Location: United States, Oakland, CA
Date: June 6, 2020

KPIX 5 News reporter Katie Nielsen was detained and handcuffed on June 1st while she was covering the peaceful protest organized by Oakland Tech High School students.

Police officers have been using curfews put in place in many cities across the United States to disperse and attack protesters and censor journalists on ground.

As around 15.000 protesters approached the Oakland Police Department, they were stopped by a barricade and given dispersal warnings as the 8 p.m. curfew approached and with only about a dozen protesters remaining in the area police rushed to make arrests.

Nielsen was grabbed by an officer and handcuffed even after she identified herself as press and had her credentials visibly with her.

She was later released with no charges against her but, “it was enough to keep us from reporting and shooting the arrests that were happening with the protesters.” said Nielsen in her coverage for KPIX 5 News on June 2nd.

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.

CFWIJ urges authorities to stop using legal mechanisms as a way to censor press and intimidate journalists.

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.