washington — At least three journalists were arrested in Chicago this week while covering protests during the Democratic National Convention.
On Tuesday night, a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago. The demonstration intensified, with protesters and police clashing and protesters charging the police line.
More than 70 people were arrested, according to the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. At least three journalists were among those arrested.
Sinna Nasseri, a freelance photographer who was arrested that night, said the situation was chaotic.
"There was just pandemonium," Nasseri told VOA. "There was really nowhere to go. Everyone was really tight together, and I was just photographing and was grabbed and handcuffed."
The other two journalists arrested that night were independent photojournalists Olga Fedorova and Josh Pacheco. All three journalists were held by police for about nine hours and charged with disorderly conduct.
Fedorova and Pacheco did not reply to VOA's requests for comment.
Press advocates condemn arrests
Several press freedom groups condemned the journalists' arrests.
"It's really important that law enforcement distinguishes between journalists and protesters and does not charge journalists for engaging in newsgathering activities," Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S. and Canada program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told VOA. Jacobsen added that she hopes police drop the charges against the three journalists.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the incident.
"At best, this shows a lack of professional diligence on the part of the police. At worst, it's a gross disregard for the First Amendment," Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF's Washington bureau, said in a statement.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said three journalists were arrested for not complying with officers' orders when police began moving in to arrest protesters who had attacked police, CBS News reported.
But Nasseri, who was on assignment for the German outlet Zeit, told VOA that it was impossible to hear what police were saying.
"I showed them my press identification, and they didn't care," he said. "It was sort of a baffling situation."
Pacheco also told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that orders from police were unclear.
"The police are saying they ordered a dispersal three times and warned of a mass arrest, which did not happen, and even if it did, there was no way to hear it," Pacheco said. "They weren't using megaphones. There were just random police officers screaming different orders."
Some of Pacheco and Fedorova's equipment was also damaged in the incident, according to the Tracker.
'Simply doing their jobs'
Fedorova's lawyer, Steven Baron, told the Tracker that Fedorova and the other journalists were "simply doing their jobs as reporters."
"We are disappointed that the City of Chicago chose to sweep the First Amendment under the rug with its heavy-handed tactics against working journalists," Baron said.
The Chicago arrests are part of a broader pattern in the United States. Across the country, police have arrested reporters at protests more than 30 times in 2024 alone, according to the Tracker.
"The Chicago police officers who arrested and charged the journalists covering Tuesday's protest either didn't have clear directives — or didn't follow them — when it comes to codified protections of the press in the First Amendment and their right to cover the news," Kirstin McCudden, vice president of editorial for Freedom of the Press Foundation, which runs the Tracker, told VOA.
Nasseri, who works for outlets including The New Yorker, The New York Times and Vogue, said he has a court date scheduled in late September.
"I think it'll be interesting to fight this," he said. "I'm very happy to fight this on behalf of my colleagues and myself and the First Amendment."
