Friends of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker:

Welcome back to your newsletter around press freedom violations in the United States. Find archived editions here, and get this newsletter directly in your inbox by signing up here.

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 with long lines getting in and out of the convention center and disturbing reports of delegates using their signs to block media views of protesters. Plus, newsboxes were removed from street corners by the city. 

At the end of Day 2, though, a small gathering of pro-Palestinian protesters, unaffiliated 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, 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 with video of the arrest of fellow photojournalist Sinna Nasseri, who posts under the handle @strangevictory_:

Independent journalists OIga Fedorova and Josh Pacheco 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 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 is Sept. 17.

Also in the Tracker

Here are some updates we’ve published this month:

• Gag order unconstitutional: 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: 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.

• Last defendant sentenced: 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 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 and follow the Tracker on social media — we’re on X and Instagram. Your support is crucial to this work; donate today.

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