Police Arrest CNN Reporter And Crew Covering Minneapolis Protests Live On Air
A CNN correspondent and two members of his crew have been arrested live on air while broadcasting from protests in Minneapolis over George Floyd’s death.
Omar Jimenez, who was covering the demonstrations that have erupted in the city, was handcuffed and taken away after telling officers the crew would go wherever they wanted them to.
A producer and a camera operator were also detained.
The camera continued rolling and broadcasting the whole time, even as it was taken away from the crew.
The crew was released around two hours later.
Minnesota police arrest CNN reporter and camera crew as they report from protests in Minneapolis https://t.co/IY0H1Lc77Epic.twitter.com/s9XmwVfabP
— New Day (@NewDay) May 29, 2020
Viewers expressed shock at the scene:
Oh. My. God. CNN’s correspondent @OmarJimenez has just been arrested live on air pic.twitter.com/xCe0Y9gxa8
— Ashlee Mullany (@AshleeMullany) May 29, 2020
Wow. Police in Minneapolis just arrested @OmarJimenez live on CNN. What is going on?? Our camera crew and Omar's producer also now being arrested.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) May 29, 2020
Man they just arrested @OmarJimenez live on tv.
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) May 29, 2020
Police told CNN that the journalists had been arrested “for not following orders to clear the street.”
Jimenez’s colleague Josh Campbell, who was elsewhere in the city covering the protests, was not arrested.
Yet Campbell told New Day that his experience had been “the opposite of what Omar just experienced.” It “crossed my mind” it could have been because he is white and Jimenez is Black, Campbell said.
A black reporter from CNN was arrested while legally covering the protests in Minneapolis. A white reporter also on the ground was not. https://t.co/GcfwEvyYQCpic.twitter.com/Mg4ZwKIuKt
— CNN (@CNN) May 29, 2020
CNN had called for the release of its employees in a statement shared on Twitter.
“A CNN reporter & his production team were arrested this morning in Minneapolis...