The two journalists who were surrounded and attacked by the Minnesota State Patrol while covering protests over the killing of George Floyd for the Los Angeles Times will soon settle a lawsuit with the state for $1.2 million. The pair, one a current and a former Los Angeles Times employee, claimed the soldiers violated their First Amendment rights.
The settlement stems from a violent incident that occurred on May 30, 2020, when staff photographer Carolyn Cole and Molly Hennessy Fiske, then the Times's Houston bureau chief, were in Minneapolis to cover the community's reaction to the killing of Floyd at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin.
The governor of Minnesota had issued an executive order imposing a nightly curfew in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but the directive excluded law enforcement, emergency personnel and the media.
On May 30, after the curfew went into effect, the two journalists were covering a protest when, they said, state forces ordered the crowds to disperse.
The journalists said that although they were wearing credentials, carrying media equipment, and identified themselves as journalists, the soldiers backed them and other media personnel into a corner against the wall and began firing projectiles and pepper-spraying the group.
“Being attacked by the Minneapolis State Patrol four years ago was an experience no other journalist should have to face,” Cole said in a statement. The photojournalist was pepper-sprayed and suffered a scratch on the cornea in her eye. Hennessy Fisk was left bloodied after being hit several times by sharp projectiles.
“I hope this ruling, which upholds our First Amendment rights, will help protect photographers and other reporters trying to do their work,” Cole wrote. “I appreciate the support of my colleagues and the hard work of our attorneys who fought for this positive outcome.”
The two veteran journalists have covered serious conflicts for decades and from war zones around the world, but they said they had never been attacked in this way by police until that evening.
“During my career spanning nearly 25 years, I have covered numerous law enforcement agencies and protests in various states and beyond. This was the first time I had been exposed to… “It was attacked by the authorities.”
The state of Minnesota and the reporters are expected to sign the settlement agreement this week for a total of $1.2 million. The reporters will split $200,000, while the remaining $1 million will cover attorney's fees for the Minnesota law firm representing the journalists.
The attorneys agreed to represent the reporters in emergency situations, meaning they would seek their fees from the state of Minnesota if they prevailed in the lawsuit.
The state of Minnesota did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement. The Minnesota State Patrol did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hennessy-Fisk said the forces “not only attacked us, but also attacked our First Amendment rights, including the right of the press to cover the protests.”
“That's why we sued them. That's why we prevailed,” Hennessy-Fisk said. “I hope this settlement serves as a deterrent and a protection for other journalists. Law-abiding reporters and photographers should never be subjected to trauma, assault and injury by law enforcement for doing their work.”
