The filmmaker facing a lengthy prison sentence for documenting a nonviolent civil disobedience action last week has spoken out on behalf of journalism, the First Amendment, and the global climate movement.
Deia Schlosberg, an independent filmmaker and climate reporter, was arrested last week in Walhalla, North Dakota for filming the unprecedented #ShutItDown protest held in solidarity with the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
“Journalism needs to be passionately and ethically pursued and defended if we are to remain a free democratic country.”
—Deia Schlosberg, filmmaker
“When I was arrested, I was doing my job,” Schlosberg said in a statement released Tuesday. “I was reporting. I was documenting. Journalism needs to be passionately and ethically pursued and defended if we are to remain a free democratic country. Freedom of the press, guaranteed by the First Amendment, is absolutely critical to maintaining an informed citizenry, without which, democracy is impossible.”
According to documentarian Josh Fox, whose new film Schlosberg produced,
Saying she believes the charges “are unjust,” Schlosberg offered a passionate defense of independent journalism that’s covering the most important issues of our time:
Schlosberg concluded by drawing attention to fellow videographers Lindsey Grayzel and Carl Davis, who were arrested in Washington state last week for filming the same action and also face preliminary felony charges. Grayzel told Reuters that her footage was also confiscated. “For reporters who are simply doing their job, which is their constitutionally protected right, to be facing such charges is an outrage,” she said.
On Monday, North Dakota dismissed riot charges against Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman. The development drew praise, though Reporters Without Borders noted that the charges “never should have been filed in the first place.”
Schlosberg also posted a short video on Facebook over the weekend, thanking people for their support and vowing to “say more in the coming days and weeks.” Watch below: