This has been a disturbing past few days for anyone interested in press freedom in the U.S.

Here& #39;s an early-morning thread to wrap up what I& #39;ve been able to piece together so far (it& #39;s not good):
On May 29, a CNN crew (led by @OmarJimenez) was arrested by Minnesota police live on air.

You can go watch the video yourself. There was no reason for it. And @MnDPS_MSP lied about the rationale afterward.
Later on May 29, police opened fire (with pepper balls) on a camera crew in Kentucky led by @KaitlinRustWAVE.

Once again, you can go watch the video. She and her camera crew were explicitly targeted.
Next, Canadian journalist @OrmistonOnline was shot with a rubber bullet by police while covering riots in Minneapolis.

During her live hit, she claimed her crew was specifically targeted by police.
@phil_leblancSRC of Radio-Canada posted a video to Twitter of himself (and other journalists) being accosted by Minneapolis police while trying to do his job covering the riots.
@HuffPost said their journalist @letsgomathias was arrested while reporting in New York City.
@MikeGeorgeCBS posted a video of himself and his CBS crew being fired upon (apparently with rubber bullets/paint balls) by police in Minneapolis.

They also claim to have been targeted by police officers who knew they were members of the press.
@MichaelAdams317 of VICE posted a video of himself being pepper sprayed by police while he was laying face down on the ground after repeatedly saying he was a member of the media and showing his press credentials.
@RyanFaircloth of the @StarTribune posted photos of himself bleeding after he claims a vehicle he was driving, alongside a colleague, had its window shot out by police firing rubber bullets/paint balls at them.
A @WCCO photojournalist posted a video of himself being fired at (likely with rubber bullets/paint balls/tear gas) and detained by police while attempting to document the riots.
Photojournalist @KillerMartinis is now apparently blind in one eye after being struck by a projectile fired by police while doing her job.
And @keithboykin of CNN reports being arrested in New York City while taking photos/videos of the demonstrations happening there.
This is what I& #39;ve been able to piece together monitoring Twitter over the past few hours sitting in my living room in Canada. I& #39;m sure I& #39;ve missed stuff.

And needless to say, there are obviously other issues at play in this crisis that don& #39;t involve the media.
But for anyone who believes—as I do—that you can’t have a democratic society without a free press, this should be a concern.

Quite frankly, it& #39;s a scandal.

-30-
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