Legal defense-ofense fund
While covering Into the Grave festival (the Netherlands) as a fully accredited journalist, I asked questions about why they were holding signing sessions for bands that had, in the past, publicly referred to their female fans as "n*ggers", "c**ns", and exhibited misogynist behaviors towards them.
Despite the fact that my questions were not disruptive (I did not interrupt any shows or signing sessions, only approaching the organizers privately), the response of the event was to have their security guards kick me out of the event. When I tried to record these security guards, they hit me several times, used racist language against me, and one of them put me in a dangerous chokehold, keeping me from breathing. You can read the entire story here
Despite the fact that my questions were not disruptive (I did not interrupt any shows or signing sessions, only approaching the organizers privately), the response of the event was to have their security guards kick me out of the event. When I tried to record these security guards, they hit me several times, used racist language against me, and one of them put me in a dangerous chokehold, keeping me from breathing. You can read the entire story here
The funds will be used for a legal fund against those responsible for the attack, and for any defense that might be necessary against the people who committed these attacks.
Any funds that exceed those required for these purposes will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists https://cpj.org/ and/or Reporters Without Borders https://rsf.org/.
NO funds will be used for personal purposes other than legal costs, and accurate and thorough demonstrations of these expenses will be made available once this is over.
NO funds will be used for personal purposes other than legal costs, and accurate and thorough demonstrations of these expenses will be made available once this is over.
Organizer
J Salmeron
Organizer
Utrecht