US journalist punched, arrested

US journalist punched, arrested by officer outside Florida voting office

5pm - Nov. 1, 2004

MIAMI (AFP) - A sheriff's deputy tackled, punched and arrested a US
journalist for taking pictures of people waiting in line to cast early
ballots in West Palm Beach, local media reported.

A sheriff's spokesman said later the deputy was enforcing a new county
rule prohibiting reporters from interviewing or photographing voters
lined up outside the polls, the Palm Beach Post said.

The deputy Sunday tried to grab the camera of James Henry, a freelance
journalist who has written for The New York Times and The Washington
Post.

Henry, 54, ran across the pavement but was tackled by the deputy, who
pinned him to the ground, punched him in the back and handcuffed him,
according to the daily.

He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Palm Beach Supervisor of Elections Teresa LePore did not comment on the
incident or the new rule, which had not been previously announced.
LePore gained notoriety as the creator of the infamous butterfly ballot
that confused thousands of voters in the chaotic and controversial 2000
election.

Her counterpart from Leon County, Ion Sancho, expressed outrage at the
attempt to restrict reporters and photographers outside polling places,
saying it was a constitutional right, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Le Pore's office had not announced the new rule before the incident.

Election monitors say sheriff's deputies themselves broke the law on
Sunday by standing right outside polling offices while early voting was
going on.

"We are considering filing a lawsuit," said Reggie Mitchell, a civil
rights lawyer with the non-partisan Election Protection group that has
deployed thousands of electoral monitors to Florida.

He said the law prohibits police from standing in the immediate
vicinity of polling stations unless they are voting or called in to
handle a disturbance.

Mitchell said deputies challenged Election Protection volunteers who
were legally 15 meters (50 feet) away from the voting place.

Close to 20 percent of the 10 million voters in Florida already voted
ahead of Tuesday's elections, either by absentee ballot or in early
voting that started on October 18.

--- Agence France Presse ---