The election of Donald Trump to the presidency has brought forth warnings by the liberal media about fears of a Trump assault on the First Amendment, yet it is Hillary Clinton supporters who are preventing reporters from covering the news with threats and violence. In Portland, Oregon, after the media was threatened and news crews and reporters were repeatedly attacked by anti-Trump rioters, news station KGW-TV announced they would no longer send reporters to directly cover the protests. Instead, the station said their reporters would cover the protests “from a safe distance.”
In one example of the intimidating violence directed against the media, a KGW news crew was attacked by Hillary supporters wielding a baseball bat.
https://twitter.com/phpress/status/796981860815376384
“Anarchists hit one of the @KGWNews cameras. w/ bat #BlackLivesMatter protesters came to their aid & chased the anarchists off #Portland #PDX”
In one photo in this tweet below, a masked Hillary supporter can be seen swinging a baseball bat during a Portland anti-Trump riot.
URGENT: At least 29 #AntiTrump protesters arrested in Portland https://t.co/ZOYxgRV4ZS pic.twitter.com/rernti6qMd
— RT America (@RT_America) November 11, 2016
“URGENT: At least 29 #AntiTrump protesters arrested in Portland http://on.rt.com/7ur8” (from Nov. 11)
Imagine the outrage if a news station were to make the same announcement about covering Trump supporters. But Trump supporters aren’t violently attacking reporters, Hillary Clinton supporters are the ones attacking reporters all across the nation.
Text of the statement by KGW:
After protests turned violent the last several nights, including vandalism and one person getting shot, KGW is taking a new approach to covering violent protests. Our journalists and others in the media have been injured and gassed covering these protests.
We don’t want our people or anyone else to get injured in these riots. That’s why we’ve decided to cover violent confrontations from a safe distance. We will also think long and hard about what we put on air and online.
We also are committed to including you in our reporting process. How do you think we should cover protests? Does media coverage encourage violent people in the crowds? Let us know in the comments.”
A leaflet has been handed out to reporters and others at the Portland anti-Trump riots threatening them to not film the protests. News crews have been attacked just about every night since the protests began in Portland.
Image via Andy NGO, Twitter.
