Statement on the prosecution of Carlos Sanchez

Media Guild of the West joined the following coalition statement on May 1, 2024:

As advocates for journalists and the First Amendment rights of a free press, we demand that Texas law enforcement authorities end their misguided pursuit of criminal charges against photojournalist Carlos Sanchez, who was arrested while covering protests at the University of Texas at Austin. 

In leveling an unwarranted charge of assault against a journalist who was simply doing his job, Texas authorities themselves commit an assault – on the public’s First Amendment right to be informed by a free and unfettered press.

And in charging a member of the press with interfering with a police officer’s duties, they send the message that police are free to interfere with journalists as they exercise their constitutionally protected right to inform the public.

Mr. Sanchez was livestreaming the campus protest for Fox 7 Austin on April 24 when police forcefully threw him to the ground and arrested him. While he was initially among dozens of people charged with criminal trespass, those charges were dropped and he was released on April 25 after being jailed overnight. 

After his initial arrest and release without any charges being filed, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) issued a statement claiming to believe “strongly in a journalist’s right to cover events of the day in a safe way.” Yet DPS officials undermined this statement by pursuing Mr. Sanchez’s arrest on a felony assault charge, alleging that the journalist’s camera hit a state trooper as the officer was confronting protesters. 

After Mr. Sanchez turned himself in at the courthouse accompanied by his lawyer, they learned that the felony assault charge had been dropped. But authorities reversed course again and brought two misdemeanor charges, of assault and interfering with public duties.

We, organizations that collectively represent and advocate on behalf of thousands of journalists, strongly urge the county attorney to decline prosecution of these charges and denounce authorities’ handling and escalation of the underlying incident. In addition to preventing a journalist from reporting the news as it was happening, their actions exert a chilling effect on reporters covering protests and law enforcement’s response to them, both during and beyond the current wave of campus demonstrations. 

While policing a sizable protest is challenging, we expect officers to exercise discretion and avoid over-reacting. People using large professional cameras and clearly identifying themselves as journalists must not be punished or retaliated against for carrying out their constitutionally protected role of reporting the news.

If DPS officials wish to live up to their statement regarding the press, in the interest of justice they must stop pursuing this groundless case against Mr. Sanchez and apologize to him and the citizens of Texas for their unconstitutional actions. 

Anything less will be an abrogation of the DPS’ stated value to “seek and accept responsibility for our conduct” and a continued abridgement of press freedoms that the First Amendment is meant to protect.

Sincerely,

Society of Professional Journalists

Arab & Middle Eastern Journalists Association 

Asian American Journalists Association

Asian American Journalists Association Photo Affinity Group

Associated Collegiate Press

College Media Association

Education Writers Association

Indigenous Journalists Association 

National Association of Black Journalists

National Association of Hispanic Journalists 

National Press Club

National Press Club Journalism Institute

National Press Photographers Association

National Scholastic Press Association

Online News Association

PEN America

Quill and Scroll

Radio Television Digital News Association

Society of Environmental Journalists

Media Guild of the West, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39213

The Authors Guild

National Writers Union

The News Guild-CWA

Pacific Media Workers Guild, The NewsGuild-CWA Local 39521

California News Publishers Association

CCNMA, Latino Journalists of California 

Los Angeles Press Club

San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists

The Coalition for Women in Journalism

The Committee to Protect Journalists

Defending Rights & Dissent

First Amendment Clinic/SMU Dedman School of Law

First Amendment Foundation

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Media Alliance Bay Area

News/Media Alliance

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Student Press Law Center

Women Press Freedom

Susan E. Seager, Adjunct Professor, University of California, Irvine School of Law Press Freedom Project (Individual)