#JournalismIsNotACrime: Jenni Monet Embedded & Arrested at Standing Rock

Sarika D. Mehta » Podcast

Jenni Monet’s mugshot, care of Morton County Sheriff’s Department

The last time I talked about the protests at Standing Rock, ND, there was a victory of sorts: the Army Corps of Engineers had denied easement to build the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock and intended to reroute. That was back in early December of 2016.

On February 1st, there was a raid of arresting protesters at Standing Rock by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department. While reporting for Indian Country Media Network and the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal, journalist Jenni Monet found herself arrested among the protesters, despite showing her press credentials and has been charged with criminal trespassing and rioting. The charges have not yet been dropped.

For Intersections Radio (first episode after my baby was born!), I spoke with Jenni on Feb. 6th, five days after her arrest and just a few days before the Army Corps of Engineers granted easement to build the pipeline, and before the evacuation announcements. We talked about her arrest and how this affects freedom of press, becoming the subject of her story and what happens next at Standing Rock.

Photo by Lauren Colchamiro

Incidentally, Jenni and I actually met as we both were AIR’s (Association of Independents in Radio) New Voices Scholars for 2016 at the Third Coast Conference in Chicago. Not only is Jenni a brilliant journalist, she’s a wonderfully supportive colleague in my endeavors as well. Keep up the noise of getting her charges dropped – journalism is not a crime!

Check out the podcast!

Air date: 2/17/2016 (KBOO)
2/23/2017 (XRAY) https://sarikadmehta.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/intersectionsradio_jennimonet.mp3

**You can read a transcript of the interview: 021917 Intersections with Jenni Monet transcript