United States: We condemn tear gas attack against LA Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske

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Minneapolis, Minnesota, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2020 -- Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske was tear gassed while reporting the protests in Minnesota on the frontlines. CFWIJ is concerned about attacks against women journalists in the United States.

Los Angeles Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske tweeted and said that she and her colleagues were tear gassed while covering the protests in Minnesota.

"We identified ourselves as press and they fired tear gas canisters on us at point blank range, I got hit in the leg," she said in her video on Twitter.

"I was saying, 'Where do we go? Where do we go?' They did not tell us where to go. They didn't direct us. They just fired on us."

The Minnesota State Patrol formed a line about half a block down the road and told the protesters that they must disperse, and started firing tear gas soon after. Molly and her colleagues shouted to express that they are journalists. However, police fired tear gas towards them. 

Molly and other journalists all had identified themselves as journalist. They also had their helmets, gas masks and flak jackets marked with “TV,” in large letters, in addition to their press credentials. While they were trying to protect their faces, police officers went so close which averted their protection. 

“United States is not upholding democracy if it is not ensuring that journalists covering an important event in the country are able to do so without danger from authorities,” says our founding director Kiran Nazish. “Some of the violations against the press that have taken place in the last few days, are unusual even in the most notorious countries in the world. The United States authorities need to step up and ensure the press is able to do their job safely and with the needed access.”

Molly spoke of her experience for the Los Angeles Times here. 

Molly has covered protests involving the U.S. military in war zones, including Iraq and Afghanistan. She states that she has never been fired at by police before.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism urges authorities to stop violence against journalists and allow them to report freely and safely in this very difficult time for the country.