Category archive

Press Freedom

Targeting journalists, revoking credentials, arrests for reporting, and suppression of public access to information

Records in this lens

4 incidents

Trump Threatens to Jail Journalists Who Reported on Iran Rescue Mission

Trump's threat to jail journalists for reporting on a military rescue mission during the Iran war extends the administration's documented pattern of using national security claims to suppress press …

  • Trump threatened to jail journalists who published details of a U.S. military rescue operation for two airmen whose aircraft was shot down …
  • The threat came during a press conference where Trump revealed additional details about what he called a 'historic' rescue effort during the …

USAGM and Voice of America Broadcasting Dismantlement

A coordinated attack on US government-funded international broadcasting placed 1,300 journalists on leave, terminated Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's grant, and attempted to gut Voice of America — …

  • On March 15, 2025 — 'Bloody Saturday' — approximately 1,300 journalists, producers, and support staff at VOA, RFE/RL, and Radio Free Asia …
  • RFE/RL's federal grant agreement was terminated on March 15, 2025, threatening to end operations that broadcast to audiences in countries …

FCC Broadcast License Threats and Government Coercion of Media

A campaign of government coercion against media through broadcast license threats from the president and FCC chair, forced cancellation of a television show, pressure to remove apps, and demands that …

  • In August 2025, Trump called for the FCC to revoke broadcast licenses of ABC and NBC for being 'two of the worst and most biased networks in …
  • In September 2025, Trump said networks covering him negatively should 'maybe' have their licenses revoked, adding such decisions 'would be …

Systematic Attacks on Press Freedom: Journalist Arrests, Detention, and Deportation

A systematic pattern of press freedom violations including the arrest of journalists covering immigration enforcement, the deportation of a journalist to the country he fled due to death threats, and …

  • Don Lemon was arrested on January 30, 2026 on federal charges related to covering an ICE-connected church protest -- widely condemned as a …
  • Mario Guevara, a Spanish-language journalist, was deported on October 3, 2025 to El Salvador -- the country he had fled in 2004 due to death …