Press Freedom Groups Join Defending Rights & Dissent in Demanding Charges Be Dropped Against Journalists Arrested When Covering Inauguration Protest

Defending Rights & Dissent was joined by a number of press freedom groups, including Freedom of the Press Foundation, Free Press, Pen America, and the Nation Institute, in sending a letter to the Department of Justice calling for an end to the prosecutions of Aaron Cantú and Alexei Wood.

Both Cantú and Wood are journalists who were covering a protest march on Inauguration Day 2017, in Washington, DC. They face a number of charges, including engaging in a riot, conspiracy to riot, inciting a riot, and property damage. Since some of the charges are felonies, they face potentially decades in prison. Cantú and Wood were arrested and charged for simply doing their jobs as reporters. Their prosecution endangers press freedom in the United State.

Read the letter below or click here for a PDF of it.

Defending Rights & Dissent Aaron Cantú and Alexei Wood Letter by Defending Rights & Dissent on Scribd