Several reporters were arrested in at least two cities this weekend while covering protests against excessive police force.
Carlet Cleare and Justin Carter, two journalists for the Rochester, New York television station WHAM were taken into custody Friday night while covering a Black Lives Matter protest in the city’s downtown area. Both Cleare and Carter were the only two Black journalists in a group that included reporters from other news outlets, according to WHAM.
On Saturday, as protests continued, a reporter from the Baton Rouge television station WAFB was detained by police officers. In a statement to BuzzFeed, WAFB confirmed one of its journalists had been arrested and said it was unclear whether police had charged the reporter with any crimes.
>@WAFB employee arrested tonight @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/ZeGiewN0v6
— Mark Armstrong (@TvMarkArmstrong) July 10, 2016
Later Saturday, New Orleans public radio station WWNO confirmed on Twitter that one of its reporters had been arrested on assignment in Baton Rouge:
.@WWNO confirms that one of our reporters has been arrested in Baton Rouge. We have little information, and we are seeking more details.
— 89.9 WWNO (@WWNO) July 10, 2016
Black Lives Matter protests are not an unfamiliar sight for many American cities, but they gained new prominence this week after two Black men were killed by police officers.
Philando Castile, a 32-year-old Black man in St. Paul, Minnesota, was shot several times while his girlfriend recorded the incident on Facebook Live. Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man, was shot to death by officers in an incident that became known after a cellphone video of the encounter began circulating widely.
At a rally Thursday night, a gunman killed five police officers and injured seven others as they were trying to keep the peace at a protest in Dallas.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the White House. We apologize for the error. Thanks to Mozes Zarate for pointing out the mistake.
