Canadian Journalist Arrested In Mass Arrests While Covering Protests In NYC, Kept In Custody For Two Days
Location: United States, New York
Date: June 13, 2020
With the curfews put in place in large cities across the United States, reports of mass arrests have been surging. Among them was a Canadian reporter who traveled to NYC to cover the unrest, Anna Slatz with Rebel News, a Canadian news site.
Slatz was detained for two days after being arrested for “disorderly conduct” after she said police grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the ground outside a looted Zara in Midtown on June 2nd. She repeatedly screamed "media is exempted" while officers screamed at her, "go the [expletive] home!" according to her video. She said she was ferried between holding cells in Brooklyn and Manhattan, subsisting on moldy sandwiches with a dozen other women.
Releasing here the full video of my arrest.
Some things to note:
:01 — Those were lawyers with @NLGnews. Not looters.
:12 — I am pushed with a baton in the chest into a NYPD officer behind me.
:15 — I am grabbed by the throat by the officer I fell into, and thrown. (Cont) pic.twitter.com/6A7ZV4nfW7— Anna Slatz | အန်နာ (@YesThatAnna) June 9, 2020
Slatz was released after over 36 hours under custody.
BOY, DO I HAVE A STORY FOR YOU!
Please give me a few to catch my bearings, get to a hotel, and speak to my family.
(Yes, my glasses are broken. That’s part of the story, babes) pic.twitter.com/WQw4yS5UMj— Anna Slatz | အန်နာ (@YesThatAnna) June 4, 2020
Demonstrations sparked across United States after murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in the pursuit of justice. With numerous police forces deployed to protest sites, journalists face constant threat of violence, arrest and censorship. Hundreds of journalists have reported to have faced attempts at censorship, verbal attacks, blatant threats and police violence. Hundreds of journalists have been arrested while on duty and black journalists who take the ongoing civil unrest very personally are especially targeted. CFWIJ follows the events closely with great concern.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.