{"id":557,"date":"2015-06-11T16:37:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-11T16:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/?page_id=557"},"modified":"2026-02-06T21:38:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T21:38:32","slug":"photo-censorship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/photo-censorship\/","title":{"rendered":"News gathering &#8211; Photos &#038; recording"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 459px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/media\/2021\/03\/08\/iowa-reporter-trial\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-apps\/imrs.php?src=https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/LVFILXT53YI6XDC6GLSHWQVVDM.jpg&amp;w=691\" width=\"449\" height=\"394\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri arrested during a protest she was covering for the newspaper on May 31, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s nothing new<\/strong> for photographers and videographers to be assaulted by police officers while trying to document police activities or other controversial issues.<\/p>\n<p>Donald Trump&#8217;s hostility towards the news media and the First Amendment is well known. Federal suppression of press and citizen photography and contacts with sources has also\u00a0 accelerated.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/01\/30\/nx-s1-5693756\/don-lemon-arrest-cnn-minneapolis\">arrests of Don Lemon<\/a><\/strong> and another reporter in Minneapolis on Jan. 30, 2026 is one example.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"KsbFXc U6u95\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\">\n<li data-hveid=\"CAQQAg\" data-complete=\"true\" data-sae=\"\"><span class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-complete=\"true\"><strong class=\"Yjhzub\" data-complete=\"true\">Mario Guevara:<\/strong>\u00a0In 2025, this Spanish-language journalist was detained by\u00a0<span data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-complete=\"true\"><a class=\"H23r4e\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/journalist-detained-immigration-ice-mario-guevarra-atlanta-77158055cda30f6be3707fb40bf661d6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-hveid=\"CAQQAw\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)<\/a><\/span>\u00a0after being arrested at a protest in Georgia. Charges were eventually dropped following pressure from press freedom advocates.<\/span><span class=\"uJ19be notranslate\" data-wiz-uids=\"pxhTUe_z,pxhTUe_10\" data-complete=\"true\"><span class=\"vKEkVd\" data-animation-atomic=\"\" data-wiz-attrbind=\"class=pxhTUe_y\/TKHnVd\" data-sae=\"\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" aria-owns=\"action-menu-parent-container\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li data-hveid=\"CAQQAg\" data-complete=\"true\" data-sae=\"\"><span class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-complete=\"true\"><strong class=\"Yjhzub\" data-complete=\"true\">Seizure of Records:<\/strong>\u00a0The administration&#8217;s\u00a0<span data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-complete=\"true\"><a class=\"H23r4e\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-business-arts-and-entertainment-government-and-politics-ca37d8079ee3ae88ba1bea1158e14f59\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-hveid=\"CAcQAQ\">Department of Justice<\/a><\/span>\u00a0previously seized the phone and email records of four\u00a0<em class=\"eujQNb\" data-complete=\"true\">New York Times<\/em>\u00a0reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-hveid=\"CAQQAg\" data-complete=\"true\" data-sae=\"\"><span class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" aria-owns=\"action-menu-parent-container\"><strong class=\"Yjhzub\" data-complete=\"true\">Search of Reporter&#8217;s Home:<\/strong>\u00a0In early 2026, the FBI searched the home of a\u00a0<em class=\"eujQNb\" data-complete=\"true\">Washington Post<\/em> journalist in connection with an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. Search warrants are, by law, instruments of last resort. Subpoenas are supposed to be used, according to the Privacy Protection Act of 1980.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The courts have also upheld the First Amendment rights of citizens to take video of police in action, as in\u00a0 <span style=\"font-size: 16px;\" role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Glik_v._Cunniffe\">Glik v. Cunniffe<\/a> (2011)<\/span> <span style=\"color: #444444; font-size: 16px;\">and a<\/span><span style=\"color: #444444;\"> July 10, 2017, a Third District Court <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.poynter.org\/2017\/u-s-court-of-appeals-sides-with-first-amendment-right-to-video-record-police\/466076\/?utm_source=All+Poynter+Subscribers&amp;utm_campaign=182ed945a2-Afternoon_Headlines12_5_2014&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_5372046825-182ed945a2-257959437\">ruling.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/free-speech\/you-have-every-right-photograph-cop\">the American Civil Liberties Union<\/a>, taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right. \u00a0And yet,\u00a0\u00a0there is &#8220;a widespread, continuing pattern of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking photographs or video in public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>May 31,\u00a0 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.desmoinesregister.com\/story\/news\/2021\/03\/10\/andrea-sahouri-trial-des-moines-register-reporter-acquitted-george-floyd-protest-arrest\/6933780002\/\">Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri<\/a> was arrested at at BLM protest and charged with to misdemeanor counts:\u00a0 failure to disperse and interference with a public official. Following a jury trial, she was found not guilty on both counts in March, 2021.<\/li>\n<li>In April, 2020, <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nypd-seizes-drone-photojournalist-documenting-mass-burials-hart-island\">New York police seized the drone<\/a> of photographer George Stienmetz in apparent retaliation for taking photos of mass burial sites on Hart Island in New York harbor. The charges were dropped and the drone returned in August 2020.<\/li>\n<li>March 2019, New Orleans police <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chubbs504\/status\/1101679748340768768?s=20\">hit a man recording video<\/a>\u00a0 &#8211; then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/he-was-filming-on-his-phone-then-a-deputy-attacked-him-and-charged-him-with-resisting-arrest?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;fbclid=IwAR3EZqkq-zXqnXxvfA8oulmPA0GBI10alHAxhKfeLxjyqXDwcXYkSjkv6Ic\">arrested him.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_3457\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/nypd-seizes-drone-photojournalist-documenting-mass-burials-hart-island\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3457\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3457\" src=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Steinmetz.HartIsland.2020-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Steinmetz.HartIsland.2020-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Steinmetz.HartIsland.2020.jpg 661w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3457\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Steinmetz, Hart Island, April 18, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>In July, 2017, Capitol Hill police <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/2017\/07\/26\/reporters-allege-capitol-police-blocked-their-coverage-of-health-care-protests-forced-them-to-delete-footage\/\">\u00a0required photographers to delete \u00a0 images and video of protests<\/a> \u00a0in the Capitol during debates over the \u00a0repeal of Obamacare.<\/li>\n<li>Release of police body cameras following fatal incidents is now mandatory in New Jersey but discretionary (and unlikely) in Pennsylvania. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/07\/14\/opinion\/we-have-police-videos-now-what.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;region=opinion-c-col-right-region&amp;WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region\">New York Times urges caution <\/a>in closing off public access in a July 2017 editorial. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban.org\/urban-wire\/police-body-camera-policies-whats-and-whats-out\">A study by the Urban Institute<\/a> is looking at the pluses and minuses of police body camera disclosure.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/world\/irvo-otieno-patient-death-mental-health-virgina-1.6786487\">Body camera footage<\/a> of a mental patient Irvo Otieno&#8217;s apparent death by smothering was released in March, 2023, over the objections of seven deputies and three hospital workers accused of second degree murder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ag-gag laws:\u00a0<\/strong><strong>State\u00a0 suppression of speech by animal rights activists <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In 1990 and 1991, the first state laws to ban videotaping of cruelty in livestock production facilities passed in Kansas, Montan and North Dakota.\u00a0 A second wave of laws hit legislatures, and some even passed,\u00a0 in 2011 \u2013 2013.\u00a0 The early laws were aimed at the actions involved in animal \u201cliberation\u201d and were often accompanied by laws about making false statements on employment applications and laws against publishing untrue statements about agricultural products (\u201cveggie libel\u201d which we will take up in the Libel section).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The idea behind\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcewatch.org\/index.php\/Ag-gag_laws\">\u201cAg Gag\u201d<\/a> laws, plainly, is to silence critics of factory farming, as noted in this<a href=\"http:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/environment\/2013\/06\/ag-gag-laws-mowmar-farms?page=1\"> Mother Jones article<\/a> from summer 2013. Many of the laws blur the line between action and speech in ways that many believe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rcfp.org\/browse-media-law-resources\/news\/tenn-ag-gag-law-might-be-unconstitutional-according-state-atty-gener\">are probably not Constitutional. <\/a>(An award-winning\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.yale.edu\/documents\/pdf\/News_&amp;_Events\/BollardLewis2012Hogan-SmogerEssayContestWinner.pdf\"> student essay<\/a> also makes this point in some detail, arguing against prior restraint.).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Recordings and permissions\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In some states, anyone being recorded in a non-public space needs to consent to the recording. In others, such as Mississippi and Virginia, only one party needs to consent. In the summer of 2022, this led to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2022\/07\/21\/mississippi-police-chief-recording-fired-dobbins\/\">the release of a police chief&#8217;s racist rant<\/a> and subsequent removal from office.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcfp.org\/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide\/\">Reporter&#8217;s Committee for Freedom of the Press<\/a> has more information on this topic. &#8216;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Reading<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcfp.org\/journals\/drone-journalism-begins-slo\/\">Drone Journalism begins slow take-off,<\/a> RCFP<\/p>\n<p>June, 2022, RCFP:\u00a0 &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcfp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/PPP22.pdf\">Police, Protesters and the Press<\/a>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Also. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcfp.org\/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide\/\">Recording and consent<\/a>,<\/p>\n<p>ACLU video 2012:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v2eXtCuVyFM\" width=\"480\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" align=\"left\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s nothing new for photographers and videographers to be assaulted by police officers while trying to document police activities or other controversial issues. Donald Trump&#8217;s hostility towards the news media and the First Amendment is well known. Federal suppression of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/photo-censorship\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-557","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7270,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/557\/revisions\/7270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}