Florida continues its anti-speech crusade
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Dear friend of press freedom,
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Courtesy of Veronica Coit/Asheville Blade
Body camera footage released this week ([link removed]) following a court petition filed by Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) reveals that Asheville, North Carolina, police targeted journalists for recording them during a homeless encampment sweep in 2021.
An officer can be heard telling his colleagues to arrest journalists first, before protesters and residents of the encampment, “because they’re videotaping.”
Police then proceed to handcuff Asheville Blade journalists Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit, despite both of them repeatedly explaining that they are members of the press. They’re charged with trespassing for reporting from the public park shortly after its closing time.
Bliss and Coit were not charged with endangering or obstructing anyone and the video confirms that they recorded from a distance and did not impede police. Nonetheless, the Buncombe County district attorney continues prosecuting them. After repeated continuances, their case is scheduled for trial ([link removed]) on April 19.
We told the Asheville Citizen Times ([link removed]) “it’s disturbing and striking that Asheville, which markets itself as this progressive oasis in the South, wants to distinguish itself as the place where journalists are tried for doing their jobs at a public park.” Other cities, like Phoenix and East Palestine, Ohio, have dropped charges shortly after arresting journalists.
We explained in a press release that ([link removed]) “it’s bad enough when rogue officers arrest journalists but the ongoing prosecution means the mayor, city council and District Attorney all endorse these unconstitutional arrests.”
** Florida continues its assault on the First Amendment
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Last week Florida legislators introduced a bill, vocally supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that would open the floodgates ([link removed]) for retaliatory defamation lawsuits by the wealthy and powerful against their critics.
Then this week, the same state senator who carried DeSantis’ water on that anti-press bill proposed new legislation that would require “bloggers” who are compensated for their content to register with the state if they write about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature.”
They’d need to disclose the amount and source of their compensation for each article. It’s a flagrantly unconstitutional content-based restriction on speech that treats critics of elected officials like sex offenders so the government can maintain a blacklist of its detractors.
DeSantis has previously sought to frame his attacks on the press as necessary to save “the little guys” from large media conglomerates. That was always nonsense ([link removed]) , and now his allies in the legislature are coming directly after the “little guys” themselves. Either DeSantis will denounce this fascist bill immediately or it’s exactly what he intended all along.
** FPF demands NC court lift gag order, unseal documents
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A federal judge in North Carolina entered an order ([link removed]) sealing court records in an expelled UNC student’s lawsuit against the university. Not only that, the judge ordered the defendant not to disclose any information about the case and to inform unnamed media outlets that they’re prohibited from reporting on it.
We joined the ACLU of North Carolina and Prof. Eugene Volokh in moving the court ([link removed]) to lift the seal and the unconstitutional gag order, following a joint request from the parties. The court lifted the gag order the day after we filed, but the filings that would explain the reasons for entering it in the first place remain sealed. The public is entitled to know what persuaded a federal judge to enter a fundamentally unconstitutional prior restraint on the press.
** Daniel Ellsberg’s message following cancer diagnosis
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Our co-founder, our stalwart board member since 2012, our hero, Daniel Ellsberg, eloquently wrote ([link removed]) about how he is facing terminal cancer and discussed his ambitious plans for his final months: “I work better under a deadline. It turns out that I live better under a deadline!”
He reflected on expecting, after copying the Pentagon Papers in 1969, that he would spend his life behind bars. Instead, he was able to devote the decades since to “doing everything I could think of to alert the world to the perils of nuclear war.” That’s not to mention his vocal advocacy for the First Amendment rights of whistleblowers ([link removed]) .
He concluded that "my wish for you, my friends, is that at the end of your days you will feel as much joy and gratitude as I do now."
** What we’re reading
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Man charged in the shooting death of Spectrum News reporter ([link removed]) : A man has now been charged with first-degree murder for last week’s shooting death of Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons and attempted first-degree murder of photojournalist Jesse Walden. Keith Moses was also charged with the murder that Lyons and Walden were reporting on when they were shot as well as murder, attempted murder and armed burglary in connection with another shooting that left a woman wounded and killed her 9-year-old daughter.
Collateral murder and the persecution of Julian Assange ([link removed]) : “The effects on the First Amendment and press freedom will be severe if Julian Assange is extradited and successfully prosecuted. His persecution and torture already serve as a warning to journalists worldwide. And morally, Julian Assange’s imprisonment obstructs any reckoning we in the U.S. must do to contend with our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and their victims.”
DeSantis ‘review’ of public records can add months of delays, newly uncovered log reveals ([link removed]) : Various Florida agencies forward requested public records to the governor’s office for review before releasing them to citizens and journalists, adding weeks and months of delay. That means that at the same time he’s proposing unconstitutional legislation to crack down on reporters using anonymous sources, DeSantis is creating unnecessary bottlenecks to prevent them from accessing official sources. Apparently he’d prefer journalists don’t report on the government at all. Plenty politicians agree — hence, the First Amendment.
**
New Digital Security Digest newsletter
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FPF has a new weekly newsletter on digital security and journalism! It’ll be a short update on digital security news, what you can do about it, and other news from our team. Subscribe here ([link removed]) .
** Freedom of the Press Foundation is hiring
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FPF is thrilled to be hiring for two important roles ([link removed]) . Please apply by March 10 if you’re interested, or forward to anyone you know who wants to make a real impact in the fight for press freedoms.
Deputy Director of Advocacy
We’re seeking a deputy director of advocacy to help lead our efforts to protect the rights of journalists and whistleblowers. The role includes plenty of writing (perfect for current or former journalists) as well as organizing advocacy campaigns to protect journalists and whistleblowers at both the national and local levels. Apply here ([link removed]) .
Deputy Editor
We’re also looking for a deputy editor to help further our impact through editing and engagement. The deputy editor will work across FPF with our advocacy, digital security and U.S. Press Freedom Tracker teams as we defend press freedom worldwide. Apply here ([link removed]) .
— Seth Stern, Director of Advocacy
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