Speaking at an hour-long conference call with law enforcement officials and a lawyer representing media outlets – including CNN – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he was ashamed of the treatment of reporters after police ordered the crowd to disperse, according to a participant in the encounter.
Attorney Leita Walker, who wrote on behalf of more than two dozen journalists and media outlets, sent a letter to the Walz government and public security officials after the meeting. The letter alleges that journalists have been harassed, assaulted, or arrested by law enforcement officials multiple times while covering protests in Minnesota.
CNN producer Carolyn Sung was grabbed by her backpack and thrown to the ground by state forces while trying to comply with a distribution order, the letter said.
Her hands were tied behind her back with zippers, she did not resist and repeatedly identified herself as a journalist who worked for CNN while showing her credentials, the letter said. The male security officer hired to work with her was also detained, but then released after showing his credentials.
A soldier yelled at Sung, “Do you speak English?” despite identifying herself as a journalist several times and telling the troopers that the zips on her wrists were too tight. Sung was transported to Hennepin County Jail in a prisoner transport bus, where she was processed, the letter said.
“ She was patted on the chest and searched by a female officer who put her hands in Sung’s pants and bra, took fingerprints, electronically scanned her body and ordered her to undress and put on an orange uniform before attorneys who worked on her behalf could locate her and secure her release, a process that took more than two hours, ”the letter said.
In another case, according to the letter, several media members, including one from the New York Times, were attacked by police officers. The officers surrounded their car, hitting windows and doors with wooden sticks before dragging the driver out and arresting them. Officers allegedly hit the New York Times reporter repeatedly and attempted to break his camera, the letter said.
The letter contains a photo of an unidentified law enforcement officer spraying chemicals on journalists, clearly identifiable by their equipment and clothing.
In a press release following Saturday’s rally, the Minnesota State Patrol acknowledged that, in accordance with an order from a federal judge, a dissemination order will not apply to members of the media reporting the protest.
“MSP is prohibited from seizing equipment from or ordering anyone to stop recording or observing that we know or know to be a member of the media,” the statement said.
The State Patrol also says it instructs troopers not to threaten to arrest members of the media unless they are suspected of committing a crime.
CNN’s Travis Caldwell contributed to this report.