Imagine being arrested for only doing your job. That’s what happened to a newspaper reporter in Iowa who is currently on trial. It’s the first time a journalist has been on trial since 2018. Andrea Sahouri, a reporter for the Des Moines Register, was arrested last May while covering a Black Lives Matter protest. The newspaper writes she was “charged with failure to disperse and interference with official acts. Both charges are simple misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail.”
A big question is whether Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri correctly identified herself. The defense seemed to make that clear today. The AP reports:
An Iowa journalist covering a protest for racial justice was temporarily blinded after a police officer shot pepper spray at her and then jailed despite telling him repeatedly that she was just doing her job, according to video played Tuesday at the reporter’s trial.
She says repeatedly on the video clip that she is a journalist who was sent there to do her job.
— William Morris (@DMRMorris) March 9, 2021
Sahouri took the stand today as well, testifying that she clearly identified herself. Watch some of her testimony above from the ABC affiliate in Des Moines.
The Register points out this case “has won national attention from journalists and civil rights groups and has been criticized as an attack on press freedom.” Freedom of the Press Foundation, an organization that “protects, defends, and empowers public-interest journalism” says the evidence was clear today, “Sahouri was arrested while doing her job… the prosecutor should never have brought these charges.”
The video evidence is clear: Sahouri was arrested while doing her job reporting on historic protests in Iowa. This arrest should never have been made, and the prosecutor should never have brought these charges. https://t.co/cdM52PIN89
— Freedom of the Press (@FreedomofPress) March 9, 2021
The Register has been showing their support for Sahouri as well. Today the executive editor offered up powerful testimony.
Des Moines Register executive editor Carol Hunter just took the stand for the defense, and explained: "A protest is a very dangerous place to be as a reporter to be."
"Did Andrea Sahouri do her job that night?"
"Yes, she did. She did it very well."
— Freedom of the Press (@FreedomofPress) March 9, 2021
The case is expected to wrap up as early as tomorrow.