Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine during an event in Covington, Kentucky, last month. Photor: Joshua A. Bickel/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Police in Ohio arrested a NewsNation journalist on Wednesday as state Gov. Mike DeWine (R) was speaking at a news conference announcing that an evacuation order over last week’s train derailment in East Palestine had been lifted.
The latest: Evan Lambert, the D.C.-based correspondent of the Nexstar Media Group-owned cable channel, was released from jail late Wednesday and faces charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing, NewsNation reported.
Driving the news: Lambert was giving a live report when police officers asked reporters to be quiet because DeWine was speaking, according to NewsNation.
He stopped his live report and moments later, images show him on the ground being handcuffed and he was taken into police custody.NewsNation D.C. bureau chief Mike Viqueira said in a statement on Wednesday evening that he had just spoken with Lambert, “who called from the Columbiana County Jail, where he is currently detained.” He didn’t expect to be released until Thursday, but Viqueira said the news organization was making every effort to assist him and secure his release as soon as possible.What they’re saying: “Evan is safe and calm, and continues to act with professionalism and integrity that he brings to his work each day,” Viqueira said.
“As you see from the videos, he was doing his job — what hundreds of journalists do without incident — reporting to the public on a matter of urgent, critical interest to our audience.”DeWine told reporters that Lambert and other reporters had a right to be reporting during the press conference and “if they were in any way hampered from reporting that that certainly is wrong and it’s not anything that I approve — in fact I vehemently disapprove of it.”
The governor said in a statement to news outlets that he didn’t see the incident, but emphasized that he “did not request that the reporter stop his live broadcast, nor did he know that the request was being made.”The big picture: The 50-car freight train was carrying hazardous materials when it derailed near Pennsylvania last Friday.
East Palestine residents near the train derailment site were ordered to evacuate so crews could conduct the controlled release of toxic chemicals on Monday.East Palestine police did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.Editor’s note: This article has been updated with NewsNation’s announcement that their reporter has been released and with additional comment from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Source : Axios