KPRC-TV reporter Gage Goulding was shoved and his camera smacked out of his hands while reporting at a Houston-area used-car dealership in Pasadena, Texas, on Dec. 5, 2024.

In a report for the outlet, Goulding recounted that he and photojournalist Oscar Chavez went to the business to investigate a young woman’s allegations that she was conned out of $1,500 when trying to buy a car.

Goulding reportedly went undercover as a potential customer to see whether he’d have a similar experience.

“Wearing a microphone, but without a camera, Goulding got the keys to a Jeep and with the salesman, started the engine and talked about test-driving the vehicle,” KPRC-TV reported. “At that point, he informed the salesman who he was and why he was there.”

In recordings of the exchange that followed, the salesman is heard inviting Goulding inside to speak with the manager, David Estrada. Goulding — with Chavez following behind with a camera — began asking Estrada about the woman’s experience.

“When we do these stories and confront businesses, we usually are met with one simple answer: Please leave. And we do, we abide by that,” Goulding reported. “But this story was different from the get-go.”

Estrada stood and without warning placed his hand on Chavez’s camera and began pushing the photojournalist outside. Outside the office, Estrada continued grabbing the camera while Goulding yelled for him not to touch their equipment and Chavez said that they were leaving.

“Meanwhile, the car salesman is grabbing (Chavez’s) camera, twisting his arm and throwing elbows,” Goulding said in his report.

Estrada also smacked Goulding’s phone “through the air” and pinned Chavez in the journalists’ vehicle.

Neither journalist responded to requests for additional comment.

KPRC-TV reported that Estrada was arrested that day on two counts of assault. Estrada is also facing unrelated charges for allegedly embezzling more than $140,000 from another dealership, according to the station.

The woman whose experience sparked the investigation was contacted by the dealership and told she would be overnighted a check for the full $1,500.

“The goal of this story wasn’t to create any drama,” Goulding reported. “It was to get answers for (the woman) and her family. And the good news is: We did get those answers.”

This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

A Hamilton couple convicted of exploiting Pacific migrants have had their convictions quashed after the New Zealand’s Court of Appeal ruled there had been a miscarriage of justice.

Anthony Swarbrick and Christina Kewa-Swarbrick were found guilty on nine representative charges of aiding and abetting, completion of a visa application known to be false or misleading and provision of false or misleading information, at a trial in the Hamilton District Court in February 2023.

A month later, Kewa-Swarbrick, who originally came from Papua New Guinea, was sentenced to 10 months home detention. She completed nine months of that sentence.

• READ MORE: PNG workers connected with Destiny Church worked for free on Te Mata winery – ERA

Swarbrick served his full eight months of home detention.

In February this year the Court of Appeal found that in Swarbrick’s case, the trial judge’s summing up of the case was “not fair and balanced” leading to a “miscarriage of justice”.

It found the trial judge “undermined the defence” and “the summing up took a key issue away from the jury.”

“Viewed overall, the Judge forcefully suggested what the jury would, and impliedly should, find by way of the elements of the offence. The Judge made the ultimate assessment that was for the jury to make. The trial was unfair to Mr Swarbrick for that reason. We conclude that this resulted in a miscarriage of justice,” the decision states.

It ordered Swarbrick’s convictions be quashed and a retrial.

Charges withdrawn
It came to the same conclusions for Kewa-Swarbrick in April, but the retrial was abandoned after the Crown withdrew the charges in May, leading to the Hamilton District Court ordering the charges against the couple be dismissed.

Immigration NZ said it withdrew the charges after deciding it was no longer in the public interest to hold a re-trial.

The couple, who have since separated, are now investigating redress options from the government for the miscarriage of justice.

“We lost everything. Our marriage, our house. I lost a huge paying job offshore that I couldn’t go back to because we were on bail,” Swarbrick told RNZ.

“It’s had a huge effect, emotionally, financially. We had to take our children out of private school.”

Swarbrick had since been unable to return to his job and now had health issues as a result of the legal battles.

Kewa-Swarbrick said the court case had “destroyed” her life.

“It’s affected my home, my marriage, my children.”

Not able to return to PNG
She had not been able to return to Papua New Guinea since the case because she had received death threats.

“My health has deteriorated.”

The couple estimated they had spent at least $90,000 on legal fees, but their reputation had been severely affected by the case and media reports, preventing them from getting new jobs.

The couple’s ventures came to the attention of Immigration NZ in 2016 and charges were laid in 2018. The trial was delayed until 2023 because of the covid-19 pandemic.

Immigration NZ alleged the couple had arranged for groups of seasonal workers from Papua New Guinea to work illegally in New Zealand for very low wages between 2013 and 2016.

The trial heard the workers were led to believe they would be travelling to New Zealand to work under the RSE scheme in full time employment, receiving an hourly rate of $15 per hour, but ended up being paid well below the minimum wage.

However, Kewa-Swarbrick and Swarbrick argued they always intended to bring the PNG nationals to New Zealand for a cultural exchange and work experience.

“They fundraised $1000 each for living costs. We funded everything else. And when they got here they just completely shut us down,” said Kewa-Swarbrick.

She said it was “a relief” to finally be exonerated.

“The compensation part is going to be the last part because it will help us rebuild our lives.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Independent videographer Sam Seligson was arrested by New York City police officers while reporting on a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Brooklyn on May 18, 2024.

Brooklyn Paper reported that the rally marking Nakba Day — which commemorates the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 — has been held in the Bay Ridge neighborhood for years without incident.

Seligson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via direct message on social network X that he has reported on the rally for the past several years and that he was livestreaming the demonstration on the video platform Twitch, filming as police made arrests in several waves.

He wrote that as a new wave of arrests began at approximately 4 p.m., police arrested someone who was filming a commanding officer and then pushed away a group of women who were yelling at them about his detainment. As he filmed an officer tackling one of the women, another commanding officer in a white shirt grabbed Seligson and pulled him to the ground.

“I stand up and back away because I didn’t do anything besides filming,” Seligson wrote. “I was on the sidewalk at this point, still obeying the law. And then they continued to grab me. Told me to get down, which I did, can see me sit down in my live stream. Then they grab my hair and pull me into the street and try to flatten me for arrest.”

Seligson told the Tracker that the officers dragged him across the ground, and while one tried to pull his arm backward another officer was on his back pushing his face into the cement. In footage of his arrest, multiple voices can be heard identifying him as a member of the press while officers pin him down.

He said that he sustained no major injuries, but had a bump on his head, a scrape with bruising on his shin and some soreness.

Seligson said he identified himself as a journalist and that while he wasn’t wearing his city-issued press credential at the moment of his arrest, it was in his pocket. He added that, “They saw my press badge and said ‘Oh shit’ out loud and then tucked it in my backpack.”

After he was cuffed, Seligson said, he was transported alongside other arrestees to New York City Police Department headquarters at One Police Plaza and waited outside for around three hours before finally being processed and taken to a holding cell.

The videographer was released at around 1 a.m. the following day and ordered to appear for an initial hearing on June 7. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office confirmed when reached by phone that Seligson is charged with disorderly conduct, obstruction of government administration and resisting arrest.

The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.

This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

Premium subscribed X (formerly Twitter) user Flt Lt Anoop Verma (Retd.) (@FltLtAnoopVerma) shared the above-mentioned clip on May 9 with the caption: “Count the No of Shoes hurled at Akhilesh Yadav
Correct answer will get a gift hamper”. His tweet garnered over 1.1 lakh views and 500 retweets.

Count the No of Shoes hurled at Akhilesh Yadav

Correct answer will get a gift hamper pic.twitter.com/mLYBCWzcyB

— Flt Lt Anoop Verma (Retd.) (@FltLtAnoopVerma) May 9, 2024

The readers should note that Alt News has found @FltLtAnoopVerma sharing misinformation several times. For instance, in September 2021, he falsely claimed that the New York Times had described Prime Minister Modi as the “Last, Best Hope of Earth”.

Several other users on social media shared the video of Akhilesh Yadav with the same claim.

Fact Check

We noticed that the viral video had a watermark of an Instagram account: @vikashyadavauraiyawale. We searched for the user on Instagram and found the viral video on his profile. There was no mention of shoes being hurled at Akhilesh Yadav in the original video or in the caption.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Vikash Yadav (@vikashyadavauraiyawale)

On further inspection, towards the end of the viral video, a zoomed-in frame showed flower garlands being flung towards Akhilesh Yadav. Below are a few screengrabs where one can see the garlands.

On running a relevant keyword search we found the video of the speech that Akhilesh Yadav delivered in  Kannauj on April 27. There was no disruption of any kind during the speech.

We also came across a tweet shared by the official X page of the Samajwadi Party where they shared several images from the same rally. In there one can see the platform Akhilesh Yadav is heaped with flower garlands.

माननीय राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री अखिलेश यादव जी का जनसंपर्क अभियान एवं मेल-मुलाकात यात्रा, बेला, बिधूना, कन्नौज। pic.twitter.com/c4wGvG2iD1

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) April 27, 2024

Further, we reached out to an SP leader in Kannauj who rubbished the claims and confirmed to Alt News that no untoward incident had happened in any of the rallies held by Akhilesh Yadav.

Hence, the claims that shoes were hurled at the Samajwadi Party national president are completely false. The viral video itself shows that Akhilesh Yadav being greeted by the crowd with flower garlands.

The post Garlands thrown at Akhilesh Yadav in Kannauj rally, not shoes, as claimed on social media appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Oishani Bhattacharya.

Photojournalist Bryan Murphy of Florida television station WPLG was struck in the ribs with a rock thrown by rapper Kodak Black in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 21, 2024, the broadcast outlet reported.

WPLG reporter Rosh Lowe was also threatened by the rapper, who was being questioned by the news crew following his release from a Broward County jail.

WPLG said that a police report was filed but that Murphy decided not to press charges. Murphy and Lowe did not respond to a request for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

In video captured by Murphy, the rapper begins throwing rocks at the crew, as Murphy tells Lowe to “call the cops.” The rapper’s threat to punch Lowe was not shown on camera, but he acknowledged it later in the video. “You threatened to punch me,” Lowe said on camera. “I did,” replied the rapper.

Lowe reported later that some of the rapper’s fans have since come to his defense and issued threats, including one posted on Instagram that read “next rock to ya Head big Z.”

But in Lowe’s earlier account, the reporter noted: “It is very usual in our profession to interview people coming out of jail, especially noteworthy people. What is unusual is what happened here today.”

The legal representative for Kodak Black did not respond to the Tracker’s request for comment.

This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

WVUE Fox8 News photojournalist Steven A. Wolfram told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was repeatedly attacked by a man while reporting on shooting deaths in Slidell, Louisiana, on March 29, 2023.

Wolfram said he and WVUE reporter Olivia Vidal were filming outside a home where police had discovered what appeared to be a murder-suicide following a standoff with SWAT officers. Vidal told the Tracker two other news crews were at the scene, and that family members had made it clear they did not want to speak to the press and didn’t want anyone approaching the house. By approximately 8 a.m. the other news crews had left the scene.

Vidal told the Tracker that when preparing for the 9 a.m. live broadcast, she asked Wolfram to keep an eye out, as something felt off. When they completed the report, Wolfram left the station’s camera and live unit set up on a tripod and he and Vidal returned to their vehicle.

“This young man starts marching toward the camera,” Wolfram said. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve been doing it in some of the toughest neighborhoods in New Orleans. I wasn’t expecting it, and I think that was my first mistake.”

Wolfram said he got out of the car and tried to deescalate the situation and explain why they were there, but the man grabbed the tripod, camera and live unit and threw it on the ground. Though Wolfram was able to soften the blow, a piece of the wireless microphone broke.

While he was turned away, the man struck Wolfram in the side of the head.

“My first thought was, ‘I can’t believe that didn’t knock me out,’” Wolfram said. “I was stunned but was able to retreat back to the car. He starts banging on the window. We told him, ‘We’re calling the cops! We’re calling the cops!’”

Vidal said the man came around to the passenger side where she was sitting, attempted to open the door and continued pounding on the glass.

Three individuals pulled the attacker away, providing an opportunity for Wolfram to retrieve the equipment and load it into the vehicle. When Wolfram attempted to photograph the man to show police, the man once again charged the photojournalist.

Wolfram said the man missed making contact and fell, then got up to charge him again. That’s when he grabbed the man by the collar and tried to restrain him on the ground. The other individuals intervened again and separated the man from the photojournalist.

Wolfram said he drove the vehicle around the corner to distance the pair of journalists from the situation while waiting for the police. The man broke away from the group restraining him and ran to a nearby car, Wolfram said, where he reached into the glove box.

“At that point we got the hell out of there,” Wolfram said. “This guy wanted to hurt me if not kill me, and I saw him go run for a weapon.”

Vidal told the Tracker three officers and an ambulance met the journalists in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant. Wolfram sought medical care after speaking with sheriff’s deputies about the incident, and reported minor injuries.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a summons was issued in connection with the incident for simple assault and criminal damage.

This content originally appeared on U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database and was authored by U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Incident Database.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 4, a group of around 10 men associated with a local criminal group beat Meahzi with machetes, iron rods, and sticks, at the computer training institute that he operates in the Chandanaish administrative region of the southeast Chattogram district, according to The Daily Star and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ by phone.

The men then threw Meahzi off the roof of the two-story building, according to those sources and CCTV security footage of the incident reviewed by CPJ. The men also smashed Meahzi’s two mobile phones, vandalized the institute—breaking and looting computers—and stole 50,000 taka (US$467) in cash, he said. Meahzi said he was hospitalized and sustained numerous injuries, including a fracture to his back, three broken ribs, and a head injury from being hit with a machete. He was released from the hospital.

Meahzi told CPJ that he believes the attack was retaliation for his recent reporting, including a December 30, 2022, Daily Janobani newspaper print article, which CPJ reviewed, and a March 10, 2023, Daily Janobani report, both of which alleged that local government officials with ties to the criminal group had engaged in hill-cutting, which is soil excavation and selling that negatively impacts the environment, in the Dohazari area of Chandanaish. Meahzi, who also has reported for The Daily Shangu newspaper, also informed the local government administration about the hill-cutting, leading to a fine on the perpetrators, according to the journalist and his reporting.

“The attack on Bangladeshi reporter Ayub Meahzi reflects the dangerous atmosphere for journalists reporting on actions detrimental to the environment,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Authorities must immediately and thoroughly investigate this heinous attack and take steps to reverse a dangerous trend of impunity regarding violence against journalists.”

Chandanaish police initially declined to register a complaint filed by Meahzi’s father about the incident, Meahzi said, adding that police only registered the complaint around nine hours later, following the intervention of the Chandanaish Press Club.

Anwar Hossain, Chandanaish police officer-in-charge, told CPJ via messaging app that the complaint was registered without any delay and the investigation was ongoing.

A man who Meahzi said was not involved in the attack was arrested shortly following the incident and then released on bail. Meahzi added that he believed police targeted that man because he is Rohingya, and wanted to delay pursuing the real perpetrators behind the attack.

Hossain said the man was identified by CCTV footage and by Meahzi’s brother. Meahzi denied that his brother identified that man to the police.

Two additional suspects, including the head of the criminal group, were arrested on Monday, April 10, and sent to jail following a court order on Tuesday, April 11, according to Meahzi and Hossain. The two suspects remain in jail as of late April 11.

In December, Bangladeshi journalist Abu Azad was abducted and severely beaten in the Rangunia region of Chattogram district after photographing brick kilns that were allegedly operating illegally.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Cambodia-American Ouk Touch says he hopes to raise U.S.$1 million.

Ouk Touch, 75, threw the shoe – from a black pair of $85 Clarks – at Hun Sen during his visit in May to Washington DC for a summit between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. The shoe didn’t hit Hun Sun.

At the time, a video of the incident went viral on social media, and Cambodian officials rushed to condemn Ouk Touch and demand he be punished by U.S. authorities. Exposing someone to one’s shoe sole is considered an insult or repulsive gesture in many Asian and Mideastern cultures. 

But no charges have stemmed from the incident since, Ouk Touch said. “I wasn’t summoned to court. It has been quiet,” he said about any subsequent investigation. 

“I am happy that I got [the shoe] back,” he Radio Free Asia. “I want to sell it so I can help the poor, victims and those who don’t have food to eat in Cambodia. I want to sell it for $1 million.” 

Anyone who wants to buy the shoe can reach him directly, he said.

“My action, it was just throwing a shoe at Hun Sen. But Hun Sen threw grenades at the Cambodian people, peaceful protesters. Hun Sen is a dictator, and he has killed many people, including my relatives,” said Touch, 72, a former soldier in the Cambodian army in the early 1970s. 

Ouk Touch was reportedly referring to when armed men attacked Hun Sen’s elected coalition partners in 1997, killing 16 people and wounding 150. No perpetrators of the attack have been brought to face trial. 

“I have intended to do this for a long time because I want him to be humiliated, nothing more than that,” he said, adding that after the incident he slept better.

Aside from a handful of visits since 1999 to the United Nations for annual meetings, Hun Sen has made very few trips to the United States. 

He attended the West Point graduation ceremony of his son and now designated heir,  Hun Manet, in May 1999. He also took part in the first U.S.-ASEAN summit hosted by former President Barack Obama in California in February 2016.

The U.S.-ASEAN summit hosted in May by U.S. President Joe Biden was part of his intent to center American foreign policy on the Indo-Pacific in response to the growing competition with China in the region. 

After the shoe-throwing incident, Hun Sen notably used it as justification for further targeting his political opponents. 

“If the U.S. considers shoe-throwing as freedom of expression, it is encouraging [the practice] in other countries,” he said a few days afterward. “Now I am concerned for the safety of the opposition party leaders…We can also throw shoes at opposition party leaders’ heads in Cambodia.”

In response to Ouk Touch’s announcement of wanting to auction the shoe, Cambodian government spokesperson Phay Siphan told RFA that there were differences between the United States and Cambodia in terms of culture, belief and respect. 

“Cambodia can’t accept it, Cambodia regards this action as an insult,” he said, but he added that he respects the decision made by U.S. authorities not to press charges.

English story written by Nawar Nemeh

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Khmer.

This video clip is being shared with the claim that the man in the bandana wanted to offer namaz inside the Wembly Stadium and had created a menace until he got knocked out by former British Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Julius Francis. This claim is widely circulating on Twitter.

Journalist and author Rakesh Krishnan Simha shared this clip on Twitter with the caption, “Muslim man wanted to do namaz inside Wembley Stadium, UK. Watch how former British Heavyweight Boxing Champion Julius Francis (who fought Mike Tyson) dealt with the troublemaker. Sau sunaar ki, ek lohar ki.”

Muslim man wantedto do namaz inside Wembley Stadium, UK. Watch how former British Heavyweight Boxing Champion Julius Francis (who fought Mike Tyson) dealt with the troublemaker. Sau sunaar ki, ek lohar ki. pic.twitter.com/ObKZR00Ayi

— Rakesh Krishnan Simha (@ByRakeshSimha) June 22, 2022

The clip was also shared by various other Twitter users with the same claim.

So this guy wanted to do Namaz in Wembley Stadium in London.

Is it so difficult to understand that Stadium is not a mosque?

Do they really need to get punched to understand that?

Maybe, Yes pic.twitter.com/z2XpS9rbx7

— Niranjan Mohanty (@NiranjanPapun) June 23, 2022

The video clip is also circulating on YouTube with the same claim and has over 2000+ views.

Red flag with the location

We started with determining the location of the incident. Using Google Earth Pro, we found that the altercation took place at these coordinates 51°33’37.89″N, 0°16’47.23″W, outside the BoxPark restaurant in Wembly.

The distance between BoxPark restaurant and Wembly Stadium is 0.41 kilometres. This is a red flag as the claim suggested that the man wanted to pray inside the Wembly Stadium, however, one can clearly see the fight taking place outside BoxPark.

News reports about the fight

According to a report by Lad Bible, the incident took place on June 11 at the BoxPark restaurant in Wembley, after a group was escorted out of the premise by security and one male customer had become involved in a confrontation. It is alleged that the male customer hurled abuses and attempted to spit on customers and staff. The chronological timeline of the incident is not mentioned, however, the confrontation led Julius Francis, the security personnel, who is also the former British Heavyweight to step in and knock out the customer.

The report by Lad Bible also features a statement from the Metropolitan Police according to which the police decided to drop the case after reviewing relevant CCTV footage and speaking to all concerned parties.

The full statement reads, “We are aware of footage circulating on social media showing an incident involving security staff and a member of the public outside Boxpark in Wembley. The incident took place shortly after 17.00 hrs on Saturday 11 June. Officers were called and attended the venue. A group had been ejected and one male customer had become involved in a confrontation with security staff. Officers have spoken to all parties involved and have reviewed relevant CCTV. No further action will be taken in relation to the incident involving the security guard and male customer.”

It is important to note that the statement by the police does not mention anything about namaz. Moreover, the statement says that a group was evicted and not just one man. We can clearly see in the viral video clip that the man was accompanied by a bald man in a striped t-shirt.

Following the incident, CEO Roger Wade of BoxPark had also put out a statement on LinkedIn in support of Julius Francis. Wade’s statements give us a peek into the timeline of the events and what led to the knockout. The statement can be read here.

In a subsequent post, CEO Roger Wade thanked people for the overwhelming support regarding the incident, and he encouraged other founders to do the same – support their employees in difficult circumstances as it is the “right thing to do”. The LinkedIn post can be read here. Both the statements from the CEO of BoxPark don’t mention anything about namaz.

The aftermath of the altercation

We found another video where we can see the police arrest the alleged aggressor i.e., the man in the bandana.

The aftermath dude got arrested pic.twitter.com/6oV5WwS03E

— Rozart (@rozart_producer) June 18, 2022

We geolocated the video to the Wembley Park Station Car Park, at these coordinates – 51°33’49.31″N, 0°16’55.19″W. The distance between the site of the altercation and the site of the arrest is 0.39 kilometres.

According to The Irish Sun, both the police and Francis’ employer were investigating the incident, however, both probes have now been dropped. Speaking to TMZ, Julius confirmed that his Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence has been suspended and he plans to appeal to revoke the suspension.

He said, “The SIA have suspended my licence to work so I can’t work at the moment, so I’m just trying to get that sorted and then hopefully back on the doors as soon as possible, get back to work as soon as possible.”

Alt News found the social media of the alleged aggresor and confirmed his identity using a clandestine method. We are not naming the individual to preserve his identity. However, Alt News can confirm that the individual is not a Muslim.

To sum it up, an altercation took place between a man and security personnel outside BoxPark Restaurant in Wembly. The male customer and his friends were escorted out for alleged unruly behaviour. Neither the police’s statement nor the statement of the CEO of BoxPark mentions anything related to namaz.

The post Fact-check: Muslim man thrown out of London’s Wembley Stadium for namaz offering? appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Kalim Ahmed.