglary and seized his phone. Seager believed they were trying to get a search warrant to search it. Using the Unzueta settlement and other precedents, Seager was able to convince police to return the device.

Preventing future violations of the First Amendment

Finally, Osterreicher and Seager discussed what could be done to prevent further violations of journalists’ rights when covering protests.

Osterreicher pointed to a shocking lack of understanding among many police officers regarding the legal rights of journalists and the need for additional training. “The fact is that all law enforcement officers take an oath, they swear to uphold the Constitution,” Osterreicher said. “That’s pretty difficult if you don’t understand what it says.”

Osterreicher also stressed the importance of communication between journalists and police before protests and called for discussions to establish rules for how to interact with each other. “You won’t be able to have a good conversation during a protest,” said Osterreicher. Instead, discussions between the media and the police must take place beforehand.

Seager suggested reaching out to local government bodies and lobbying for public hearings on police dealings with the press. “Local city councils and boards of supervisors have been too passive,” she said. Hearings could be an opportunity “to get police to talk about their jobs and get reporters to testify about what happened to them.”

Listen to the full conversation with Osterreicher and Seager here.