United States: journalists' house raided by police

Freelance journalist Bryan Carmody’s house was searched by the San Francisco Police on May 10 after he refused to reveal his source. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the National Writers Union (NWU) condemn an illegal raid.

The raid was carried out by a dozen police officers armed with guns and sledgehammers. Bryan Carmody was handcuffed during six hours and the police seized about $30,000 worth of electronic devices, namely “everything he has ever worked on or that he is currently working on”, his lawyer said. 

According to the NWU, the police was looking for the source who provided Camrody with a leaked report on the death of the city’s public defender Jeff Adachi in February 2019. This report was described as “stolen or embezzled” by the search warrant.

The NWU said: “We demand that all of Bryan Carmody's equipment be returned to him immediately and that the San Francisco Police Department stop their harassment so that he can continue to work as a journalist. We join the growing chorus of voices that condemn this illegal raid as a violation of California’s shield law.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “We join our affiliate in condemning intimidation of Bryan Carmody.  The protection of journalists' sources is a key pillar of media freedom and the US police must accept this. Any state that calls itself a democracy must respect press freedom and journalists' rights. We call on the US authorities to respect the First Amendment of their Constitution and promote an enabling environment for journalists so that they can work without pressure.”

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

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