America has always tried to silence the voices of people who speak against systemic racism in the country. On Friday morning, a CNN crew was arrested during the live coverage of the protests that are being held to demand justice for George Floyd’s death.
Source: CNN
The crew was released an hour later. What’s more terrifying is that CNN’s correspondent Omar Jimenez reported that his mother and grandmother were watching the live coverage while he, along with his producer and photojournalist was arrested. Just when you think the US police system cannot get any worse, it comes back with a new low.
“As you can imagine, they both were watching on-air as this was happening and so in the time I did not have my phone and was being transported to the public safety building downtown, my mom, as I found out later, was calling every single person on the planet basically trying to figure out where I was going,” Jimenez said.
CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker had to carry out the difficult task of informing Jimenez’s mother about her son’s arrest. He later called it “the most important call of my life for me”.
After getting out, Jimenez narrated that his grandmother was also arrested during the civil rights movement. He said, “She looked at me, almost saying it as a badge of honor, for sticking up for and standing your ground. I’m thankful to say we were able to do that by doing our constitutionally protected job. At the end of the day there were a lot of scary moments, even more so for my friends and families and loved ones watching what was happening.”
Watch the full video here: