A press freedom group has called for prosecutors in two states to drop charges against three filmmakers who were arrested while filming activists as they aimed to shut down major oil pipeline from Canada to the US.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Lindsey Grayzel, Carl Davis and Deia Schlosberg were acting as journalists and not protesters, when they were taken into custody at pipeline sites in Washington state and North Dakota.
The claim would mean they were protected by free speech rights.
In a statement from the committee, deputy executive director of the committee Robert Mahoney, said: “Recording civil disobedience and arrests in news gathering, not conspiracy.
“Prosecuting filmmakers for covering protests sends a chilling message. We call on authorities in North Dakota and Washington to drop theres troubling charges and to stop intefering with journalists doing their jobs.”
A North Dakota judge earlier this week dismissed charges against journalist Amy Goodman, who was arrested while filming demonstrations there.
During the protests, activists broke into valve stations at five remote locations near the US-Canada on October 10th in a bid to stop the flow of crude through arteries that pump about 15% of the oil consumed in the US daily.