# Detention of reporter - kosher or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 19, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672 "2010-10-19T16:46:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/21 "2010-10-19T17:55:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If they committed a misdemeanor in your presence, then you could. > > [Infobases](http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp) and navigate to Chapter 12.25. Interesting. Whether or not they are on private property has nothing to do with it, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/22 "2010-10-19T18:01:10Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Interesting. Whether or not they are on private property has nothing to do with it, apparently. The “private event” part of this situation is the supposed reason for the supposed misdemeanor. They could not detain him for asking questions. They tried to detain him for supposedly trespassing by pretending the event was private (after the fact, and with no evidence to show that is was). It is only by pretending that the event was private that they can come up with any justification at all for detaining the reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/23 "2010-10-19T18:04:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Phew, that’s a load off my mind. For a minute there I thought security guards cuffed a reporter for asking questions to a candidate who has made a point of refusing to answer questions about his past. Now that I know it was technically a private event and their actions may have been technically legal even if they were unwarranted, my concerns are resolved. > > I make no bones about the fact that the press often focuses on irrelevant personal details about the lives of candidates for public office, and the fact that that focus has made the relationship between the press and politicians more hostile. That being said, it’s aggravating as hell that candidates for the Senate are actively shunning the press so they won’t have to answer questions about their positions, backgrounds, or do anything except get on the stump and spout talking points. It’s also somewhat ironic that people with similar views described Obama, who had little national experience but was not secretive with the press, as a “Trojan horse” just two years ago. It’s a development that cannot do anything positive for anyone except candidates who don’t like taking questions. Actually I think its a deliberate strategy. The problem with a lot of these tea party candidates is that they haven’t been through the normal political vetting process. They are taking a page out of Palin’s book. Its better to avoid the press (other than very very sympathetic press) and raise doubts in the minds of those who either weren’t going to vote for you anyways or were going to stay home than it is to disaffect your base by letting them know you’re a whack job. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/24 "2010-10-19T18:07:12Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Actually I think its a deliberate strategy. Of course it is. Miller has stated he will not answer questions about his personal life (which is understandable to an extent) or his background (not so much). I think Christine O’Donnell is refusing to talk to anyone except Fox or something like that. > [@](#): > > The problem with a lot of these tea party candidates is that they haven’t been through the normal political vetting process. Right. As I acknowledged in that post, I think we have to admit that a significant part of that vetting process is just plain stupid. You shouldn’t have to have your life airbrushed into unrecognizability and do through a lot of other crap just to run for office. That being said… > [@](#): > > Its better to avoid the press (other than very very sympathetic press) and raise doubts in the minds of those who either weren’t going to vote for you anyways or were going to stay home than it is to disaffect your base by letting them know you’re a whack job. Correct. Although they’re not really worried about their base, they’re worried about more mainstream Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/25 "2010-10-19T18:09:56Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The “private event” part of this situation is the supposed reason for the supposed misdemeanor. > > They could not detain him for asking questions. They tried to detain him for supposedly trespassing by pretending the event was private (after the fact, and with no evidence to show that is was). > > It is only by pretending that the event was private that they can come up with any justification at all for detaining the reporter. Read the link. I’m not commenting on whether the detainment was justified. In my mind it clearly was not. I’m just commenting that apparently, under Alaska statutes, whether or not a citizen is on his own property has nothing to do with his ability to make an arrest. I can just go all Disney on someone’s ass all the time, wherever I am. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/26 "2010-10-19T18:09:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > If they committed a misdemeanor in your presence, then you could. > > [Infobases](http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp) and navigate to Chapter 12.25. No charges have been made, no misdemeanor occurred, they were wrong to detain him. I see a law suit in their future. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/27 "2010-10-19T18:10:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And if I were to do that to you at a public meeting because you were asking questions I did not like… how would that be differentiated from simple assault? > > ETA: Do you think you could successfully argue that Hopfinger committed a misdemeanor by trespassing at the meeting? Do you think you could convince a judge or jury that a reasonable person should have known that a public appearance of a candidate for office in a public place with members of the public and reporters present was actually a PRIVATE affair? No. But if it were to emerge that the security people told him to leave and he refused, at that point he’d be guilty of trespass and subject to arrest. In other words, he’s not guilty if he simply comes in, but if he’s told to leave and he refuses, he’s guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/28 "2010-10-19T18:12:36Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > No charges have been made, no misdemeanor occurred, they were wrong to detain him. I see a law suit in their future. From the first link in the OP. > [@](#): > > Hopfinger said that both he and his paper have not yet ruled out considering legal remedies. But his preference is to let Miller’s actions “speak for themselves.” > > “Right now, we will look at whatever options we need to look at,” he said. “I think really, at the end of the day, I would just prefer to see Mr. Miller [answer the questions].” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/29 "2010-10-19T18:12:42Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > No charges have been made, no misdemeanor occurred, they were wrong to detain him. I see a law suit in their future. Was he told to leave? Was he told he couldn’t enter a particular area of the event? And did he refuse to leave, or refuse to desist trying to enter a particular area of the event? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/30 "2010-10-19T18:19:03Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No. But if it were to emerge that the security people told him to leave and he refused, at that point he’d be guilty of trespass and subject to arrest. In other words, he’s not guilty if he simply comes in, but if he’s told to leave and he refuses, he’s guilty. How exactly does that jibe with the constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of the press? This was a legitimate, credentialled journalist, at an open forum in a publically owned venue that had not been rented for a private event, where a political candidate had expressly indicated his intention to answer questions from the public and was doing exactly that when the reporter asked a question he didn’t like–and suddenly someone can yell “trespass” and force the reporter to leave? Really? This is not passing the sniff test. Does this mean I can run up to a reporter taking footage of a permitted rally on the National Mall and demand they leave and cuff them if they don’t do so? How about in the hall of a courthouse, where I don’t want to answer questions regarding a crime I’m accused of, can I handcuff a reporter after yelling “trespass” at him? This isn’t just a slippery slope, it’s fucking frictionless and we should be making bearings out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/31 "2010-10-19T18:21:36Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > How exactly does that jibe with the constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of the press? This was a legitimate, credentialled journalist, at an open forum in a publically owned venue that had not been rented for a private event, where a political candidate had expressly indicated his intention to answer questions from the public and was doing exactly that when the reporter asked a question he didn’t like–and suddenly someone can yell “trespass” and force the reporter to leave? Really? It had been rented though. He paid $400.00 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/32 "2010-10-19T18:25:58Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > How exactly does that jibe with the constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of the press? Just to head that off, the First Amendment covers laws and acts of the government, and Miller is a private citizen running for the U.S. Senate. I don’t think this would count as a violation of the first amendment. On the other hand it sure as hell sounds like it violates the spirit of a free press. This is where the path to things like free speech zones leads: candidates who won’t talk to the press, and who actually physically detain reporters when they get mad at them. > [@Bricker](#): > > Was he told to leave? Was he told he couldn’t enter a particular area of the event? And did he refuse to leave, or refuse to desist trying to enter a particular area of the event? [The Huffinton Post had it this way:](http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/news/7186-breaking-alaska-dispatch-editor-detained-at-miller-event) > [@](#): > > Two or three bodyguards told Hopfinger to stop asking questions and to leave the building. > Hopfinger continued to ask questions while apparently videotaping the candidate. > Bodyguards told him that if he persisted they would arrest him for trespassing, but refused to identify themselves to Hopfinger. > > Hopfinger asked why he was trespassing, as the event was at a public school. Seconds later, he was then put in arm-bar and later handcuffed and sequestered at one end of a hallway for at least 30 minutes. He was told, “You’re under arrest.” > > Anchorage Police arrived on the scene shortly after. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/33 "2010-10-19T18:28:51Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > It had been rented though. He paid $400.00 The school district has already made the distinction that Miller did NOT rent the hall where the arrest took place, only the cafeteria, stage and parking areas. Again, the reporter was NOT in an area which can even remotely be construed as “private” due to having been temporarily rented. It is functionally the same as if the reporter had been detained and arrested while walking on a public sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/34 "2010-10-19T18:36:26Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > How exactly does that jibe with the constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of the press? This was a legitimate, credentialled journalist, at an open forum in a publically owned venue that had not been rented for a private event, where a political candidate had expressly indicated his intention to answer questions from the public and was doing exactly that when the reporter asked a question he didn’t like–and suddenly someone can yell “trespass” and force the reporter to leave? Really? As long as they’ve rented the hall… yes. > [@](#): > > This is not passing the sniff test. I don’t anything about the sniff test. I do know the legal test, which says that the crime of trespass in the second degree in Alaska is complete when a person fails to leave premises that are open to the public after being lawfully directed to do so. > [@](#): > > Does this mean I can run up to a reporter taking footage of a permitted rally on the National Mall and demand they leave and cuff them if they don’t do so? If your reservation for the use of the National Mall space is for exclusive use of the property, then yes, I’d say you can. > [@](#): > > How about in the hall of a courthouse, where I don’t want to answer questions regarding a crime I’m accused of, can I handcuff a reporter after yelling “trespass” at him? Not unless you have leased the halls of the courthouse for your event. But if you were, say, shooting a movie at the courthouse, and had paid for the exclusive use of the space, then a reporter that had question about a crime you’re accused of could be handcuffed and arrested if he persisted after being told to leave. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/35 "2010-10-19T18:36:30Z")
Missed edit window. And if that isn’t enough, check out [this video](http://community.adn.com/adn/node/153751) of what transpired after the arrest, when the Dropzone security people attempted to compound their error by threatening other reporters, repeatedly shoving a female reporter who says, over and over, “stop shoving me.” Note by the end of the video the REAL police officer has removed the cuffs, and is joking with Hopfinger over the overzealousness of the Dropzone goons. Do you really want to defend this sort of behavior? Is this what YOUR America looks like? Because mine isn’t even remotely like this. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/36 "2010-10-19T18:38:35Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > The school district has already made the distinction that Miller did NOT rent the hall where the arrest took place, only the cafeteria, stage and parking areas. Again, the reporter was NOT in an area which can even remotely be construed as “private” due to having been temporarily rented. It is functionally the same as if the reporter had been detained and arrested while walking on a public sidewalk. When you referred to the “open forum” I assumed you to be talking about the town hall meeting, not the corridor outside. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/37 "2010-10-19T18:40:24Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > As long as they’ve rented the hall… yes. Since it has already been abundantly established that Miller did NOT rent the hall in question, I guess we have our answer then–Dropzone was completely out of line and liable for assault charges, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/38 "2010-10-19T18:40:50Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > The school district has already made the distinction that Miller did NOT rent the hall where the arrest took place, only the cafeteria, stage and parking areas. Again, the reporter was NOT in an area which can even remotely be construed as “private” due to having been temporarily rented. It is functionally the same as if the reporter had been detained and arrested while walking on a public sidewalk. If the contract specified only the cafeteria, stage, and parking areas, and if the arrest took place outside those areas, then the arrest is probably not legal. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/39 "2010-10-19T18:42:46Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Missed edit window. > > And if that isn’t enough, check out [this video](http://community.adn.com/adn/node/153751) of what transpired after the arrest, when the Dropzone security people attempted to compound their error by threatening other reporters, repeatedly shoving a female reporter who says, over and over, “stop shoving me.” Note by the end of the video the REAL police officer has removed the cuffs, and is joking with Hopfinger over the overzealousness of the Dropzone goons. Do you really want to defend this sort of behavior? Is this what YOUR America looks like? Because mine isn’t even remotely like this. My America is where we look at the laws, passed by the duly elected people of the state, and respond if they are violated. It appears to me you don’t particularly care about that, and instead would grant the reporter some sort of nebulous “freedom of the press” immunity from trespass laws. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672/40 "2010-10-19T18:44:20Z")
Seems to me that they would be justified in removing him from the space that was actually rented. Since they did not rent the hallway, they are no more justified in arresting him there than if they were on the street. This is just my common sense view and I am in no way, shape, or form a lawyer. Regardless of the propriety of the arrest, this makes Miller look like an asshole, which indeed he is. I can’t imagine how this would boost his poll numbers, but seeing how the state elected Sarah Palin I guess I wouldn’t be surprised by anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detention-of-reporter-kosher-or-not/557672.md?page=3)