Rival TV networks and press freedom advocacy groups stood shoulder to shoulder and defended CNN. "Police may not prevent journalists from covering protests if the journalists are in a place where the public is allowed, and they are not disrupting or interfering with law enforcement. The Reporters Committee guide states that "police cannot arrest journalists in retaliation for negative coverage or to prevent reporting on a public demonstration." Friday morning's episode had some echoes of Ferguson, Missouri, where numerous journalists were detained while covering protests in 2014. Since then, researchers at the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker have counted a handful of other cases of journalists taken into custody while covering protests.

Source: CNN May 29, 2020 11:45 UTC