Ferguson-Related Charges Dropped Against Washington Post and Huffington Post Reporters
By Niraj Chokshi May 19 at 4:00 PM
Missouri’s St. Louis County has agreed to drop charges against a pair
of reporters who were arrested in 2014 while covering protests in
Ferguson, Mo., concluding a nearly two-year-long drama that unfolded in
the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.
Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post were arrested Aug. 13, 2014, by police who were clearing a Ferguson McDonald’s in which the two reporters were working alongside other journalists.
Almost a full year passed before formal charges of trespassing and interfering with a police officer were filed against the pair. Those charges were dropped Thursday as part of a settlement in which the two Washington-based reporters agreed not to sue the county over the incident.
“Wesley Lowery should never have been arrested in the first place,” Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said in a statement. “That abuse of authority was made worse with the charges brought a year later, showing a lack of respect for the role of journalists in a free society. We’re pleased to see that the charges are finally being dropped, though we remain incensed at how an excellent reporter was treated.”
Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post were arrested Aug. 13, 2014, by police who were clearing a Ferguson McDonald’s in which the two reporters were working alongside other journalists.
Almost a full year passed before formal charges of trespassing and interfering with a police officer were filed against the pair. Those charges were dropped Thursday as part of a settlement in which the two Washington-based reporters agreed not to sue the county over the incident.
“Wesley Lowery should never have been arrested in the first place,” Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said in a statement. “That abuse of authority was made worse with the charges brought a year later, showing a lack of respect for the role of journalists in a free society. We’re pleased to see that the charges are finally being dropped, though we remain incensed at how an excellent reporter was treated.”
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