In the midst of rioting and the burning down of a Minneapolis police station, CNN reporters were arrested live on the air this morning covering the scene.
The reporters, CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez, producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, were detained by police after clearly showing their IDs to police.
An official statement from the Minnesota State Police reads: “In the course of clearing the streets and restoring order at Lake Street and Snelling Avenue, four people were arrested by State Patrol troopers, including three members of a CNN crew. The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media.”
CNN responded on Twitter: “This is not accurate – our CNN crew identified themselves, on live television, immediately as journalists. We thank Minnesota @GovTimWalz for his swift action this morning to aid in the release of our crew.”
Jimenez, after his release, reported live outside from downtown and said he’d been treated cordially after he’d been led away. “We’re doing OK, now. There were a few uneasy moments there,” Jimenez said.
Watch below. Don’t think for a minute this was a “mistake.” This is Trump’s police state. It was intentional and it’s just the beginning. We have cities on fire, we have 100 thousand people dead from a pandemic, the economy is falling apart. and we have an insane president who is breaking the law and inciting violence.
