Reporter arrested during DeWine news conference
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EAST PALESTINE, Ohio - A TV reporter from NewsNation was pushed to the ground and arrested Wednesday during a news conference about the lifting of the evacuation order caused by Friday’s train derailment in East Palestine.
NewsNation video shows reporter Evan Lambert of Washington, D.C., being arrested in the gymnasium of the school where Gov. Mike DeWine was giving an update on the accident.
The network said Lambert was giving a live report when he was told by law enforcement to be quiet because DeWine was speaking. Lambert finished the live report, but then was asked by authorities to leave.
He was arrested shortly afterward.
East Palestine police charged Lambert with resisting arrest and criminal trespassing, according to documents at Columbiana County Municipal Court in Lisbon. The charges are misdemeanors of the second and fourth degree.
Lambert was taken to the Columbiana County jail and released several hours later after posing $750 bond, according to court documents. He is scheduled for arraignment at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 23.
DeWine said he did not condone the arrest.
The Youngstown Press Club, in a statement Thursday, “strongly condemns the arrest” of Lambert.
“While we appreciate the pressure that the attention has put on local officials, particularly first responders, as they attempt to address the derailment and work to get the community back to normal, Lambert’s arrest represents an egregious overreaction by law enforcement that should not happen in an America governed by the First Amendment.”