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During Friday’s inauguration protests, more than 200 people were arrested and charged with felony rioting, a crime that carries up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Among those facing a decade in prison were at least seven journalists covering the protest, rounded up by D.C. metro police due to their proximity to the unrest.
Though Washington D.C. is no stranger to mass arrests–having settled millions in lawsuits after arresting over 400 during 2002 anti-World Bank protests–the shockingly stiff penalties being leveled are, according to multiple reports, with few precedents. According to The Washington Post:
Longtime D.C. defense lawyer Heather Pinckney said that in the 15 years she has practiced, she does not remember seeing demonstrators charged with felonies. Typically, she said, protesters are charged with misdemeanors or given citations and sent home.
The journalists in question include Alex Rubenstein of RT, Evan Engel of Vocativ, independent photojournalist Shay Horse, Story of America producer Jack Keller, livestreamers Matt Hopard and Alexei Wood, […]
The majority of mainstream media are complicit with the police state or outright pawns of government / corporate establishment. This is not new, however, the events of 2016 election brought it to the front and center for those who chose not to see it before. I hope those journalists facing charges for doing the job the mainstream media fails to do, can avoid prison and resume their work. I think it speaks volumes that a journalist from Russia Times is actually more representative of journalism than American corporate media.