Civil Liberties

Reason.tv's Jim Epstein Talks to Judge Napolitano About Being Arrested for Filming a Public Meeting

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Yesterday, June 23, on Judge Andrew Napolitano's Freedom Watch program, Reason.tv producer Jim Epstein talked about the experience of being arrested for filming a portion of a public meeting in Washington, D.C.:

Meanwhile, the Washington Post today published a withering editorial about the incident. Excerpt:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray's administration has organized an "Executive Media Skills Seminar" for the city's agency heads and senior staff. The goal for Friday's event is to "build effective working relationships between reporters and government agency directors." Here's a tip: Try not to arrest people who are covering a public meeting.

More reporting from the Daily Caller. Local news station WTOP has discovered that the incident hasn't exactly led to a new spirit of openness:

In an effort to get an explanation about the incident, WTOP's Mark Segraves went to the commission office Friday and was thrown out by security. The door to the office was subsequently locked, and the lights turned off—leaving the entire cab commission office in the dark.

Charming. On his Twitter feed, however, WTOP's Segraves is reporting more welcome news:

DC City Administrator Allen Lew says the AG has decided not to pursue any charges against reporters arrested by Park Police at taxi meeting.

We'll share more as we hear it.