An ABC producer and Athens native was arrested while covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Asa Eslocker, who grew up in Athens and graduated from Athens High School in 1999, was arrested while attempting to take pictures of Democratic senators and donors as they left a meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel. Eslocker was charged with trespassing, failure to follow a lawful order and interference with a police officer.
An officer approached Eslocker, who was standing on the sidewalk outside the hotel, and asked him to move, according to a video of the incident. The producer asked the officer why the ABC crew needed to move if it was a public sidewalk, and the officer began pushing Eslocker into the street. Once the two were across the street, another police officer put Eslocker in a headlock and handcuffed him.
Eslocker said he was working on a series for ABC called The Money Trail
examining the influence of lobbyists on politicians.
I was just doing my job Eslocker said. I work for the Brian Ross Investigative Unit at ABC and at both conventions we cover the confluence of money and politics and it was really unfortunate what happened. And I think the video speaks for itself.
He added that the series began at the 1996 conventions and was not new this year.
Eslocker's attorneys, hired by ABC News, said in a statement that all charges should be dropped.
He and his news crew were standing on public sidewalks covering an event of public significance and performing a press function protected by the First Amendment the statement said.
ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider told The Washington Post and other media outlets that this was not something he would expect to see in the United States.
We expect to see this kind of behavior in Myanmar
not in Denver
Colorado
at a national political convention where a reporter is trying to videotape big-money donors trying to meet with elected officials
Schneider said.
The ACLU, Reporters Without Borders and other journalistic societies have issued statements to the Denver police putting pressure on the department to drop the charges, Eslocker said.
Eslocker said his upbringing in Athens contributed to his determination to stand up for his First Amendment rights. He said his parents were both active in protest movements, and particularly his father, a local lawyer who teaches part-time at Ohio University, taught him to fight for those rights.
We kind of ask the question 'who represents the average American here
' he said of the show, adding The Money Trail series is meant to shed light on how American politics work. We're covering this story in the public interest for the public good.
Eslocker, who has worked for the Brian Ross Investigative Unit for two years, said he would be working on a similar piece at the Republican National Convention. He has a Denver court date of Sept. 25.
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