A working journalist was pinned to the ground, handcuffed, arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanors. This didn’t happen in China, Iran or Russia, it happened in Ohio.
Evan Lambert is a correspondent for NewsNation based in Washington, D.C. He was in Ohio Wednesday at a press conference, reporting on the recent train derailment.
BREAKING: @EvanLambertTV, a DC-based correspondent for @NewsNation, has been in Ohio covering the train crash. He was doing a live shot in the back of the room during a press conference-was told to stop by police, was pushed to the ground, cuffed & arrested & put in a patrol car. pic.twitter.com/RZv6nT7j8o
— NewsNationComms (@NewsNationComms) February 8, 2023
According to NewsNation, Gov. Mike DeWine’s press conference, which was supposed to start hours earlier, started at the same time Lambert went live with his report.
A police affidavit obtained said the man leading Ohio’s National Guard, Maj. Gen. John Harris interrupted Lambert’s live broadcast because he was being “loud.”
The police affidavit said a confrontation ensued between Harris and Lambert. While Harris called the situation “contrived,” it was Lambert who wound up in handcuffs.
Most of the incident was caught on video by multiple reporters, who can be heard saying what the East Palestine police officers were doing was a clear violation of the First Amendment. DeWine denounced the arrest.
“It has always been my practice that if I’m doing a press conference, someone wants to report out there and they want to be talking back to the people back on channel whatever, they have every right to do that,” DeWine said.
Lambert, who is identified as Evan Lambert-McMichael by police, was taken to the Columbiana County Jail and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. It was originally thought Lambert would spend the night in jail, but he was released fairly quickly. NewsNation reported DeWine may have had something to do with Lambert’s release.
Speaking after his release, Lambert said, “No journalist expects to be arrested when you’re doing your job. I think that’s really important that doesn’t happen in our country. It obviously happens more often, more frequently in other countries that don’t have the freedoms that we do and the Constitution that protects this job.”
The Society of Professional Journalists and the Youngstown Press Club both strongly condemned the arrest and demanded all charges against Lambert be dropped.
“Journalism is not a crime and we urge East Palestine PD to drop all charges against @EvanLambertTV immediately and issue a public apology for his arrest,” @clairemariereg1 and @AshantiBlaize said. https://t.co/734BjPjWv4 pic.twitter.com/rWwv7ajQ3k
— Society of Professional Journalists (@spj_tweets) February 9, 2023
East Palestine Chief of Police James Brown released a statement on the issue late in the afternoon on Thursday. Brown said officers were trying to “de-escalate the situation.” The chief said Lambert was taken to the ground in an effort to “maintain control” over him, while “preventing injury to the involved parties.”
For more Straight Arrow News reporting on First Amendment issues, click here.
