The Independent
Minnesota State Patrol officers handcuffed and detained correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew without providing charges or explanation, despite the journalists displaying press credentials and offering full compliance.
AI-assisted summary of CNN reporter arrested live on air while covering Minneapolis protests — original source. Check the original for full context.
Source published:
Key ideas
- CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez was handcuffed and arrested by Minnesota State Patrol officers live on television while covering protests in Minneapolis. (0:00)
- The entire four-person CNN field crew, including a producer and a photojournalist, was detained despite repeatedly identifying themselves as press and offering to relocate. (2:00)
- Officers seized the crew's broadcast camera while it remained actively powered on and transmitting live video across the network. (5:00)
Detailed notes
## Background This video was published on YouTube by The Independent on May 29, 2020. According to the description, it documents the live, on-air arrest of CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his television crew by Minnesota State Patrol officers during protests in Minneapolis following the killing of George Floyd.
## TL;DR While reporting live on the Minneapolis unrest, CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez displays his press credentials and offers to relocate his team wherever Minnesota State Patrol officers request. Despite his polite compliance, officers handcuff Jimenez on air without offering an explanation. Moments later, state troopers detain the remaining crew members—a producer and a camera operator—who safely sets the camera down on the pavement. In the studio, anchors John Berman and Alisyn Camerota watch in astonishment as the camera continues rolling live, eventually being picked up and carried away by an officer unaware it is still broadcasting.
## Atmosphere & style The broadcast carries an atmosphere of surreal tension and quiet shock, contrasting Omar Jimenez's remarkably calm, professional demeanor with the abrupt and unexplained aggression of law enforcement. Back in the studio, the anchors' commentary shifts from stunned silence to utter disbelief as they struggle to comprehend an unprecedented detention unfolding on live television. The concluding visual—the camera continuing to transmit from ground level and then jostling as an unaware trooper carries it off—evokes an eerie, unvarnished look at press suppression in real time.
## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=0s) CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez was handcuffed and arrested by Minnesota State Patrol officers live on television while covering protests in Minneapolis. - [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=120s) The entire four-person CNN field crew, including a producer and a photojournalist, was detained despite repeatedly identifying themselves as press and offering to relocate. - [05:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=300s) Officers seized the crew's broadcast camera while it remained actively powered on and transmitting live video across the network.
## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=0s) Omar Jimenez visibly displayed his press credentials and microphone while calmly offering to move wherever state patrol officers directed. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=0s) Jimenez identified his team as an active four-person unit attempting to stay out of the way of advancing law enforcement. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=0s) Minnesota State Patrol officers provided no verbal explanation or stated charges when taking Jimenez into custody on air. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=0s) The arrest occurred as police and fire units rapidly mobilized in response to a burning building nearby. - [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=120s) CNN studio anchors John Berman and Alisyn Camerota paused commentary to monitor the live audio feed for official justification from law enforcement. - [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=120s) Remaining crew members warned the control room in real time that troopers were moving in to detain the entire team. - [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=120s) The photojournalist requested permission to safely place the broadcast camera onto the pavement before being handcuffed. - [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=120s) Studio anchors noted the crew had complied with previously established perimeters prior to being detained without cause. - [05:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=300s) John Berman stated on air that he had never seen a working news crew arrested under such circumstances throughout his career. - [05:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=300s) A state patrol officer confiscated and carried the camera down the street, seemingly unaware it was still broadcasting live.
## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=0s) Omar Jimenez Is Handcuffed and Arrested Live on Air
CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez is reporting live from the streets of Minneapolis amidst ongoing unrest. As Minnesota State Patrol officers approach, Jimenez calmly and repeatedly offers full cooperation, holding his microphone and press credential visible. He assures the officers that his crew will relocate immediately to any designated perimeter they require, explaining that they are an active four-person broadcast crew. As he turns back toward the camera, he contextualizes the sudden escalation, noting that the police contingent arrived rapidly alongside the fire department to respond to a burning building shown earlier in their broadcast. As state patrol units advance down the street to disperse protesters, an officer approaches Jimenez from behind and grabs him by the arm, stating that he is under arrest. Jimenez remains calm, asking for clarification on the charges, while crew members remind officers that Jimenez is actively broadcasting live on television. The officers do not offer an explanation, place Jimenez in handcuffs, and lead him down the street away from his crew.
> “Guys, we can move back to where you'd like. We can move back to where you'd like here. We are live on the air at the moment. This is the four of us. We are one team. Just put us put us back where you want us. We are getting out of your way.” — Omar Jimenez
> “Okay. Do you mind telling me why I'm under arrest, sir? Why am I under arrest, sir?” — Omar Jimenez
- Jimenez clearly identifies his unit: “This is the four of us. We are one team.” - He emphasizes their willingness to comply with police movement: “Wherever you'd want us, we will go. We were just getting out of your way when you were advancing through the intersection.” - The arrest occurs immediately after Jimenez describes the state patrol advancing to clear the area near a burning structure.
[02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=120s) Studio Anchors React as the Entire CNN Crew Is Detained
Back in the studio, CNN anchors John Berman and Alisyn Camerota react with shock and disbelief as they watch the live feed of Jimenez being marched away in cuffs. Berman asks to pause the commentary so they can listen directly to the audio feed to discern what the troopers are telling the crew. The remaining crew members behind the camera continue to narrate the escalating situation, stating that they were merely covering street closures and warning the control room that the rest of the crew is about to be taken into custody as well. Within moments, state troopers move in on the crew's producer and photojournalist. The camera operator asks for permission to safely set the broadcast camera down on the pavement as troopers grab his arms to handcuff him. The anchors emphasize that the crew was positioned in an area previously designated as acceptable by law enforcement and that no verbal justification has been provided for their detention.
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Sequence of CNN Crew Arrest in Minneapolis accDescr: Diagram tracing the arrest from Omar Jimenez's detention to the crew being handcuffed and the camera being seized. subgraph S1["Live Broadcast Reporting"] A["Omar Jimenez offers full compliance to Minnesota State Patrol"] B["Officers detain and handcuff Jimenez on live television"] end subgraph S2["Detention of Support Crew"] C["Studio anchors monitor audio for official explanation"] D["Troopers move in on CNN producer and photojournalist"] E["Camera operator asks to place camera on pavement before being cuffed"] end subgraph S3["Equipment Confiscation"] F["Camera continues rolling from the ground"] G["Trooper picks up live camera and carries it away"] end A --> B B --> C C --> D D --> E E --> F F --> G ```
> “That is an American television reporter, Omar Jimenez, being led away by police officers. He clearly identified himself as a reporter. He was respectfully explaining to the state police that our CNN team was there and moving away as they would request and then for some reason, he was just taken in to police custody, live on television.” — John Berman
> “We're just out here doing our job as well as you are.” — CNN Crew Member
- The CNN crew on the ground warns the broadcast desk: “Omar was just arrested. I believe they're about to, we're all about to be arrested.” - The photojournalist asks officers directly before being handcuffed: “Can I put the camera down?” - Anchor Alisyn Camerota notes the complete lack of explanation from law enforcement: “They're not being given any explanation, as far as we can hear, for why they're being arrested.”
[05:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ&t=300s) The Live Camera Is Seized by Police
With the photojournalist and producer handcuffed and removed, the camera remains on the ground, transmitting live images to viewers nationwide. Studio anchor John Berman remarks that throughout his extensive career covering civil unrest and protests across the country, he has never witnessed a working news crew arrested under such conditions. The live shot then suddenly tilts and begins shifting as an officer picks up the equipment and walks it down the road. The anchors observe that the Minnesota State Patrol officer holding the gear appears entirely unaware that the camera is still powered on, focused, and streaming the aftermath of the arrest live across the network.
> “I've never seen anything like this. I have never seen anything like this.” — John Berman
> “Yeah, this is the police carrying our camera right now, frankly not aware that it's still rolling.” — John Berman
## Mentioned Omar Jimenez, John Berman, Alisyn Camerota, George Floyd, CNN, Minnesota State Patrol, Minneapolis
## Video description A CNN reporter and crew have been arrested live on air while covering the Minneapolis protests over the killing of George Floyd.
Black correspondent Omar Jimenez had just shown a protester being arrested when about half a dozen white police officers surrounded him.
Mr Jimenez told the Minnesota State Patrol officers: “We can move back to where you like”, before explaining that he and his crew were members of the press, adding: “We’re getting out of your way.”
The journalist was handcuffed and led away alongside a producer and camera operator for CNN.
Read the full story: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cnn-reporter-crew-arrested-live-tv-minneapolis-riots-george-floyd-a9538541.html
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[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIClA57jWmQ)