Judge: Show Evidence to Iowa Reporter Arrested at Protest

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has ruled that prosecutors must turn over body-camera footage and other material to a Des Moines Register reporter who was arrested while covering a protest in May.

Judge Christopher Kemp on Monday ordered the Polk County Attorney’s Office to give body-cam footage and reports to reporter Andrea Sahouri by the next court date, which hasn’t been scheduled.

Sahouri was arrested May 31 while covering a protest near a Des Moines shopping mall, less than a week after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Prosecutors argued authorities didn’t need to provide evidence because the charges are misdemeanors and such cases are supposed to be handled quickly and inexpensively.