SPJ-NorCal Demands Investigation into Arrest of Journalist Jeremy Portje in Sausalito
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE —
SPJ-NorCal joins the First Amendment Coalition in sending a letter today to Marin County and Sausalito city officials, warning of potential violations of federal and state law in the arrest of journalist Jeremy Portje last week.
Mr. Portje was filming at a homeless encampment in Sausalito on November 30, when he was arrested and his equipment seized by Sausalito police. News articles cover the incident here, here, and here.
Our letter to Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli, Sausalito Mayor Jill Hoffman, and Sausalito Police Chief John Rohrbacher asks for the immediate return of Mr. Portje’s equipment to him and defends the media’s right to film in public places. We also ask that criminal charges not be pursued against Mr. Portje and for an investigation into the Sausalito police officers’ conduct in this case.
The full letter can be read here.
Press contact: spjnorcal@gmail.com
