U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

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U.S. Press Freedom Tracker The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a comprehensive database of press freedom incidents in the United States. border and physical attacks.

Press Freedom Tracker is a comprehensive database of press freedom incidents in the United States — everything from arrests of journalists and the seizure of their equipment to interrogations at the U.S. The Press Freedom Tracker documents incidents across the country, involving national, state and local authorities.

Update: Alameda County DA dropped case against multimedia journalist Yesica Prado on Dec. 4, three months after she was ...
11/12/2024

Update: Alameda County DA dropped case against multimedia journalist Yesica Prado on Dec. 4, three months after she was arrested while reporting on homeless encampment sweep in Oakland, CA.

Multimedia journalist Yesica Prado was arrested while reporting on a homeless encampment cleanup operation in Oakland, California, on Sept. 17, …

Digital news outlet 404 Media was subpoenaed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in October in connection with a lawsui...
11/12/2024

Digital news outlet 404 Media was subpoenaed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in October in connection with a lawsuit against Google.

It filed objections on Dec. 6, stating it wouldn’t willingly become “an arm of law enforcement.”

Digital news outlet 404 Media was subpoenaed by the state of Texas on Oct. 22, 2024, in connection with an …

Final accounting of election-related aggressions, charges dropped against journalists covering a protest during the DNC,...
03/12/2024

Final accounting of election-related aggressions, charges dropped against journalists covering a protest during the DNC, and more in this month’s newsletter by managing editor Kirstin McCudden:

Above, a snapshot of all incidents documented in the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker so far this year. Friends of the …

Attorneys for Donald Trump pursued legal actions at the end of October arguing that he is entitled to billions in damage...
27/11/2024

Attorneys for Donald Trump pursued legal actions at the end of October arguing that he is entitled to billions in damages from The New York Times, Penguin Random House and CBS for alleged bias, defamation and attempts to sway the election.

In the week before the 2024 election, attorneys representing Donald Trump pursued legal action against multiple news outlets they alleged …

Update: A man who threatened a reporter at northeastern PA newspaper was sentenced to a year of probation Nov. 25.
26/11/2024

Update: A man who threatened a reporter at northeastern PA newspaper was sentenced to a year of probation Nov. 25.

A man was charged on May 15, 2024, with harassment, disorderly conduct and making terroristic threats after allegedly threatening a …

Update: The third of four New Hampshire men indicted for allegedly vandalizing the homes of two NH Public Radio journali...
26/11/2024

Update: The third of four New Hampshire men indicted for allegedly vandalizing the homes of two NH Public Radio journalists was sentenced to 46 months in prison on Nov. 25.

Federal prosecutors filed charges against three New Hampshire men in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 15, 2023, for allegedly conspiring to …

On Nov. 6, an appeals court affirmed the dismissal of journalist Steven Monacelli’s suit against the City of Dallas and ...
22/11/2024

On Nov. 6, an appeals court affirmed the dismissal of journalist Steven Monacelli’s suit against the City of Dallas and the police officers who violently arrested him while he was documenting a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020.

Police struck a Dallas journalist with projectiles, zip-tied his wrists and placed him under arrest while he was covering a …

Editor’s suit over entry to annual judges’ conference in Tennessee dismissed Nov. 20; federal judge rules Dan McCaleb do...
22/11/2024

Editor’s suit over entry to annual judges’ conference in Tennessee dismissed Nov. 20; federal judge rules Dan McCaleb doesn’t have First Amendment right of access to information “the government has decided not to make public.”

The executive editor of a Chicago-based news publication filed a federal lawsuit against the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts …

The FBI arrested a man Nov. 15 for allegedly sending violent, hate-based messages to a New York reporter that included e...
22/11/2024

The FBI arrested a man Nov. 15 for allegedly sending violent, hate-based messages to a New York reporter that included ethnic slurs and threats to kill her and her family, as well as bomb her home.

The FBI arrested a man on Nov. 15, 2024, who was allegedly behind a series of hate-based threats against a …

A San Francisco city attorney directed journalist Jack Poulson on Oct. 3 to remove details about a sealed arrest report ...
20/11/2024

A San Francisco city attorney directed journalist Jack Poulson on Oct. 3 to remove details about a sealed arrest report from multiple articles and to “refrain” from publishing them further.

Poulson was later sued by the tech CEO who had been arrested.

A San Francisco city attorney, in a letter on Oct. 3, 2024, directed independent journalist Jack Poulson to remove details …

Update: An officer who shot pepper balls at two WAVE3 News TV journalists during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Lo...
20/11/2024

Update: An officer who shot pepper balls at two WAVE3 News TV journalists during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Louisville, KY, was cleared by police Nov. 7 of three of four violations.

A WAVE 3 News crew was shot at with pepper balls by a Louisville Metro Police Department officer while broadcasting …

Disorderly conduct charge was dropped against photojournalist Olga Fedorova on Nov. 14.She was arrested by Chicago polic...
19/11/2024

Disorderly conduct charge was dropped against photojournalist Olga Fedorova on Nov. 14.

She was arrested by Chicago police and her camera lens cracked while covering a pro-Palestinian protest at DNC in August.

Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was arrested by Chicago Police Department officers on Aug. 20, 2024, while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest …

Indiana student newspaper the Indiana Daily Student was targeted in social media posts Nov. 12 by the state’s lieutenant...
15/11/2024

Indiana student newspaper the Indiana Daily Student was targeted in social media posts Nov. 12 by the state’s lieutenant governor-elect, Micah Beckwith.

Beckwith accused the paper of engaging in “elitist leftist propaganda” and said it “needs to stop.”

The student newspaper at Indiana University Bloomington was targeted on social media by a state politician on Nov. 12, 2024. …

DOJ accused three men on Nov. 8 of plotting to murder NY-based Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad. One was also ...
12/11/2024

DOJ accused three men on Nov. 8 of plotting to murder NY-based Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad. One was also involved in a plan to kill Donald Trump.

Thirteen others have been indicted since 2021 in connection with similar plots against Alinejad.

The Department of Justice announced charges on Nov. 8, 2024, against three men it accused of surveilling and plotting to …

08/11/2024

MI court dismissed felony assault charges against officer who fired rubber bullets at three photojournalists during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Detroit.

An Oct. 21 dismissal order cited journalists’ failure to appear at trial.

A federal judge on Nov. 6 let a restraining order expire against the Florida surgeon general over an ad supporting an am...
08/11/2024

A federal judge on Nov. 6 let a restraining order expire against the Florida surgeon general over an ad supporting an amendment to end the state’s six-week abortion ban.

The official had threatened broadcasters with criminal charges if they aired it.

At least two Florida broadcast stations were sent cease and desist letters on Oct. 3, 2024, by the state’s Department …

Ohio’s attorney general will investigate whether government resources were misused when a Seneca County employee posted ...
08/11/2024

Ohio’s attorney general will investigate whether government resources were misused when a Seneca County employee posted an article on the county’s website Oct. 14.

The article attacked a reporter who wrote about a commissioner’s heated custody battle.

Advertiser-Tribune reporter Kayla Trevino and her journalistic integrity were attacked in an article published on the government website for Seneca …

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes was shoved by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the locker room foll...
08/11/2024

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes was shoved by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid in the locker room following a home game on Nov. 2.

The NBA is conducting an investigation.

Marcus Hayes, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was shoved by a player for the 76ers following a home game …

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Six years ago today, a man armed with a shotgun entered the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, MD, and shot multiple journalists, media workers. Five people were killed in the attack, and two others were injured. It was the deadliest single attack on journalists in U.S. history. These are the names of the journalists, media worker murdered in the Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 28, 2018: Gerald Fischman Rob Hiaasen John McNamara Wendi Winters Rebecca Smith https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/man-upset-newspaper-coverage-shoots-and-kills-multiple-journalists-capital-gazette-newsroom/

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Journalists in the United States face hostility from local and federal governments, along with a number of legal threats to themselves and their sources. This nonpartisan website launched in 2017 and aims to be the first to provide reliable, easy-to-access information on the number of press freedom violations in the United States—from journalists facing charges to reporters stopped at the U.S. border or asked to hand over their electronics.

When journalists are obstructed, so is the public’s right to be informed and hold power to account. The United States has some of the strongest legal free speech protections in the world, and serves as a beacon for press freedom in a world where journalists are routinely censored, attacked, or imprisoned for their work. But the U.S. record is imperfect, and journalists and advocates must tirelessly defend the First Amendment in courts, in legislatures, and in the media. Constant vigilance and an honest accounting of the country’s track record on press freedom are essential.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker brings together more than two dozen press freedom groups to create a centralized repository for research. The data we gather will help inform advocacy, journalism, and legal action.

The tracker is based on a coalition that shares knowledge about threats to press freedom across the country. Freedom of the Press Foundation, a press freedom advocacy organization, manages the day-to-day operations of the site. The Committee to Protect Journalists heads a steering committee that includes the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporters Without Borders, and Index on Censorship.