[THS] Amy Goodman Strikes Back Against RNC Arrest, Files Lawsuit

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http://www.truthout.org/amy-goodman-strikes-back-against-rnc-arrest-files-lawsuit59324

Amy Goodman Strikes Back Against RNC Arrest, Files Lawsuit

Sunday 09 May 2010

by: Yana Kunichoff, t r u t h o u t | Report

photo
Amy Goodman. (Photo: ChrisEaves.com)

Amy Goodman, host of the "Democracy Now!" news program and two of her
producers filed a federal lawsuit against the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis on
Wednesday, following the journalists' arrest and mistreatment while covering the
2008 Republican National Convention.

Filed with the Center for Constitutional Rights in a federal court in Minnesota, the
lawsuit says authorities violated the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to
Goodman, her producers and other journalists when they interfered with their right
to gather news.

This is not only a violation of freedom of the press, but a violation of the public's right
to know. "When journalists are arrested, that has a chilling effect on the functioning
of a democratic society," said Goodman, whose show airs on over 750 radio and TV
stations across the country. "We shouldn't have to get a record to put things on the
record."

According to a telephone conference with Goodman, she and her producers, Nicole
Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous were arrested despite visibly holding their press
passes and equipment and identified themselves as journalist. They were then
physically assaulted, detained for a long period and had their cameras, video and
other media equipment, as well as their personal belongings, searched and seized.

Goodman was arrested and pushed to the ground after she went to the arrest site
and asked officers to release her producers. She said experienced several weeks of
pain and tingling from her left elbow to her thumb as a result of handcuffs that were
too tight.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against authorities to prevent their
interference in the journalistic rights of Goodman and her producers again. It also
calls for the court to declare the actions that restricted their work unconstitutional
and award compensation and punitive monetary damages, including compensation
for medical expenses and lost or damaged property.

Goodman further asserted that the government cannot limit the flow of information in
the name of security by acting unwarrantably against journalists who report on ìthe
public acts of law enforcementî and speech such as dissent, which is protected by
the First Amendment.

Anjana Samant, a staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the
arrest of journalists during the convention was indiscriminate, and possibly even
intentional.

"The media are the eyes and ears of the American people - that is why there are
laws to protect them," Samant continued. "Law enforcement and Secret Service
agents are not exempt from those laws in their dealings with un-embedded
journalists who are documenting peaceful protestors or law enforcement's use of
force and violence against those protestors."

In the Reporters Without Borders 2009 Press Freedom Index, the United States ranks
20th out of 175 countries on the list, up from its place as 36th, sandwiched between
Taiwan and Macedonia.

Reporters Without Borders secretary-general, Jean-François Julliard said that though
"the Obama effect . . . has enabled the United States to recover 16 places in the
index, it is not enough to reassure us." Reporters Without Borders is a Paris-based
NGO that advocates freedom of the press and conducts its index annually.

The Obama administration, which has reaffirmed its commitment to break with the
practices of the Bush era, has said it will improve public access to official information
and in December a federal shield law which would guarantee protection of sources
passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.

However, in May 2009 a federal appeals court decision granting the right to publish
photos of torture of prisoners by US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq was opposed by
the government, who cited a threat to military morale and the encouragement of
anti-American feeling.

Most recently, a raid on the home of California blogger Jason Chen, who blogs about
gadgets and technology at Gizmodo, highlighted gaps in the shield law, which will
not cover the rising numbers of bloggers or citizen journalists. Chen was accused of
obtaining a prototype iPhone and publishing an exclusive about it, together with
photos and videos, without Apple's agreement.

Sharif Abdel Kouddous, a journalist and plaintiff in the lawsuit against St. Paul and
Minnesota who suffered injuries that he says resulted in long-term numbness in his
hands, chest pains for several weeks, and scars on his arms, considers this a fight to
exercise the democratic role of the media.

"The protests on the streets outside the convention center are just as important to
the democratic process as the official party proceedings inside," said Kouddous.
"Journalists should not have to risk being arrested, brutalized or intimidated by the
police in order to do perform their duties, exercise their First Amendment rights and
facilitate the rights of others to freedom of speech and assembly." Officers slammed
Kouddous against a wall after he shouted to the officers arresting Salazar that she
was a member of the press.

During the demonstrations at the Republican National Convention in 2008, law
enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades against
protesters on September 1st, 2008 on the opening day of the convention. Goodman
and her producers were among an estimated 40 to 50 journalists arrested by riot
police while covering street protests at the RNC in downtown St. Paul. About 800
demonstrators and bystanders were also arrested.

The response by the police, who said reporters could either use a telephoto lens or
embed with the police to avoid possible arrest, limits journalists right to cover matters
of public concern by influencing the perspective they provide, said the attorneys.

"The video of my arrest and of Amy's mobilized an overwhelming public response,"
said Nicole Salazar, who was videotaping as officers corralled journalists and
bystanders in a parking lot. "The public has both an interest and a right to know how
law enforcement officials are acting on their behalf. We should ask ourselves what
kind of accountability exists when there is no coverage of police brutality and
intimidation."

The complaint says the officers pushed her to the ground, knocking her video
camera from her hands. She was left bloodied with cuts, scratches and bruises on
her face after her arrest.

The lawsuit names both cities, their police chiefs, Ramsey County and its sheriff, one
identified police officer and other as yet-unidentified officers. The Minneapolis Police
Department was one of several agencies providing security during the convention.

Goodman was cited for interference with a peace officer ("If only there was a peace
officer present," she said) and obstruction of the legal process, and Kouddous and
Salazar were told they were facing felony riot charges. Kouddous and a Democracy
Now! cameraman were also arrested Sept. 4, 2008, along with a number of other
journalists, on the final night of the convention. Kouddous was cited that night for
unlawful assembly.

All the charges against the journalists and many of the protesters arrested were
eventually dropped.