Home WebMail Friday, November 1, 2024, 07:28 PM | Calgary | 1.2°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2020-05-31T04:38:14Z | Updated: 2020-06-01T13:28:57Z

HuffPost reporter Chris Mathias was taken into custody Saturday while covering anti-racism protests in New York City.

Mathias, a senior reporter who covers the far right, disinformation and hate, had been reporting for days on the protests, prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He was in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn when police took him into custody.

Mathias was released Sunday around 1 a.m. after being taken to the 72nd Precinct in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn.

Police have aggressively cracked down on the protests and journalists covering them in multiple cities during a nationwide uprising against racism . Thousands of people gathered in cities across the U.S. Saturday to demonstrate against racism and police brutality, days after Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyds neck for almost nine minutes. Floyd, who was Black, repeatedly said he could not breathe and eventually became unresponsive.

While journalists worked to cover protests, some faced arrest while doing their jobs. Police arrested CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez, producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez while they covered protests in Minneapolis on Friday morning . Las Vegas police arrested two photojournalists , Las Vegas Review-Journal staff photographer Ellen Schmidt and freelancer Bridget Bennett, on Friday as well, along with about 80 protesters.

Some reporters in Minnesota said they were hit with rubber bullets , while others were hit with tear gas . Freelance photographer Linda Tirado was shot in the eye while covering protests in Minneapolis. A journalist in Louisville, Kentucky, shouted Im getting shot! as she was hit with pepper bullets on live television.

Many journalists targeted said they were clearly identified as such; Jimenez was delivering a report on live television when police arrested him and two crew members. Mathias identified himself as a journalist while at the protest and was wearing a press badge.