Some Press Groups Remain Silent About Assault Against Fox News Reporter As Others Condemn It

Some press groups condemned the attack by protesters against Fox News reporter Leland Vittert in Washington, D.C. but others remained silent – despite speaking out against the arrest of a CNN reporter one day earlier.

Vittert was reporting in Lafayette Park, D.C. and covering protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. Vittert and his crew were accosted and chased out of the area by protesters early Saturday morning, footage captured by the Daily Caller News Foundation shows.

Many of the groups contacted by the Daily Caller previously publicly issued statements condemning Friday’s arrest of CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew. The two events, while both suppression of press, do have a noteworthy difference. The CNN crew was arrested by police, and the Fox News crew was attacked by protesters.

First Amendment Coalition and Freedom of the Press Foundation did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller.

The Committee to Project Journalists told the Daily Caller that it did not have “have a specific statement in that specific incident” when asked for its thoughts regarding the attack against Vittert. CPJ wrote that it is “investigating several reported attacks on journalists covering protests around the country and urges police and protesters alike to refrain from targeting journalists so that they can safely cover these newsworthy event.”