Lawsuit: Minneapolis police ruthlessly attacked journalists at George Floyd protest

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A journalist shot in the face with a rubber bullet is now the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Minneapolis state and local police, according to the suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota Wednesday. Jared Goyette is one of several journalists Minneapolis police attacked at protests for George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a now-fired white cop kneeled on his neck more than eight minutes, several viral videos show.

“When law enforcement officers target members of the press with impunity, they strike at the root of our democracy,” the ACLU of Minnesota said in a news release. “Law enforcement officers who perpetrate these abuses must be held accountable for their actions to the fullest extent of the law.”

Goyette repeatedly told police he was a journalist before he was injured, as was the case in several viral videos showing reporters targeted by police in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker said on Tuesday it has tracked 211 “press freedom violations” since protests started last week,

“Over the past week, the Minneapolis Police and the Minnesota State Patrol have tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, shot in the face with rubber bullets, arrested without cause, and threatened journalists at gunpoint, all after these journalists identified themselves and were otherwise clearly engaged in their reporting duties,” attorneys alleged in the lawsuit. “These are not isolated incidents.”

While freelance reporter @JaredGoyette was covering protests at the 3rd Precinct in Minneapolis, he saw a protester who was badly injured, and went to document the situation and bear witness. Minneapolis police shot Goyette in the eye with a projectile and tear-gassed him. pic.twitter.com/34vdam32Ol

— ACLU of Minnesota (@ACLUMN) June 3, 2020

Linda Tirado, a freelance photographer included in the lawsuit, was shot with a rubber bullet in the left eye and permanently blinded while covering street protests in Minneapolis, the city where Floyd died. Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske and photographer Carolyn Cole were wearing press credentials when Minnesota State Patrol troopers backed them “against a wall and fired tear gas and less-lethal projectiles at them,” according to the lawsuit. It also includes Star Tribune reporters Ryan Faircloth and Chao Xiong and Associated Press photojournalist John Minchillo, who were hit with rubber bullets, according to the suit.

”Unfortunately, as in so many other cases, senior law enforcement officials have refused to take action in response to flagrant abuse,” the ACLU of Minnesota said in its news release. “They have failed to establish necessary guidelines, trainings, and disciplinary protocols to ensure that attacks on journalists are treated with zero tolerance.”

The nonprofit later said: “If the government refuses to hold its officers accountable for their unlawful actions, we will.”

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