Mass Arrests On Inauguration Day Swept Up Journalists And Legal Observers And Their Phones

[Judi Lynn]

Police seized the cell phones and cameras of journalists and legal observers arrested during Inauguration Day demonstrations. Prosecutors have dropped the criminal charges against many of them, but concerns persist about the seizure and possible search of their electronic devices.

posted on Apr. 9, 2017, at 7:10 p.m.
Zoe Tillman


WASHINGTON — Cheney Orr, a photographer, drove down from New York City early in the morning on Jan. 20 to document the events of President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day.

He didn’t expect that by the end of the day, he’d be arrested, loaded into a police van, and charged with rioting. And he certainly didn’t expect that he would later agree to turn over the contents of his cell phone and cameras to prosecutors in order to get his property back, even as he maintained his innocence.

Orr is one of 16 people — mostly journalists, photographers, and legal observers — arrested on Jan. 20 on a felony rioting charge whose cases have already been dropped by prosecutors. All had their phones and electronic devices seized by police. Some had to wait several weeks for their cases to get dismissed and to get their property back, according to interviews with BuzzFeed News and court documents. Some still don’t have their devices. Most don’t know if their phones or cameras were searched by police or prosecutors — or whether those prosecutors plan to use the information on the devices as evidence in others’ cases.

First Amendment lawyers and legal ethics experts say the fact that journalists and legal observers were caught in the mass arrests on Jan. 20 is troubling on its own. But the seizure and possible search of their phones and cameras adds a whole new layer of legal complexity.

More:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/mass-arrests-on-inauguration-day-swept-up-journalists-and?utm_term=.elOmAJPKw#.psoR1qj6E

[True Dough]

1. What I need to know

is whether these 16 people count among the record 1.5 million people to witness Trump's inauguration in person or not???