Plus, upcoming event on covering elections and latest Tracker reports

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New York-based photojournalist Olga Fedorova, far right, is detained by Chicago police while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Israeli consulate on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Note: You’re finding this newsletter in your inbox a week earlier than usual this month, ahead of some planned vacation time. Thanks for understanding. — Kirstin

Chaotic DNC protest leads to journalists’ arrests

Like every channel in prime time this week, we’ve been heavily tuned in to the Democratic National Convention. Unlike cable television, however, we’re focused mostly outside Chicago’s United Center and solely on the journalists covering the event, especially the planned (and unplanned) protests around the Biden administration’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war.

On Day 1, there were issues ([link removed]) with long lines getting in and out of the convention center and disturbing reports of delegates using their signs to block media views ([link removed]) of protesters. Plus, newsboxes were removed from street corners ([link removed]) by the city.

At the end of Day 2, though, a small gathering of pro-Palestinian protesters, unaffiliated ([link removed]) with the larger groups that had organized the main demonstrations the day before, converged outside the city’s Israeli consulate. Protesters and police clashed and the moment intensified ([link removed]) , with protesters charging a police line. The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said more than 70 people were arrested, although police said it was fewer. But one thing was clear — at least three were journalists.

Photographer Mostafa Bassim posted on X ([link removed]) with video of the arrest of fellow photojournalist Sinna Nasseri ([link removed]) , who posts under the handle @strangevictory_:

Chicago Police arrested photojournalist @strangevictory_ ([link removed]) , Olga Fedorova and at least one more you can see in this video during the pro-Palestinian protest, I was lucky enough to get away from an arrest attempt after they kettled everyone with literally no place to go.
#DNC2024 ([link removed]) pic.twitter.com/UztMsVtiDK ([link removed])
— Mostafa Bassim (@mostafabassim1) August 21, 2024 ([link removed])

Independent journalists OIga Fedorova ([link removed]) and Josh Pacheco ([link removed]) were also arrested; all three were charged with disorderly conduct.

Pacheco, who was released after 9 1/2 hours in custody, told the Tracker that they were so tightly bound in zip ties that their wrists were red and heavily bruised the day after the arrest.

The New York-issued press pass that Pacheco was wearing was ripped away, the journalist said, and one camera sustained about $500 worth of damage when a Chicago police officer dropped it.

The Tracker will continue to report on these and other press freedom aggressions, be it from Chicago — even as the DNC packs up today — or anywhere across the U.S. For this election cycle’s press freedom aggressions, use our Election 2024 ([link removed]) tag to search the database.

For journalists in the New York area coming on or continuing the election beat, the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York is hosting a 3-part series, “Covering Elections,” focusing on press freedom and the safety challenges of reporting on the U.S. election. The first ([link removed]) is Sept. 17.

Search the database with the tag “election ([link removed]) ” for historical incidents related to elections.

Also in the Tracker

Here are some updates we’ve published this month:
* Gag order unconstitutional ([link removed]) : In Minnesota, a gag order barring NBC television affiliate KARE from publishing an improperly filed memo in a murder case was struck down last week. The prior restraint had been in place for nearly a month, with the appeals court agreeing on Aug. 13 with the outlet’s attorneys that the order was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment.
* Journalists committed no crimes ([link removed]) : Almost a year after police raids on the Marion County Record’s newsroom and co-publishers’ home, special prosecutors cleared reporters at the Kansas newspaper of any criminal activity. Their findings, released Aug. 5, refute claims by then-Police Chief Gideon Cody justifying the raids he spearheaded.

Security footage of the raid on the Marion County Record newsroom in August 2023 shows law enforcement seizing the Kansas paper’s computers. — SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF MARION COUNTY RECORD
* Last defendant sentenced ([link removed]) : More than four years after seven former eBay employees were charged with an extensive harassment campaign against journalists who ran a newsletter, the last defendant was sentenced. A former senior manager of special operations for the online retailer company pleaded guilty ([link removed]) to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses in October 2020. This July, he was sentenced to time served and one year of probation, and was fined and ordered not to have contact with the journalists.

More in the Tracker

For the latest on press freedom aggressions across the U.S., explore the database ([link removed]) and follow the Tracker on social media — we’re on X ([link removed]) and Instagram ([link removed]) . Your support is crucial to this work; donate today ([link removed]) .

Best,
Kirstin McCudden
Managing Editor, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker
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