Participated with the Reporters Committee and 25 other media organizations and outlets in a letter to the Graham (N.C.) Police Department and Alamance County District Attorney’s Office urging that charges against reporter Tomas Murawski be dropped. Murawski was covering a demonstration for the Alamance News when he was forcibly arrested by Graham police officers and charged with obstruction, although videos of the incident do not support that charge. The letter notes there is a First Amendment right to document police activity in public, and that police officers have no legal immunity for violating constitutional rights. The letter refers to steps Graham law enforcement officials should take immediately to protect reporters engaged in lawful newsgathering. [2020]
