{ "title": "Search in the United States, stage: punish", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?country=US&stage=punish&view=cards", "filters": { "country": "US", "stage": "punish", "view": "cards" }, "sort": "date", "count": 18, "page": 1, "pages": 1, "per_page": 50, "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.", "facets": { "country": [ { "value": "US", "label": "United States", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } } ], "continent": [ { "value": "north-america", "label": "North America" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "label": "Surveillance and subpoenas", "count": 11 }, { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 7 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 7 }, { "value": "access_ban", "label": "Access bans", "count": 2 } ], "stage": [ { "value": "punish", "label": "Punish", "count": 18 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 14 }, { "value": "municipal", "label": "Municipal", "count": 3 }, { "value": "state_or_province", "label": "State or province", "count": 1 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 8 }, { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 4 }, { "value": "unknown", "label": "Unknown", "count": 3 }, { "value": "upheld", "label": "Upheld by a court", "count": 3 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "barack-obama", "label": "Barack Obama" }, { "value": "donald-trump", "label": "Donald Trump" }, { "value": "dwight-d-eisenhower", "label": "Dwight D. Eisenhower" }, { "value": "george-w-bush", "label": "George W. Bush" }, { "value": "jacob-frey", "label": "Jacob Frey" }, { "value": "joe-biden", "label": "Joe Biden" }, { "value": "karen-bass", "label": "Karen Bass" }, { "value": "laura-kelly", "label": "Laura Kelly" }, { "value": "richard-nixon", "label": "Richard Nixon" }, { "value": "tim-walz", "label": "Tim Walz" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 8 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 7 }, { "value": "2000s", "label": "2000s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1960s", "label": "1960s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1950s", "label": "1950s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1955", "label": "1955", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1969", "label": "1969", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2005", "label": "2005", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2010", "label": "2010", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2014", "label": "2014", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2019", "label": "2019", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 3 }, { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 1 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 18 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2026-cbp-seizes-grayzone-editor-phones-airport", "title": "Customs officers seize Grayzone editor's phones at Virginia airport over Iran reporting", "occurred_on": "2026-07-10", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-VA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "Blumenthal had traveled to and reported from Iran, a country CBP's own cited policy treats as grounds for additional scrutiny of travelers who have worked in or visited it.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-07-17", "outcome_note": "Customs returned Blumenthal's phones after he sued; litigation continued into discovery over possible data extraction.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal at Washington Dulles Airport, questioned him about his reporting trips to Iran, and seized both of his phones without his consent; the phones were returned a week later after he sued.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-cbp-seizes-grayzone-editor-phones-airport" }, { "slug": "2025-australian-journalist-shot-rubber-bullet-los-angeles", "title": "Officer shoots Australian journalist with rubber bullet during Los Angeles immigration protests", "occurred_on": "2025-06-09", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-CA", "level": "municipal", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "karen-bass", "leader_name": "Karen Bass", "issue_of_the_day": "The protests followed a series of federal immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area in early June 2025, which drew large crowds and a heavy police and, later, National Guard presence downtown.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "No investigation or disciplinary outcome regarding the officer who fired at Tomasi was reported in the source reviewed.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A law enforcement officer shot Nine News Australia correspondent Lauren Tomasi with a rubber bullet while she was reporting live from a Los Angeles protest against federal immigration raids, prompting Australia's prime minister to call the incident unacceptable and raise it with the U.S. government.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-australian-journalist-shot-rubber-bullet-los-angeles" }, { "slug": "2023-marion-county-record-raid-kansas", "title": "Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in Kansas", "occurred_on": "2023-08-11", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-KS", "level": "municipal", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "laura-kelly", "leader_name": "Laura Kelly", "issue_of_the_day": "The Record had been investigating the driving record of local restaurant owner Kari Newell, who had accused the paper of accessing her personal information without authorization, the claim the search warrant cited as its basis.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-08-05", "outcome_note": "Special prosecutors found no evidence Record reporters had committed a crime and moved to charge former police chief Gideon Cody.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Police in Marion, Kansas, led by Chief Gideon Cody, raided the Marion County Record's newsroom and publisher Eric Meyer's home, seizing computers, phones and files, on a warrant tied to an identity-theft investigation. The paper's 98-year-old co-owner, Joan Meyer, died the next day; a special prosecutor later found no evidence the paper had committed a crime.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-marion-county-record-raid-kansas" }, { "slug": "2021-fbi-raids-project-veritas-founder-okeefe", "title": "FBI raids Project Veritas founder's home over Ashley Biden diary investigation", "occurred_on": "2021-11-06", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-NY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "joe-biden", "leader_name": "Joe Biden", "issue_of_the_day": "Project Veritas had obtained and reported on a diary purportedly belonging to Ashley Biden during the 2020 campaign; federal prosecutors were investigating how the diary had been obtained and transported across state lines.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "No charges were ever filed against O'Keefe; a court later allowed prosecutors to review the seized phones.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "FBI agents raided Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe's New York home and seized his phones as part of an investigation into the alleged theft of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden, President Biden's daughter, which the group had reported on; O'Keefe was never charged.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-fbi-raids-project-veritas-founder-okeefe" }, { "slug": "2021-doj-bans-seizing-reporters-records-garland", "title": "Justice Department bars seizing reporters' phone and email records", "occurred_on": "2021-07-19", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "joe-biden", "leader_name": "Joe Biden", "issue_of_the_day": "In mid-2021, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN separately disclosed that the Justice Department had secretly seized their reporters' phone and email records years earlier while investigating leaks, including of information about contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2025-04-25", "outcome_note": "Attorney General Bondi rescinded these protections in April 2025, restoring the department's earlier discretionary balancing test.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After it came to light that the Trump-era Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone and email records of reporters at The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a policy barring prosecutors from using subpoenas or other compulsory process against journalists in leak investigations.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-doj-bans-seizing-reporters-records-garland" }, { "slug": "2020-federal-officers-target-journalists-portland-injunction", "title": "Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop", "occurred_on": "2020-07-23", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-OR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "The federal government sent Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland in July 2020 to protect a federal courthouse during nightly protests that followed George Floyd's killing; officers' use of force against bystanders, including identified journalists, prompted the lawsuit.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2020-07-23", "outcome_note": "On July 23, 2020, the court ordered federal agents to stop dispersing, arresting or using force against identified journalists and legal observers; the order was later extended.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After federal officers deployed to Portland used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on journalists and legal observers covering protests, the American Civil Liberties Union sued, and a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring officers from dispersing, arresting or using force against clearly identified press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-federal-officers-target-journalists-portland-injunction" }, { "slug": "2020-minneapolis-police-blind-photojournalist-linda-tirado", "title": "Minneapolis police projectile permanently blinds photojournalist Linda Tirado", "occurred_on": "2020-05-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-MN", "level": "municipal", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "jacob-frey", "leader_name": "Jacob Frey", "issue_of_the_day": "Tirado was documenting the police response to protests over George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis when she was struck; a federal judge later found her case was one of numerous similar reports of journalists being hit by less-lethal munitions during the same unrest.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2022-05-26", "outcome_note": "The city paid $600,000 in a 2022 settlement while continuing to deny that an identified officer fired the projectile.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado was struck in the face by a less-lethal round fired by Minneapolis police while covering protests over George Floyd's killing, permanently blinding her in one eye; the city settled her lawsuit for $600,000 in 2022 while continuing to deny an officer had fired the shot.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-minneapolis-police-blind-photojournalist-linda-tirado" }, { "slug": "2020-minnesota-state-patrol-arrests-cnn-crew-minneapolis", "title": "Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis", "occurred_on": "2020-05-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-MN", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "tim-walz", "leader_name": "Tim Walz", "issue_of_the_day": "Protests in Minneapolis followed the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jimenez's crew was reporting live on the unrest and the state's response near the site of the killing when troopers moved to clear the area at dawn on May 29.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2020-05-29", "outcome_note": "The crew was released within about ninety minutes and Governor Walz apologized the same day, calling the arrest his own failure.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Minnesota State Patrol troopers arrested CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew on live television while they covered protests after the police killing of George Floyd. Officers gave no reason before handcuffing the three men; Governor Tim Walz apologized hours later and called the arrest a failure of the state's own procedures.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-minnesota-state-patrol-arrests-cnn-crew-minneapolis" }, { "slug": "2019-us-assange-espionage-act-indictment", "title": "United States indicts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act", "occurred_on": "2019-05-23", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "WikiLeaks' 2010 publication of leaked United States military reports and diplomatic cables supplied by Chelsea Manning.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-06-25", "outcome_note": "Assange spent five years in a British prison fighting extradition before a June 2024 plea deal: he pleaded guilty to one count, was sentenced to time served, and was released.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The United States indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 17 counts under the Espionage Act over the 2010 publication of leaked military and diplomatic files, charges press-freedom groups said could expose ordinary national-security journalism to prosecution.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-us-assange-espionage-act-indictment" }, { "slug": "2014-us-james-risen-subpoena-jeffrey-sterling", "title": "United States pursues New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony for years before dropping its demand for his source", "occurred_on": "2014-10-17", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "A 2006 book account of a botched CIA operation meant to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons program.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2014-10-17", "outcome_note": "After the Supreme Court declined to hear Risen's appeal, the Justice Department chose not to compel his testimony or the identity of his source; Sterling was convicted without it.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "For years, federal prosecutors sought New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony identifying a confidential source in a CIA leak case; the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, but Attorney General Eric Holder ultimately chose not to force him to testify or name the source.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2014-us-james-risen-subpoena-jeffrey-sterling" }, { "slug": "2013-obama-doj-charges-eight-under-espionage-act", "title": "United States: Espionage Act prosecutions of sources for leaks to the press, 2009 to 2013", "occurred_on": "2013-10-10", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The record documents the prosecutions as a group; the outcome of each case is not recorded here.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organization in New York that documents cases of journalists imprisoned or killed worldwide, published on October 10, 2013, found that since 2009 the United States Department of Justice had brought felony charges against six government employees and two contractors, including Edward Snowden, accused of leaking classified information to the press. The charges were brought under the Espionage Act, a 1917 United States law against disclosing defence information, during the presidency of Barack Obama. The Project On Government Oversight, a United States non-profit that investigates the federal government, said the department under Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder \"has used it more than all prior administrations combined.\"", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-obama-doj-charges-eight-under-espionage-act" }, { "slug": "2013-us-doj-names-fox-reporter-co-conspirator", "title": "United States search warrant names Fox News reporter James Rosen a possible co-conspirator in a leak case", "occurred_on": "2013-05-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "A 2009 Fox News report, sourced to a State Department analyst, forecasting North Korea's response to new United Nations sanctions.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2013-07-12", "outcome_note": "The warrant was not withdrawn from the record; Kim pleaded guilty in 2014 and Rosen was never charged. Holder's July 2013 guidelines later restricted subpoenas naming reporters as suspects.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A 2010 FBI search-warrant affidavit, unsealed in 2013, described Fox News reporter James Rosen as a possible co-conspirator in violating the Espionage Act because he sought classified information from a State Department analyst, and used that theory to obtain his private emails.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-us-doj-names-fox-reporter-co-conspirator" }, { "slug": "2013-us-doj-seizes-ap-phone-records", "title": "United States Justice Department secretly seizes two months of Associated Press phone records", "occurred_on": "2013-05-13", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "A May 2012 AP report on a foiled al-Qaeda bomb plot aimed at a U.S.-bound airplane, which the government said compromised an intelligence source.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2013-07-12", "outcome_note": "The records were not returned and no journalist or source was charged; the Justice Department issued revised media-subpoena guidelines on July 12, 2013, after the disclosure.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records from more than 20 Associated Press phone lines during a leak investigation, notifying the news agency only after the fact; AP called the scope of the seizure unjustified.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-us-doj-seizes-ap-phone-records" }, { "slug": "2012-us-john-kiriakou-espionage-act-cia-torture-source", "title": "United States prosecutes former CIA officer John Kiriakou under the Espionage Act for identifying a covert colleague to a journalist", "occurred_on": "2013-01-25", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "Public disclosure of the CIA's post-September 11 interrogation program, including its use of waterboarding.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2015-02-03", "outcome_note": "Kiriakou served his full 30-month sentence under the plea agreement and was released in February 2015; no CIA interrogation-program official faced comparable charges.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who in 2007 was the first CIA officer to publicly describe the agency's waterboarding of a detainee, pleaded guilty to identifying a covert colleague to a journalist and was sentenced under the Espionage Act to 30 months in prison.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2012-us-john-kiriakou-espionage-act-cia-torture-source" }, { "slug": "2010-us-chelsea-manning-espionage-act-wikileaks", "title": "United States charges Army analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act for leaking to WikiLeaks", "occurred_on": "2010-07-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "United States conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and detainee treatment, including the CIA's interrogation program.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2017-01-17", "outcome_note": "Manning's convictions were not overturned, but President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence in January 2017 and she was released that May.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The U.S. Army charged intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act, a 1917 law against disclosing defense information, after she gave WikiLeaks, a website that publishes leaked documents, a large archive of military and diplomatic files that news organizations later published.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2010-us-chelsea-manning-espionage-act-wikileaks" }, { "slug": "2005-us-judith-miller-jailed-plame-source", "title": "New York Times reporter Judith Miller jailed for refusing to name a confidential source in the Valerie Plame affair", "occurred_on": "2005-07-06", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "george-w-bush", "leader_name": "George W. Bush", "issue_of_the_day": "The Bush administration's case for the 2003 Iraq War and the public dispute over former ambassador Joseph Wilson's contrary account of Iraqi uranium claims.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "2005-09-29", "outcome_note": "Courts upheld the contempt order and subpoena; Miller served 85 days before her source freed her to testify, and prosecutors later convicted Libby of perjury.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A federal judge jailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller for contempt after she refused to tell a grand jury who told her the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, part of a special counsel's investigation into the leak.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2005-us-judith-miller-jailed-plame-source" }, { "slug": "1972-us-branzburg-v-hayes-reporters-privilege", "title": "United States Supreme Court rules reporters have no privilege to refuse grand jury subpoenas", "occurred_on": "1969-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "richard-nixon", "leader_name": "Richard Nixon", "issue_of_the_day": "Branzburg's articles on drug use and manufacturing drew the attention of Kentucky prosecutors, who wanted him to identify the people he had described witnessing commit the underlying offenses.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1972-06-29", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court upheld the grand jury's power to compel Branzburg's testimony 5 to 4, finding no First Amendment reporter's privilege.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1960s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Louisville Courier-Journal reporter Paul Branzburg was subpoenaed by a Kentucky grand jury, a body that investigates possible crimes, after he wrote about drug users he had observed. The Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment gives reporters no special right to withhold sources or information from a grand jury.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-us-branzburg-v-hayes-reporters-privilege" }, { "slug": "1955-us-eastland-subcommittee-subpoenas-new-york-times", "title": "United States Senate panel subpoenas dozens of New York Times journalists over Communist ties", "occurred_on": "1955-11-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "dwight-d-eisenhower", "leader_name": "Dwight D. Eisenhower", "issue_of_the_day": "Senator Eastland's subcommittee was investigating what it described as Communist Party influence in American newsrooms and broadcasting during the Cold War, and treated past party membership among journalists as grounds for scrutiny.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1956-12-01", "outcome_note": "The dismissals and resignations at The New York Times and other papers were not reversed; the paper said at year's end it had made no further dismissals beyond the initial cases.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1950s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, led by Senator James Eastland, issued 35 subpoenas over past or present Communist Party ties in the press, and 26 of them went to New York Times staff. The newspaper protested but several employees who would not answer were fired or forced to resign.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1955-us-eastland-subcommittee-subpoenas-new-york-times" } ], "other_results": [], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/search?country=US&stage=punish&view=cards&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.json?country=US&stage=punish&view=cards", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/search.md?country=US&stage=punish&view=cards" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }