Media

Officials Drop Charges Against NewsNation Reporter Who Was Arrested While Covering Train Derailment Story

[Screenshot/YouTube/NewsNation]

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
Font Size:

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has dropped charges against NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert, who officials arrested as he covered the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Yost’s office announced Wednesday.

Police arrested Lambert at a Feb. 9 press conference held by Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in East Palestine. Officers told the reporter to stop recording the event and leave the premises. Officials alleged that Lambert was being too loud during his livestream of the conference, and physically pushed him out of the gymnasium and handcuffed him after he disobeyed their orders to leave.

Officials charged the reporter with criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. Yost’s office investigated the case and determined that Lambert was “lawfully present” at the press conference.

“My office has reviewed the relevant video and documentary evidence, and is dismissing the charges against Evan Lambert as unsupported by sufficient evidence,” Yost announced Wednesday, according to his office’s press release. “While journalists could conceivably be subject to criminal charges for trespassing in some situations, this incident is not one of them. The reporter was lawfully present at a press conference called by the Governor of the state. His conduct was consistent with the purpose of the event and his role as a reporter.”

Yost said arresting a journalist is a “serious matter” and a clear violation of Ohio’s state constitution, according to the press release. (RELATED: Cable News Reporter Arrested While Covering Governor’s Press Release)

Lambert released a statement Wednesday thanking the public and the offices of Yost and DeWine for dropping the charges after his “unjust and illegal arrest.”

“It is by design that reporters aren’t meant to become the story. In my case, I truly did not choose this, and anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I do not want nor relish in any of this extra attention,” Lambert said. “To all who have shared the video of the harassment, then excessive force, then unjust and illegal arrest, I thank you.”

Recent footage showed Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr. of the Ohio State Highway Patrol pushing Lambert in the chest with one hand. He later insisted he felt threatened by Lambert’s alleged aggressive advances toward him.

The NewsNation reporter was released on bond after spending five hours behind bars, CBS News previously reported. He denounced his arrest by defending his right to cover the event.

“No journalist expects to be arrested when you’re doing your job, and I think that’s really important that that doesn’t happen in our country,” he said.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel