U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

Tracking press freedom violations in the U.S. A project of @FreedomofPress.

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[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

The Trump administration isn't just investigating alleged crimes.

It’s aggressively pursuing the sources behind the stories, using the legal system as a blunt instrument to stop the flow of information.

Find the full story in our monthly newsletter: https://t.co/9j8ZbFveZf

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

The @FloridaGOP on Oct. 21 dropped its suit against a dozen Florida broadcast stations over the airing of an election ad referencing an expunged grand jury report.

A judge had denied the immediate pulling of the ad a day before:
https://t.co/BHMHNfSqi1

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

The FBI last Friday arrested a U.S. government contractor charged with leaking top-secret information to a journalist who published it in her Substack.

Ian Brinksman, the contractor, was said to be romantically involved with the reporter at the time.
https://t.co/OnThBMDh7Q

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

An immigration judge granted political asylum to Spanish-language journalist Luis Galeano, arrested by @ICEGov in September and held in detention in Florida for nearly two weeks.

Galeano faced persecution for his reporting in Nicaragua.
https://t.co/3Y0vxRS9Fp

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

LA journalist Carlitos Ricardo Parias filed a $50M claim against the federal government on Oct. 20, following his violent arrest in 2025 and ongoing immigration detention.

Parias’ lawyer indicated that a lawsuit was forthcoming.
https://t.co/na21hZEZ3p

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Photojournalist Cassandra Church was shoved by an LAPD sergeant, who also accused her of participating in the protest.

A police helicopter later tracked the journalists with a spotlight as they left the area. https://t.co/nhpGBa1CYF

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

An LAPD officer shoved photojournalist Christopher Almaraz into the street as he covered a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, then accused him of participating despite his visible press markings. https://t.co/ViUJ85WM15

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

The White House sent a letter Monday to @Politico, demanding that the news outlet retract and apologize for three articles published last week or else “face the consequences” for reporting “fanciful fiction.” https://t.co/3WJ88c0RX4

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

The @Independent correspondent @AndrewFeinberg was barred from traveling with President Trump on Air Force One for a Thursday campaign trip.

The move followed a tense exchange between the two men in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
https://t.co/nL4X2tH9Mf

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Update: CNN has again been bumped from Air Force One, this time for Trump’s planned campaign trip to South Carolina.

The move comes after a CNN lawyer threatened legal action over repeated refusals to allow the news network on the aircraft.
https://t.co/hmsdHCB9rq

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Independent photojournalist Angel Perez was tackled and arrested while covering a “No Kings” protest in LA on Oct. 17.

Perez identified himself as press but was detained for about two hours. He sustained injuries and lost camera gear in the scuffle.
https://t.co/wRLkjZ926g

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

The @FloridaGOP and state attorneys sent letters to Florida broadcast stations claiming that further broadcasting of a Democrat-funded ad would violate state law.

The state GOP also filed a suit asking the court to enforce a ban as early voting begins: https://t.co/BHMHNfSqi1

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Update: Journalist Calvin Andrus had his federal lawsuit against Cincinnati and a police officer dismissed on Thursday.

Andrus, who publishes as @CinciNews, had sued in response to a 2023 arrest while he was documenting the aftermath of a car crash.
https://t.co/qSquSxWiZr

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Update: CNN was barred from Air Force One yet again on Friday for Donald Trump’s weekend campaign trips to Georgia and Florida.

The move followed a recent extension of a federal judge’s block on the outlet's ban from the White House complex.
https://t.co/oQk0f2WwYV

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

@bakersfieldnow On Oct. 13, additional gunfire struck the building.

Bakersfield police arrested the suspect Oct. 15, saying they had uncovered further threats against the station and prevented a potential third shooting.
https://t.co/qn8y9iBMv2

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Two CA television stations operated by @bakersfieldnow were hit by gunfire twice in four days.

On Oct. 9, a gunman fired 10 shots into a conference room and office at the stations’ Bakersfield studios.
https://t.co/D5dOPU0cV4

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Amid the Pentagon’s ongoing efforts to overhaul military newspaper @StarsAndStripes, a federal judge declined to reinstate its ombudsman Oct. 6.

A week later, DOD announced that one of its own public affairs officials will be the paper’s acting publisher. https://t.co/hZQh5wyeX7

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Student journalist Cat Murphy, reporting for @CNSmd, was threatened with prosecution by @RepAndyHarrisMD while recording him during a news conference Tuesday in Cambridge, MD.

She later told CNN, “I was focused on doing my job”:
https://t.co/iqwOxHJJYN

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Journalist Tim Burke was reindicted by a grand jury Oct. 8 on 13 felony counts for distributing Fox News footage.

He was first charged in 2024 after a probe of his access to the unedited clips, but some counts were dropped after a judge dismissed them.
https://t.co/XdawtauWr9

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

On Friday, DOJ sent letters to @ABC, @CBSNews, @CNN, @FoxNews and @NBCNews demanding the networks turn over communications as part of an investigation into their alleged violation of federal antitrust laws during a TV pool boycott.

https://t.co/ymDxMxftUk

[U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @uspresstracker]

Chair of @WaysandMeansGOP Jason Smith threatened to subpoena three @btnewsroom journalists Friday.

The outlet has already refused to comply with a July subpoena requesting financial documentation related to donations from financier Neville Singham.
https://t.co/HLeYs0c27q