United States: Reporter Assaulted Live On Air At Phoenix Protest
Location: United States, Phoenix, Arizona
Date: June 3, 2020
CBS5 reporter Briana Whitney was attacked by a civilian man on live television while reporting on protests outside Phoenix Police Department headquarters on May 29.
Briana Whitney is an Arizona based reported who has worked tirelessly to give a voice to those who don’t have one.
Whitney was broadcasting live when a man ran towards her, tackling her while grabbing her microphone and shouting profanities at the microphone.
THIS IS NOT OKAY.
— Briana Whitney (@BrianaWhitney) May 30, 2020
This is the moment I was intentionally tackled by this man while I was on air trying to report what was happening during the protest at Phoenix PD headquarters. I feel violated, and this was terrifying.
Let us do our jobs. We are trying our very best #azfamily pic.twitter.com/bHXwbnDVPB
She apologized from the audience and eloquently recovered back to work. The incident was reported to Phoenix Police Department and remains under investigation.
This incident occurred as Whitney covered Phoenix protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 after a Minneapolis Police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes. Related protests have spread to cities across the nation.
CFWIJ strongly condemns the sexual and verbal assault Briana Whitney was subjected to and calls upon authorities to ensure safety of reporters on site.
Demonstrations sparked across the US after murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in the pursuit of justice. With numerous police forces are 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 atttacks, blatant threats and police violence. Hundreds of journalists have been arrested while on duty and black journalists who take the civil unrest very personal 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.