Toro
Diamond Member
On the July 4th weekend nonetheless.
Field Notes - Photographer detained by police, BP employee near refinery
I imagine that this is because they don't want al-Qaeda terrorists further understanding potential targets, but this to me seems to be very much counter to freedom of, well, pretty much everything America stands for.
A photographer taking pictures of a BP refinery in Texas was detained by a BP security official, local police and a man who said he was from the Department of Homeland Security, according to ProPublica, a non-profit news organization in the U.S.
The photographer, Lance Rosenfield, said he was confronted by the officials shortly after arriving in Texas City, Texas, to work on a story that is part of an ongoing collaboration between PBS and ProPublica.
Rosenfield was released after officials looked through the pictures he had taken and took down his date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information, the photographer said. The information was turned over to the BP security guard who said this was standard procedure, ProPublica quoted Rosenfield as saying.
Rosenfield, a Texas-based freelance photographer, said he was followed by a BP employee after taking a picture on a public road near the refinery, and then cornered by two police cars at a gas station. The officials told Rosenfield they had the right to look at the pictures taken near the refinery and if he did not comply he would be "taken in," the photographer said according to ProPublica.
Field Notes - Photographer detained by police, BP employee near refinery
I imagine that this is because they don't want al-Qaeda terrorists further understanding potential targets, but this to me seems to be very much counter to freedom of, well, pretty much everything America stands for.