Police want to decide which journalists can cover the Delaney Hall protests. That’s not their job

Key Points:

• New Jersey state police detained dozens of people, including journalists, during protests near an ICE detention facility in Newark, enforcing a city curfew intended to quell demonstrations.
• Journalists faced challenges proving their press credentials, as police demanded "verified" identification, a term left undefined by city and state officials, leading to arrests despite media exemptions under the curfew.
• Over one week, the US Press Freedom Tracker documented 30 assaults on journalists near the facility, including pepper spraying, baton strikes, and exposure to teargas by law enforcement.
• Courts generally protect press exemptions from curfews and dispersal orders, recognizing the need for "sight and sound access," but in practice, officers often make arbitrary decisions that restrict journalists' ability to report.
• The article highlights the tension between law enforcement's need to distinguish press from protesters and the constitutional right to inform the public, emphasizing that press protections should focus on the act of journalism rather than police-issued credentials.