“I was pulled off the sidewalk”: At least 3 journalists arrested while covering DNC protests

Akela Lacy, Jonah Valdez | The intercept

PHOTOJOURNALIST JOSH PACHECO recalled a hectic scene after a mob of Chicago police officers ordered a crowd of protesters and journalists to disperse a march outside the Israeli consulate on Tuesday.

“Nobody understood the order to disperse, nobody knew exactly where to go,” Pacheco told The Intercept, adding that they walked away and tried to leave the area with other journalists. “And then I was arrested, they dragged me off the sidewalk.”

Pacheco – a freelance journalist who has worked for The New York Times, PBS and Forbes – was one of at least three accredited journalists arrested during protests on the second day of the Democratic National Convention.

Pacheco, who was carrying the photo equipment and had his press passes hanging around his neck, said they identified themselves to officers as journalists. But Pacheco said an officer then took their passes away.

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