Amy Goodman Plans To Surrender To North Dakota Authorities

October 14th, 2016

Awake Goy

Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman plans to turn herself in to North Dakota authorities Monday to face charges of criminal trespassing.

Award winning journalist Amy Goodman could end up in jail for doing her job reporting on Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s North Dakota pipeline protests.

amy goodman Democracy Now reports:

MEDIA ADVISORY: Journalist Amy Goodman to Turn Herself in to North Dakota Authorities

October 13, 2016 – Award-winning journalist Amy Goodman, charged with criminal trespassing for filming an attack on Native American-led pipeline protesters, will turn herself in to North Dakota authorities on October 17.

Amy Goodman will surrender to authorities at the Morton County–Mandan Combined Law Enforcement and Corrections Center at 8:15 a.m. local time (CDT).

“I will go back to North Dakota to fight this charge. It is a clear violation of the First Amendment,” said Goodman. “I was doing my job as a journalist, covering a violent attack on Native American protesters.”

The charge in State of North Dakota v. Amy Goodman stems from Democracy Now!’s coverage of the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. On Saturday, September 3, Democracy Now! filmed security guards working for the pipeline company attacking protesters. The report showed guards unleashing dogs and using pepper spray and featured people with bite injuries and a dog with blood on its mouth and nose.

Democracy Now!’s report went viral online, was viewed more than 14 million times on Facebook and was rebroadcast on many outlets, including CBS, NBC, NPR, CNN, MSNBC and the Huffington Post.

On September 8, a criminal complaint and warrant was issued for Goodman’s arrest. amy goodman

Ironically, in the state’s criminal complaint, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Lindsey Wohl, referencing the Democracy Now! video report in a sworn affidavit, stated, “Amy Goodman can be seen on the video identifying herself and interviewing protesters about their involvement in the protest.” This is precisely the point: Goodman was doing the constitutionally protected work of a reporter.

The pipeline project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of over 200 other tribes from across the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that the warrant is “a transparent attempt to intimidate reporters from covering protests of significant public interest.” Steve Andrist, executive director of the North Dakota Newspaper Association, told The Bismarck Tribune, “It’s regrettable that authorities chose to charge a reporter who was just doing her job.” amy goodman

Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning public television/radio news program that airs on over 1,400 stations worldwide. Goodman has co-authored six New York Times bestsellers and won many of journalism’s highest awards in her more than three decades working as a reporter.

Democracy Now!’s coverage of the pipeline and the protests is available here.

Press Statement:
Time: 8:00 a.m., Monday October 17, 2016
Place: 211 2nd Ave NW, Mandan ND 58554

Followed by short walk to jail:
Time: 8:15 a.m. Monday October 17, 2016
Place: 205 1st Ave NW, Mandan, ND 58554

For more information, contact Denis Moynihan at +1-646-217-7231 (on-site cell) or [email protected].

Live camera position/uplink available.
To book contact Denis Moynihan.

Press availability will follow Amy Goodman’s arraignment, expected (but not guaranteed) to be several hours after 8:15 a.m. Goodman will be available for TV interviews via live TV camera position.

Live camera positions with satellite uplink connection available onsite to interview Amy Goodman or for use by your correspondent.

Broadcast/print quality video and still photos of Amy Goodman entering Morton County Jail will be available at democracynow.org or by emailing request to [email protected].