October, 03 2011, 01:45pm EDT
Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman Announces Major Settlement in Federal Lawsuit Challenging Police and U.S. Secret Service Crackdown on Journalists at 2008 Republican National Convention
Today, Oct. 3rd, 2011 at 1 p.m. EDT Press Conference at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan
NEW YORK
Today, Amy Goodman, the award-winning journalist and host of Democracy Now! news hour, will announce details of a six-figure settlement in a federal lawsuit brought by her and Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar against the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the U.S. Secret Service. The lawsuit challenged the policies and conduct of law enforcement during the 2008 Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which resulted in the unlawful arrests of Democracy Now! journalists as they were trying to report on public protest and political dissent.
Goodman, who was represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; and Albert Goins of Minneapolis, will speak to reporters at Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan today at 1 p.m. EDT. Zuccotti Park is located in Lower Manhattan at the corner of Broadway and Liberty Street.
The settlement includes $100,000 in compensation paid by the St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments and the U.S. Secret Service. The settlement also includes an agreement by the St. Paul Police Department to implement a training program aimed at educating officers regarding the First Amendment rights of the press and public with respect to police operations, including proper procedures for dealing with the press covering demonstrations.
Speakers at the press conference include: Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman; Democracy Now! Correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous; CCR Legal Director Baher Azmy; CCR Senior Staff Attorney Anjana Samant and others.
For more information on the case, visit CCR's legal case page:
https://www.ccrjustice.org/goodman
Watch the announcement of the settlement today on Democracy Now! News Hour:
https://www.democracynow.org
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Kari Lake, a far-right election denier and failed U.S. Senate candidate, to lead the federally funded international broadcast network Voice of America, a move that critics said underscores Trump's effort to transform government entities into vehicles to advance his own interests.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that as director of VOA, Lake would "ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media."
Lake, a former television news anchor in Arizona who has echoed Trump's insidious attacks on journalists, wrote in response to the president-elect's announcement that she was "honored" to be asked to lead VOA, which she characterized as "a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth." VOA, which is supposed to have editorial independence, has long faced criticism for its coverage and treatment of employees.
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