North Dakota Wants to Arrest Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman for Engaging in Journalism

The independent journalist was documenting private security personnel using dogs to attack Native Americans activists.

By John Nichols 

So much for the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Despite well-established freedom of the press protections that outline and guarantee the rights of reporters who cover breaking news stories—including confrontations between demonstrators and authorities—North Dakota officials have charged Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman with criminal trespassing after she documented private security personnel’s use of dogs to attack Native American foes of the Dakota Access Pipeline project.

Video footage obtained by Goodman, an internationally respected and frequently honored independent journalist, helped to alert Americans to the tactics being used to stop demonstrations against the pipeline by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their allies. On Friday, the Obama administration halted work on key portions of the $3.8 billion pipeline project—recognizing concerns raised by the tribe and environmental activists.

Amy Goodman calls the the battle against the pipeline “a renewed assertion of indigenous rights and sovereignty...” 

That might have been expected to temper the zeal of local officials in North Dakota’s Morton County—who issued warrants charging Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her vice-presidential running mate Ajamu Baraka with criminal trespass and criminal mischief after they joined the demonstrations Tuesday. But on Saturday afternoon, North Dakota’s Dickinson Press reported that:

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Amy Goodman of New York for a Class B misdemeanor, according to court documents.

Goodman, a reporter for the independent news program, can be seen on news footage from Sept. 3 documenting the clash between protesters and private security personnel with guard dogs at a Dakota Access construction site, including footage showing people with bite injuries and a dog with blood on its mouth.

The video footage has been widely cited by people who have since criticized the use of dogs by the security personnel.

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JOHN NICHOLS TWITTER John Nichols is The Nation’s national affairs correspondent. He is the co-author, with Robert W. McChesney, of People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy, published in March 2016 by Nation Books. 

https://www.thenation.com/article/north-dakota-wants-to-arrest-democracy-nows-amy-goodman-for-engaging-in-journalism/