CNN reporter covering protests gets arrested on live TV.
CNN reporter covering protests gets arrested on live TV
State police in Minnesota have arrested a CNN reporter, producer, and camera crew while they were live on air, covering the protests in Minneapolis that followed the death of George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man who died in city police custody.
In a video shared to Twitter on Friday morning, correspondent Omar Jimenez can be seen speaking to police in the middle of a deserted street, showing them his identification while he explains that they're currently live.
"We can move back to where you'd like, we are live on the air at the moment," Jimenez says. "This is the four of us, we are one team. Put us back where you want us, we are getting out of your way, so just let us know. Wherever you want us we will go, we were just getting out of your way when you were advancing through the intersection."
Jimenez then turns back to the camera, providing context to what is happening.
"This is a scene here playing out in Minneapolis," he says. "This is part of the advanced police presence we saw come over the course of really minutes, when the local police showed up with the fire department on that building we showed you that was burning.
"This is among the state patrol unit that was advancing up the street, saying — and scattering protesters at that point — for people to clear the area."
At that point Jimenez is told he's under arrest and handcuffed.
"If you're just tuning in," says CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota back in the studio, "you are watching our correspondent Omar Jimenez being arrested by state police in Minnesota."
Camerota goes on to explain that the crew were standing where they were previously told to stand by police while covering the road closures. Members of the production crew are then also arrested, and the photographer's camera is put on the ground where it continues to broadcast live.
"They were out of the way," she says. "We don't know why they're being arrested. They're not being given any explanation as far as we can hear for why they're being arrested. We don't know why they're being handcuffed and led away. They are allowed to be reporting on the unrest that's happening right now, but for some reason the state police have decided that they need to be under arrest."
CNN issued a statement after the arrest, demanding the release of the crew. "A CNN reporter and his production team were arrested this morning in Minneapolis for doing their jobs, despite identifying themselves — a clear violation of their First Amendment rights. The authorities in Minnesota, including the Governor, must release the three CNN employees immediately."
This story is developing...
UPDATE: May 29, 2020, 3:04 p.m. BST CNN confirmed Omar Jimenez and the crew have been released from custody. Jimenez has since tweeted a photo of himself back in front of the camera.
Is US a police state now? You call this respecting human rights and freedom.
ReplyDeleteno I doubt
DeleteI've been desperately searching for updates as to their freedom and why they were arrested in the first place, but so far, nothing
ReplyDeleteThey have been released, no reason for why they were arrested in the first place. It was sicken to watch it live,
Deleteit’s interesting were any other white reporters arrested without explanation.... don’t want to sound cynical but I wonder if his arrest had anything to do with this mans skin colour
Deletethey were released pretty quickly and the officer was very calm and nice. He said he was following orders.
DeleteI thought I saw they got released with the governor’s interference
Deletehim, and both of his camera crew were arrested. They were told they were arrested for not moving from the scene that they were at after being told to leave.
DeleteCNN probably isn't running it, but the actual reporters live statement as they were released explained it. There were other people involved and one ran past them. Once it was straitened out who was who they let them go.
DeleteIrony, CNN pushing the narrative as always and this time their own reporter didn't go along with it at first, in the heat of the moment he just said the truth.
the entire CNN report is on CNN website.
DeletePolice state in the country I loved...Americans step up!!
ReplyDeleteit needs to be ALL OF US!!!
DeleteIt seems like when theres chaos in the whitehouse from a leader who thrives on discord and corruption, the whole nation gradually comes to a head and erupts into violence. Shame on the people who choose to follow suit. Believing that violence for violence, an eye for an eye, etc. Its so sad to see our great country going backwards
ReplyDelete"If you are more bothered by how people react to injustice than you are by the injustice, you are invested in oppression.”
Delete- @DavidKaib
But why do people riot and plunder stores who had nothing to do with the cops actions! Why take it out on innocent store or car owners.
ReplyDeletePeople like this don’t care about what happened, the just want to riot!
because nothing else worked? I’m sick every time I hear one of these stories. Why can’t any LEADERS help change this backwards mentality that race makes you inferior and disposable??
Deleteand if you look closely its not just black people rioting but white etc so just for the sake of it know >;( >;(
DeletePeople looted post Hurricane Michael and was various races stealing non essential items from stores and homeowners. I am a hurricane survivor and still cannot figure out why people looted after a natural disaster. Looting also took place post California wildfires.
Delete"Urban riots must now be recognized as durable social phenomena. They may be deplored, but they are there and should be understood. Urban riots are a special form of violence. They are not insurrections. The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions. They are mainly intended to shock the white community. They are a distorted form of social protest. The looting which is their principal feature serves many functions. It enables the most enraged and deprived Negro to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse. Often the Negro does not even want what he takes; he wants the experience of taking. But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights. There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act. This may explain why most cities in which riots have occurred have not had a repetition, even though the causative conditions remain. It is also noteworthy that the amount of physical harm done to white people other than police is infinitesimal and in Detroit whites and Negroes looted in unity.
DeleteA profound judgment of today’s riots was expressed by Victor Hugo a century ago. He said, ‘If a soul is left in the darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.’
The policymakers of the white society have caused the darkness; they create discrimination; they structured slums; and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance and poverty. It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes. They are born of the greater crimes of the white society. When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also demand that the white man abide by law in the ghettos. Day-in and day-out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; and he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions for civic services. The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison. Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man. These are often difficult things to say but I have come to see more and more that it is necessary to utter the truth in order to deal with the great problems that we face in our society."
-Martin Luther King
Why do we bomb entire countries for the acts of a few or their government?
Deletefor all we know, agitators were set in motion to create and intensify some of the vandalism and rioting. Many were protesting peacefully.
Deleteit’s really bad though, it should be a peaceful protest not violent...
Deletewatch this speech it’ll help https://twitter.com/thekingcenter/status/1266008254984982529?s=21
Deletehow do riots of this sort answer that question?
DeleteThere is video footage of a white police officer breaking windows of an autozone and being confronted by actual non-violent protesters.
DeleteTrump and Pompeo should sanction Minnesota for violation of human rights and Democracy as well
ReplyDeleteHe won’t. He asked them to act this way at his rallies, remember?
DeleteHe called CNN the enemy remember???
Maybe this is why we are so angry!!!
America has no longer any authority or credibility to pontificate on human rights
ReplyDeleteI used to have so much respect for this country and it’s people. Now I can see it’s just so broken from a terrible rot inside. It’s crumbling. America is so broken. So, so broken.
ReplyDeletesorry to say so, but the USA has been rotten from the very first day of founding... they said it was created for the citizens to be free, but they just forgot to mention that these citizens should be WHITE and ARYAN.
DeleteState Police will be held accountable for the arrest they did not say why they arrest the journalist reporter producer and crew… they calmly and respectfully cooperated, but state police did not say why they are being arrested. They were in the position where police told them they can cover, they identified themselves as journalist with CNN and having a live feed running, but it did not deter them to make an arrest…
ReplyDeleteAnother nail in the coffin of the 1st amendment...
ReplyDeleteUp to one, two months ago I would have just said the US are dysfunctional due to partisan agenda and incompetent government.
Now, it feels more like Germany in the 1930s. The rule of law is continuosly being ridiculed and the 1st amendment is merely existing on paper at this point.
I want to know whether they have already been released or not. Please can any of you help in this regards? This is so insane and senseless. This does not make sense and does not help the police's reputation to improve. It seems to me, (I want to underscore that I am Italian and I am not that much into American habits and culture) that the law enforcement find themselves in a situation of confusion and incapability of understanding how to handle the current situation which is taking place nationwide. They seem to be completely in disarray before the unexpected reactions, demonstrations and protests of people all over the States. Events are taking a dangerous turn and unfortunately I have a fear common people (especially the Balck Communities) will have their hardest times, not the police.
ReplyDeleteThey were released, but they should never have been arrested, they identified themselves and they had identification. ;>(
Deletethanks very much for updating me. At least nobody got injured…...
Deletehttps://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/us/minneapolis-cnn-crew-arrested/index.html
Deletethis is why police are in trouble and are being attacked. maybe something will be done before a civil war....or not. either way the police and government is on notice, we will not tolerate it any longer.
ReplyDeleteBunch of scared cops with zero clue what to do. What a joke, this and the so called President threat shoot people for theft ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Tonight is going to be five times worse. These looters have access to weapons also.
ReplyDeleteThis is fascism plain and simple
ReplyDeletebut according to Trump this is America the Great (y) right????
DeleteAs a wannabe dictator it is! for any non white non male person it is the start of hell!
DeleteI am male and white and it looks hell for me too.
DeleteI watched this live from the UK I couldn't believe what I was seeing I was actually scared for this poor reporter
ReplyDelete