Journalist Arrested For Asking Tom Price Questions About Republican’s Healthcare Bill

May 11th, 2017

Awake Goy

Journalist Arrested For Asking Tom Price Questions About Republican’s Healthcare Bill

Susanne Posel ,Chief Editor Occupy Corporatism | Host of Hardline Radio Show

A reporters for the Public News Service (PNS) in Virginia was arrested for attempting to ask Tom Price, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) a question.

Price and Kellyanne Conway was in West Virginia to listen to plans on how to deal with Virginia’s opioid addiction issues.

Journalist Dan Heyman followed Price and Conway as they walked through a hallway, and tried to ask Price about the Republican’s healthcare bill and whether or not it calls for domestic violence to be classified as a pre-existing condition.

When asked about the incident, Heyman said: “This is my job, this is what I’m supposed to do. I think it’s a question that deserves to be answered. I think it’s my job to ask questions and I think it’s my job to try to get answers.”

Accordin to the criminal complaint, Heyman was accused of “causing a disturbance by yelling questions at Ms. Conway and Secretary Price.” Capitol police said they were “forced to remove him a couple of times from the area.”

Heyman was handcuffed and arrested for willfully disrupting the state of government processes” and later released on $5,000 bail.

Dan Heyman of @PNS_WV is in S. Central Regional Jail for “causing a disturbance by yelling quesitons” at @KellyannePolls & @SecPriceMD. pic.twitter.com/ucLrnhRCKY

— Public News Service (@PNS_News) May 9, 2017

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in West Virginia said Heyman’s arrest was “a blatant attempt to chill an independent, free press,” and “the charges against him are outrageous, and they must be dropped immediately.”

The ACLU went on to explain: “By asking Tom Price and Kellyanne Conway whether domestic violence was considered a pre-existing condition under President Trump’s health care proposal, Dan Heyman was doing his job as a reporter. Today was a dark day for democracy. But the rule of law will prevail. The First Amendment will prevail.”

This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has criminalized free speech.

Earlier this month, a jury in the Superior Court in the District of Columbia convicted 3 activists from Code Pink for laughing at Jeff Sessions during his confirmation period.

Each of the 3 activists were each charged with 2 counts related to disruptive conduct and demonstrating at the January 10th confirmation hearing of Sessions.

Tighe Barry and Lenny Bianchi dressed in mock KKK garb at the hearing. They were escorted out of the confirmation and arrested before Fairooz.

According to the jury foreperson, 61 year old activist Desiree Fairooz who was convicted for laughing at Sessions during the hearing, actually was not “convicted for laughing” but rather “it was her actions as she was being asked to leave” the confirmation.

At trial attorneys for the Department of Justice (now run by Sessions) argued that “laughter was enough to merit a criminal charge against Fairooz, asserting that ‘heads turned around’ when Fairooz let out what they characterized as a ‘scoff,’ ‘outburst’ or ‘burst’ of laughter.”

Ariel Gold, campaign director for Code Pink, explained that Fairooz’ laughter was “a reflex” because Shelby’s statement was so “appalling.”

Gold continued: “It was such an appalling statement for Senator Shelby to make … this is such an absurdity that Mr. Sessions has a record of treating Americans equally, that she just reflexively let out a noise. I was sitting about two people away, and I would say the noise was quieter than a cough.”

Another protester escorted out of Sessions hearing. Her original offense appeared to be simply laughing. pic.twitter.com/p6lWzBVFRW

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) January 10, 2017