A jury in Polk County, Iowa, today acquitted Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri on two misdemeanor charges stemming from her arrest while covering protests in the city last May.
“I’d like to thank my family and friends, my Des Moines Register and Gannett colleagues and people around Des Moines, nationally and globally who have supported me for nearly a year after I was unjustly assaulted and arrested. I’m thankful to the jury for doing the right thing. Their decision upholds freedom of the press and justice in our democracy,” said Sahouri following the verdict.
“We thank the jury for its time and thoughtful consideration of Andrea’s case. We are grateful that the jury saw this case as the unjust prosecution of a reporter who was doing her job. Newsgathering is a fundamental part of press freedom. Reporters need to be at protests as the public’s eyes and ears, to conduct interviews, take photos and witness for themselves the actions of protesters and law enforcement. If reporters are arrested and hauled away from protests, that denies people the right to know what’s going on in their community,” said Carol Hunter, executive editor of the Des Moines Register.
“We are very grateful that justice was done today, and that Andrea was fully exonerated. But it should never have come to this. It was clear Andrea was at that protest as a working journalist. It was clear that police were allowing other journalists to do exactly what Andrea was doing that day — reporting from a breaking news scene. Andrea was assaulted, arrested, charged and ultimately tried for doing her job. Today’s victory was as much a victory for the First Amendment as it was for Andrea,” said Maribel Perez Wadsworth, President/News, Gannett Media.
Gannett funded Sahouri’s defense and will always stand behind its journalists when they are arrested for simply performing their jobs.
