Pima County deputies arrest journalist covering protest at a Tucson Raytheon campus
The Pima County Sheriff's Department on Thursday arrested a journalist who was covering a rally at a University of Arizona satellite campus that houses arms manufacturer Raytheon.
The sheriff's department in a statement said 26 people from the protest were arrested for criminal trespass. The department said those who were arrested were then transported to the San Xavier office in south Tucson, where they were cited and released.
A video of the encounter posted to social media shows Alisa Reznick wearing a media credential and informing a sheriff's deputy that she is a member of the press covering the event. The sheriff's deputy repeatedly told Reznick she was being placed under arrest.
"I'm a reporter," Reznick said the deputy.
"And you're under arrest," the deputy responded.
"We asked you to leave, and you remained for several more minutes," a second deputy said as the two law enforcement officers handcuffed Reznick.
Michel Marizco, senior editor of KJZZ's Fronteras Desk, told The Arizona Republic Reznick was reporting on a protest outside the UA Tech Park.
"Alisa was released from custody after several hours and is in strong spirits," Marizco said. "We are continuing to seek clarity from the sheriff’s department on the circumstances of this incident where a clearly identified journalist was in the course of reporting the news."
The Sheriff's Office in the statement said deputies "remained on scene to ensure that order was maintained, while the rest of the demonstrators exercised their First Amendment rights to peacefully have their voices heard on public property without any additional violations being observed."
Pima County Sheriff's deputies on the scene declined to comment. Asked why Reznick was arrested while others were allowed to remain, a department spokesman indicated the journalist was on private property.
"What I can confirm is that all persons that were arrested were on private property and when requested to leave the property, they failed to comply," Deputy Adam Schoonover told The Republic.
A UA spokesperson was not immediately available to say if UA Tech Park is public or private property. UA Tech Park is owned by the Arizona Board of Regents.
The rally at UA Tech Park in south Tucson is the latest in a series protesting Raytheon's involvement in what organizers describe as a "genocide in Gaza." A coalition representing "progressive Jewish anti-Zionist" and pro-Palestinian organizations earlier this month staged a "die-in," blocking the entrance of Raytheon's Tucson office on Aeropark Boulevard.
The Thursday rally kicked off shortly after 7 a.m. and featured some 50 protesters who used ladders and barricades to block the entrance to the campus. Shortly after the protest kicked off, images shared on social media show deputies placing handcuffs on Reznick. The social media post indicated she was covering the protest.
A Raytheon spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.
Reznick is the latest journalist detained by law enforcement in Arizona. Photojournalist Alberto Mariani, who was working for The Republic as a Pulliam fellow, was briefly detained in June 2022 by Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers while documenting protests at the Arizona State Capitol after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion rights under Roe v. Wade. Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Rabouin was detained, handcuffed and placed in the back of a Phoenix Police Department vehicle in November 2022.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Deputies arrest KJZZ reporter at Raytheon protest in Tucson
