A CNN reporter and camera crew who were covering the protests against George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis were arrested by Minnesota state officers on live television. On Friday (May 29th) morning, reporter Omar Jimenez was taken into police custody along with members of his crew, and was held there for over an hour before they were released.

The Minnesota State Patrol made a statement indicating that, "in the course of clearing the streets and restoring order at Lake Street and Snelling Avenue, four people were arrested by State Patrol troopers, including three members of a CNN crew. The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media." However, footage shows that this account is simply untrue. "This is not accurate," CNN responded. "Our CNN crew identified themselves, on live television, immediately as journalists."

"A CNN reporter & his production team were arrested this morning in Minneapolis for doing their jobs, despite identifying themselves — a clear violation of their First Amendment rights," the network said in another statement shortly after the arrest. "The authorities in Minnesota, including the Governor, must release the 3 CNN employees immediately." Gov. Tim Walz later apologized and indicated that the arrests should not have happened in the first place. 

Following his release, Omar Jimenez told his CNN colleagues that he and his crew, producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, were trying to move out of the officers way while they were conducting arrests. However, a protestor had run by them and was arrested, which somehow led to their arrests as well, despite identifying themselves as media. "There was no animosity there; they weren't violent with me," Omar said of the arresting officers. He indicated that one officer told him, "I'm just following orders." Another CNN reporter, Josh Campbell, was also approached by police while covering the protests, but was not arrested. "I identified myself," Josh, who is a white man, recalled. "They said, 'OK, you're permitted to be in the area.' I was treated much differently than (Jimenez) was." 

On Friday morning around 8:45am CT, Omar tweeted a photo of himself reporting to the camera, while police guarded the Target store that was looted by protestors late Wednesday (May 27th) night in the background. "And we’re back," he captioned the photo.

50 Cent, like many others, is outraged that a black CNN reporter, Omar Jimenez, was arrested along with his crew while they were covering the protests in Minneapolis, while his white colleague, Josh Campbell, was not. Early Friday morning (May 29th), CNN reported that one of their correspondents had been taken into police custody along with two members of his reporting crew.

The arrest was captured on live television, the footage from which shows Omar, along with producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, clearly identifying themselves as journalists. However, they were held in police custody for over an hour before being released. Gov. Tim Walz later apologized for the senseless arrest, insisting that it should never have happened.

The arrest of Omar and his crew was upsetting enough, but it was brought to the public's attention that another CNN reporter, Josh Campbell, had also been covering the protests in Minneapolis at the same time. Josh, who is a white man, indicated that police had in fact approached him as well, but allowed him to continue reporting. "I identified myself," Josh recalled. "They said, 'OK, you're permitted to be in the area.' I was treated much differently than (Jimenez) was." This difference in treatment lead many to believe Omar's arrest was racially charged, including Fif.

"One they let walk away, one they took to jail," 50 wrote on his post, which shows a photo of Josh and a photo of Omar side-by-side. "This sh*t is sad." Following the arrest, CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers commented on the significant role that race played in the situation. "We have a white reporter on the ground, and we have a brown reporter on the ground," Bakari noted. "They are a block apart. The brown reporter is arrested and the white reporter is telling us what's happening. We saw a reporter who is educated, who is brown, who is doing his job better than anybody ... (who) was in harm's way, letting the American people see what's going on, on the ground. He complied. He said he would move...You almost have to laugh not to just be furious."

A few hours after they were released from police custody, Omar and his crew returned to the streets to continue covering the riots. "And we’re back," he tweeted.