User:Alexandraaaacs1989/Sandbox5

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2016–2017: Transition between Barack Obama and Donald Trump's presidencies

2016–2017: Dakota Access Pipeline attacks on journalists

A Lakota man locks himself to construction equipment in protest.
These paragraphs are an excerpt from Dakota Access Pipeline protests.[edit]

The Dakota Access Pipeline Protests or the Standing Rock Protests,[1] also known by the hashtag #NoDAPL, were a series of grassroots Native American protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in the northern United States that began in April 2016. Protests ended on February 23, 2017 when National Guard and law enforcement officers evicted the last remaining protesters.

The pipeline runs from the Bakken oil fields in western North Dakota to southern Illinois, crossing beneath the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, as well as under part of Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Many members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and surrounding communities consider the pipeline to be a serious threat to the region's water. The construction also directly threatens ancient burial grounds and cultural sites of historic importance.

During Obama's presidency, as protests swelled in fall 2016, authorities brought criminal cases against working journalists. On September 12, 2016, a North Dakota state's attorney sought a warrant for Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! after she filmed private security guards using dogs on demonstrators; prosecutors later amended the allegation to "riot," and a judge dismissed the case on October 17 for lack of probable cause.[2][3] On October 11–12, 2016, documentary filmmaker Deia Schlosberg was arrested while covering coordinated pipeline actions and charged with multiple conspiracy counts; the charges, criticized by press-freedom groups, were dropped several weeks later.[4][5]

Border officials also impeded coverage. On October 1, 2016, Canadian photojournalist Ed Ou was detained for six hours at the Canada–United States border, had his phones and storage media seized, and was denied entry en route to Standing Rock – an incident the ACLU said chilled newsgathering.[6][7] By late 2016 and into early 2017, CPJ documented a pattern of freelancers and small-outlet reporters charged with trespass or riot while covering the protests, warning that arrests deterred coverage even when journalists said they were following police instructions.[8][9]

After the change in administrations, arrests and prosecutions continued as authorities moved to clear the camps. On February 1, 2017, freelance reporter Jenni Monet (Laguna Pueblo) was arrested while covering a camp clearance and charged with criminal trespass and engaging in a riot; press-freedom groups highlighted her case as emblematic of risks facing independent reporters covering the protests.[10][11][12] During the February 23, 2017, eviction of the main camp, independent photojournalist Tracie Williams was arrested while documenting the operation and had her phone, camera bodies, lenses, batteries, and storage media seized as evidence; outlets simultaneously described a heavily armed, militarized law-enforcement posture during the clearance.[13][14][15]

2017: Inauguration Day violence and prosecution against journalists

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Protests against Donald Trump § Presidential inauguration.[edit]

A large number of protests were planned in connection with the inauguration of Donald Trump as president on January 20, 2017.[16] Security preparation for Trump's inauguration gathered nearly 28,000 security personnel to participate in Washington, D.C.[17] The vast majority of protesters, several thousand in all, were peaceful; however, many violent acts, such as property destruction, occurred.[18][19][20] DisruptJ20 protesters linked arms at security checkpoints and attempted to shut them down.[21] Some elements of the protesters were black bloc groups and self-described anarchists,[22][23] and engaged in sporadic acts of vandalism, rioting, and violence.[20][24][25]

During the end of Obama's term on January 20, 2017, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers conducted a large "kettle" near 12th and L Streets NW during protest dispersals, encircling and arresting more than 200 people, among them working reporters and photojournalists. Journalists on assignment described being shoved or struck during line pushes, subjected to close-range pepper spray and blast devices, and having cameras or protective gear seized or damaged – even while clearly identifying as press. After-action litigation later detailed mass-arrest tactics and limited dispersal opportunities used around the kettle.[26][27]

After Trump's term began, prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. brought felony "rioting" and related charges against dozens of arrestees, including several journalists. Early charging decisions swept up reporters such as Evan Engel of Vocativ and Alexei Wood, even as other journalists saw charges quickly dropped; within days, prosecutors also dismissed cases against Alexander Rubinstein (RT America) and documentary producer Jack Keller.[28][29] The first protest trial ended with acquittals – including for photojournalist Alexei Wood – and, by mid-2018, the government dismissed the remaining cases against the last defendants, among them Rubinstein and Keller.[30][31]

Oversight and civil suits culminated in policy changes and monetary relief. In 2021, the District of Columbia agreed to pay $1.6 million and adopt reforms – including training, limits on the use of pepper spray, and clearer dispersal-order practices – resolving claims stemming from the mass arrest and related use-of-force incidents against demonstrators and members of the press.[32]

  1. [1]
    Brady, Jeff (29 November 2018). "2 Years After Standing Rock Protests, Tensions Remain But Oil Business Booms". NPR.
  2. [2]
    "Arrest warrant for muckraking U.S. journalist". Committee to Protect Journalists. September 12, 2016. Archived from the original on September 1, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  3. [3]
    Greenberg, Will (October 17, 2016). "Judge Throws Out Charges Against Journalist Who Covered Dakota Pipeline". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on September 15, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  4. [4]
    "Documentary filmmaker arrested at Canada–U.S. pipeline protest". Reuters. October 12, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  5. [5]
    "Charges dropped against filmmakers arrested while taping pipeline protest". Los Angeles Times. November 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 4, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  6. [6]
    Ou, Ed (November 1, 2016). "I Tried to Enter the U.S. to Cover the Dakota Pipeline. The Border Patrol Took My Phones". Time. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  7. [7]
    "ACLU to DHS: Protect Press Freedom at the Border". American Civil Liberties Union. November 3, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  8. [8]
    "Journalists covering Standing Rock face charges as police arrest protesters" (PDF). Committee to Protect Journalists. February 17, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  9. [9]
    "Coalition calls for charges to be dropped against Standing Rock journalists". Committee to Protect Journalists. March 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 12, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  10. [10]
    "Journalist Jenni Monet arrested while covering Standing Rock protests". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 2017. Archived from the original on September 4, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  11. [11]
    "Journalists covering Standing Rock face charges as police arrest protesters" (PDF). Committee to Protect Journalists. February 17, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  12. [12]
    "Reporter Jenni Monet arrested at Standing Rock". U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. June 2018. Archived from the original on September 3, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  13. [13]
    "Journalist Tracie Williams arrested at Standing Rock". U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. February 23, 2017. Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  14. [14]
    Levin, Sam (February 23, 2017). "Police in riot gear enter main Dakota Access pipeline protest camp". The Guardian. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  15. [15]
    "Police Move Into Main Camp at Standing Rock". ABC News. February 23, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  16. [16]
    "Washington Braces for Massive Protests as Trump Becomes U.S. President". Yahoo Finance. Reuters. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  17. [17]
    Krieg, Gregory (January 20, 2017). "Police injured in protests, nearly 100 arrested at Trump inauguration". CNN. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  18. [18]
    Kasperkevic, Jana (January 21, 2017). "Hundreds of peaceful Trump protests overshadowed by violent acts, arrests". WGN TV. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  19. [19]
    Kesling, Ben; Tau, Bryton; de Avila, Joseph (January 21, 2017). "Inaugural Protests, Largely Peaceful, Marred by Sporadic Violence". The Wall Street Journal.
  20. [20]
    Dwyer, Colin; Domonokse, Camila (January 20, 2017). "In D.C., Group Of Protesters Breaks Windows; Police Use Pepper Spray". NPR.
  21. [21]
    Laughland, Oliver; Siddiqui, Sabrina; Gambino, Lauren (January 20, 2017). "Inauguration protests: more than 200 demonstrators arrested in Washington". The Guardian. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  22. [22]
    "'Black bloc' style tactics seen as chaos erupts in downtown D.C." The Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  23. [23]
    "Video captures moment anti-Donald Trump protest violence erupts". The Independent. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  24. [24]
    Lawler, David (January 21, 2017). "Donald Trump Protests: Limo 'Set on Fire' and 217 Arrested as Police use Tear Gas on Black-Clad Activists". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  25. [25]
    Vargas, Theresa; Hartz, Taylor; Hermann, Peter (January 20, 2017). "Inauguration Protesters Vandalize, Set Fires, Try to Disrupt Trump's Oath, as Police Arrest More than 200". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  26. [26]
    "U.S. journalists face felony rioting charges after covering inauguration protests". Committee to Protect Journalists. January 25, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  27. [27]
    "D.C. to Pay $1.6 Million to Settle Claims from 2017 Inauguration Day Demonstrations" (Press release). ACLU of the District of Columbia. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  28. [28]
    Swaine, Jon (January 30, 2017). "Riot charges dropped against three more journalists at inauguration protests". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  29. [29]
    Levin, Sam (July 8, 2017). "Four more journalists get felony charges after covering inauguration unrest". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  30. [30]
    "Jury acquits six J20 defendants in first inauguration protest trial". Al Jazeera. December 21, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  31. [31]
    Hsu, Spencer S. (June 7, 2018). "Prosecutors drop charges against remaining Inauguration Day defendants". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  32. [32]
    "D.C. to Pay $1.6 Million to Settle Claims from 2017 Inauguration Day Demonstrations" (Press release). ACLU of the District of Columbia. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved September 1, 2025.

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI