The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, 1900 to today

The record

Incidents in the United States, stage: punish, outcome reversed

Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
CountryUnited States, RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180
ContinentNorth America
TacticSurveillance and subpoenas 4Detention and violence 4Secrets and espionage laws 3Access bans 2
StagePunish 8
OutcomeReversed 8
LevelNational 6Municipal 1State or province 1
Head of governmentBarack ObamaDonald TrumpJoe BidenLaura KellyTim Walz

8 incidents match this view.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
10 July 2026Customs officers seize Grayzone editor's phones at Virginia airport over Iran reportingUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Surveillance and subpoenasDonald TrumpReversed (17 July 2026)
11 August 2023Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in KansasUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Surveillance and subpoenasLaura KellyReversed (5 August 2024)
19 July 2021Justice Department bars seizing reporters' phone and email recordsUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Surveillance and subpoenasJoe BidenReversed (25 April 2025)
23 July 2020Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stopUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Access bansDonald TrumpReversed (23 July 2020)
29 May 2020Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in MinneapolisUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Detention and violenceTim WalzReversed (29 May 2020)
23 May 2019United States indicts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage ActUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsDonald TrumpReversed (25 June 2024)
17 October 2014United States pursues New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony for years before dropping its demand for his sourceUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Surveillance and subpoenasBarack ObamaReversed (17 October 2014)
5 July 2010United States charges Army analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act for leaking to WikiLeaksUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsBarack ObamaReversed (17 January 2017)
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