AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin photojournalist who was arrested while covering a pro-Palestine protest on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin Wednesday, April 24, is facing a felony charge, according to Travis County court documents.
According to an active arrest warrant affidavit, Carlos Sanchez, 43, faces a charge of assault on a peace officer, a second-degree felony.
The affidavit said Sanchez lunged toward a Texas Highway Patrol officer, who was on campus assisting the university’s police department during its response to the protest, striking him with his camera.
KXAN spoke to Sanchez, who identified himself as Carlos, as he was led away in handcuffs Wednesday afternoon.
“They said that I hit an officer. I didn’t hit an officer. They were pushing me. They were pushing me,” he said. “This never happened to me, you know what I mean? I was just covering things… I told them I was press.”
Sanchez was arrested by UTPD and taken into custody on criminal trespass charges. The affidavit noted no charges for assault on a peace officer were filed on scene “due to the hectic nature of the protest and unable to identify the Trooper [who] was assaulted by Sanchez.”
A total of 57 people were booked into the Travis County Jail related to the protest, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. The Travis County Attorney’s Office said Friday criminal trespass charges have been dropped against all 57 people because “all 57 lack sufficient probable cause to proceed.”
On Thursday, a special agent followed up on the incident after learning additional witnesses and video footage had been obtained. The agent spoke to the trooper who was hit, and another trooper who witnessed it, according to the affidavit.
The trooper who was hit said he was working to relocate protesters in front of him to where they were ordered to move and that he was suddenly struck on his lower head and neck area from behind by a large object, the affidavit said. He said he saw a man — identified later as Sanchez — arrested by two other troopers and taken from the scene.
The other trooper who witnessed the incident gave a statement saying that Sanchez was behind a law enforcement line that was moving protesters to a designated area and that he saw Sanchez “lunge forward toward the back of [the trooper], striking him in the lower head and neck area,” the affidavit said. The trooper said he then grabbed Sanchez, causing him to fall to the ground where he was arrested and released to UTPD.
Attorney information for Sanchez wasn’t available Monday, but when that information is available KXAN will reach out for comment.
On April 25, Texas DPS provided a statement on the incident.
Multiple videos – many of which are readily available on social media – show the photojournalist among the protesters as law enforcement officers work to disperse the group. He is seen hitting a DPS Trooper in front of him with his camera before fellow Troopers pull him back and take him to the ground to arrest him.
As a law enforcement agency, upholding the laws and freedoms of the people of this state is our number one priority. The department believes strongly in a journalist’s right to cover events of the day in a safe way; however, that does not except a person from following the law or the rules that have been put in place for the safety of others. While the department understands the need to be on-site, it is never acceptable to interfere with official police duties and assaulting an officer of the law – no matter the degree – will never be tolerated.
Texas DPS statement
The Society of Professional Journalists President Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins called Sanchez’s initial arrest a “a clear violation of the First Amendment. SPJ stands with all journalists in their efforts to seek truth and report it, a commanding principle in the SPJ Code of Ethics.”
