Progressive Nomad: Journalist Facing Prison For Reporting News (VIDEO)

In the early morning hours this Monday, acclaimed journalist and Democracy Now! 20-year host, Amy Goodman, will turn herself over to Morton County authorities after being charged with criminal trespassing and now rioting.

Goodman was charged while upholding her journalistic duties to capture the atrocities going on in North Dakota. She faces up to 30 days in jail and a huge fine.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is chartered to run through sacred land and under the only water resource for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and surrounding citizens. The tribe has been camping for months at Sacred Stone campgrounds, and the numbers have grown from just over a hundred peaceful protesters to thousands.

After having surveys done of part of the DAPL path, Standing Rock filed evidence with the court that showed there were sacred burial grounds and sites nearly thirty miles from the current construction zone. Just a day later after receiving the information, the construction crews shifted their course and began bulldozing these sacred sites as fast as possible.

They were not alone, however, as hundreds of protesters met them at the location and attempted to push the bulldozers back. Private security arrived armed with attack dogs and pepper spray and began assaulting the protesters leading to multiple injuries including a dog bite to a little girl’s face.

It just so happens that Amy Goodman was on the scene with a video camera and a microphone reporting on the incident as it occurred. The video quickly brought to light the amount of violence being directed at the tribes when all they were trying to do is protect the sacred land the government had stolen from them long ago.

The video was broadcast all over the web and spread like wildfire. Goodman is one of very few larger media outlets actually reporting on this important stand for freedom, and the Morton County Sheriff wasn’t having any of it.

Not only did he go on record saying that Goodman was not a real journalist, but he also put a warrant out for her arrest. The Sheriff has had no problem lying to the public about what is really going on at the DAPL site by accusing tribe members of violence and weapon possession, even though all video reports show there is nothing like that occurring.

One of the biggest problems with this whole situation, beyond disrespecting a valued member of the journalistic community, is the fact that the Federal Government’s lack of involvement and the audacity of the Morton County Police Department is an attempt to silence the media.

During just this incident journalists are being arrested, news articles are being blacked out on social media sites, and the larger media outlets are refusing to report on this historical event happening in North Dakota.

What’s next? Are they going to break into news studios and begin arresting people on air for reporting the truth?

Good luck Amy Goodman, we stand behind you.

The video that leads to her criminal charges:

Featured Image Via Pravin Hachinal

I am a 30 something writer passionate about politics, the environment, human rights and pretty much everything that effects our everyday life. To stay on top of the topics I discuss, like and follow me at https://www.facebook.com/keeponwriting and https://facebook.com/progressivenomad .