NewsNation Reporter Arrested at East Palestine Ohio Press Conference

Police arrested a NewsNation reporter during a press conference on the East Palestine Ohio train derailment on Wednesday.

Note: Parts of the footage do not have audio, a function of this brand of bodycam. There are two gaps in audio, one at the start of the interaction and another when the camera operator returns to talk to police.

Newly-released bodycam footage shows NewsNation’s correspondent Evan Lambert being told to stop a live cable news shot as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine addressed press gathered at the East Palestine Elementary School Gymnasium. He is then confronted by the commander of the Ohio National Guard, Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr., who briefly pushes Lambert before himself being separated from the reporter by an Ohio state trooper.

Lambert was subsequently asked to leave the gymnasium, and after refusing and stating his intention to stay for the press conference, he was physically removed by East Palestine Detective Dan Haueter and Columbiana County Chief Deputy Jennifer Tucker and placed under arrest. He was taken to the Columbiana County Jail and released a few hours later after posting a $750 bond.

Lambert is charged with criminal trespass and resisting arrest, and the case is now being handled by the Ohio Attorney General’s office due to the scope of departments involved.

In a statement one day after the arrest, East Palestine Police said that Lambert’s “live reporting was loud”, leading two state troopers and Adjutant Major General Harris to advise him and his camera operator to stop the live shot in the back of the gymnasium, which occurred as Governor Mike DeWine was speaking, announcing the lifting of an evacuation order in the community following the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals.

DeWine, asked about the arrest, stated he did not see the argument or authorize Lambert’s removal. In a subsequent interview on NewsNation, he stated “reporters have every right to report, they have every right to do it live”, adding that “they can do it during the press conference” and he would’ve told police to stop from intervening with the reporting had he seen it happening.