U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

Five reporters had weapons drawn on them and were held by security at the Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, California, according to published reports, after they attempted to enter to cover an event on Aug. 17, 2026. The journalists, invited to cover the groundbreaking of a new training center, included Jarrod Zinn of KEYT-TV, two unidentified reporters from the online outlet Noozhawk and unidentified reporters for the television station KSBY and the Santa Maria Times newspaper.

Journalists for several major news outlets had their requests for credentials to cover a Group of 20 summit in Asheville, North Carolina, denied without explanation by the Treasury Department in August 2026. Finance ministers, central bank governors and other senior officials from the world’s largest economies gathered from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 to discuss issues ranging from global market volatility and inflation to the U.S.-Iran war.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom, Welcome back to your newsletter around press freedom violations in the United States as captured by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a project by FPF. Access to the president’s Truth Social posts, where he routinely makes official government announcements, should be equal to all.

After JB Nicholas reported on a pickup truck that struck and seriously injured a cyclist in Malone, New York, three police officers knocked on his door just after midnight on Aug. 2, 2026, and told him to stop contacting the driver’s family. “The family that you’re messaging, that was involved in the accident,” a police sergeant told him, according to body camera footage.

Was the journalist targeted? Yes Videographer Kip Ebanks had his camera shoved by a passerby, jamming it into his face while he was filming a Newsmax report in Los Angeles, California, on July 30, 2026. Newsmax correspondent Joe Moeller recounted the incident in a news segment, saying that he and a photographer went to the city’s Skid Row neighborhood to report on animal abuse and homelessness in the area.

Independent photojournalist Steven Berumen was shoved by Department of Homeland Security officers during a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 9, 2026. The protest was held outside the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being confined. Regular demonstrations against immigration raids have taken place in and around LA since June 2025.

Wilmer Solano Dávila, a Venezuelan journalist, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection during a traffic stop in Miami Beach, Florida, on July 26, 2026. Solano entered the United States legally on a journalist visa in January 2015 and applied for asylum later that year, El Nuevo Herald reported. He had a valid work permit and driver’s license, a pending asylum case and an immigration court hearing scheduled for Aug.

Upon replacing Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security, Markwayne Mullin joined President Donald Trump in taking steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Mullin’s efforts in this regularly updated report. Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more. This article was first published on Aug. 5, 2026.

Independent journalist Aaron Johnson was pushed down by police while filming a law enforcement action in St. Paul, Minnesota, on July 14, 2026, causing minor injuries and smashing his camera. Johnson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was headed to interview residents about an upcoming encampment eviction when he saw a large police presence. Officers, including a K-9 unit and some carrying rifles, were searching for a man who had fled on foot after a traffic stop.

Dear Friend of Press Freedom, Welcome back to your newsletter around press freedom violations in the United States as captured by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a project by Freedom of the Press Foundation. Since taking office just 18 months ago, President Donald Trump and his Department of Justice have issued 15 subpoenas and other legal orders to journalists or news outlets, the most of the three administrations we’ve tracked. Nearly all of those orders have been related to leak investigations.