A documentary filmmaker Deia Schlosberg was arrested in North Dakota for filming activists vandalizing pipelines bringing Canadian tar sands oil into the U.S. (PR Newswire, October 12, 2016)
Two others were also arrested filming Climate Direct Action breaking into pipeline facilities and shutting off pipeline valves. Those arrested face charges of conspiring with the activists to commit “theft of property” or “theft of service.” The filmmakers face prison terms of 25 years. Two of the filmmakers are facing similar charges in Washington state. “Recording civil disobedience and arrests is news-gathering, not conspiracy. Prosecuting filmmakers for covering protests sends a chilling message. We call on authorities in North Dakota and Washington to drop these troubling charges and to stop interfering with journalists doing their jobs,” said Robert Mahoney, CPJ’s deputy executive director. (Committee to Protect Journalists, October 20, 2016, press release)