VIDEO: Security Guards At American Legislative Exchange Council Conference Physically

[cassanova]

VIDEO: Security Guards At American Legislative Exchange Council Conference Physically Attack ThinkProgress Reporters | ThinkProgress

Yesterday, at a conference in New Orleans, two ThinkProgress reporters were attacked by security guards for no apparent reason. Reporters Scott Keyes and Lee Fang were at the Marriott Hotel for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) annual meeting, an event that brings together state lawmakers with corporate lobbyists to draft “model” legislation.

While we stood by the second floor lobby of the conference hotel, security guards surrounded us, demanding that we leave. As we were leaving, they approached us, violently pushed us and twisted our arms. A guard approached Fang from behind, tackling him and later bending his arm to take his camera. Keyes, faced similar treatment: two security guards roughed him up on the escalator, taking his video camera, and cutting Keyes’ hand as he attempted to leave the premises. As Keyes asked why he was being forced to leave, he was shoved from the back.

Asked why they were being so belligerent, the security guards said they were acting on instructions from ALEC. At certain points during the incident, they were able to turn on their video cameras and record it:

Although ThinkProgress has attended ALEC conferences in the past as credentialed media (we broke the story about BlueCross BlueShield lobbyists writing ALEC’s anti-health reform legislation in 2009), we were denied credentials this time.

ALEC calls itself an open organization that exists simply to advance “principles of Jeffersonian democracy.” Facing recent scrutiny by the media, one prominent ALEC member told the Daily Iowan that there’s “nothing sinister, there’s nothing secretive about [ALEC].” However, the incident today underscores the suspicion that the organization is a secret conduit for corporate lobbyists to literally write legislation for state lawmakers without having having their fingerprints on the bill. To maintain this secrecy, ALEC appears more than willing to kick out media and close their doors to the public.

Earlier in the day, when Fang and Keyes were sitting in the first floor lobby, they witnessed ALEC public affairs official Raegan Weber point to them while speaking to the hotel security. However, contacted by ThinkProgress over phone after the incident today, Weber denied telling the security to go after us, and said she would get back to us with a statement concerning what happened. Nearly a day later, we have not heard back from her.

[MJ5150]

Oh no, that looks like a major injury to his thumb. He better go to the hospital.

-Mike

[Smokin' Toaster]

I don't know either of these two entities, so I have no dog in the fight.

This guy talks about how he complied, and all I heard was him telling the security guard how he wasn't going to comply with the order to stop video recording. I see some chopped up pieces of video then a guy making a statement about what the video shows, that it clearly doesn't show. I'd be curious to see the ENTIRE situation. Looks to me like ThinkProgress staged an event to feign persecution, to get themselves some victim status to me. I don't believe for a second they were just standing there and got abused. And the thumb boo-boo - I'd be embarassed to wave that around and say it was an injury. Come back when you've had some teeth knocked out or some broken bones and tell me a big burley security guard abused you.

My two cents worth.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Fragmented video showing only what they want you to see? OUTRAGE!

PS - Is a hotel a public place? Surely it is still private property to some extent?

PPS - That cut is laughable

[madmatt]

Two thoughts on this.
Big Brother has a camera on every street corner now, but if you pull a camera out and try to record something like an arrest you are in danger of being shut down or arrested yourself, even if recording from a distance or your own personnal property.
And I like this saying, "If you are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to worry about". This is what the police like to quote, but it only applies to the citizen apparently.
I am not taking a side in this, but I'll leave an open question which could apply to both parties involved: If there were nothing bad going on at the hotel, then what were the guards worried about?

[Jim Nazium]

Originally Posted by cassanova

Although ThinkProgress has attended ALEC conferences in the past as credentialed media ... we were denied credentials this time.

In other words they were trespassing on private property. That's probably why the security guards threw them out. Carrying a camera does not give you the right to go anywhere you want and film eveything you want.

[Joe Nerve]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Toaster

I don't know either of these two entities, so I have no dog in the fight.

This guy talks about how he complied, and all I heard was him telling the security guard how he wasn't going to comply with the order to stop video recording. I see some chopped up pieces of video then a guy making a statement about what the video shows, that it clearly doesn't show. I'd be curious to see the ENTIRE situation. Looks to me like ThinkProgress staged an event to feign persecution, to get themselves some victim status to me. I don't believe for a second they were just standing there and got abused. And the thumb boo-boo - I'd be embarassed to wave that around and say it was an injury. Come back when you've had some teeth knocked out or some broken bones and tell me a big burley security guard abused you.

My two cents worth.

Didn't read past this comment. I feel the same. And I'm annoyed by a-holes with cameras that feel they have every right in the world to video tape anything and everything they want to. If he was asked by security to put the camera away and he didn't well then what did he expect? Were they supposed to say, "Oh we're sorry sir. our mistake. do whatever you want."

[Metal Matt]

While I feel like they exaggerated the "violence", I think the point still stands, there's no reason for them to not be allowed in, except of course corporate lobbyists and the politicians that are their lapdogs like their secrecy and certainly don't like journalists that are actually critical of what they do.

I'll +1 what madmatt said. Absurd we can be watched/recorded all the time, but more and more citizens and journalists are shut out from doing the same to our leaders and law enforcement.

[emor]

Politics.

[bassrique]

Originally Posted by emor

Politics.

+1

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Metal Matt

While I feel like they exaggerated the "violence", I think the point still stands, there's no reason for them to not be allowed in, except of course corporate lobbyists and the politicians that are their lapdogs like their secrecy and certainly don't like journalists that are actually critical of what they do.

I'll +1 what madmatt said. Absurd we can be watched/recorded all the time, but more and more citizens and journalists are shut out from doing the same to our leaders and law enforcement.

But if it is a private function, why should they be allowed in?

There is also a big difference between a camera on a post and someone shoving one in your face (and if these guys are hotel security, it isn't the same as regular law enforcement).


-I'll also add that I do like it when people in positions of power, who are abusing those powers, are undone. But stuff like that video, talk about crying wolf.

[L-A]

[Link to political website]

[Political statement]

Discuss? No!

At least there's not the "This thread is not about politics" blanket statement.

[colcifer]

Originally Posted by L-A

[Link to political website]

[Political statement]

Discuss? No!

At least there's not the "This thread is not about politics" blanket statement.

+1

[Metal Matt]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

But if it is a private function, why should they be allowed in?

There is also a big difference between a camera on a post and someone shoving one in your face (and if these guys are hotel security, it isn't the same as regular law enforcement).

Well, our "leaders" shouldn't be meeting in private, or at all, with corporate lobbyists in the first place. But, I suppose I should say no more, and just stick to talking about carrots.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by L-A

[Link to political website]

Yeah, I'd be embarrassed by that myself, but the "injury" isn't really the overall point here.



[Political statement]

Discuss? No!

At least there's not the "This thread is not about politics" blanket statement.

I don't like putting that blanket statement in there. People are going to interpret things however they want, if they want it to be about nothing but politics, then that's what it will be about to them.

When I posted this, I wasn't actually thinking about the 2 political organizations or that it was the ALEC conference, I was thinking, "hmm, interesting, the violence, albeit minimal, still seems unnecessary. I am of the opinion, the reporters are doing nothing more than questioning authority, about why they are being kicked out. Then the security guards escalated it. Though, with the clip being the way it is, it's very difficult to prove that is really what happened.

[cassanova]

Originally Posted by Metal Matt

While I feel like they exaggerated the "violence", I think the point still stands, there's no reason for them to not be allowed in, except of course corporate lobbyists and the politicians that are their lapdogs like their secrecy and certainly don't like journalists that are actually critical of what they do.

That's how I'm trying to see it too. They were told to leave, and questioned why they had to leave. To me, it seems the guards escalated the violence only after being questioned. Which is something I don't condone. The guards could've and should've answered their questions, then escorted them out. I also see no need for them to have to try and take their cameras.

I'll +1 what madmatt said. Absurd we can be watched/recorded all the time, but more and more citizens and journalists are shut out from doing the same to our leaders and law enforcement.

+1. Could it be because perhaps more often than not, the ones in positions of power & authority are usually in the wrong when they're captured on film?

If one of the default lines by them is "if you've got nothing to hide, then why wouldn't you be willing to cooperate, be against camera's on the streets," etc, etc, then the same rules must apply to those in the positions of power and authority.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

It was a private group on private property meeting privately to discuss the legislation they will kindly write for state lawmakers across the US.

ALEC is doing us all a service. Nothing to see here. Get out, ThinkProgress. You're getting in the way!

[bassrique]

The Center for American Progress (which owns TP) does quite a bit of private petitioning of government where outside cameras would not be welcome.

And those cats aren't reporters/journalists. They are activists. A camera does not a journalists make.

[bassguppy]

Yeah they don't seem like regular reporters. Although this is par for the course when either side is trying to get that gotcha! moment.

Kinda like kids on the playground. na-na-na-na....

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Of course they're activists. Real journalists would never report on corporate authorship of legislation.