Police Arrest CNN Reporter, Crew Covering Minneapolis Protests Live On Air
Minnesota State Patrol officers arrested CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and two members of his crew while they were broadcasting live from protests in Minneapolis on Friday morning’s “New Day.”
Jimenez, who was covering the demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, was placed in handcuffs and taken away just after 5 a.m. local time after politely telling officers the crew would go wherever they wanted them. A producer and a camera operator were also detained.
The camera continued rolling and broadcasting the whole time, even as it was taken away from the crew.
The crew was released around two hours later.
Check out the footage here:
Minnesota police arrest CNN reporter and camera crew as they report from protests in Minneapolis https://t.co/IY0H1Lc77Epic.twitter.com/s9XmwVfabP
— New Day (@NewDay) May 29, 2020
Police initially told CNN that the journalists had been arrested “for not following orders to clear the street.”
Jimenez’s colleague Josh Campbell, who was elsewhere in the city covering the protests, was not arrested.
Campbell told “New Day” that his experience had been “the opposite of what Omar just experienced.” It “crossed my mind” it could have been because he is white and Jimenez is Black, Campbell said.
Check out the interview here:
A black reporter from CNN was arrested while legally covering the protests in Minneapolis. A white reporter also on the ground was not. https://t.co/GcfwEvyYQCpic.twitter.com/Mg4ZwKIuKt
— CNN (@CNN) May 29, 2020
CNN had called for the release of its employees in a statement shared on Twitter.
“A CNN reporter & his production team were arrested this morning in Minneapolis for doing their jobs, despite identifying themselves ― a clear violation of their First Amendment rights,” it read. “The authorities in Minnesota, incl. the Governor, must release the 3 CNN employees immediately.”
