MESSAGE
| DATE | 2024-08-09 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Jew hating Bigots and Journalist went to arrested
|
The arrested journalist ...
The charges against Seligson in particular have raised concerns that he
is being targeted for activities that are part of his work as a
journalist. His lawyer, Leena Widdi, told the Times that he has worked
for Reuters, Al-Jazeera, ABC and other outlets as a videographer, and
that his arrest violates US federal protections ensuring freedom of
speech and of the press.
“Mr Seligson is being charged for alleged behaviour that is protected by
the First Amendment and consistent with his job as a credentialed member
of the press,” Widdi said. “Nothing in the complaint against Mr Seligson
alleges anything more than behaviour consistent with his role as a
journalist.”
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/08/08/activist-and-journalist-charged-with-hate-crimes-over-vandalism-at-brooklyn-museum-leaders-homes
Activist and journalist charged with hate crimes over vandalism at
Brooklyn Museum leaders’ homes
The charges stem from incidents in June, when activists sprayed red
paint on the museum officials’ homes as a pro-Palestine protest
Benjamin Sutton
8 August 2024
Share
The exterior of Anne Pasternak's apartment building in Brooklyn Heights,
where activists hung a banner and splashed red paint on the evening of
11 June Photo by New York city council member Lincoln Restler, via X
The exterior of Anne Pasternak's apartment building in Brooklyn Heights,
where activists hung a banner and splashed red paint on the evening of
11 June Photo by New York city council member Lincoln Restler, via X
Two people, including a journalist, have been arrested and charged with
hate crimes over an action in June during which pro-Palestine activists
sprayed red paint on the homes of the Brooklyn Museum’s director and
board members.
Taylor Pelton, a resident of Queens, was arrested last week; she has
been charged with multiple counts of criminal mischief in the third
degree, according to the New York Post
. Samuel Seligson, a Brooklyn-based journalist, was arrested on 6 August
and faces two counts of criminal mischief, according to The New York
Times
.
Both are being charged as hate crimes; the vandalism targeted the
Brooklyn Heights home of Anne Pasternak, the Brooklyn Museum’s director,
who is Jewish. A banner hung outside her home during the night from 11
June to 12 June read “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White-Supremacist
Zionist” and “Funds Genocide”. The activists also painted an inverted
red triangle on the building, a symbol authorities claim Hamas has used
to identify buildings targeted by the Israeli military, according to the
Associated Press
. In addition to Pasternak’s home, activists targeted the homes of
museum president and chief operating officer Kimberly Panicek Trueblood
and the residences of two trustees.
The charges against Seligson in particular have raised concerns that he
is being targeted for activities that are part of his work as a
journalist. His lawyer, Leena Widdi, told the Times that he has worked
for Reuters, Al-Jazeera, ABC and other outlets as a videographer, and
that his arrest violates US federal protections ensuring freedom of
speech and of the press.
“Mr Seligson is being charged for alleged behaviour that is protected by
the First Amendment and consistent with his job as a credentialed member
of the press,” Widdi said. “Nothing in the complaint against Mr Seligson
alleges anything more than behaviour consistent with his role as a
journalist.”
The pro-freedom of expression organisation PEN America has publicly
condemned Seligson’s arrest. “Reporting is not a crime,” Viktorya Vilk,
the director of the organisation’s digital safety programme, said in a
statement. “The work of journalists is protected by the First Amendment
and can require proximity to criminal activity. This arrest on serious
charges risks discouraging journalists from the important work of
documenting possible hate crimes. If the NYPD has compelling evidence
that Seligson actively participated in a crime, they must make that
clear; otherwise, the [District Attorney] should drop these
unconstitutional charges immediately and allow journalists to do their
jobs.”
Pelton faces additional charges in Manhattan Criminal Court alleging
that she drove Seligson and four as-yet-unidentified people who have not
been apprehended on the night of the incident, according to the Times.
Ten days prior to the vandalism at museum leaders’ homes, activists had
staged a rally and protest at the Brooklyn Museum, calling for
transparency regarding the institution’s financial ties to Israel and
divestment. Activists reached the roof of the museum building and
unfurled a banner that read: “Free Palestine Divest from Genocide.” The
NYPD ultimately arrested 34 people participating in the protest.
Art students arrested as US universities crack down on Palestinian
solidarity encampments
Anni Irish
On Thursday morning (8 August), the Brooklyn Heights home of Columbia
University's chief operating officer, Cas Holloway, was vandalized with
red paint, ABC7 reported
. Flyers left at the scene criticised Holloway's handling of campus
protests at Columbia, which kicked off a global student protest movement
whereby students (and some faculty) set up tent encampments in
solidarity with Palestine. Many were forcibly dismantled following
violent crackdowns by police and attacks by counter-protesters.
The Brooklyn Museum is one of dozens of institutions around the world
that have been settings for or targets of pro-Palestine protests since
the 7 October 2023 terror attack on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli
military began its retaliatory invasion of Gaza. Around 1,200 people
were killed in Israel during the 7 October attacks and around 250 were
taken hostage. Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed nearly 40,000
Palestinians according to the latest figures
from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza..
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
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http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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