Why Is North Dakota Arresting Journalists For Doing Journalism?

from the this-won't-end-well dept

Fri, Oct 14th 2016 10:51am — Mike Masnick

Two years ago, we wrote about the ridiculousness of police arresting reporters for reporting in Ferguson, Missouri, even though courts had told police to knock it off. Even more ridiculous is that those reporters were eventually charged, leading to a ridiculous settlement earlier this year.

And yet... arresting journalists for doing journalism continues to be a thing. As you probably know, there have been a bunch of protests in North Dakota lately concerning the Dakota Access Pipeline. Back in September, after covering the protests and having some of her videos of an attack on the protestors go viral, famed Democracy Now reporter Amy Goodman found out an arrest warrant had been issued for her. It's pretty clear that this arrest warrant was solely because of the coverage reflecting poorly on officials.

On Thursday, Goodman said that she'll surrender to authorities next week. As Democracy Now points out, the criminal complaint against her is so transparently unconstitutional and so transparently about intimidating reporters, that it actually notes that "Amy Goodman can be seen on the video identifying herself and interviewing protesters about their involvement in the protest." Right. That's called journalism. Goodman was basically arrested for doing journalism that the powers-that-be dislike.

Organizations that fight for free speech for journalists are condemning all of this. The Committee to Protect Journalists notes that this is "a transparent attempt to intimidate reporters from covering protests of significant public interest" while the Freedom of the Press Foundation is demanding that North Dakota drop the charges.

And they may want to seriously consider dropping the charges and walking away. After all, Goodman was also arrested for covering protests back in 2008, and that eventually ended with the police and local governments having to pay her $100,000 for violating her civil rights.

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Filed Under: amy goodman, arrest, first amendment, journalism, north dakota, pipeline, trespassing

71 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 10:55am

You embarrassed the government. You must pay for that.
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Norahc (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:07am

This will continue
This types of unconstitutional actions will continue until the enforcement officers performing them have to pay out of their pocket for it. As long as they can claim immunity, or they thought the law allowed them to do it, etc... they have no incentive to stop.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:09am

amy goodman?

meh...
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I.T. Guy, 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:54am

Re:
Lemme guess... An Ann Coulter fan?
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Bob, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:05pm

Re: This will continue
Is this action by the officers or action by the state attorneys? Cops don't create arrest warrants, I don't think. If this is action by the SAG maybe she'll walk away with more than $100K this time.
as she should, considering it's a second offense. ;-)

-B
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Regret, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:07pm

Do reporters have a right to trespass?
https://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/news-media-law/news-media-and-law-summer-2009/trespa ssing-get-story

Whether or not you support the protesters cause or the government's action, there seems to be a valid claim that reporters don't necessarily get to trespass when they want to cover a story. Yeah, maybe the government is more eager to prosecute if they would like to shut the reporter up, but isn't risk of criminal trespass something a reporter covering a protest might expect? Doesn't seem black and white to me.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:17pm

Re: Re:
nope.

amy goodman is just a partisan hack. like an coulter.
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Thad, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:24pm

Re: Re: Re:
And if the police tried to arrest Ann Coulter for reporting a story they didn't like, that would be outrageous too.

You don't have to like a person to support their First Amendment rights. If the First Amendment only applied to people we like, there'd be no need for a First Amendment at all.
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Machin Shin (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:29pm

Re: This will continue
Well I think big issue is that the "punishment" for them braking the law is that tax payers get to pay the fine. Hard to convince police that they need to behave if you punish the tax payers instead on the police.

If every time I got caught speeding I would get a ticket saying someone else had to pay the fine, I would drive 100 mph everywhere I go.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
like has nothing to do with it. that they use journalism as an excuse to further their own ends is.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:33pm

I hope they don't settle. I hope they take this all the way to the top.
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Norahc (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:44pm

Re: Re: This will continue
Looking at the ND criminal trespass code, either law enforcement told her to leave, the people in charge of the property told her to leave, or the SAG is stretching the definition of a highly secured area.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t12-1c22.pdf#nameddest=12p1-22-03. (PDF)

Unless we can find out how the complaint originated, I can't answer that yet.
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I.T. Guy, 14 Oct 2016 @ 12:44pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"further their own ends"
Which is... what?
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David, 14 Oct 2016 @ 1:06pm

Re: Re: This will continue
Well I think big issue is that the "punishment" for them braking the law is that tax payers get to pay the fine. Hard to convince police that they need to behave if you punish the tax payers instead on the police.

So? With average or higher intelligence you are not eligible as a patrol officer, and they get trained by good ole boys. And then you want to dock their pay for doing what they don't know better?

I do think that the approach of letting the tax payer pay is not the worst one. But the local tax payers, and send them itemized bills. And maybe they will then fscking stop electing politicians into office who promise the most stupid law&order campaigns. Oh, and if a local tax payer has to default on his police payments, forward the bills to the city officials.

Because it is hard to blame morons for doing what they are taught to do. You have to hit someone in the pocket, hard, who actually is accountable for the structures leading to the systematic misuse of police as a local terror cell.
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annonymouse, 14 Oct 2016 @ 1:09pm

I don't see no banana
Can anyone see if we can get an arrest warrant for these Barons and their enforcers in maybe say west Texas?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 1:21pm

Re: This will continue
So this is a pretty clear abuse of power and needs to be fought BUT lets fight the right fight.

Arrest warrants are not issued by the police, they have to be approved by a judge and are usually requested by a prosecutor. This sounds more like local politicians going after her than the police.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 1:25pm

There is no qualification for being a journalist, why should they get more protection than any other citizen?
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Machin Shin (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 1:42pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"that they use journalism as an excuse to further their own ends is."

Point is that First Amendment protects speech, period, full stop. There is no "unless your speaking to further your own ends". Your motives have NOTHING to do with the protection offered. Your allowed to say anything you want for any reason you want, so long as you are doing something in the very narrow list of exceptions. (Those being defamation and yelling fire etc.)
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aeortiz (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 1:52pm

Typo in title
Hello, your friendly neighborhood proofreader/nazi here,

Journailsm vs Journalism.

My fingers type chords all the time, (I "paly" the piano) and my dyslexia does the rest.

:)
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John Mayor, 14 Oct 2016 @ 2:08pm

FOLLOW THE BLACK MONEY
It could be the "Right's" attempt to further interfer with coverage of Anti Pipeline challenges! The "Right" is tied to "Oil interests"!... these "interests" are in trouble these days!... and these "interests" desire to stem the tide of Sustainable Energy progression (i.e., Renewable Energy progression!)!
.
Please!... no emails!
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 2:45pm

I live near this
Whats happening is nothing like what the media is showing. Damage and destruction to property, vandalism, trespassing on private land, etc... This report has a right to get a story, but it doesnt mean she can commit the same crimes to get it. Dont just jump on the bandwagon of how bad everyone else is, this protest stopped being about the pipeline a long time ago. Even the original head of it is trying to get some distance from what the people there now are doing.
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sorrykb (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 2:46pm

Re: Typo in title
Hmm. I never thought of it as typing "chords" before. I like that.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 2:48pm

Re:
It may have something to do with the gov, but it also has to do with her breaking the law to get her story. Being a reporter doesnt mean she can do anything she wants for a story and then just walk away. The original group of protesters are nearly gone now with only agitators left who are mostly from out of state.
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Ryunosuke (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 2:50pm

i may have a solution to a LOT of politician problems....
I propose that to hold a public office (mayor, governor, legislator), you NEED to pass a High School Equivalency test in Social Sudies/US Civics every 6 months, because politicians have the memory of a goldfish apparently. These are BASIC CIVICS lessons folks, and our public officials are failing at that.
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Quiet Lurcker, 14 Oct 2016 @ 3:14pm

Re: Re: Re: This will continue
So you're saying in part, "don't blame the uniforms, blame the ones above them, because the uniformed personnel are stupid, and selected on that basis"?

That reminds me of the old - and lame, let's not forget lame - joke about the man who complained to his doctor that his arm hurt when he moved it a certain way. The doctor's advice was basically, "so don't do that".

Well, maybe the police supervisors need to follow that advice when selecting new uniformed personnel, and we the voters need to do much the same thing with our elected officials.

Problem is, we generally don't elect judges. There are states where that does happen, and I'm ambivalent about whether it's a good thing or not. Same thing for prosecutors. I suspect some are elected, some appointed; never bothered to look that up. So, how to get rid of the judge who signed the warrant if (s)he wasn't elected. Or the appointed prosecutor who made application for the warrant to begin with? We can maybe toss the politico who appointed the judge, but that doesn't remove the judge.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 3:22pm

Perhaps it should be a law that the first time it happens you get the 100,000 settlement and everytime some idiot tries to do the same thing just add a 0.

The law is clear and until the punishments really hurt they will continue. Those involved in signing off on this case would be hard pressed to explain giving away 1,000,000 of public funds. Imagine the next time when its 10,000,000. We need to hold our leaders responsible & stop allowing them to hide behind a shield when they ignore the law & should be punished.
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Kal Zekdor (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 4:01pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Even that "yelling fire" thing isn't really the case. The original court ruling about that was later overturned.
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art guerrilla (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 5:24pm

Re: I live near this
hey looky here ! ! !
i bet this is one of them gummint disinfo botz...
they can have one quisling control hundreds of sockpuppet propaganda accounts...
pretty neat, huh, gang ? ? ?
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Groaker (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 5:25pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Not trying to be irritating, but would you have a reference for that? I have heard the "yelling fire" thing so often that I would really like to put down anyone who says it.
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Mike Masnick (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 5:25pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
You don't have to like a person to support their First Amendment rights. If the First Amendment only applied to people we like, there'd be no need for a First Amendment at all.

This, 1000 times over.

Why is it so difficult for people to get this simple point?
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Thad, 14 Oct 2016 @ 5:54pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
like has nothing to do with it. that they use journalism as an excuse to further their own ends is.

Okay then. Let me rephrase:

You don't have to like a person's ends to support their First Amendment rights. If the First Amendment only applied to ends we like, there'd be no need for a First Amendment at all.
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Thad, 14 Oct 2016 @ 5:54pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
...you know there wasn't actually a case where someone was tried for yelling "fire" in a theater, right?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 5:59pm

Constitution? We don't need no stinking Constitution.
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Thad, 14 Oct 2016 @ 6:00pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I suspect he's referring to this, via Popehat:

Three Generations of a Hackneyed Apologia for Censorship Are Enough

Basically, "you can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater" was an analogy used by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. to uphold Charles Schenck's conviction under the Espionage Act. Schenck's crime was criticizing the draft during World War I.

Subsequent courts have disagreed pretty strongly with this interpretation, and what Shenck was convicted for would certainly be considered protected speech today.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 6:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Your motives have NOTHING to do with the protection offered.

maybe thats the problem
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2016 @ 8:52pm

Response to: Anonymous Coward on Oct 14th, 2016 @ 10:55am
More like you embarrassed us so we must do something stupid enough to make us give you money for the service.
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Spaceman Spiff (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 10:46pm

Compensation
This time, it should be a million dollars, not a measly 100 grand!
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Padpaw (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:11pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
citizens have no rights if they make those in charge look bad
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Padpaw (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:13pm

Re: I live near this
Is there any proof she partook in such illegal acts? or is your reasoning because some people did it they must all have done it?
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Padpaw (profile), 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
same reason why we have people in positions of power that routinely abuse those same rights people are supposed to have.

They think it only applies by their definitions. "You are wrong because I know I am right"
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John Mayor, 14 Oct 2016 @ 11:37pm

Re: i may have a solution to a LOT of politician problems....
Better still, would be to require Faculties of Education worldwide to CERTIFY teachers in the Behavioral Sciences (i.e., INTRApersonal and INTERpersonal Intelligence... the three "I_s"!) in order to be come a teacher!... and thereby, to both instruct and assess (from K to post-grad!) the Behavioral Development of ALL STUDENTS (and regardless of A-N-Y A-N-D A-L-L "other" academic pursuits a student may have!)! In other words, you don't get to become a teacher, unless you are equipped in the Behavioral Sciences! And!... as a student!... you don't get to proceed IN ANY OTHER FIELD unless you are equipped with the prequalifications of INTRApersonal and INTERpersonal Intelligence!
.
Further!... the W-H-O-L-E O-F E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N should be brought within the framework of the MEDICAL MODEL (i.e., a MACRO and MICRO/ LOCAL Public Health Model, and a MACRO and MICRO/ LOCAL Environmental Health Model!)! And inasmuch, as there is NO GREATER FIELD through which A-L-L O-T-H-E-R F-I-E-L-D-S on planet earth can, and should be vetted, than Health!
.
Lastly, in order to "kickstart" the necessary revamping of our pedagogies, would be to MANDATE that Faculties of Education Certify teachers in four essential prequalifications: Applied and Theoretical Teaching (what the teacher is all about!... and regardless of what subjects are being taught!), and Applied and Theoretical Learning (what the student is all about!... and regardless of what subjects students are learning!)! In MANDATING these FOUR PILLARS through our Faculties of Educations, teachers would be equipped with the BARE ESSENTIALS necessary, to facilitate proper teaching, and learning! But, beyond this, MANDATING the Behavioral Sciences through our Faculties of Education, would then bring teachers' skill sets far beyond mere teaching and learning!... and into to the realm of "Behavioral Health"! And once our Pedagogies begin to entertain Behavioral Health, it's then a "stone's throw away" to a C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-L-Y H-E-A-L-T-H I-N-T-E-G-R-A-T-E-D E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N-A-L M-O-D-E-L!... and therewith, dumping the "legacy" of our F-A-I-L-E-D "Educational Systems"!
.
To sum up... and to be frank!... NO advanced civilization anywhere within our universe, would base their educational systems... and society!... on anything less, than a T-O-T-A-L C-O-M-M-I-T-M-E-N-T T-O A-N I-N-T-E-G-R-A-T-E-D H-E-A-L-T-H M-O-D-E-L! And thereby, leaving only TWO CLASSES of citizens:... those in need of "healing", and those able to heal! And!... NO MATTER WHAT OTHER "OCCUPATION" A CITIZEN MAY POSSESS... W-H-A-T-S-O-E-V-E-R!... H-E-A-L-T-H WOULD BE AT THE CENTER OF IT, OR, IT WOULD BE ELIMINATED FROM SOCIETY (which should bring to mind the ages old quote: "You're either part of the problem, or you're part of the solution"!... and... a quote attributed to Christ: "Let your communication be yea, or nay!...")
.
Please!... no emails!
.
P.S.: for an overview of how a revamped Pedagogy would look, secure an "interlibrary loan" of the work, The Death of Psychiatry, by Dr. Edwin Fuller Torrey! And on an overview of a GLOBAL HEALTH RESTRUCTURING of our many "social infrastructural components", I would suggest an online review of our global health care bodies (such as the World Health Organization, and the World Health Assembly!... and etc.!), and organizations which are pursuing "complex systems research (e.g., the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis!... and etc.!... and see also, the Yearbook of International Organizations, from the Union of International Associations!)"!
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 5:25am

Re:
Because governments always abuse journalists who dare to write anything negative about them. Without a free and independent press, we would have the totalitarian farce of a democracy that we enjoy today.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 11:45am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
...you know there wasn't actually a case where someone was tried for yelling "fire" in a theater, right?

And the fact that so many people believe it is a testament to the power of propaganda to make people believe in things that aren't true.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 11:47am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Why is it so difficult for people to get this simple point?

Because they simply don't *want* to.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 12:03pm

Re: Compensation
Yeah, $100,00 is pocket change for the government. It should have been at least $1,000,000. Even though Goodman went through the "system", the remedy so was so inadequate that it did not discourage the same thing from happening again.

So what do you do if the remedy available in court is inadequate? I know what the founders of the United States did.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 12:16pm

Re: This will continue
Exactly.

And in North Dakota, officials, that are supposed to represent the people are actually claiming 'overtime' dealing with this arrest warrant situation.

A few prominent government bodies are claiming this overtime at a varying amount from 3 to 6x normal hourly salary rates.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 12:18pm

Re: Re: Compensation
Of course, that was back when the King/government made the mistake letting the people fully arm themselves. I've often wondered if that is at least partly why the British government nowadays is so against armed civilian subjects.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2016 @ 2:00pm

Re: Re:
So you support journalists being a protected class that the government chooses who belongs to it?
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That One Guy (profile), 15 Oct 2016 @ 4:13pm

"Someone else is paying my fine? Cool, I promise I'll absolutely not do that again then."
$100,000 would be plenty if it were applied properly. Hit the wallets of those involved directly, don't shift it off to the general public or city/state budget, make those that committed the action that was found bad enough to warrant a fine personally pay, and do that in every such case.

Police abuse their authority so badly that they get slapped down by a court and a monetary award is handed out? Fired immediately if the offense was bad enough(and if a judge is willing to crack down on a cop this is pretty much guaranteed, given how insanely high a bar that is) and make the officers and their supervisors personally liable for the amount.

Politician or other 'public servant' use their position for personal gain? Removed from office/job immediately, and assuming the abuse of authority wasn't seriously over the top make them pay back the court levied fine before they can run for office again or attempt to be employed by the government/city/state again, rather than just dumping the fine on the public and leaving the guilty party off the hook.

Fines would work if they were aimed properly, as it stands they just result in the public being hosed over twice, the first time from the original abuse of power/authority and then being forced to foot the bill from it.
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Anon-E-Mouse-Owl, 15 Oct 2016 @ 11:29pm

Trespassing
1. The land is owned by the Native Americans.
2. They wanted her there.
3. Just because you have an easement doesn't mean it's *yours* - the pipeline company owns only the equipment and hardware, not the land. That's why it's called an easement and not a transfer of land ownership.

Amy Goodman wasn't trespassing. It's not the pipeline company's land.

I hope she gets a good chunk of money. Stupid should hurt.
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Carl (profile), 16 Oct 2016 @ 6:00am

Amy Goodwin
"they use journalism as an excuse to further their own ends"

Just like your comment? It's called the free press.

You, my friend, exhibit a microcosm of a dangerous trend in this nation -- the same trend that's polling 40% for Donald Trump's brand of demagogic fascism, really little different than Italy 1925-45. It's a good thing we're not in a depression (yet). Trump would probably win.
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Ruby, 16 Oct 2016 @ 6:02am

Re: Re: Re: This will continue
She isn't being charged with trespassing anymore. They changed the charges after realizing they couldn't make a legal case for "trespassing".

Now the charge is "riot". https://www.thenation.com/article/amy-goodman-is-facing-prison-for-reporting-on-the-dakota-access-pi peline-that-should-scare-us-all/
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Ruby, 16 Oct 2016 @ 6:06am

Re:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

I just...that's......WHAT???

How can you not be able to figure out something so basic?!
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2016 @ 7:10am

Re: Re:
You have a lot to learn about constitutional law.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2016 @ 9:14am

Re: Re:
When the constitutions was written the press referred to the printing press, and freedom of the press was a restriction that prevented any form of censorship over any printed matter.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2016 @ 1:03pm

Re: This will continue
Exactly - its time that the individual cop is liable for their deployable actions.
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Mary-Lee, 16 Oct 2016 @ 4:04pm

Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
The "ends" is that before Amy Goodman's report most of the country was unaware of this protest. As a result of Amy Goodman's reporting, people who listen to her program became aware as well as literally millions on Facebook and other social media. No one is telling the people what to think. They can come to their own conclusions. But they need to know this is happening, that people are actually stopping a pipeline from being put in place, particularly after the pipeline leaks in Arkansas, Wyoming, California, Missouri, Yellowstone Park, and even in another area of North Dakota.
I knew about the protests because I know one of the men who is protesting. Certainly not everyone knows someone. We rely on the media to tell us what is going on in the nation. When the mainstream media fails, we rely on Amy Goodman, and she never fails.
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Mary-Lee, 16 Oct 2016 @ 4:11pm

Reply to: I live near this
The protectors are camped on private land WITH THE OWNER'S PERMISSION. They are protesting on land that belongs either to the Army Corps of Engineers or the energy companies that are building the pipeline. They do not destroy or damage land belonging to private citizens. In fact, they do not destroy of damage ANY land. Their goal is to preserve the land as it is. Stop lying! Coward, indeed.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2016 @ 7:18pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Just google "why is it illegal to yell fire". You will learn more than you ever wanted.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Oct 2016 @ 4:53am

Re: Re:
"breaking the law "

And what law was that, exactly?
You seem quite convinced, certainly you know what the offense was - right?
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Oct 2016 @ 5:03am

Re: Re: Re:
I think you are focusing on the wrong thing here, seems to be an angle here.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Oct 2016 @ 5:04am

Re: Re: Re:
Hahaha, dont answer the question, accuse accuse accuse.
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Thad, 17 Oct 2016 @ 9:52am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Or Nixon's version: "If the President does it, it's not illegal."
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Thad, 17 Oct 2016 @ 9:55am

Re: Re: Re:
Yes, and the right to keep and bear arms referred to 18th-century weaponry. Is this really a slippery slope you want to go down, or can we acknowledge that the Constitution was intended to allow for the existence of new technologies?
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Thad, 17 Oct 2016 @ 10:00am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Well, I mean, it's true as far as it goes. If somebody did yell "fire" in a crowded theater, and there was no fire, and the person knew there was no fire, and it resulted in people being injured, then yes, this would absolutely be a First Amendment exception.

The problem isn't in the example itself, it's in how it's used, and how it's been used since the very beginning. Just because yelling "fire" in a crowded theater is unprotected speech doesn't mean that protesting the draft is unprotected speech. All it means is that (1) some speech is unprotected, and (2) specifically, speech that is intentionally designed to cause immediate physical harm is unprotected.

And the latter is a very narrow category.
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Wendy Cockcroft (profile), 18 Oct 2016 @ 6:05am

Re: Amy Goodwin
When he takes the brakes off the banksters and drops taxes on the rich, you will be there, my friend.

And you can bet your rear end he will blame {boogeyman}.
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Carl (profile), 18 Oct 2016 @ 3:06pm

Wendy, I think you misunderstood my comment. My bad, should have communicated more clearly. In bad times, demagogues get elected (Italy, Germany, Spain, etc.). This DA who arrested Amy Goodwin is a microcosm of fascism, that abuse of power, the same kind of fascism espoused by Trump and others of his ilk.
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Oct 2016 @ 9:49pm

Re: Amy Goodwin
You, my friend, exhibit a microcosm of a dangerous trend in this nation

carl please skip the scare and doom. it sounds like those gunners that say the gov is going turn into 1984 if you dont fully agree that they dont need an m14 ebr.
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Carl (profile), 19 Oct 2016 @ 7:56am

Take your head out of the sand (or whatever dank cavernous place it currently resides). If you haven't noticed, around 40% of voters behind Trump. If that isn't a harbinger of cultural and social decline worthy of the phrase "dangerous trend" then you're simply not paying attention.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 1:59pm

Amy needs to due the local authorities, but this time not settle for $100,000.

I'd say the damages should be 100million+. Hit the authorities with such a HUGE possible bill that they'll back the fuck off other journalists that they've ordered beaten, restrained, illegally arrested, families threatened with assault etc.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2016 @ 2:02pm

Re: Re: Amy Goodwin
US government HAS turned into 1984.

Except with technology to spy on citizens that George Orwell could only dream of giving to Big Brother.

If Orwell wrote 1984 50 years ago, using todays illegal spying and assassinations of 'US citizens the government doesn't like', it'd be laughed at as silly and extremely unrealistic.
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