Since September, police have arrested dozens of journalists and activists around the country for the “crime” of trying to document political protests in public spaces.1
People using iPhones, Androids and other mobile devices are changing the way we record and share breaking news. In return, police have targeted, harassed — and in many cases, arrested — those trying to capture images and video of public events.
I have documented more than 75 such arrests since the Occupy Wall Street movement began. It has gotten so bad that America’s global press freedom ranking has dropped to a historic low, according to two separate surveys.2
Today Free Press and a coalition of free speech and digital rights groups are reclaiming the First Amendment for the millions who want the freedom to document events in public spaces. We have sent a letter urging Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department to defend our “right to record.”
Whether you’re a credentialed journalist, a protester or a bystander with a smartphone, you are guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of access to information. Your right to document public events must also be protected.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees it this way. Conflicts are escalating between those trying to bear witness on one side and local police and government officials on the other. All too often, the First Amendment is caught in the middle.
As protests and election-year events unfold in 2012, we must guard these rights and protect the networks that help us voice our political beliefs. Our First Amendment right to record must extend to everyone.
Sign the letter here! Please join us.
Josh Stearns
Free Press
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1. "Tracking Journalist Arrests at Occupy Protests Around the Country," http://act2.freepress.net/go/7343?akid=3502.9848324.c-uOwD&t=7
2. "Press Freedom Index 2011–2012," Reporters Without Borders, http://act2.freepress.net/go/8314?akid=3502.9848324.c-uOwD&t=9
3. "Free Speech and Digital Rights Groups Call on Department of Justice to Protect Everyone’s Right to Record," Free Press, http://act2.freepress.net/go/10086?akid=3502.9848324.c-uOwD&t=11