Filmmaker Rod Webber arrested multiple times while filming presidential campaigns
Documentary filmmaker Rod Webber was arrested at campaign events in New Hampshire and Iowa in 2019-2020 while attempting to film and question candidates. Charges were repeatedly dismissed, and a federal court allowed his First Amendment retaliation claims to proceed.
Documentary filmmaker Rod Webber, who has covered presidential primary campaigns since 2015, was arrested or removed by police at several 2019-2020 New Hampshire and Iowa campaign events, including a Mayor Pete Buttigieg rally in Merrimack, NH (January 2020) and a Joe Biden event in Manchester, NH. Charges (typically trespass or disorderly conduct) were dismissed in multiple cases. Webber filed civil-rights suits including Webber v. Manchester Police, in which a federal magistrate in the District of New Hampshire allowed First Amendment retaliation and Fourth Amendment claims to proceed. Webber's experiences were cited by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in commentary on press access at political events.