Though it received zero coverage by the mainstream media, on Friday election officials in Florida’s Palm Beach County threatened the media’s own journalists and reporters with arrest for trying to record them counting and reviewing election ballots during a public meeting.
“Breaking from normal practice, the Palm Beach County elections supervisor banned media from filming and photographing the high-profile midterm election ballot review process,” The Palm Beach Post reported early Friday evening.
“Five Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies watched the meeting both from inside the room and behind the glass windows lead inside. Under threat of arrest and removal from the meeting, reporters shut down their cameras.”
Susan Bucher, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, says news crews cannot record the Canvassing Board as it reviews Vote By Mail & Provisional Ballots bc “signatures are on the table”. We’ve objected to the public meeting continuing w/out being allowed to record @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/KVPdCqRq1U
— Marissa Bagg (@MarissaNBC6) November 9, 2018
This is a public canvassing board meeting in Broward, why are the media not being allowed inside??? @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/H3oxhf9itZ
— Dan Krauth (@DanNBC6) November 9, 2018
Police officers guarding the door @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/lQgIxtxJ7e
— Dan Krauth (@DanNBC6) November 9, 2018
Reporters were forced to pull back and record from outside the counting room.
“There is no way the canvassing board can determine or ascertain what those cameras, those recording devices are recording,” Palm Beach County Canvassing Board chair Judge August Bonavita said to the Post in defense of the stipulations. “We have to focus exclusively on what’s in front of us. We can’t pay attention to your cameras.”
Watch below as local officers patrol the area in search of misbehaving journalists.
…
The threat of arrest so unnerved reporters of various outlets that they teamed up to file an emergency complaint against Palm Beach County elections supervisor Susan Bucher.
“NBCUniversal, Scripps Media and Fox Television are suing Susan Bucher and the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board for refusing to allow us to record video while they review ballots in a public meeting,” NBC’s Marissa Bagg reported via Twitter at 6:53 pm.
Less than an hour later, she announced that a judge had approved the order:
NBCUniversal, Scripps Media and Fox Television are suing Susan Bucher and the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board for refusing to allow us to record video while they review ballots in a public meeting @nbc6 #EmergencyPetition pic.twitter.com/wPCcNapaTv
— Marissa Bagg (@MarissaNBC6) November 9, 2018
#BREAKING Judge agrees with @NBCNews, @nbc6 and other media outlets— cameras are now allowed to record inside room where provisional ballots are being reviewed by canvassing board in Palm Beach County #Transparency pic.twitter.com/evGNQHVuKX
— Marissa Bagg (@MarissaNBC6) November 10, 2018
In response, Bucher issued a statement to MSNBC — which for the record doesn’t appear to have informed its viewers about the supervisor’s previous threats to the media. She seemed to blame complaints about her and Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes’ recent antics on racism.
“It is very unfortunate that some of the highest elected officials in our country are trying to disrupt our democracy because they don’t like the demographics of our voters. I would wish that they would allow us to continue to count the ballots. We’re just doing our job in accordance with law,” she said.
Listen:
She specifically referenced allegations by President Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, among others, that Bucher and Snipes may be trying to commit voter fraud.
Their allegations are based on the stunning lack of transparency by Bucher and Snipes, both of whom seem to keep trying to hide their activities from the public, including the media.
The governor was forced to file a lawsuit Friday complaining that they were “unwilling to disclose records revealing how many electors voted, how many ballots have been canvassed, and how many ballots remain to be canvassed.”
That emergency suit was approved Friday evening by a judge, though according to the latest reporters, both Snipes and Bucher have chosen to defy it.
In Bucher’s case, what many on social media find odd is the media’s lack of interest in informing their own readers and viewers about the threats they had faced from her staff.
Look:
The left is awlfully quiet about the actual targeting of journalist.
— Elliott Wess (@darkkent85) November 10, 2018
That this isn’t a story but Trump revoking the WH pass of one reporter is a direct assault on the freedom of the press, illustrates which side the press is on.
— Nate (on the) Stone (@nes_nathan) November 10, 2018
Arresting reporters trying to report their shade is not nearly as newsworthy as a reprobate getting kicked out of a WH press briefing!
— Politically Incorrect ? Caps fan 4eva (@fistsballedup) November 10, 2018
What happened to the 1st amendment rights CNN was bitching about with Acosta
— stoker 420 (@AnthonyParrillo) November 10, 2018
Hello media???? Where is your outrage?
— Holy_Batgirl (@Holy_Batgirl) November 10, 2018
Palm beach officials threaten to arrest media if they take pictures . Where is the @chicagotribune and MSM with outrage at this criminal behavior
— illinois for trump (@t_beez22) November 10, 2018
#PalmBeachCounty elections supervisor bans media cameras from public ballot counting & threatens them with arrest.
How much more will it take to convince skeptics that what is happening in Palm Beach & #BrowardCounty is not a normal elections process? https://t.co/NzoNAYCZFN
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Several of the tweets mentioned CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta, who was made into a martyr after he had his press pass revoked this week for inappropriately touching a White House intern.
As of Saturday morning, CNN did not appear to have informed its readers yet about Bucher’s threat.
Related Stories:
- Wild scene as fed-up Floridians show up to Broward election office demanding answers – and justice
- ‘Something’s rotten in Broward’: Fla. Gov Rick Scott vows to fight ‘rampant voter fraud’, drops bombshell lawsuit
- Video alleging to show private truck moving ballots in dark of night tip-of-the-iceberg in Florida voter scandals
- Former progressive Fla. candidate: I warned that Broward’s Brenda Snipes is a ‘serial election rigger’
- Marco Rubio is ALL OVER the shady voter scandals in Florida and Joe Scarborough doesn’t like it one bit
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