Arrest

Journalists covering an Arkansas oil spill in a suburban neighborhood said they were threatened with arrests, kicked out of the disaster site and had to seek permission from ExxonMobil to fly over the evacuated area.

An ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured in Mayflower, Ark., on March 29, causing 22 homes to be evacuated in the small town located north of Little Rock. So far, more than 19,000 barrels of oil have been collected.

The Department of Justice issued a rare letter supporting the constitutional rights of a photojournalist suing Montgomery County, Md., police officers who arrested him for taking their pictures while on duty.

The Justice’s Statement of Interest issued Monday urges the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to uphold citizens’ constitutional rights to record police officers in their public capacity without being arrested or having the recordings unlawfully seized.

At least five journalists have been arrested in Manhattan while covering Occupy Wall Street protests marking the one-year anniversary of the movement.

New York City police said the department has arrested 146 people between Saturday and this afternoon. Those arrested include Hunter College student journalist John Bolger, economic journalist Mark Provost, illustrator Molly Crabapple and photojournalists Julia Reinhart and Charles Meacham.

The 2012 Republican National Convention last week saw minimal arrests, no violence and fewer protesters, a marked contrast from past conventions. The Democratic convention is also starting off with few incidents.

Media advocates are expressing outrage over the arrest of a New York Times freelance photographer Saturday night. New York police allegedly knocked the journalist to the ground, beat him and took his two cameras and press credentials.

The city of Pittsburgh settled a federal lawsuit with a journalist who claimed he was arrested and wrongfully detained under harsh conditions for 12 hours after covering protests of the Group of 20 economic summit three years ago.

The University of California Berkeley Police Department has settled with an independent photographer who sued the department after he was arrested and had his photographs confiscated while covering a protest in 2009. As part of the $162,500 settlement, the department has also agreed to change its policies towards the media and train officers about journalists' legal protections.

A state judge today dismissed the remaining charges against a Santa Cruz photographer about to stand trial for his coverage of an “Occupy” demonstration in Santa Cruz last year.

Bradley Stuart Allen was charged in February with a felony conspiracy, a felony vandalism and two misdemeanor trespassing charges after he published his photographs of a November demonstration to the online media outlet Indybay.

A federal lawsuit filed early this week by New York City Council members, Occupy protesters, and journalists asks the court to appoint an independent federal official to monitor the city police department's practices regarding First Amendment rights.

The suit, which names as defendants Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, and a number of police officers, alleging that the department has engaged in "systematic violations" of their First Amendment rights.