Prosecutors Changing Charges Against Reporter To 'Rioting' Because Her Coverage Was Sympathetic To Protestors
from the can-we-teach-you-a-little-about-the-first-amendment? dept
On Friday, we wrote about the ridiculous arrest warrant for reporter Amy Goodman for reporting on the protests over the North Dakota oil pipeline. At the time, the charges against Goodman were apparently for trespassing, but late on Friday, the state's attorney alerted Goodman's lawyer that they were now actually trying to charge her with rioting. Say what?“I came back to North Dakota to fight a trespass charge. They saw that they could never make that charge stick, so now they want to charge me with rioting, " said Goodman. "I wasn’t trespassing, I wasn’t engaging in a riot, I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters."Apparently, the state's attorney, Ladd Erickson, figured out enough about the law to realize that trespassing charges would never stick because there needs to be notice before it's trespassing, and no notice was presented. But Erickson is still really, really confused about how the First Amendment works. He told a local newspaper that Goodman's reporting was illegal because it was sympathetic to the protestors. Really.
“She’s a protester, basically. Everything she reported on was from the position of justifying the protest actions,” said EricksonThat's uh, not how the First Amendment works. And it will be fascinating to see Erickson try to now justify the "riot" claims when the complaint itself admits that Goodman was interviewing protestors. Apparently the judge will decide later today if the riot charges will stand. One hopes that he understands the First Amendment more than the state's attorney.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: amy goodman, first amendment, free speech, journalism, ladd erickson, north dakota, pipeline, protests, rioting, trespassing
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
Since Erickson's actions were illegal, I can't wait to see a whole list of charges filed against him.False arrest, false imprisonment, falsifying charges (she wasn't rioting or trespassing, kidnapping (due to the false arrest and imprisonment)..
Grabbing my bag of popcorn to enjoy watching Erickson flush his career and freedom down the toilet.
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Voice support for anyone but those in charge? Oh you better believe that's a crime.
Hopefully the judge at least isn't as petty and vindictive and tosses the case as completely absurd and an abuse of the court system.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Voice support for anyone but those in charge? Oh you better believe that's a crime.
And on the bright side, the civil lawsuit against them will be a breeze to win.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Voice support for anyone but those in charge? Oh you better believe that's a crime.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Voice support for anyone but those in charge? Oh you better believe that's a crime.
There was no need to continue past that point...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Up next: charging 'The Truth' with rioting because..
Of course, given how long, if ever, that it usually takes for The Truth to emerge, at least The Truth can rest easy knowing that the Stature of Limitations will have long run out.
Of course, that won't keep some dim-witted, illiterate who's running for re-election as county sheriff from trying.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
False arrest, false imprisonment, falsifying charges (she wasn't rioting or trespassing, kidnapping (due to the false arrest and imprisonment)..
Grabbing my bag of popcorn to enjoy watching Erickson flush his career and freedom down the toilet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
At least I'd hope so.
There's an idea, perhaps we should require mandatory competency, morality and ethics testing prior to someone taking those positions, with annual refresh training to keep them current.
If I were to submit to my knee-jerk reaction, I might say something like...
"I also think a zero tolerance policy should be implemented for anyone in law enforcement, prosecution and adjudication roles, with a 1 strike and you're out, or in, as it should include mandatory life imprisonment @ Gitmo."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
Hanlon's Razor
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity,"
You are advocating that this is true, I submit that Hanlon's Razor is speech fit only for a fool.
Government is a beast that tirelessly works toward tyranny. There is nothing it does that is explainable by stupidity, incompetence, or ignorance. It's nature is the destruction of the people. Government has slaughtered more people, taken more property, and visited misery more than all wars and crime combined! Any perceived stupidity, incompetence, or ignorance from them is nothing more than a tool in their arsenal to obfuscate the truth of their malice. All members of government are humans that see in themselves something great and deserving of respect from others... and if you do not deliver that respect in the way that they proscribe... then your misery will be the result. They can murder you, separate you from family, and/or take all that you own without much resistance.
We ARE in a police state... the only question is how much power this police state is prepared to flex and when? not if.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
Never attribute to stupidity that which is better explained by malice masquerading as stupidity.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Can't wait to see Erickson in prison for kidnapping...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
CHAPTER 12.1-25
RIOT
12.1-25-01. Inciting riot.
1. A person is guilty of an offense if he:
a. Incites or urges five or more persons to create or engage in a riot; or
b. Gives commands, instructions, or directions to five or more persons in
furtherance of a riot.
2. "Riot" means a public disturbance involving an assemblage of five or more persons
which by tumultuous and violent conduct creates grave danger of damage or injury to
property or persons or substantially obstructs law enforcement or other government
function.
3. A person shall be convicted under section 12.1-06-01, 12.1-06-03, or 12.1-06-04 of
attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit an offense under this section only if he
engages in the prohibited conduct under circumstances in which there is a substantial
likelihood that his conduct will imminently produce a violation of this section.
4. The offense is a class C felony if it is under subdivision b of subsection 1 and the riot
involves one hundred or more persons. Otherwise it is a class A misdemeanor.
12.1-25-02. Arming rioters.
1. A person is guilty of a class C felony if he:
a. Knowingly supplies a firearm, dangerous weapon, or destructive device for use in
a riot;
b. Teaches another to prepare or use a firearm, dangerous weapon, or destructive
device with intent that any such thing be used in a riot; or
c. While engaging in a riot, is knowingly armed with a firearm, dangerous weapon,
or destructive device.
2. "Riot" has the meaning prescribed in section 12.1-25-01.
12.1-25-03. Engaging in a riot.
1. A person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if he engages in a riot, as defined in
section 12.1-25-01.
2. The provisions of subsection 3 of section 12.1-25-01 are applicable to attempt,
solicitation, and conspiracy to commit an offense under this section. Mere presence at
a riot is not an offense under this section.
12.1-25-04. Disobedience of public safety orders under riot conditions.
A person is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if, during a riot as defined in section
12.1-25-01, or when one is immediately impending, he disobeys a reasonable public safety
order to move, disperse, or refrain from specified activities in the immediate vicinity of the riot. A
public safety order is an order designed to prevent or control disorder, or promote the safety of
persons or property, issued by the senior law enforcement official on the scene.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Looks like the reporter can be put in jail for this as long as one police officer on the scene told them to stop filming or really just fucking breathing and/or leave the entire vicinity.
Hope they go right to fucking jail. Not because they should, but to show these fucked up laws for what they are and maybe, just maybe, get the proper attention! I would say I feel sorry for them, but the media has been busy promoting tyranny on behalf of the government, maybe they should be feeling the lick of its flames?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
"2. "Riot" means a public disturbance involving an assemblage of five or more persons which by tumultuous and violent conduct creates grave danger of damage or injury to
property or persons or substantially obstructs law enforcement or other government
function."
Seems to me the only ones acting this way were the police.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
GOODMAN OR GOODGAL
.
Please!... no emails!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A little history lesson
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: A little history lesson
When it comes to history, that is the all encompassing problem. No one gives a shit, are doomed to repeat it, and will absolutely without fail double down on the stupid until it is in their fucking face with a muzzle or a jackboot upon the back of their necks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: A little history lesson
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
one acronym for you: BOHIC
that is all
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Notice that being a protester now is a crime in the top floor minds. We've been seeing the attempt to criminalize perfectly democratic behavior for a while now (remember the crackdown on the Occupy movements?). Dark times.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
"Everything she reported on was from the position of justifying the protest actions"
So, if she had done the same thing but said they were wrong while doing so, she'd not be charged? Nice of him to be honest, I suppose.
The sad thing is, these would probably be the first people to condemn a Chinese or Russian authority for going after a reporter in the same way, yet they won't see the issue with doing it here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
As I said, dark times. Not only in the US.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Justice light.
You might think that a judge can always fix up the crap a state attorney cranks out. But unless you are rich, the state attorney is judge and jury for you, never mind the Constitution: either you accept his verdict, or you pay down a $20000 penalty in the form of legal bills. On top of the actual penalty, of course, even if there is none.
While the state attorney is being paid for his efforts even when creating an absolute turd of a case tanking like a lead duck.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Justice light.
Every Nation gets the government it deserves!
The People will take care of the problem when it gets bad enough. It certainly sucks for all of the martyrs thought. You have to do a lot of amazingly evil things to get The People off their asses though.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Justice light.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
You have 3 voices and I will list them in the order of importance.
1. Jury, here you have the power to 100% halt the system of corruption ruining peoples lives. The founders directly stated "who better to protect us from tyranny than our neighbors?" The voice serves both local and federal venues! The vast majority will never have a more powerful voice than here!
2. The Press, that is IF you can get them to pay any mind to your plight. The 1st Amendment is powerful and with enough people and support you might be able to make a change, or shaming officials into backing off, but is hardly as fool proof as the 1st. Public opinion is a fickle thing. It justifies and condemns good and evil alike!
3. Your congress critters, they make the laws and can be bought, you can remove them but you have to fight an uphill battle through entire throngs of fucking mad idiots lost in their own fantasies. The fight for the successor is equally as painful as the typical cure for the 1st cancer is only the addition of a 2nd cancer.
Notice I did not even bother bringing up the election for president or other political offices, and for a very fucking good reason. Congress is the real power, and because of that, it is also why it has the most people. Congress could silence POTUS and could bring SCOTUS to heel if so desired. Of course the States could fuck them all up should there be significant enough will, but there looks to be little of that will in existence. There is a malaise called federal money that keeps states is SOLID CHECK in cases were they try to go solo too much from federal wishes.
I understand WHY you think you have no voice, but you have one. Use it or lose it! Next time you are called for jury duty, do your duty and do not shirk it. Sure it may not appear to be as glorious as voting in the next worthless skank of a president, but it is far more fucking effective to keep the innocent free and tyranny at bay!
Go and reclaim your voice, let no one silence it!
Avoiding turning yourself against your fellow citizens should they have voted in terrible people, you cannot afford to lose them, but you can always afford to lose a few corrupt politicians. The politicians rely up us fighting each other over petty ideals so that we lose focus.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
2. if by 'press' you mean the 1% of the alternative media which is the voice of the 99%; versus the 99% of the mainstream media voicing the propaganda of the 1%; then there is no contest on the saturation/domination of the mainstream/korporate media...
3. computer-based voting systems are NOT trustworthy, period...
check and mate...
so, now that leaves, um, hmmm...
sternly worded letters to the editor ? ? ?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
First of all, the election has to be close enough to steal. If the results of an election are far outside what was expected, then that's going to attract an investigation.
Second, there are other, easier ways of undermining elections. You've hit on one of them already: money in politics. Why risk being caught influencing elections by compromising the voting machines when you can just spend as much money as you want to influence voters and politicians?
There are other ways of influencing elections, too -- voter ID laws that are ostensibly intended to prevent criminals and noncitizens from voting often target demographics that the legislators don't like. And, fitting with that theme, Trump currently seems to be calling on his supporters to harass and intimidate anybody who they think looks suspicious.
Given all those options for influencing an election, going to the trouble of compromising voting machines is downright inefficient.
I'm not saying we don't have a problem with our voting machines. We do. They're a mess and they should all be recycled, and we should go back to good old-fashioned pen and paper. But as attack vectors go, they're not one of the ones I'm most worried about.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
I remember that at one of the last election they had some serious coverup work to do because the absolute number of votes for one candidate went down after the votes for a particular precinct were included, so they had to massage the numbers to make them look more plausible.
And that was at the tallying stage.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
Bloomberg had a fantastic article on this subject a few weeks ago: The Computer Voting Revolution Is Already Crappy, Buggy, and Obsolete
That story might have held up if Smith, a financial software developer and church organist, hadn’t been conducting an election night experiment. In his free time, Smith crunches voter-turnout data with programs he’s written to help local politicians target their direct-mail campaigns. Like Smith, most of his clients are black, and he had bet a friend 10 candy bars that the polling place at Unity Christian Church, a black congregation a mile from Graceland, would have a big turnout. The precinct, No. 77-01, is a Democratic stronghold and has one of the largest concentrations of African American voters in a city known for racially fractured politics. Smith’s guess: 600 votes. When the polls closed at 7 p.m., he was at Unity Christian and snapped some photos with his BlackBerry of the precinct’s poll tape—literally a tally of the votes printed on white paper tape and posted on a church window. Since the printouts come directly from the voting machines at each location, election officials consider it the most trustworthy count. According to the tape, Smith’s guess was close: 546 people had cast ballots.
When he got an e-mail a week later with Shelby County’s first breakdown of each precinct’s voting, he ran down the list to the one precinct where he knew the tally for sure. The count for Unity Christian showed only 330 votes. Forty percent of the votes had disappeared.
I'm not sure if that's the same example you're talking about, but a couple things about it in case it is:
This appears to have been caused by a bug, not intentional tampering. Hanlon's razor: don't blame malice for that which can be adequately explained by incompetence.
But this reinforces what I'm saying (especially in the last paragraph of my post): electronic voting machines are bad and should be scrapped immediately, but as far as election tampering goes, there are other methods I'm more worried about.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Justice light.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
Hillary is a true professional when it comes to using corruption to disguise her brand of evil.
Trump is a true professional at distracting everyone's outrage for his personal gain. He does not even attempt to hide his evil, it is on full display.
The difference between the two? Trump will stab you in your face and laugh... Hillary, she stabs you in the back and laughs! You pick the one you think is worse!
We will have better candidates when the people make it clear we will refuse to vote in either of the parties until they clean up the corruption. We just have to make it clear and from the looks of things... so very few are interested.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
A first-past-the-post electoral system, by its nature, leads to a two-party system.
And while I'm not a fan of the media's treatment of third-party candidates, Johnson and Stein specifically have not acquitted themselves well.
And aside from the media, the two major parties have a vested interest in maintaining their power. After Ross Perot was allowed into a presidential debate in 1992, the Debate Commission changed its rules to make it much more difficult for that to happen in the future.
All that said, in an election between the most unpopular major-party candidate in recorded history and the second-most unpopular, this really should have been a year for third-party candidates to achieve some success, and that hasn't happened. Johnson's polling higher than Libertarians typically do (and may do well enough that the party qualifies for matching funds in four years -- it'd be ironic for the Libertarian Party to accept government funding, but it could happen), and a fifth candidate, Evan McMullin, has a small but significant chance of winning Utah, so it's fair to say that candidates outside the major parties are doing better this election than usual. But I don't think they're doing nearly as well as they should be under the circumstances.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
> After studying the election process in 1985, the bipartisan National Commission on Elections recommended "[t]urning over the sponsorship of Presidential debates to the two major parties".[2] The CPD was established in 1987 by the chairmen of the Democratic and Republican Parties to "take control of the Presidential debates".[2] The commission was staffed by members from the two parties and chaired by the heads of the Democratic and Republican parties, Paul G. Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf.[2] At a 1987 press conference announcing the commission's creation, Fahrenkopf said that the commission was not likely to include third-party candidates in debates, and Kirk said he personally believed they should be excluded from the debates.[2]
>
> In 1988, the League of Women Voters withdrew its sponsorship of the presidential debates after the George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis campaigns secretly agreed to a "memorandum of understanding" that would decide which candidates could participate in the debates, which individuals would be panelists (and therefore able to ask questions), and the height of the lecterns. The League rejected the demands and released a statement saying that they were withdrawing support for the debates because "the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter."[4]
>
> The CPD has hosted the 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 debates.
>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Presidential_Debates#Criticism
The "Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD)" is a classic "Old Boys' Club" deliberately and consciously created to serve the interests of the two major parties over the interests of the general public.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Justice light.
Hahahahaha
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Yes - that is the only thing that makes sense. If he is blatantly breaking the law, there must be some incentive.
Good thing she was not in the Constitution free zone - else a visit to the doctor.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
For abusing power, the lack of a disincentive is incentive enough.
At any rate, since when does law enforcement (or rather breaking the law under color of law) depend on making sense?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This shall pass.
Under ordinary circumstances, the DA of North Dakota would follow through with his trumped up charges and win. But for this particular instance, Goodman is to well known. Such chicanery will go viral, bringing in more coverage and making the DA and the state a laughing stock. The effect will be similar to the Streisand effect.
Its in the DA's best interests to let this one go and not draw too much attention to standard, small state chicanery tactics.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"The four boxes of liberty; soap, ballet, jury, ammo. Please use them in that order."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Amy Goodman and Democracy Now
You sir and people like you are not the solution but the problem!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Amy Goodman and Democracy Now
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Perhaps its time we stop being distracted by shitty unimportant things & ask why support for corporations is the best use of tax dollars.
Perhaps if we started throwing those beholden to their corporate masters out of office, we might manage to elect those who put the actual people before corporate greed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
As long as people believe that "government" in and of itself is Dick Turpin on steroids, this nonsense will continue.
This is the funniest part of the whole "corporations are people, my friend," thing: they have loads of rights but are not obliged to take responsibility for anything. In short, fetishising capitalism has got us where we are today and stopping that will move us forward to a better future.
We need capitalism, but as our servant, not our master.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Well, the judge dismissed the case
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/10/amy-goodman-dakota-access-pipeline-press-f reedom
I haven't been able to find any written opinion... assuming it even merited one.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Well, the judge dismissed the case
[ link to this | view in chronology ]