Police Drop Charges Against Journalist Who Was Arrested For Doing His Job at a Trump Rally
Police are not going to punish a journalist for doing his job at a Donald Trump rally, it turns out.
Last week, CBS News journalist Sopan Deb was arrested while filming the chaotic scene outside the Republican presidential frontrunner’s cancelled rally in Chicago last Friday. Deb’s camera kept rolling as a police officer pulled him down to the ground, allegedly holding his boot to Deb’s neck though he identified himself as press.
Deb was originally charged with resisting arrest. But The Washington Post reported Thursday that the Chicago Police Department has dropped the charges. Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the Chicago police, told the Post in an email:
“While this incident was very dynamic and troopers and officers were forced to make split-second decisions in the interest of public safety of demonstrators and police officers, we have collectively decided to drop the administrative charges in this case. This decision was made after a methodical review of the physical evidence including video and interviewing both troopers and police officers involved in the incident.”
Though that problem is now behind him, Deb is back on the campaign trail this week, reliving the fresh hells that the Trump campaign delivers to reporters on the daily.
My sincerest thanks to everyone that reached out over the last week or so. I am so grateful and humbled for the support I've received.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) March 17, 2016