FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6, 2021
NAHJ calls for an independent review of arrest and press freedom violation against Univision Arizona journalist
(Washington, D.C.) – The Board of Directors of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists is deeply disturbed by the treatment of Univision Arizona journalist León Felipe González Cortés, who was arrested by Gilbert, AZ Police and had his cell phone seized while reporting on assignment earlier this year. The reporter and anchor for Univision Arizona KTVW is scheduled to go before an Arizona court for a pretrial conference on Thursday.
González Cortés’ attorneys assert that Gilbert police officers unlawfully arrested González Cortés and illegally confiscated the reporter’s cell phone while he was engaging in constitutionally protected news gathering activities last April reporting on the assault of two police officers, one of whom subsequently died.
According to a motion filed on behalf of González Cortés in the Gilbert Municipal Court, officers told González Cortés, who was wearing a Univision shirt and was accompanied by a photojournalist from the news station, that he was on the wrong side of a police line established to secure the scene. González Cortés was polite and cooperated with police during the interaction, and informed the officers that was a credentialed journalist for Univision performing his journalistic duties, according to the motion. “It is unclear exactly why Mr. González Cortés was arrested,” the motion states, pointing out that two Gilbert police officers at the scene admitted they knew González Cortés was a journalist and at one point derisively referred to him as “compadre” while discussing the news gathering he was doing at the scene.
González Cortés was one of several reporters from various media outlets reporting from the scene, but was the only one singled out for arrest, according to the motion. Gilbert police initially charged him with “hindering” a police investigation, and confiscated his cell phone, both without a warrant. Subsequently in May, Gilbert police charged González Cortés with “criminal trespassing in the third degree.” González Cortés’ attorneys have demanded that police relinquish the cell phone on the grounds that the seizure and arrest violated his First and Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights. So far, Gilbert police have refused to do so and have threatened to access its contents by “brute force,” according to the motion.
At a pretrial conference scheduled Thursday at the Gilbert Municipal Court, González Cortés’ attorneys said his motion for the return of the cell phone will be heard before the court.
The NAHJ Board of Directors demands that the Gilbert Police Department immediately return González Cortés’ cellular phone and calls for an independent review of the case.
“What is particularly disturbing is that there were many other working journalists at the scene and yet González Cortés was the only one who was arrested, even though he identified himself as a Univision journalist and was accompanied by a photojournalist, so he was clearly part of a news team,” said NAHJ President Nora López. “Additionally, two officers said they knew who he was and derisively called him ‘compadre.’ It’s clear to us that he was singled out because he is Latino.”
Matt Pearce, president of Media Guild of the West — a NewsGuild-CWA local that represents other area journalists at the Arizona Republic and Phoenix New Times — joined NAHJ’s call for an outside review of the case. “The details surrounding the arrest of Univision Arizona’s León Felipe González Cortés are deeply concerning, and a threat to the rights of one Arizona journalist is a threat to the rights of all Arizona journalists,” said Pearce. “Arresting a journalist who’s on the job and seizing their phone as criminal evidence is not much different than treating journalism itself like a crime.”
In a statement shared with NAHJ via González Cortés’ attorneys, Joe Donnarumma, President and General Manager, Univision Phoenix said that the station stands with and supports González Cortés’ calls for the state of Arizona and the Gilbert Police Department to immediately return his cell phone. “Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of our democracy, as are the tools, technologies and constitutionally protected newsgathering activities that our journalists employ every day across the country to keep our audiences informed,” said Donnarumma. “…It’s unacceptable that the Gilbert Police Department is unlawfully violating Mr. Gonzalez Cortes’s constitutional rights as a journalist. The Police Department’s violation of his constitutional rights diminishes the rights of us all.”
University of Arizona School of Journalism Professor David Cuillier, an expert on press freedom issues, told the Arizona Republic last month that the seizure of a reporter’s cellphone is unacceptable.
“Police have a right to protect the integrity of a crime scene, but confiscating and breaking into a journalist’s cellphone crosses the line,” Cuillier told the newspaper, noting that so far this year about 50 journalists nationwide have been arrested or detained by police, and many of them have had notes or cameras seized.
“In most cases, the police departments end up apologizing when they realize what they did was wrong,” said Cuillier, who is president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, and a member of the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona board. “We can be a better nation than that, and I hope in this case the Gilbert Police Department takes the high road and hands the phone back, intact and unpilfered. Whether or not a court forces them to do so, it’s the right thing to do.”
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About the NAHJ
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in the news media. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has over 3,300 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals, and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ.
Media Contact:
BA Snyder
Veritas Group for NAHJ
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com