A local reporter left a Vanderbilt University student protest that he was covering in handcuffs on Tuesday afternoon. Campus police arrested Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka, as students accused the administration of suppressing pro-Palestinian voices on campus.
In a video of the arrest recorded by a fellow Nashville Scene journalist, police say that Motycka was under arrest for trespassing after receiving a warning. Motycka says that wasn’t the case.
“I wasn’t warned today that I would be taken off this campus in handcuffs. I was here interviewing students. I was here witnessing a protest and now it’s become about me, I guess,” Motycka said.
Scene reporter Eli Motycka (@ejmotycka) was arrested by Vanderbilt police while reporting on student protests. pic.twitter.com/5HPcRHtI7H
— Nashville Scene (@NashvilleScene) March 26, 2024
In a statement to WPLN News, Vanderbilt University says that Motycka was attempting to enter Kirkland Hall, an administrative building that has been closed to the public for weeks due to ongoing construction.
“He was informed by university police that the building was closed and was asked to leave several times. After repeated attempts to enter the building, he was detained,” the statement said.
Kirkland Hall was the location of a sit-in by Vanderbilt students Tuesday. Dozens inside and outside the building called for the university to allow students to vote on a student government amendment that would prevent its funds from going to companies seen as complicit to Palestinian occupation.
Vanderbilt University said it began issuing interim suspensions as the protest continued.
“After the students refused to leave, staff made them aware their actions violated university policy and that they would be subject to disciplinary action. After several hours, the university began issuing interim suspensions,” the statement said.
The students chanted “fascists” at Vanderbilt police as they detained the reporter.
Nearly three hours later, Nashville Scene Editor-in-Chief Patrick Rodgers confirmed on social media that Motycka had been released without charges.
Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk told reporters through a spokesperson Tuesday afternoon "This office will not prosecute a reporter for peacefully doing his or her job."
— d. patrick rodgers (@dpatrickrodgers) March 26, 2024
In a statement, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office said that it “will not prosecute a reporter for peacefully doing his or her job.”
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