Felony charges dropped against 2 Ohio journalists arrested during immigration protest
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Prosecutors dropped felony charges Wednesday against two journalists arrested at a protest that originated in Cincinnati over the detention of an Egyptian man by immigration authorities.
The District Court judge agreed to dismiss with prejudice the felony rioting charges against reporter Madeline Fening and photography intern Lucas Griffith of Citybeat Cincinnati.
The two were among at least 13 people arrested Thursday in a demonstration that blocked the Roebling Bridge, which carries traffic over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Kentucky. Police in Covington, Kentucky, said those who were arrested refused to disperse and threatened officers.
The journalists and others also face misdemeanor charges that include failing to disperse, obstructing emergency responders, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
The demonstration was staged in support of Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant who worked as a chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He was detained last week after he showed up for a routine check-in with ICE officials at their office near Cincinnati.
Protesters met in downtown Cincinnati and then walked across the bridge carrying a banner that read, “Build Bridges Not Walls.”
The ACLU of Kentucky, which represented the journalists, said they should never have been arrested.
“A free press is critical to a functioning democracy, and those members of the press who, like our clients, merely cover a story enjoy the full protection of the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions to do so,” staff attorney William Sharp said in a statement. “We look forward to zealously defending them in court.”