The recent outbreak of protests and looting in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting of an unarmed black teenager has attracted mass amounts of media attention. Police, however, are not overly fond of this attention and have therefore been ordering journalists away, barring them from entering the city, and even arresting them. This has caused many people, including myself, to question how well the First Amendment really protects journalists - and the rest of us - in this day and age.
The free press clause guarantees that people can "publish any lawful material without fear of punishment by the government, even if the material is critical of the government." By forcefully removing and detaining journalists in order to prevent them from reporting controversial stories, officers are clearly not abiding by the First Amendment. The arrests that the police have done are downright illegal, disappointing, and make me very nervous for how well the First Amendment will be held up in the future.
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