For twenty years the SOA rally has been away for Americans to express themselves about a cause that is dear to heart for more than just a few…
It has been a rally of ups and downs but this time with out warning News Personnel were arrested and given only options of paying a bribe whoops I mean a fine ($5,500) or stay in jail for awhile… (That is a hell of a fine…)
Taken from Russia Today: An RT crew, including correspondent Kaelyn Forde and cameraman Jon Conway, has been released after detention by US police while filming protests near the Fort Benning military base in Georgia.
They were taken into custody despite complying with the police demand not to come close to the gates of the base. RT is now trying to find out the details of the incident.
The journalists were detained after the demonstration was over and everybody, including correspondents, was leaving the site. The arrest was very rough, RT Washington bureau informs, with hard plastic hand cuffs injuring Kaelyn Forde’s wrists. This type of handcuffs is commonly used by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the footage she can be seen yelling, “We are press, why are you arresting me?”
The RT correspondents, as well as the demonstrators, were charged with insubordination to the authorities, taking part in unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.
All those detained were transported to a jail, their private possessions, clothes and, in the men’s case, underwear were confiscated. They received prison jumpsuits with the tag “Muscogee County Jail”. The arrested were put in the same cells with convicted criminals serving their sentences. Kaelyn Forde managed to make a call from the prison.
After 24 hours of detention, all the arrested were brought before a judge.
After a six-hour interrogation of the arrested, and the policemen who detained them, the judge kept most of the charges in place.
In particular, the RT correspondent and a cameraman were facing the dilemma of admitting their guilt of “participation in unlawful assembly” and paying a fine, or going back to jail.
The decision was made to pay the fine.
Another charge, “insubordination to the authorities”, will require further investigative measures.
Eventually, at midnight Georgian time, 32 hours after the arrest, the correspondents were released.
Activists from a protest movement claim that this year’s crowd dispersal was the toughest and most irrational. One of the organizers of the rally, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that it was done on purpose in order to intimidate the protesters, with the message that, if the government can take such rough measures against the press, it can behave even worse to the activists…
Looks like RT is stepping on some toes in America. I have been watching their aggressive reporting all over America and I really think we will see a lot more of this type of censorship. Russia Today is not under the media control of the USA. Like the rest of the Large media in America. Hence the reason that you do not see Western press spouting about this story and if you do it is a quiet article on the inside page…
Happy Thanksgiving Russia Today! 🙂
Windows to Russia!
- So America Did Not Like Russia Today Doing Some Reporting on the SOA Watch Rally… (windowstorussia.com)
- RT America correspondents arrested at Fort Benning military base (rt.com)
- RT team detained at Fort Benning (rt.com)