The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Hazards of the Trade

Posted on | September 24, 2020 | 2 Comments

Earlier today, I mentioned that Shelby Talcott of the Daily Caller had apparently been arrested while covering the Louisville riot, now it turns out she wasn’t the only one who got the cuffs:

Two Daily Caller reporters were arrested as part of a mass detention during the Louisville riots.
Shelby Talcott and Jorge Ventura were covering the riots when police surrounded the group and made everyone get on the ground. A video showed police detaining several people and putting them in zip-tie handcuffs. Talcott and Ventura were arrested despite identifying themselves as press.
Daily Caller Editor-In-Chief Geoffrey Ingersoll notified the Louisville Metro Police Department that Talcott and Ventura were working as members of the press when they were arrested.
The Louisville Department of Corrections told Ingersoll that Talcott and Ventura would be processed and charged like the rest of the people who were arrested. They both will be charged with two misdemeanors related to breaking curfew and unlawful assembly, the Department of Corrections said, for their alleged failure to disperse and go to the press’ “observation area.”
The mass detention came after a chaotic night where two police officers were shot. An unlawful assembly was declared as rioters set multiple fires around the city and broke glass windows.

By the way, I completely endorse these arrests. Let me explain.

Hunter S. Thompson got tear-gassed while covering the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It’s a hazard of the trade. If you’re a combat correspondent in a war zone, you might get bombed. If you’re a reporter covering a riot, you might get arrested.

The city of Louisville declared a 9 p.m. curfew Wednesday, and anybody caught on the street after that time was subject to arrest. As it was, the Mostly Peaceful™ Protesters were allowed to stay on the streets well past the curfew hour. By the time Talcott and Ventura got arrested, there were only a few dozen people still protesting and, considering that two cops had already been shot, you can’t blame police if they decided, “OK, enough play time, kids — everybody is going to jail.”

“But Stacy,” you say, “they were reporters!”

So? There were probably a lot of Antifa scumbags in that crowd who could have claimed to be “journalists” of one sort or another. Basically anybody with a Twitter account could claim they were just “reporting” on the riots, and defy a police order to disperse the unlawful assembly.

The law is the law, in other words, and if the Daily Caller wants to object to cops enforcing the law, they can spend the money to hire a lawyer and fight these charges in court. But I hope not.

Just pay the fine. Consider it a tax-deductible business expense.

(P.S.: Shelby Talcott is way too cute to be Antifa, but the cops can’t make a Pretty Girl Exception to the laws, because then they would be accused of unconstitutional discrimination against ugly chicks.)




 

Category: Journalism

Comments

2 Responses to “Hazards of the Trade”

  1. A Couple of Reporters Got Arrested in Louisville | 357 Magnum
    September 25th, 2020 @ 8:18 am

    […] The Other McCain notes that there are Hazards of the Trade […]

  2. News of the Week (September 27th, 2020) | The Political Hat
    September 27th, 2020 @ 10:09 pm

    […] Hazards of the Trade Earlier today, I mentioned that Shelby Talcott of the Daily Caller had apparently been arrested while covering the Louisville riot, now it turns out she wasn’t the only one who got the cuffs. […]