Photojournalist and reporter attacked while reporting live from protest aftermath in Madison, Wisconsin

A TV reporter and a photojournalist were assaulted on-air while reporting on the aftermath of protests in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 2, 2020.

NBC15 News reporter Amelia Jones and photojournalist Curt Lenz were on State Street in downtown Madison, reporting live for the local station’s morning news after a third night of protests against police violence and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a video clip from the news program from that morning, Lenz’s camera is turned toward Jones, who is holding a microphone and about to deliver a report. Then suddenly the camera pans to show a man on a bicycle approaching, before the live news feed cuts off.

According to a report from the City of Madison Police Department, the suspect had been going through looted goods from a nearby 7-Eleven. Right after the camera panned, the report said that the suspect charged toward Lenz and the camera, throwing bottles, then grabbing Lenz and “vigorously shaking him and his camera” before leaving the scene on a bicycle.

While neither Jones nor Lenz could be reached for comment by the time of publication, the incident was confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker by NBC15 management.

After a chase, Madison police captured and arrested 40-year-old Michael E. Campbell, for “battery, disorderly conduct, resisting/obstructing, and on a probation hold,” according to the police report.

According to a news report on the incident from NBC15, Jones and Lenz were described as “shaken” but okay after the incident.

The news story said that just prior to the assault, Lenz had been recording people at a 7-Eleven store that had been looted. The suspect saw Lenz and informed him he did not want to be recorded.