Mutliple reports have surfaced that the Ferguson, MO police forces are turning their attention, and in some cases weapons, on local and national media.
A video from 5 KSDK St. Louis, shows the incident unfold:
Police aren’t just targeting Al-Jazeera. In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, local a KSDK reporter describes being ordered to leave the area at gunpoint by Ferguson police:
Another video posted on KSDK’s website shows police first assaulting a protestor and then firing a bean bag round at the KSDK camera operator that was filming the incident:
The media blackout seems to be a directive from the upper echelons of the Ferguson police department. The police accountability advocacy group, Cop Block posted the following on their Twitter account:
“No media” in #Ferguson!? Tyrants prefer #censorship. Inject #transparency Stream! http://t.co/pV1ib02gC0@OpFergusonpic.twitter.com/GxgKJs2yuC
— Cop Block (@CopBlock) August 13, 2014
St. Louis dispatch photographer David Carlson tweeted that he was being ordered to leave the scene or be arrested:
Being ordered to leave scene threatened with arrest #Ferguson
— David Carson (@PDPJ) August 12, 2014
Ferguson police have gone so far as to arrest a Huffington Post reporter who was compiling a story and charging his requirement at a local McDonald’s. While the Ferguson SWAT team was clearing out a local McDonald’s for the ‘safety’ of the public, reporter Ryan Reilly snapped a photo of the incident, prompting his arrest, and alleged assault by police:
SWAT just invade McDonald’s where I’m working/recharging. Asked for ID when I took photo. pic.twitter.com/FOIsMnBwHy — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 13, 2014
@HuffingtonPost reporter @ryanjreilly arrested when police closed Ferguson McDonalds. #MikeBrown #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/rAz2A8eu31
— Robert Cohen (@kodacohen) August 14, 2014
Reilly decribes his arrest in an interview with MSNBC:
The media blackout is not confined to the ground. The FAA has instituted an official ban on all aircraft, expect for police helicopters, over Ferguson. This means news crews are unable to document the protests from the air either: