Tim Funk, a veteran reporter for the Charlotte Observer, was among those arrested at the N.C. Legislative Building and charged with misdemeanor trespassing and failure to disperse on Monday.
He wasn't a protester.
He wasn't a protester.
Funk, a religion writer for the Observer, was actually covering the "Moral Monday" protests which were being led by local clergy.
As seen in the video, Funk clearly had proper identification - a press badge - and didn't get involved in the protests in any way.
Yet he was still arrested. In fact, he was one of the first.
Jeff Weaver, chief of the General Assembly police in Raleigh who oversaw the arrests, told the Associated Press that Funk didn't heed warning from officers to disperse the area between the legislative chambers.
Wait a second. Is that not a public place?
I'm pretty sure journalists have a First Amendment right to gather news information in public places. The only things they can't do are trespass onto someone's private residence or tap into phone lines for the sake of news gathering. Covering this demonstration in a public place is not trespassing.
Whether you are for these protests or against them, you can't ignore the fact that this was a rush to judgment and a grave mistake on the part of General Assembly police. I'm appalled - but not surprised - by their actions. It's obviously been a long time since these officers had a class on Constitutional right.
Doug Clark of the Winston-Salem Journal said it best:
Jeff Weaver, chief of the General Assembly police in Raleigh who oversaw the arrests, told the Associated Press that Funk didn't heed warning from officers to disperse the area between the legislative chambers.
Wait a second. Is that not a public place?
I'm pretty sure journalists have a First Amendment right to gather news information in public places. The only things they can't do are trespass onto someone's private residence or tap into phone lines for the sake of news gathering. Covering this demonstration in a public place is not trespassing.
Whether you are for these protests or against them, you can't ignore the fact that this was a rush to judgment and a grave mistake on the part of General Assembly police. I'm appalled - but not surprised - by their actions. It's obviously been a long time since these officers had a class on Constitutional right.
Doug Clark of the Winston-Salem Journal said it best:
"General Assembly police apparently can't tell the difference between demonstrators practicing civil disobedience and a reporter practicing journalism."
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