USA Today network reporter Andre Lamar was arrested on Tuesday afternoon while covering a protest in Delaware. At the time of his arrest, Lamar was filming officers taking several protesters into custody.
“The police have arrested protesters. We don’t know why they arrested them. They slammed them to the ground,” he said on the Facebook Live stream.
Not long afterwards, officers arrest Lamar along with the protesters he was filming. He asks the officers several times why he is being arrested without receiving an answer.
“I’m with the press,” he shouts.
The following is the full, uncut, 2:19 video of USA TODAY Network journalist Andre Lamar, who filmed his own arrest on Facebook Live while he was covering a protest in Delaware Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/538xxebtsl
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 10, 2020
During the arrest, the officers place him on the ground. At one point, he can be heard saying that he can’t breathe.
As the situation unfolded, Delaware Gov. John Carney chimed in with his own opinion. He quickly condemned the actions of the officers.
“Reporters have a fundamental right to cover the demonstrations we’re seeing in Delaware and across our country,” Carney said.
“They should not be arrested for doing their jobs. That’s not acceptable,” he continued.
Lamar has since been released. He has not yet released a statement regarding the matter.
