Two Daily Caller journalists, as well as other reporters, sustained injuries from police officers while covering protests in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and were detained for breaking curfew, despite identifying themselves as press.
In video footage from the incident, Daily Caller Chief Video Director Richie McGinnis is filming an arrest being made by officers when he is asked to show his press badge, which he does. He is then told to leave the area, an order he complies with.
“Don’t let me catch you!” an officer yells as the journalist is walking away.
“I’m out,” McGinnis says, making his way to a car in a parking lot. McGinnis is then slammed to the ground and officers can be heard yelling at others at the scene to “get on the ground” and “out of the car.” The journalists showed images of injuries sustained during the altercation, which were reportedly given with billy clubs.
Video of @ShelbyTalcott and my detainment. As I was recording arrests, one officer told me to (quickly) clear the area. Upon arriving to the car, I was forcibly detained (with press cred in hand) and as you can hear in the video, I tried my best to comply with police orders. pic.twitter.com/2I6GNH2CNX
We’ll have some nice cuts and bruises in the coming days… pic.twitter.com/wSsnumUeCA
Other reporters at the scene included Daily Caller’s Shelby Talcott, independent reporter Brandon Gutenschwager, and Campus Reform senior campus correspondent Blair Nelson.
Talcott reported that she and McGinnis were detained, but released, while Gutenschwager and Nelson were arrested for violating a curfew order (which is supposed to not apply to press on the job) and weren’t released for hours.
We got @BGOnTheScene and @realblairnelson (no phones yet) pic.twitter.com/EaYAgSYMcm
Talcott tweeted that McGinnis’ press credentials were clearly visible when he was taken to the ground by an officer and she was forced out of the vehicle she was in.
Video of the altercation captured by local reporter Caroline Reinwald actually shows the journalists being forced out of the car and detained by police.
In a video filmed by Caroline Reinwald (@WISN_Caroline), members of the press (including Richie and Shelby) can be seen being thrown on the ground and ripped out of a vehicle by law enforcement. It’s hard to tell if this is China or America. pic.twitter.com/svAIeBp9lM
“We’re now at the point where journalists are not just detained and arrested, but now beaten by police for reasons that seem impossible to justify,” Daily Caller reporter David Hookstead tweeted, in a thread about the incident involving his colleagues.
The reporters were in the city of Wauwatosa covering protests over the announcement that police officer Joseph Mensah will not face criminal charges in the shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole. Officers reported that Cole was fleeing from police and shot at them with a handgun.
This is not the first time Daily Caller reporters have found themselves at odds with police while covering Black Lives Matter protests across the country. Talcott and DC reporter Jorge Ventura were recently arrested in Louisville, Kentucky for breaking curfew as part of a mass arrest of protesters. They identified themselves as members of the press during that incident, as well. Daily Caller Editor-In-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll threatened a lawsuit and the two were released, hours after being arrested. Charges are still pending for the two.
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