U.S. Press Leaders Decry Abuse of Journalists in Twin Cities

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Apr 20, 2021, 08:15 ET

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders of the National Press Club and National Press Club Journalism Institute warned law-enforcement personnel in the Twin Cities to heed the Constitution and permit law-abiding journalists to cover protests there without interference or abuse.

Over the last week, police in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area have physically assaulted numerous journalists and arrested several. Reporters and producers have been hit with pepper spray or other chemical irritants, pushed around, thrown to the ground, tackled and, in some cases, locked up.

It is clear from most if not all of these cases that the journalists who were mistreated were merely doing their jobs and looking to follow police orders, according to a recent summary of events by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

This is not the first time journalists have suffered abuse at the hands of police in the Twin Cities. Last May, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested live on air while reporting on a George Floyd protest.

During the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, police mistreated reporters on a massive scale--penning them, hitting them and chemical-spraying them without regard to efforts by the press to show their credentials. Several dozen journalists were arrested during the convention week.

The "Democracy Now" news program won a $100,000 settlement three years later from state and local authorities over mistreatment of three of the program's reporters at the 2008 convention. Under the terms of the settlement, the St. Paul police agreed to train officers in respecting the First Amendment rights of the press and the public.

"Police in the Twin Cities have an abysmal record of respecting the press's right and duty to cover protests, and the events of the past week are the latest sign of it," said NPC President Lisa Matthews and NPC Journalism Institute President Angela Greiling Keane. "With the possibility of more street protests looming in the Twin Cities as the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin nears its conclusion, it is critical that local police permit reporters to do their jobs without impediment-- and certainly without abuse."

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's non-profit affiliate, promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement.

PRESS CONTACT:
Lindsay Underwood for the National Press Club
[email protected]
(202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club