40,000 People Call on U.S. Mayors to End Journalist Arrests

The number of journalists arrested at Occupy Wall Street events around the country just keeps climbing.

After this week’s police raids on Occupy LA and Occupy Philly, the total number of journalists arrested is now up to 30. The arrests have spread across 10 cities from Oakland to Boston, Los Angeles to Atlanta. While the arrests are perhaps the worst examples of press suppression, other reports of police roughing up journalists or blocking them from reporting continue to roll in. Even in New York City, where the NYPD has ordered its officers not to interfere with press, journalists are still being harassed. A chorus of leading news organizations, press associations and civil liberties groups has spoken out against the press suppression and arrests that have plagued Occupy protests around the country. Today tens of thousands of people join that call.