NewsNation Reporter Released From Jail After Arrest at Ohio Governor’s News Conference

Gov. DeWine says he did not know the arrest was being made and that it shouldn't have taken place

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 4, 2019. Scott Olson/Getty Images

A NewsNation reporter who was arrested in Ohio on Feb. 8 while filming Gov. Mike DeWine speaking at a news conference has since been released from jail.

Evan Lambert, who is based in Washington D.C. where he works for the Nexstar Media Group-owned cable channel, had traveled to Ohio to cover the news conference about the freight train derailment in East Palestine, a small town on the border with Pennsylvania, according to NewsNation.

However, the reporter was allegedly forcibly removed from the event by authorities and subsequently arrested.

He was released from the Columbiana County Jail later that day, shortly after 10 p.m. ET., on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.

The reporter confirmed his release on Wednesday, telling NewsNation that he was “doing fine right now” and that it had been an “extremely long day.”

“No journalist expects to be arrested when you’re doing your job, and I think that’s really important that that doesn’t happen in our country,” Lambert said.

According to multiple reports, the news conference that Lambert attended was set to start at 3 p.m. ET but was delayed, and Gov. DeWine eventually began speaking around 5 p.m.—the same time that Lambert was scheduled to do a live broadcast.

‘Tough to Do Your Job in America in 2023’

Lambert, who is an Emmy-nominated and award-winning journalist, was reportedly asked by local law enforcement to be quiet as DeWine was speaking so as not to interrupt the conference.

Video footage appears to show that the reporter did stop broadcasting when asked. In the footage, Lambert can be heard saying: “We are actually being told right now that we have to stop broadcasting because this news conference is behind us and we’re in the command center.”

After finishing his report, Lambert was allegedly asked to leave the news conference by law enforcement.

Separate video footage shows the reporter being taken to the ground and handcuffed by officers before being placed inside a law enforcement vehicle.

The exact events leading up to his being handcuffed and removed from the conference are not clear.

As he gets inside the car, Lambert can be heard saying: “It’s tough to do your job in America in 2023, but we’ll keep doing it.”

Shortly after Lambert’s arrest and just hours before he was subsequently released from jail, NewsNation D.C. bureau chief Mike Viqueira said in a statement that he had spoken to the reporter who called him from the Columbiana County Jail.

“Evan is safe and calm and continues to act with professionalism and integrity that he brings to his work each day,” Viqueira said. “As you see from the videos, he was doing his job—what hundreds of journalists do without incident—reporting to the public on the matter of urgent, critical interest to our audience.”

DeWine Comments on Arrest

Gov. DeWine’s office later told reporters shortly after the conference was over that he did not personally request that officers arrest Lambert.

DeWine, a Republican, did not see the incident occur because his view was “blocked by a bank of cameras recording the press conference, however, he did hear a disagreement toward the back of the gymnasium,” according to a statement.

“He was later advised that a reporter who had been giving a live report during the briefing was asked to end the broadcast because the volume of his reporting was perceived to be interfering with the event.”

The governor “did not request that the reporter stop his live broadcast, nor did he know that the request was being made,” the statement continued, adding that DeWine has “always respected the media’s right to report live before, during and after his press briefings” and that “the interruption to the reporter’s broadcast should not have taken place.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the East Palestine Police Department for comment.

DeWine announced during Wednesday’s news conference that an evacuation order over last week’s train derailment in East Palestine had been lifted following an analysis of air and water samples suggesting that the area is safe.

The train, which was carrying hazardous materials including vinyl chloride—a toxic flammable gas used in the production of plastics—derailed on Feb. 3.