Two reporters from the conservative website the Daily Caller were arrested during the protests in Louisville, Kentucky, Wednesday night, and thus far authorities in Louisville appear determined to detain and charge them just like other suspects who were arrested as part of a mass sweep to enforce the city's curfew.
The report from the Daily Caller indicates that reporters Shelby Talcott and Jorge Ventura were arrested as part of a massive sweep conducted by police, who reportedly did not respond to the reporters' repeated insistence that they were members of the press.
Prior to their arrest, Ventura and Talcott recorded and tweeted some of the scenes of chaos in Louisville as they unfolded.
Another look at the scene in #Louisville. Multiple people arrested. Unlawful assembly declared. Stay tuned for more… https://t.co/0tMuGzskrb— Jorge Ventura Media (@Jorge Ventura Media)1600898556.0
Intense moments here in #Louisville https://t.co/t6zui4yV5S— Jorge Ventura Media (@Jorge Ventura Media)1600897660.0
Group of people detained by the hospital. Down the road, an officer just stopped some more people and told them ove… https://t.co/SXQDsoobfd— Shelby Talcott (@Shelby Talcott)1600911147.0
The reporters also recorded and tweeted the mass detention and the moments immediately preceding it.
Police are corralling everyone in https://t.co/e8IfsUSQpE— Shelby Talcott (@Shelby Talcott)1600916404.0
We are all on the ground right now and police are taking people and putting them in zip tie cuffs https://t.co/eIJJF1t1Ub— Shelby Talcott (@Shelby Talcott)1600916785.0
Wednesday night, Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll tweeted that he had notified the Louisville Metro Police Department that Talcott and Ventura were members of the press and that he expected them to be released shortly. Later, however, Ingersoll expressed his frustration that the Daily Caller's reporters were going to be processed in exactly the same manner as the rioters they were covering.
Update: The Louisville doc tells me @ShelbyTalcott and @VenturaReport will be processed and charged like everyone e… https://t.co/ygiurNJdSq— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@Geoffrey Ingersoll)1600920058.0
However, as of Thursday, the reporters had not been released and no one from the Daily Caller had been permitted to talk to either Talcott or Ventura, leading Daily Caller co-founder Neil Patel to criticize the treatment of the Caller's reporters and to threaten a lawsuit if the reporters were not permitted to exercise their First Amendment right to report on an ongoing news story.
In the thread, Patel noted that, unlike other media outlets, the Daily Caller has taken care to interview police and get their side of the story and tell it in a balanced way.
3/ at more protests and riots and none have done a more balanced job of telling the public what is happening. We a… https://t.co/QH5ERw8S2n— Neil Patel (@Neil Patel)1600957009.0
Patel concluded his thread with a warning: "The Louisville Police Department (@LMPD) is going to find out all about this in the form of a lawsuit unless things start changing fast."
The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment on this story.
This is a developing story and will be updated as events warrant.
