'Outrageous Abuse of Power': NAJA Responds to Charges Filed Against Amy Goodman in North Dakota Court

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It is the stance of NAJA that these charges were an outrageous abuse of power and naked attempt to intimidate and discourage journalists from covering events that government officials want to remain out of public view. We applaud the action of the court to dismiss this frivolous motion by the county prosecutor as wholly without merit.

In an interview with the Grand Forks Herald, Erickson said, “She’s a protestor, basically. Everything she reported on was from the position of justifying the protest actions.”

Our democracy is only as strong as our collective will to uphold our freedoms of expression, an independent press and the public’s right to know. This collective will is a responsibility that must be shared equally by citizens, industry and government. When industry and government collude to undermine and curtail these freedoms, it corrodes the foundational principles of our society. We admonish Erickson and his cynical actions to silence the press and the people’s right to know about these important events that will have ramifications for generations to come.