Minnesota State Patrol officers arrested CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and two members of his crew while they were broadcasting live from protests in Minneapolis on Friday morning’s “New Day.”
Jimenez, who was covering the demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, was placed in handcuffs and taken away just after 5 a.m. local time after politely telling officers the crew would go wherever they wanted them.
Upon his release, Jimenez suggested there’d been “a little bit of confusion” from police about where the crew was allowed to be, with everyone “on edge” because of the destruction that has been caused to the city.
Check out Jimenez’s comments here:
Minnesota State Patrol later posted on Twitter that the CNN crew was released “once they were confirmed to be members of the media.”
“This is not accurate ― our CNN crew identified themselves, on live television, immediately as journalists,” the network said in a statement on Twitter:
Floyd, a Black man, died in Minneapolis on Monday after a police officer knelt on his neck, sparking protests that have now spread nationwide.