A reporter was arrested in West Virginia Tuesday after reportedly “yelling questions” at top Trump administration officials and for “aggressively breaching” security.
Dan Heyman, a reporter for Public News Service, was detained Tuesday night at an event discussing the opioid epidemic with Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price and White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway. Heyman says he was “trying to do my job,” attempting to get an answer from Price if victims of domestic abuse will be covered under the new health care proposal, reports USA Today.
Security handcuffed Heyman at the West Virginia State Capitol and took him to jail on misdemeanor charges, where he posted a $5,000 bond. The charge carries a penalty of up to six months in prison and a $100 fine.
“The above defendant was aggressively breaching the secret service agents to the point where the agents were forced to remove him a couple of times from the area walking up the hallway in the main building of the Capitol,” says the complaint, according to USA Today. “The defendant was causing a disturbance at Ms. Conway and Secretary Price.”
Heyman says he followed Price and Conway through the halls, shouting questions and holding out his phone which was recording. He told reporters at a news conference Tuesday, posted by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, his arrest sets a “terrible example” for other journalists.
“First time I’ve ever been arrested for asking a question,” Heyman said during the news conference, according to The Hill. “First time I’ve ever heard of someone getting arrested for asking a question. It’s dreadful. This is my job, this is what I’m supposed to do.”
Price and Conway were at the state capitol discussing the opioid epidemic, which continues to ravage West Virginia. (RELATED: White House To Effectively Kill Office Leading Fight Against Opioids)
Heroin overdose deaths in the state increased by 20 percent between 2014 and 2015. Deaths from synthetic opioids, which include fentanyl, increased by 76 percent over the same period.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will address the opioid crisis Thursday in a speech at the DEA360 Heroin and Opioid Response Summit in Charleston, W.Va.
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