The assault and arrest of reporters in Ferguson, Missouri on Wednesday night is perhaps the most egregious example of a continual pattern of police harassment that journalists covering the unrest in the St. Louis suburb have faced.
The challenges that reporters are dealing with are, of course, minimal compared to those of the residents of Ferguson, which has seen days of unrest following the police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. But they nonetheless are examples of severe press intimidation.
Journalists have faced tear gas:
They have been assaulted and arrested:
I just watched police physically assault a reporter and take them offline. #fergusonshooting
— TK Tech News (@TheRealTKTech) August 14, 2014
They have had guns drawn on them:
They have been threatened for trying to report:
1/2) Police forced me and @D_Towski behind police barricade. I was recording. Cop said "You're endangering my officers officers...
.
— Ray Downs (@RayDowns) August 14, 2014
2/2) "Get back there with the 'real' media. And get that camera out of my face, slick. I can give you a problem."
— Ray Downs (@RayDowns) August 14, 2014
Police making local media leave so "we can disperse remaining people." Calling local stations telling them to pull out news trucks
— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) August 12, 2014
They have been hit by rubber bullets:
They have been ordered to stop filming: