In a Small Town, A Battle for Racial Justice Confronts A Bloody Past And An Uncertain Future GRAHAM, NC - NOVEMBER 3: Marchers in the Push to the Polls March led by Rev. Greg Drumwright, hold a rally at the Alamance County Historical Courthouse on November 3, 2020 in Graham, N.C. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The . GRAHAM, NC - NOVEMBER 3: Marchers in the Push to the Polls March led by Rev. Greg Drumwright, hold a rally at the Alamance County Historical Courthouse on November 3, 2020 in Graham, N.C. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images) MORE LESS
| May 25, 2021 9:23 a.m.
They were arrested while covering protests last year. They’re still in legal limbo.
On June 1, as protests intensified across the US following the police killing of George Floyd, Richard Cummings, a freelance photojournalist in Worcester, Massachusetts, saw dozens of police officers assembling in riot gear, even though the day’s main demonstration had wound down. He started to film them and take pictures. “Worcester’s never had anything with riot gear before,” Cummings told me recently. “It looks like the end of the world. It was crazy.” A few officers, Cummings said, were cracking jokes, including about shooting members of the public with their pepper guns; eventually, they noticed Cummings, who turned away. “I didn’t want to pry into anything, or get anyone angry,” he said. A different officer had given Cummings permission to stand nearby after he identified himself as a journalist, but after that officer moved on, the cops that Cummings had been filming tackle
Court affirms reporters’ access to hearings amid pandemic
GRAHAM (AP) Judges in North Carolina have announced new procedures for reporters to access hearings less than two weeks after a newspaper publisher was handcuffed and ordered out of a courtroom.
The News & Observer reports that Alamance County judges announced the policy after the newspaper and two other news outlets, the Alamance News and Triad City Beat, asked the North Carolina Court of Appeals to force the courts to let in journalists.
Friday’s order by the judges says reporters must request permission in advance to attend hearings, and up to five journalists will be allowed in a courtroom.
Alamance Judges Affirm Press Access To Hearings by Associated Press The Alamance County Courthouse. PAUL GARBER/WFDD FILE
Judges in North Carolina have announced new procedures for reporters to access hearings less than two weeks after a newspaper publisher was handcuffed and ordered out of a courtroom.
The News & Observer reports that Alamance County judges announced the policy after the newspaper and two other news outlets, the Alamance News and Triad City Beat, asked the North Carolina Court of Appeals to force the courts to let in journalists.
Friday s order by the judges says reporters must request permission in advance to attend hearings, and up to five journalists will be allowed in a courtroom.