Editing Democracy Now! (section)

== 2008 Republican National Convention arrests ==
Three journalists with ''Democracy Now!''—including principal host [[Amy Goodman]], and news producers Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous—were detained by police during their reporting on the [[2008 Republican National Convention#Protests|2008 Republican National Convention protest]]s in Saint Paul, Minnesota.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/352466/amy_goodman_others_detained_outside_rnc |title=Amy Goodman, Others Detained Outside RNC |date=September 1, 2008 |work=[[The Nation]] |access-date=September 2, 2008 |archive-date=March 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090326173858/http://www.thenation.com/blogs/state_of_change/352466/amy_goodman_others_detained_outside_rnc |url-status=live }}</ref> Salazar was filming as officers in full [[riot gear]] charged her area. As she yelled "Press!" she was knocked down and told to put her face in the ground while another officer dragged her backward by her leg across the pavement. The video footage of the incident was immediately posted on the Internet, leading to a large public outcry against her arrest. When a second producer, Kouddous, approached, he too was arrested, and charged with a [[felony]]. According to a press release by ''Democracy Now!'', Goodman herself was arrested after confronting officers regarding the arrest of her colleagues. The officers had established a line of "crowd control", and ordered Goodman to move back. Goodman claims she was arrested after being pulled through the police line by an officer, and subsequently (as well as Kouddous) had her press credentials for the convention physically stripped from her by a [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agent.<ref name="Q&A" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/09/democracy-now-host-and-produce.html |title=Democracy Now! Host and Producers Arrested at Republican Convention |date=September 1, 2008 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=June 30, 2013 |archive-date=October 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023005613/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/09/democracy-now-host-and-produce.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> All were held on charges of "probable cause for riot".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/loophole/archive/2008/09/democracy_now_host_amy_goodman.shtml |title=Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman arrested at RNC protest |date=September 1, 2008 |work=[[Minnesota Public Radio]] |access-date=September 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902173612/http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/loophole/archive/2008/09/democracy_now_host_amy_goodman.shtml |archive-date=September 2, 2008}}</ref> A statement was later released by the city announcing that all "misdemeanor charges for presence at an unlawful assembly for journalists" would be dropped. The felony charges against Salazar and Kouddous were also dropped.<ref name=lawsuit>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/2010/05/05/us_gop_convention_arrests_goodman/ |title=Journalists file lawsuit in GOP convention arrests |first=Steve |last=Karnowski |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=May 5, 2010 |access-date=August 6, 2011 |archive-date=June 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607002021/http://www.salon.com/2010/05/05/us_gop_convention_arrests_goodman/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Goodman, Salazar, and Kouddous subsequently filed a lawsuit against the cities of [[Minneapolis – Saint Paul|St. Paul and Minneapolis]] as well as other defendants.<ref name=lawsuit /> According to Baher Asmy of the [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], "[a]ll three plaintiffs that are journalists with ''Democracy Now'' reached a final settlement with the city of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the United States Secret Service, that will resolve the claims that they had against them from unlawful and quite violent arrests." The settlement includes $100,000 in compensation and a promise of police training.<ref name="Q&A" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/10/03/radio-host-wins-settlement-against-twin-cities-police |title=Radio host wins settlement against Twin Cities police |first=Tim |last=Nelson |work=[[Minnesota Public Radio]] |date=October 3, 2011 |access-date=January 6, 2012 |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120204432/http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/10/03/radio-host-wins-settlement-against-twin-cities-police |url-status=live }}</ref>