The Capitol Police arrested veteran Public News Service reporter Dan Heyman for allegedly trying “to breach the security of the Secret Service” and “causing a disturbance by yelling questions.” Heyman was thrusting his smartphone forward and addressing questions to Tom Price, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The ACLU said the arrest was “a blatant attempt to chill an independent, free press.” (The New York Times, May 10, 2017, by Christopher Mele)
Price supported the police in their arrest of Heyman saying “that gentlemen was not in a press conference.” The Public News Service CEO said that Heyman was not doing anything out of the ordinary for any reporter covering the administration. (The Washington Post, May 11, 2017, by Samantha Schmidt)
Although in many ways, President Donald Trump’s animosity towards the press is backfiring, it also presents dangers for the press and democracy. The public has rallied to defend the news media, with print subscriptions rocketing, cable news ratings at record levels and nonprofits like Mother Jones and ProPublica realizing significant increases in donations. But with Trump setting the tone, there is also widespread concern that reporters are being arrested while covering stories and national, state and local officials are stonewalling reporters and passing laws harmful to the news media. (Columbia Journalism Review, Spring 2017, by Jonathan Peters)