Max Blumenthal's Arrest Exposes the Limits of Press Freedom
Max Blumenthal's Arrest Exposes the Limits of Press Freedom
The Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal. (Wikimedia Commons)
Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal, a prominent journalistic critic of US policy
toward Venezuela, was arrested by DC police on Friday, October 25, in
connection with a protest at the Venezuelan embassy, and held incommunicado.
But if you rely on corporate media, or even leading press freedom groups,
you havent heard about this troubling encroachment on freedom of the press.
Blumenthal is a bestselling author whose work has appeared in such
publications as the New York Times, CJR, The Nation and Salon. DC police
arrested him at his home on a five-month-old arrest warrant, charging him
with simple assault for his attempt to deliver food to the besieged
Venezuelan embassy; he was held for two days, and for the first 36 hours was
not allowed to speak with a lawyer. (In an interview with FAIR, Blumenthal
noted that keeping arresteesgenerally poor and African-Americanfrom
speaking with lawyers or family is par for the course in the DC criminal
justice system.) As of this writing, there has been no mention of
Blumenthals arrest in outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post and
Reuters that constantly publish Venezuela-related content, or by the big
press freedom NGOs.
When freelance US journalist Cody Weddle was detained in Venezuela for 12
hours, it made headlines in the New York Times (3/6/19), Washington Post
(3/6/19), Miami Herald (3/6/19), USA Today (3/6/19), Guardian (3/6/19), UK
Telegraph (3/6/19), NPR (3/10/19), ABC (3/9/19) and Reuters (3/7/19).
Thats not exhaustive, but you get the picture.
In Weddles case, the human rights industry also responded immediately. Jose
Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch tweeted about Cody Weddles detention,
as did Reporters without Borders (RSF). The Committee to Protect Journalists
(CPJ) also put out a statement immediately (3/6/19). There has been nothing
from them about Blumenthal.
The two-hour detention of Univisions Jorge Ramos in Venezuela was likewise
big news. In fact, RSF was outraged that Cody Weddles detention happened
barely a week after the Ramos incident.
Nobody should have a problem with Weddles arrest or Ramos detention
getting the widespread attention they did. (The content in the reports about
Venezuela is a separate issue.) What should anger anybody who isnt consumed
with hypocrisy is the point Ben Norton, writing in Grayzone (10/28/19), made
about Blumenthals arrest:
If this had happened to a journalist in Venezuela, every Western human
rights NGO and news wire would be howling about Maduros authoritarianism.
It will be revealing to see how these same elements react to a clear-cut
case of political repression in their own backyard.
Blumenthals arrest is another example of the legal harassment of US
government critics, including WikiLeaks Julian Assange and whistleblower
Chelsea Manningwhose plights have similarly been neglected by Western media
and NGOs that claim to support press freedom (FAIR.org, 11/3/18, 4/1/19).
Several months ago, activists invited by the Venezuela government stayed in
the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC, for over a month until they were
finally evicted by police on May 24. The presence of the activists delayed a
takeover of the embassy by representatives of the Trump-appointed Venezuelan
government-in-exile led by Juan Guaidó. The majority of the worlds
governments do not recognize Guaidó; that was dramatically highlighted on
October 17 when Venezuelas was voted onto the UN Human Rights Council
despite US lobbying (i.e., bribes and threats).
Nevertheless, Trumps recognition of Guaidó in January 2019 was the excuse
for intensifying economic sanctions that had already killed thousands of
people by the end of 2018. (Incidentally, Jorge Ramos two-hour detention
also received more Western media attention than the study showing the
already-lethal impact of Trumps sanctionsFAIR.org, 6/14/19).
With the complicity of DC police, Guaidó supporters tried to block food from
being delivered to the embassy during the standoff with the activists. At
one point, 78-year-old Jesse Jackson Sr. had to scuffle with Guaidó
supporters to deliver food. The DC police were clearly intent on doing as
little as possible, even with an elderly, high-profile visitor trying to
make a delivery. Former Green Party candidate Ajamu Baraka (age 66) was
forced to act as Jacksons bodyguard, thanks to the aggression of Guaidó
supporters and the inaction of DC police.
Norton reported:
Court documents indicate the false charge of simple assault stems from
Blumenthals participation in a delivery of food and sanitary supplies to
peace activists and journalists inside the Venezuelan embassy on May 8,
2019.
Others attempting to deliver food were hit with charges months ago. Activist
Ben Rubenstein and Veterans for Peace president Gary Condon (age 72) were
beaten by police during the standoff for trying to toss a cucumber to
activists inside the embassy. In fact, the warrant against Blumenthal was
months old, and apparently initially rejected. Blumenthal explained:
If the government had at least told me I had a warrant I could have
voluntarily surrendered and appeared at my own arraignment
. Instead, the
federal government essentially enlisted the DC police to SWAT me, ensuring
that I would be subjected to an early morning raid and then languish in
prison for days without even the ability to call an attorney.
The lack of coverage of his arrest is totally consistent with media
coverage of the siege of the Venezuelan embassy, Blumenthal told FAIR. The
violence, racism, sexism of the Venezuelan oppositionnone of it was
reported in the mainstream US press. Aside from alternative outlets like
Democracy Now! (10/30/19) and the World Socialist Website (10/30/19), one
had to turn to Russian state media to find coverage of Blumenthals arrest.
A Sputnik article (10/30/19) about the case cited damaging exposés Grayzone
has published about Guaidó inner circle, one of which recently led to the
resignation of right-wing economist Ricardo Hausmann from Guaidós shadow
administration.
Heres an idea for media outlets and NGOs concerned about the appeal of
Russian public relations efforts: start doing your jobs by holding your own
authoritarian politicians and politicized police forces to account.
Joe Emersberger /