III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 622 

Condemning attacks against members of the media and reaffirming the centrality of a free and independent press and peaceful assembly to the 

health of democracy in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 15, 2020 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mr. SANDERS, Mr. COONS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CASEY, and 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR)) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning attacks against members of the media and reaffirming the centrality of a free and independent press 

and peaceful assembly to the health of democracy in 

the United States. 

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 

United States provides the basis of the freedom of the 

press and peaceful assembly in the United States, stating 

‘‘Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom 

of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people 

peaceably to assemble . . .’’; 

Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who recognized the importance 

of the press in a constitutional republic, wisely declared, 


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•SRES 622 IS 

‘‘. . . were it left to me to decide whether we should have 

a government without newspapers, or newspapers without 

a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer 

the latter.’’; 

Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris on December 10, 

1948, states, ‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold 

opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.’’; 

Whereas, on December 18, 2013, the United Nations General 

Assembly adopted United Nations General Assembly Resolution 163 (2013) on the safety of journalists and the 

issue of impunity, which unequivocally condemns, in both 

conflict and nonconflict situations, all attacks on and violence against journalists and media workers, including 

torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation and harassment; 

Whereas, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a 

nonpartisan website led by the Freedom of the Press 

Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists, 

not less than 328 press freedom violations by local and 

State authorities have been reported by journalists across 

the United States in the course of covering the demonstrations associated with the death of George Floyd, a 

Black man, while he was in Minneapolis police custody; 

Whereas Kirstin McCudden, managing editor of the U.S. 

Press Freedom Tracker, described the uptick in reports 

of violations of freedom of the press in the United States 

between May 25 and June 3, 2020, as ‘‘unprecedented in 

scope without a doubt.’’; 


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•SRES 622 IS 

Whereas Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to 

Protect Journalists, wrote that ‘‘[c]overing protests and 

demonstrations is vital, both in order to inform the public 

about the demands of the protesters and also to hold officials accountable.’’; and 

Whereas more than 100 media and press freedom organizations, led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the 

Press, signed a letter demanding that law enforcement 

officers immediately stop attacks against credentialed, 

clearly identifiable journalists and stressed that law enforcement officers do not have legal immunity when they 

violate clearly established rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms its commitment to the freedom of 

3 the press and peaceful assembly as pillars of democ4 racy in the United States; 

5 (2) condemns in the strongest terms violence 

6 committed against people of the United States exer7 cising their right to free speech and peaceful assem8 bly, including journalists and members of the media, 

9 whether that violence is committed by government 

10 officials or anyone else; 

11 (3) condemns in the strongest terms actions on 

12 the part of any local, State, or Federal authorities 

13 to limit, restrict, or in any way prevent members of 

14 the media from— 


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1 (A) performing their jobs, which contribute 

2 to the distribution of vital information; 

3 (B) promoting government accountability; 

4 (C) defending democratic activity; and 

5 (D) strengthening civil society; 

6 (4) recognizes the bravery and courage of the 

7 journalists of the United States, foreign journalists, 

8 and members of the media who put their own safety 

9 at risk in order to cover the demonstrations associ10 ated with the death of George Floyd and bring infor11 mation to the people of the United States and the 

12 world; 

13 (5) calls on local, State, and Federal authorities 

14 to— 

15 (A) take steps to ensure that members of 

16 the media are able to safely perform their du17 ties without interference, censorship, threats of 

18 violence, or physical harm; and 

19 (B) explicitly exempt the news media from 

20 any curfew regulations; and 

21 (6) calls on local, State, and Federal authorities 

22 and officials to— 

23 (A) identify and thoroughly investigate in24 stances in which— 


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1 (i) government officials or members of 

2 police forces have restricted media access 

3 to the demonstrations associated with the 

4 death of George Floyd; or 

5 (ii) violence was perpetrated against 

6 members of the media during those dem7 onstrations; and 

8 (B) ensure that the perpetrators of vio9 lence against the media are appropriately dis10 ciplined and, if appropriate, charged. 

Æ 


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