On May 1st, the News/Media Alliance joined 42 other organizations in a joint statement, led by the Society of Professional Journalists, in calling on the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to acknowledge the unconstitutionality of their actions and drop the baseless charges against journalist Carlos Sanchez, who was arrested while covering protests at the University of Texas at Austin. The Texas DPS is pursuing misdemeanor charges of assault and interfering with public duties against Mr. Sanchez after alleging that his camera hit a state trooper during the protests, despite their statement purporting to strongly believe in a “journalist’s right to cover the events of the day.” It is important that clearly identified journalists are not targeted or punished for carrying out their constitutionally protected right to gather and report the news.
Rhyia Bibby is a Law Clerk at the News/Media Alliance.
