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July 22, 2025 – USA –
Prosecutors have dismissed felony rioting charges against two CityBeat Cincinnati journalists, reporter Madeline Fening and photography intern Lucas Griffith, who were arrested while covering a protest across the Roebling Bridge over the Ohio River. The demonstration, staged in support of Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian chaplain detained by ICE, temporarily closed the bridge between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky.
Fening and Griffith were among at least 13 people arrested after refusing to disperse when confronted by police. While the felony rioting charges were dropped with prejudice by a District Court judge, both remain facing misdemeanour charges, including failing to disperse, obstructing emergency responders, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
The ACLU of Kentucky, representing the journalists, praised the dismissal and emphasised the essential role of a free press. Staff attorney William Sharp stated, “A free press is critical to a functioning democracy, and those members of the press who, like our clients, merely cover a story enjoy the full protection of the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions to do so”.
The protest aimed to highlight Soliman’s detention following a routine check-in with ICE near Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Organisers marched across the Roebling Bridge holding a banner that read “Build Bridges, Not Walls” as a symbolic act of unity and support.
This incident follows a broader pattern of hostility toward journalists covering immigration and civil rights protests. Earlier in July, a Spanish-language journalist in Georgia was arrested while reporting on a separate protest, highlighting ongoing risks to press freedom across the nation.
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