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posted by martyb on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the paying-the-price-for-freedom-of-the-press dept.

[Public News Service of West Virginia Reporter Daniel Ralph Heyman] has been arrested and charged with "disruption of government services" in the state capitol for "yelling questions" at visiting Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price and White House senior advisor Kellyanne Conway.

[...] "The above defendant was aggressively breaching the secret service agents to the point where the agents were forced to remove him a couple of times from the area walking up the hallway in the main building of the Capitol," the complaint states. It adds Heyman caused a disturbance by "yelling questions at Ms. Conway and Secretary Price."

The misdemeanor carries a possible fine of $100 and up to six months in jail.

[...] The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia called the charges "outrageous" and said the arrest was "a blatant attempt to chill an independent, free press."

"Freedom of the press is being eroded every day, " it said in a statement. "We have a president who calls the media 'fake news' and resists transparency at every turn."

The statement said this is a "dangerous time in the country."

Price and Conway were in West Virginia to discuss opioid addiction in the state, which has the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation.

LINK: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/05/10/w-virginia-reporter-arrested-yelling-questions-visiting-hhs-secretary-tom-price/101503242/#


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  • (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:38PM (4 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:38PM (#508234) Journal
    Well presumably both sides have video, but none seems to be in evidence at this time, so both are subject to the same criticism for pushing their narrative while sitting on the evidence. Presumably, both are doing this on the advice of counsel.

    What's actually happened should come out at trial, until then it's he-said she-said.
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  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:40PM (2 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:40PM (#508235)

    Since when do the authorities ever willingly film themselves interacting with the public?

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    • (Score: 2) by ikanreed on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:43PM

      by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 11 2017, @06:43PM (#508239) Journal

      Politicians pretty conventionally do, up until January 2017, for some reason.

    • (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:37PM

      by Arik (4543) on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:37PM (#508264) Journal
      Pretty much since cameras got inexpensive enough for it to be possible. Having raw footage and deciding what to release (and how to edit it) is great for politicians as much or moreso than any other profession.

      But I wasn't actually talking about the politician. If I got the story right, he was arrested by Secret Service. They probably have it from a half dozen cameras and at least as many mics.
      --
      If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:40PM (#508270)

    Well presumably both sides have video,

    Why do you presume that?
    The guy wrote news articles, he didn't produce video segments.
    And the secret service don't regularly wear bodycams.