CPJ calls on New York police to explain arrest of journalist over pro-Palestinian vandalism

Washington, D.C., August 7, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the New York Police Department explain its reasons for arresting a New York City videographer on hate crime charges after he reported on pro-Palestinian protesters who smeared red paint on the homes of two Brooklyn Museum officials, including the director who is Jewish.

“We are concerned that New York City authorities arrested independent videographer Samuel Seligson on hate crime charges, and we urge law enforcement to explain their reasons,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Journalists play an important role in documenting protests and they should be allowed to gather news without fear of arrest or retaliation.”

The Associated Press reported that a police complaint described Seligson as a participant in the June 12 crime for travelling with the protesters, but cited an unnamed law enforcement official as saying that Seligson, a regular reporter on New York City protests who has sold footage to major media outlets, was not directly involved in the property damage.

Four homes were vandalized and a banner was hung across the entry of museum director Anne Pasternak’s apartment accusing her of being a “white-supremacist Zionist.”

Seligson was previously arrested in May while documenting another pro-Palestinian demonstration in Brooklyn and charged with disorderly conduct, obstruction of government administration, and resisting arrest. That case has been closed, AP reported.

Editor’s note: This text has been updated to fix a typo in the headline.