Charlotte Observer | Associated Press | The Guardian
Charlotte Observer religion reporter Tim Funk was arrested Monday while covering a protest in Raleigh, the state capital, Mark Washburn reports: “Funk, who was wearing Charlotte Observer identification, was handcuffed and taken along with the arrested protesters to the Wake County magistrate’s office to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges of trespassing and failure to disperse,” Washburn writes.
In a phone call with Poynter, Observer Managing Editor Cheryl Carpenter said Funk was attempting to locate a clergymember when he was arrested. The paper has asked him not to comment publicly, she said, adding that “We intend to defend him vigorously.”
The protests are part of an ongoing series of demonstrations called “Moral Mondays.” North Carolina NAACP President William J. Barber wrote about the protests in the Guardian Monday, saying they urge “legislators to govern for the good of the whole, rather than for the wealthy.”
Carpenter told the Associated Press that Funk was at the protest “solely to do his job as a news reporter.” The General Assembly’s police chief told the news cooperative Funk disobeyed an order to disperse.
The Advancement Project sent this pic of @theobserver Faith reporter Tim Funk being arrested #moralmonday twitter.com/DianneG/status… #cltnews
— Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) June 10, 2013
