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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.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday May 11 2017, @05:58PM (4 children)
Where's the video, to know whether he was "Yelling press questions" or "actively breaching the secret service agents"?
One is constitutionally protected (if you do it in a professional manner and setting), the other is indeed asking for trouble.
People refusing to answer questions is bad, but not a reason to behave like an idiot... Report on the stonewalling, don't get yourself arrested.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @07:20PM (3 children)
> Where's the video, to know whether he was "Yelling press questions" or "actively breaching the secret service agents"?
Even the cops don't dispute that he was yelling questions.
In fact, it is weird that they specifically mentioned it in their statement.
If he was indeed arrested for "breaching the secret service agents" then his yelling of questions should be immaterial.
Also, since when does the secretary of health have secret service agents?
Snowflake, much?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 11 2017, @10:47PM (2 children)
Well, isn't it possible that when any elected or non-elected representative of government whom is engaged in
destroying many American's access to affordable healthcareperusing publicly unpopular yet party popular legislative actions and actively avoiding any conversation on the subject with ANY member of the press or public alike that doesn't fit their partisan's or personal belief's world view, there might be more than a few constituents legitimately upset with this representative's representing? And given how scared of the real world these sort of politicians are is it outside the realm of possibility for them to ask for Secret Service protection? Are the costs of such additional protection being added to the total money spent to repeal this law? Doubt it.(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 12 2017, @08:15AM
Sir, please stop yelling. I'm going to have to taze you. Sir, please stop breaching me.
*TAZED*
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 12 2017, @05:59PM
Yes. Various officials are protected by their various agencies (e.g. FBI agents around the FBI director, Capital Police for US Representatives, US Marshals for judges, park rangers around the secretary of interior.) Only the Sec. of Treasure, POTUS, VPOTUS and family are protected by the Secret Service.