Archive for the 'Protests' Category
Tequila Party Member Slaps Videographer
Published April 27, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Protests , Rally 2 CommentsTags: arizona, illegal alien, illegal immigration, illegal immigration bill
Photographers’ Rights Protest in So Cal May 1
Published April 25, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Protests Leave a CommentTags: College Swimming State Championships
Photographers in Southern California are urged to come out on May 1 to the 2010 College Swimming State Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA, to show their solidarity and support for photographers’ rights at public sporting events.
It all stems from a recent incident where a photographer was singled out at a swim meet in the same venue and asked to leave by security, who told him the coaches would prefer he not take photos, apparently because of the looks of his equipment.
Bring all your cameras, still and video, bring your long lenses, monopods, etc. Let’s make it obvious that we are serious photographers exercising our rights to take pictures in public.
From Photography Is Not a Crime (via War on Photography)
Photographer Sues Homeland Security Dept.
Published April 23, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Protests 5 CommentsTags: Antonio Musumeci, federal courthouse, new york city, NYCLU, photographing federal buildings
Software developer, amateur photographer and self-proclaimed libertarian activist Antonio Musemeci and the NYCLU are suing the Department of Homeland Security for what they say was an unlawful arrest during a protest at the Manhattan federal courthouse last year. The lawsuit challenges a “government regulation that unconstitutionally restricts photography on federal property, including public plazas and sidewalks.”
Musumeci was videotaping the arrest of protestor Julian Heicklen in November 2009, when officers approached and asked what he was doing. Because he said he was freelancing (which he does for Free Talk Live – for free), he was arrested under a code which prohibits news or commercial photography on federal property. The situation was classic — very similar to the dozens of ones we’ve reported on here. The agents took his camera and poked around on it, talked down to him, threw their weight around. Ultimately only Musumeci’s memory card was confiscated after he suggested that would be the only relevant information for the agents. While charges against him were eventually dropped, Musumeci never got his memory card back.
From the NYCLU:
“We understand the need for heightened security around federal buildings, but the government cannot arrest people for taking pictures in a public plaza.”
It will be really interesting to see how this turns out, as it could be a watershed event for photographers’ rights.
You can read all of the events leading up to the arrest here.
Article from New York Daily News and blog of bile
Nazis Rally for Racism in LA
Published April 21, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Protests , Rally Leave a CommentTags: discarted, LAist.com, Los Angeles, nazi
Photo by discarted
This past Saturday’s Nazi rally and counter protest in downtown Los Angeles got a lot of press, and our own discarted was there to document the scene.
See more photos at LAist.com
US Park Police Admits ‘Rookie’ Error
Published April 21, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Protests 1 CommentTags: US Park Police, White House
The US Park Police stationed outside the White House are in hot water after they blocked reporters (see YouTube video) and closed Lafayette Park amidst a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” gay rights protest on Tuesday.
A Park Police spokesman put the blame squarely on his department, not the White House or Administration, and told Politico it was a “rookie, amateur error” and “embarrassing.”
I can tell you from personal experience that the police outside the White House seem to commonly make rookie errors, as I was walking by there a few weeks ago and hundreds of tourists and pedestrians were moved back from the White House gates for over 30 minutes, supposedly due to the presidential dog being let outside (and he was not in any way visible from the street). Just imagine — these whole classes of kids traveled from the heartland to see the most famous house in America, and they’re forced instead to just look at some policeman (above).
If that was indeed the reason to disrupt almost the entire block of Pennsylvania Avenue, I would say there is some ridiculous overreaction going on there.
Article from Politico
Change Is Not in the Air
Published March 18, 2010 Photojournalism , Protests , Rally 5 CommentsTags: Answer Coalition, anti-war, March 20
On January 20, 2009 President Barack Obama took over the Oval Office after riding a wave of voter support and momentum that was generated by his YES WE CAN campaign. And a defeated and lame duck George W. Bush crawled back to his Crawford ranch for some tree trimming. However, since President Obama’s inauguration it appears he has forgotten his campaign message, and simply took a well-known play out of the old political campaign playbook—and that is: do and say whatever is needed to win the election.
For instance, Xe Services, formerly the infamous Blackwater, continues to garner government contracts (along with other private security contractors), allowing them to continue working alongside US military forces in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Guantanamo Bay detention facility is still in operation even though President Obama issued an executive order in January 2009 to close the prison within a year. The Patriot Act, which chipped away at Americans’ civil liberties during the Bush Administration, had three sections of it extended by President Obama in February 2010. And finally, Bagram Air Base, a known US torture facility operating in Afghanistan and dubbed Obama’s Guantanamo, functions as if the Bush Administration were still running the place. In April 2009, the Obama Administration appealed a US District Court ruling that some detainees at Bagram Air Force Base are entitled to challenge the reasons for their detentions.
So it appears that Obama’s YES WE CAN doctrine really hasn’t come to fruition, which is why there are more anti-war protests scheduled for this weekend, which marks the seventh anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
On Saturday, March 20, 2010, thousands of people will take to the streets in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles (among others) to protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sponsored by the Answer Coalition the Los Angeles march will begin at 12 noon at the intersection of Vine and Hollywood Boulevard. And if it’s like years prior, this Saturday’s march will certainly be an emotionally charged event, providing plenty of opportunities for photographers to capture some important moments in history. So if you’re in the Los Angeles area on Saturday, be sure stop by Hollywood and Vine for a good ol’ American protest.
Photography by discarted
UC Berkeley Photojournalist Lands In Jail
Published March 8, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Protests , Rally Leave a CommentTags: Cameron Burns, Oakland Police, photographer arrested, The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley
Photo by Reginald James/TheBlackHour.com
If you’ve been following the woeful state of California’s public university system, you know there’s been some major protests about budget cuts that are decimating the schools’ previously stellar reputation.
Last Thursday, on March 4, thousands of demonstrators gathered at Oakland City Hall in support of public education funding. When a group splintered off for a march across Interstate 980/880, Cameron Burns, 18, a freshman at Berkeley, followed them with his Flip camera as a reporter for The Daily Californian.
Burns found himself in the middle of a chaotic scene when riot police advanced on the protestors. He was tackled and handcuffed as one of 150 people arrested by Oakland police. He was charged with “obstructing a public place and unlawful assembly” and spent 20 hours in jail. Burns says he repeatedly told police he was a journalist, but he couldn’t prove it because he didn’t have his press pass.
Daily Californian staff, university officials and a state senator are working to get the charges dropped since Burns was working as a journalist during the melee. Still, he says he has “no regrets.”
Here’s Burns’ video of his experience at the protest. It’s too bad he didn’t get any video of the actual arrest because it would have made his piece.
Article via The Daily Californian
Town Halls, From the Photographer’s Perspective
Published August 14, 2009 Photojournalism , Protests , Rally 2 CommentsPolitical discourse has turned ugly in America, and it’s more of the same with the current health care debate. Rather than accepting our system is broken and championing change in any form, certain people like to cling to destructive myths and wild misinformation to fuel their own anger and sense of oppression. At least that’s my take.
The Columbia Journalism Review has an interesting interview with New York Times photographer Damon Winter, who won the Pulitzer this year for his work covering the then-Senator Obama’s campaign for the presidency.
Winter took this photo of an angry man at a town hall meeting this week in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and he talks about his role at events like this – among other things, avoiding creating caricatures and staying calm among the fray.
Article via Columbia Journalism Review
Protestors Arrested for Questions, Photos
Published June 23, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Protests Leave a CommentTags: Emily Apple, Fit Watch, police surveillance, protestors arrested, The Guardian, Val Swain
The Guardian posts this interesting video about two women, Emily Apple and Val Swain, who were arrested during an environmental protest in England last year. The women were both members of Fit Watch, a group that documents police harassment and surveillance of protesters, so it’s extremely ironic that they were singled out. Obvious yes, but also just ridiculous that the police wouldn’t think better of it.
Arrested for obstruction, Apple and Swain ultimately spent four days in jail, and then all charges were dropped. As the footage shows – shot by the police – the women weren’t doing more than asking for badge numbers and taking photos. An investigation is now pending.
The treatment they received, both of them mothers and hardly threatening, really highlights how scary law enforcement’s abuse of authority can be. (Be sure to watch how four officers bind Swain’s ankles, thighs and hands and lift her into a van.)
Video via The Guardian
NPRO Rally: Free State vs. Police State
Published June 9, 2009 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Protests , Rally , Security Guard Harassment Leave a CommentTags: cops, Harbor Patrol, npro, photographing refineries, photography, Police, Port of Long Beach, security guard
Here’s the second installment of a series of our NPRO Rally videos that will be posted throughout the week, culminating on Friday with a recap of the whole weekend rally.
As you see, this encounter at the Port of Long Beach was drama-free. The Harbor Patrol were friendly and civil and took the appropriate tone, as opposed to many law enforcement officers who see a camera and immediately get suspicious, aggressive and condescending. The main officer seen here is probably an amiable guy in general, but I think he was also playing the game differently, being funny and congenial and conciliatory in order to get the same information they all want – names, addresses, social security numbers. I called him on this and he played it off like I was crazy to even suggest a thing – who me?! He must have thought he was being pretty clever asking where we were parked (“Do you guys have a car or something?”), assuming he would ID us through our license plates. He knew that when you’re not breaking any laws you can refuse to identify yourself – as we did.
So, it was fine enough, but a few things still bothered me. 1) The call the refinery security guard put out after speaking with us was that it was a physical altercation, and that’s just a complete fabrication. How did this conversation get blown into a physical altercation, necessitating the need for four patrol cars? And 2) The female officer at the end of the video said we should have informed them of our plans to shoot at the port, framing it as a “common courtesy.”
Yes, sure. We could also notify the police when we’re going grocery shopping and jogging in the park. That’s what you do in a police state.
boywithgrenade.org 
