Republican convention censorship?
As American eyes are focussed on the Democratic Convention, Art Hughes, of the Minnesota Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, points to a number of worrying incidents involving the seizure of cameras and video equipment in the run up to the Republican National Convention that begins on Monday,
Just hours after arriving in the Twin Cities, three young citizen journalists were detained by Minneapolis police. The officers confiscated their video cameras and notebooks, tools they intended to help document the proceedings during the convention. The police told them they would be charged with trespassing on private railroad property. The three “suspects” adamantly deny the charge and claim the police are merely trying to intimidate them because they represent a group that has documented police abuse in the past. In addition, Minneapolis police forcefully prevented a KSTP-TV reporter from photographing a peaceful protest in a city office. There are also scattered reports of police stopping and questioning anyone with sophisticated camera equipment in St. Paul. link