Aggregator

In an exclusive interview, 5 on Your Side heard from the victim, Kiajuana Carothers, for the first time after her ex-boyfriend tried to have her killed in 2023.

Portland Police Bureau officers preparing to advance on protesters at Portland State University on May 2, 2024. Photo courtesy of Alissa Azar.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

A coalition of press freedom groups sent a letter to Oregon’s Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, demanding that he drop a criminal trespass charge against Portland photojournalist Alissa Azar.

Azar was covering a pro-Palestinian protest at Portland State University on May 2, 2024, when officers shoved her to the ground and arrested her, despite her press credentials from the National Press Photographers Association. The initial hearing is scheduled for this Friday, June 7.

Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Director of Advocacy Seth Stern said:

Alissa Azar did nothing wrong on May 2. She was simply documenting a public demonstration, as she is entitled to under the Constitution.

District Attorney Schmidt and other prosecutors nationwide must cease senseless prosecutions against journalists who are simply doing their job. With the upcoming presidential elections and ongoing protests over the Israel-Gaza war, the stakes are high and there has never been a more important time for reporters to be able to freely cover protests and police. Journalists need support and protection from local police — not violence and unwarranted arrests.

Azar’s arrest and subsequent prosecution come amid unprecedented waves of arrests of journalists around the globe, especially when documenting law enforcement. It’s also part of a recent spike of arrests of U.S. journalists covering protests over the Israel-Gaza war, which is particularly unnerving just a few years after the alarming press freedom abuses at protests in response to George Floyd’s murder and other civil unrest in 2020.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Oregon, has made clear that the First Amendment protects journalists covering protests and their aftermath. Reporters play a vital role as watchdogs in ensuring that law enforcement is held accountable in the performance of its duties. Just a few hours from Portland, criminal trespass charges were dropped against a journalist who was arrested while documenting police officers clearing out a homeless encampment in Medford, Oregon. The journalist is now suing the city after the arrest violated her First and Fourth amendment rights by forcibly removing her from the scene.

FPF’s Stern said:

Journalists must be able to remain on the scene and continue the newsgathering process after police disperse demonstrators, without fear of arrest and prosecution. The public is entitled to information about how police behave at protests, especially because, without scrutiny, police are more likely to violate people’s civil rights.

The letter urges the DA’s office to consider the dangerous precedent this prosecution will set for journalists’ right to record police and the public’s access to information. It demands that the DA ensure that journalists are safe to do their jobs without risking arrest by not only dropping the charges against Azar but by continuing to promptly drop similar charges for any journalist who is wrongfully arrested at protests. And police departments in Oregon and everywhere else need to stop arresting journalists in the first place.

In addition to FPF, the letter was signed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Press Photographers Association, among others.

Read the full letter here.

Has Donald Trump's felony conviction hurt him? Naturally I was curious to see the results of the first post-verdict weekly poll from YouGov. The answer is "slightly." YouGov finds that the verdict made 5% of the electorate less likely to vote for him and 2% more likely to vote for him. That's a net loss ...continue reading "Poll: Trump’s felony conviction has hurt him only slightly so far"

A judge has rejected a law Illinois Democrats approved last month that prohibited the slating of candidates who weren't on a party primary ballot.

Police said the man left his home "in a frantic manner" Wednesday morning. He later returned home.

Green Day has announced a collaboration with apparel brand Dickies.The line includes a T-shirt, hoodie, work jacket and coveralls, and celebrates the 30th anniversary of Billie Joe Armstrong and company's…

Source

The Western District Missouri Court of Appeals found Tuesday that a judge erred in ordering a new trial in a lawsuit against the Blue Springs School District over bathroom and locker room access.

St. Louis city leaders are trying to make a change after they say they are receiving an increasing number in opioid overdose cases daily.

WASHINGTON — An attempt to reinforce Americans’ access to contraception failed Wednesday when U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a bill from advancing toward final passage. The 51-39 procedural vote required at least 60 senators to move forward, but fell short after GOP lawmakers said the measure was too broad as well as unnecessary. Alaska Sen. Lisa […]

The post U.S. Senate GOP prevents contraception access bill from moving ahead appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Before the Stonewall Riot in 1969, queer love, experiences and struggles for civil rights were woven into the fabric of American — and St. Louis’ — culture. The Missouri History Museum will unveil the Gateway to Pride exhibit, highlighting queer history for the first time since the Missouri Historical Society’s founding in 1866.

Minnesota is the latest state to eliminate a pointless state ban on community owned and operated broadband networks ghost written by the telecom lobby. New legislation, just signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, eliminates two statutes that sought to protect large monopoly telecommunications providers from community-based competition. Minnesota is one of 17 (now 16) […]

Police are investigating two separate shootings along Interstate 70. One happened Tuesday afternoon and the other happened overnight, just north of downtown St. Louis.

A St. Louis man reached a plea deal with city prosecutors and avoided going to trial next week for a 2021 fatal shooting in the city's Bevo neighborhood.

UPDATE: The man has returned home, according to police. JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. - The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has issued an Endangered Silver Advisory for an 81-year-old man. He left his home in the 6000 block of Ozark Drive in High Ridge around 11 a.m. Wednesday. According to police, he fled his residence in a [...]

Parkway School District Superintendent Dr. Keith Marty has announced his retirement at the end of the 2024-25 school year, after 14 years in the role, during which he oversaw the passage of three bond issues and the introduction of programs like Spark! and Early College.