Minnesota Daily reporter cuffed, detained while covering campus protest
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A Minnesota Daily reporter was detained while covering a protest on the University of Minnesota campus earlier this week.
Second-year student and reporter Tyler Church was covering Monday afternoon’s occupation of Morrill Hall by pro-Palestinian protesters when he was apprehended and placed in flex cuffs by university police. Church was wearing a vest with the word “PRESS” in large, white letters at the time.
Ultimately, 11 students were arrested and taken to Hennepin County Jail. One of the protesters was charged with fourth-degree assault. Church, two other Daily reporters and a Minnesota Star Tribune reporter were made to wait in the Morrill Hall basement for several hours, Church said, before law enforcement let them exit.
Church told MPR News he’d received a university safety alert on his phone that protesters were in Morrill, “causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building.” It advised anyone inside who could exit safely and others on campus to avoid the area. As a part of his beat, Church expects to cover protests and said he “immediately rushed over,” where he met up with two fellow student reporters. His editor-in-chief dropped off press vests shortly after.
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The University of Minnesota Public Safety Department in a statement to MPR News called the situation “chaotic” and “involved many unknowns.” It department added that it “greatly respects the role of the press.”
“I was doing an interview with one of the protesters in the basement of Morrill Hall, separated from the other reporters,” Church said. “It was actually a lot more organized than you’d expect from protests like that.”
Church said officers entered into the building through the tunnel system and that he was one of the first to be detained.
“They came through the door with their weapons drawn. They had, like, the rubber bullet guns, we were all told to get on the ground,” he recalled. “I repeated multiple times that I was with press, with the Minnesota Daily, and even still, I was put in handcuffs and detained with everyone else.”
The three Daily reporters and Minnesota Star Tribune journalist were not allowed to leave the basement for three hours, Church said.
“I really don’t know how much clearer it can get than the vest and me saying it multiple times,” Church said. “My bag, which is also confiscated, had my press credentials in it from the Hubbard School [of Journalism and Mass Communications]… But I was unable to get my bag because they had confiscated it at the time.”
The U’s public safety department said law enforcement was unsuccessful in several attempts to find Church’s backpack — which held his reporter notes — and that he could claim it later. They found it later unattended in the building and took it, other backpacks and the belongings of protesters to the on-campus public safety building. It took until Wednesday afternoon and Church coordinating with the Daily and Hubbard School staff for the department to release his backpack. Church wrote about his experience on Thursday.
“I did feel a little impeded as a journalist in that time, and I know it's a high-stakes environment, and a lot of confusion happens,” Church said.
The University of Minnesota Department of Public Safety issued the following statement to MPR News:
During Monday’s incident at Morrill Hall – involving protesters’ occupation and vandalism of the building, and employees unable to immediately exit – the University of Minnesota Police Department made entry into the building and 11 individuals were eventually arrested. The situation involved many unknowns and, in some areas of the building, a chaotic situation. The circumstances remain under active police investigation.
Upon entry, UMPD encountered a group of individuals on the building’s ground floor. These individuals were initially placed into flex cuffs as officers worked to secure the space and assist other officers in a nearby area of the building who were requesting assistance. One of the individuals wore a vest marked with “Press.”
This Daily reporter was detained in flex cuffs for roughly five minutes. Once the area was secured, officers identified individuals and were able to confirm the Daily reporter’s identity, although he was not carrying press credentials. He was immediately removed from the flex cuffs. The reporter indicated he had a backpack in another area of the building, but after several unsuccessful attempts to find it, the Daily reporter was told he could claim it at a later time from the Department of Public Safety. His backpack was eventually found unattended elsewhere in the building and it was removed by police with many other similar backpacks and protesters’ belongings. It was stored at the on-campus public safety building.
This morning, UMPD made contact with the reporter and he has since claimed his belongings. Making contact with him took time in the midst of other protest activity on campus Tuesday.
Other members of the media were present in Morrill Hall at the time and did not have a similar experience. In chaotic circumstances with many unknowns such as those experienced by officers in Morrill Hall on Monday, officers must sometimes temporarily detain those they encounter to ensure everyone’s safety before they are able to fully identify those involved.
The Department of Public Safety would like to reinforce that it greatly respects the role of the press and the importance of a free press in keeping the University and greater community safe. We are committed to ensuring journalists are able to safely and freely carry out their responsibilities of being the eyes and ears of the public and we will continue to keep that commitment at the forefront of our work.
