FROM the LEFT: Independent Journalists and Photographers claim "Journalism is Under Attack"

“Journalism is Not a Crime” rally took place in Foley Square, New York City, on October 1, 2025.

Following the raid/arrest of a photojournalist + ICE assaults on press at 26 Federal Plaza (amid nationwide spike in assaults on press), a press conference/rally was organized by photojournalists (on the Left) in protest against attacks on the press in NYC & beyond…..to advocate for First Amendment protections following multiple incidents of alleged assault and intimidation by law enforcement (specifically ICE agents at 26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court).

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….the last time the NYC press corp organized a public demo, it was a vigil for journalists killed in Gaza. At the time, the number was 36.

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This event was a “press-led rally” organized by a group of independent journalists and photographers (from the Left)

It is extremely rare for NYC press to organize demos, but in both instances it’s largely attended by street press, not desk jockeys…to advocate for enhanced press protections, dropping charges against press, and defending First Amendment-protected activity”

VIDEO PLAY LIST 5 short videos

Talia Jane was the MC making the intro statement. (with CC)

 

.Flickr slide show from Press Rally

The journalism is not a crime presser/rally was primarily organized by independent journalists and photographers from the Left, claiming their First Amendment rights are under attack.   

Opposition to Israel, Trump and ICE were pro forma

 

.The following is a list that included NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. I did not stay to hear all the speakers.

Key individuals involved in the rally or who spoke were:

• Talia Jane: An independent reporter and one of the primary organizers who addressed the crowd and explained the incidents that led to the rally.
• Jumaane Williams: The New York City Public Advocate, who spoke about the violence faced by journalists from law enforcement and called on the Manhattan District Attorney to drop charges against a photojournalist.
• Alexa Wilkinson: A New York-based photojournalist whose arrest and subsequent hate crime charges (which she pled not guilty to) were a central focus of the protest.
• Ian Bartlett: Another journalist mentioned by organizers as having been arrested by police.
• Neil Constantine and Josh Pacheco: Photographers/journalists who were thanked by organizers for their involvement.
• An amNewYork reporter and a Turkish journalist (Vural Elibol) who were reportedly assaulted by ICE agents at 26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court shortly before the rally. 

• Michael Loeb: An individual who spoke during a press conference segment, raising concerns about journalistic practices regarding the privacy of children’s faces. 

Also, Leigh Kunkel: A Chicago journalist who spoke via phone about being shot with a pepper ball by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The raison d’etre for the rally remained Alexa Wilkinson:  

.Police arrested and charged photographer Alexa Wilkinson with aggravated harassment and hate crimes. The speakers urged people to contact the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to demand the charges against Alexa Wilkinson be dropped.

 

The charges stemmed from a July 30th incident Wilkinson reported on in which protesters covered the NY Times headquarters in Manhattan with graffiti.

Protesters charged the New York Times with complicity in the Gaza genocide because of its pro-Zionist reporting and editorial policies.

Wilkinson allegedly shared screenshots of an X post that read–‘They hanged newspaper editors at Nuremberg’ (a reference to the Nazi journalist Julius Streicher.)

The complaint said Wilkinson captioned the screenshots with the phrase ‘Looking at you (Joseph Kahn),’ referring to the NYTimes’ executive editor.” 

 

“The New York Times has an endless list of ties to the “IOF” and “israel”, as well as a clear bias towards Zionist and imperialist propaganda which manufacturers consent for the horrors we are live-streaming from Gaza day-after-day.”

While the New York Times and its executive editor Joe Kahn have been targeted by various groups for their war crimes, the building itself has remained relatively untouched … until now. …

 

 4 am on July 30th-“An anonymous people-of-conscience escalated an ongoing protest of the NYT for their complicity and manufactured consent in the genocide of Palestinians.

This legacy-media outlet proves daily how embedded it is with empire and colonial power-players. Shame on the NYT and everyone who’s remained not only silent, but complicit.”

Free Palestine 🇵🇸  Photos by @framed.unrest

Protest photographer Alexa Wilkinson -they/them
[@framed.unrest] IG 

..The World Socialist Web Site

“….the last time the NYC press corp organized a public demo, it was a vigil for journalists killed in Gaza. At the time, the number was 36.

It is extremely rare for NYC press to organize demos, but in both instances it’s largely attended by street-press, not desk-jockeys.”

In conclusion, “Alexa Wilkinson is facing felony hate-crime charges for documenting protesters’ vandalism of the New York Times office in Manhattan and social media posts critiquing the publication’s executive editor.”

READ THE DOSSIER: “The New York Times has been a zionist rag for decades. One look at the paper’s present and past staff proves that the paper’s racist and islamophobic coverage isn’t a matter of simple Western ignorance or run-of-the-mill media bias, but intentional and ideologically driven journalistic malpractice.

In our new dossier, published at newyorkwarcrimes.com, we show how—across each section and rank of the warmongering Times—you will find explicit connections between the paper’s staff and the “IOF”, Zionist lobby groups and Israeli think-tanks. These connections to violent entities and the israel lobby should be considered conflicts-of-interest….” [newyorkwarcrimes.com/dossier]

Across the country, press freedoms are under attack!

Do ICE and the NYPD assault journalists in New York City? 
That is the question.

….World Socialist Website answers the claims….

Reject imperial propaganda.
Boycott, divest, and unsubscribe from the New York Times!

“Here in the so-called land of the free-press, journalists who dare to fulfill their mandate to document reality and report the truth are facing escalating retaliation. They are surveilled, raided, harassed, assaulted and arrested for capturing the moments Empire would prefer to stay hidden.”[Writers against the War on Gaza]

JOURNALISM IS UNDER ATTACK!

[Where indicated pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall-VSB]

Source: http://vigilantsquirrelbrigade.blogspot.com/2026/01/from-left-independent-journalists-and.html