Location: United States
Date: April 19, 2021

Several journalists are covering the protests in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The demonstrations were sparked by the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year old Black man, by a police officer. There are several reports of violence against the reporters by police and from enraged protestors. CFWIJ condemns the assault against working journalists. We demand that police stop interfering with reporters doing their job and hope that protestors also show some restraint towards the media.

Lauren Blanchard, a Fox News correspondent, shared a disturbing video on Twitter as she and her crew were detained by the police while trying to leave the area. Lauren added that police ordered them to sit on their knees and took pictures of their press IDs. In the video, multiple police officers can be seen surrounding the media crew.

CNN news correspondent Sara Sidner shared the situation in a tweet stating, “In my 25 years as a reporter I have NEVER heard police in America actually say ‘journalists will be arrested’ during a protest. But that happened in Brooklyn Center last night.”

On the same night, Sara was confronted by an enraged man during her coverage of the demonstrations. The angry man asked Sara and her crew to leave, accusing the media of twisting facts. The journalist spoke to the man calmly and asked for his thoughts on the protests. Sara shared in an interview with The Washington Post that, as a reporter, she is used to handling volatile situations while trying not to intensify such confrontations.

AFP photojournalist Eléonore Sens, and another fellow reporter, were pepper-sprayed by Minnesota police security officers. Eléonore shared on Twitter that they had clearly identified themselves as journalists, and the police deployed the gas against them anyway.

Even after restraining orders from a federal judge, police continued assaulting journalists covering the Daunte Wright protests. A federal judge issued an order on April 16 forbidding the police from using force or chemical weapons against journalists for the next two weeks. Given the slew of assaults against the press, the police have seemingly disregarded the ruling.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is closely following the situation of women journalists covering these demonstrations. We offer them our support and commend their courage. CFWIJ demands that police stop the use of force against journalists. We also hope that the demonstrators acknowledge the efforts of women journalists covering these protests and allow them to report freely without interference.

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.

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