Minnesota State Police on Friday conducted a mass arrest of CNN journalists who were covering the civil unrest occurring in Minneapolis in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
Police claimed that CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and his crew had refused orders to move away from the area, although none of the footage shown on air included Jimenez refusing any orders.
Viewers who watched the arrest live on television were shocked to see police arresting journalists who were covering a major news story in a public space -- and many called the cops' actions a direct attack on press freedom.
Check out some reactions below.
@CNN Goodbye America, nice knowing you— Ben Groß (@Ben Groß)1590748056.0
I can't believe my eyes. To see a news crew arrested, its camera on the move still rolling on national tv. This is my country.— Christine Romans (@Christine Romans)1590748271.0
Shocking to watch a CNN reporter being arrested live on the air. In the United States. https://t.co/dsNTMPbJU1— Mark MacKinnon (@Mark MacKinnon)1590747619.0
Police clearly saw that @OmarJimenez and his team were broadcasting live, reporting on the protests. During the arr… https://t.co/lUtBwtLEgo— Abby D. Phillip (@Abby D. Phillip)1590747598.0
Reporting while black https://t.co/1a4ENfgN36— Julia Ioffe (@Julia Ioffe)1590747374.0
This is freaking outrageous. He is being a reporter. Calm and cooperative. And they arrest him on Live TV. Meanwhil… https://t.co/y9Axo06kzq— Ben Yelin (@Ben Yelin)1590748254.0
The image on the left is a live CNN camera that continues to broadcast even though the CNN crew and correspondent… https://t.co/i0l9aJulxI— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@Yashar Ali 🐘)1590748642.0
Wait so they arrested CNN’s Omar Jimenez for reporting on the protests, but they still haven’t arrested the cop that murdered a guy?— Palmer Report (@Palmer Report)1590747645.0
