The Des Moines Register reporter, Andrea Sahouri, was arrested as she covered a Black Lives Matter protest. "Treating media work as a crime is a human rights violation," Amnesty International said.
Recap: Day one of Register reporter Andrea Sahouri trial sees DMPD officers testifying on response to Merle Hay protests. William Morris, Des Moines Register
Register reporter Andrea Sahouri talks about being detained at Merle Hay Mall protest
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An Iowa journalist faces trial starting today on charges stemming from her coverage of a protest against racial injustice, a case that prosecutors have pursued despite international condemnation from free press advocates who say she was just doing her job, according to the Associated Press.
The case of Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri, who was pepper sprayed and arrested while reporting on a clash between protesters and police, will highlight an aggressive response by Iowa authorities against those who organized and attended protests that erupted last summer and occasionally turned violent.
A police officer testified that he arrested a journalist at an unruly Black Lives Matter protest last year in Iowa after he repeatedly shot clouds of pepper spray to disperse a crowd and she did not leave.