Two new misdemeanor charges filed for Fox 7 Austin photojournalist covering UT protests

Editor's note: This story has been updated to show that new misdemeanor charges were brought against Fox 7 Austin photojournalist Carlos Sanchez after a felony charge against him was dropped.

Two new misdemeanor charges have been brought against an Austin photojournalist covering pro-Palestinian protests last week at the University of Texas, according to his defense lawyer.

Carlos Sanchez, a photojournalist at Fox 7 Austin, was arrested by UT police April 24 while he was covering campus protests. He was initially charged with criminal trespass. Travis County Attorney Delia Garza eventually declined all 57 criminal trespassing charges connected with Wednesday's protest. The Texas Department of Public Safety announced last week that it had opened a criminal investigation into Sanchez.

The two new charges were for Class C misdemeanor assault and interference with public duties, according to arrest affidavits provided by the DPS. The charges were filed Tuesday night, and Sanchez was booked and released on his own recognizance Wednesday morning, according to his defense lawyer, Gerry Morris.

"Mr. Sanchez was performing an important news gathering function during a chaotic event when he inadvertently bumped into a police officer. He did not commit a crime," Morris said in a statement. "We look forward to someone taking a unbiased look at the evidence and exonerating Mr. Sanchez. That may ultimately occur with a jury."

The charges came shortly after a DPS investigator withdrew a felony charge against Sanchez.

On Friday, Justin Winkler, an agent with the DPS, filed an arrest warrant for Sanchez on a charge of assault on a peace officer, a felony. The affidavit described Sanchez "(lunging)" toward a highway patrol officer and "striking" him in the neck with a camera.

On Monday, a municipal judge directed the Travis County sheriff's office to cancel the warrant, "per Officer J. Wikler (sic)," court records show.

Morris told the Statesman that the DPS detective in the case withdrew the warrant after acknowledging it did not allege a felony crime. Morris said he and Sanchez found out that the felony charge had been dropped when Sanchez arrived at the jail Tuesday morning to turn himself in.

Various journalist organizations have criticized the new charges. Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins, the president of the Society of Professional Journalists, called the charges "blatant retaliation and intimidation" on X, formerly Twitter.

Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement on the organization's website that "this revolving door of charges is especially egregious in a country that guarantees press freedom.”

On Wednesday evening, DPS sent out an unsigned written statement confirming that Sanchez was charged with two misdemeanors and booked into Travis County jail. It reiterated claims made in the arrest affidavit that Sanchez struck a trooper in the neck area and claimed that video did not show Sanchez being pushed or tripping over an object.

“The department understands a journalist’s right to cover events of the day, and we work to ensure those rights are protected while also upholding the laws of this state. While journalists should be provided access, it is never acceptable to interfere with official police duties and assaulting an officer of the law – no matter the degree – will never be tolerated,” the DPS statement read. “DPS will always work to ensure the safety of our officers. Both law enforcement officers and journalists should be expected to do their jobs in a professional manner – and we strongly believe a line was crossed last week when one of our Troopers was assaulted while trying to do his job.”

Kevin McPherson, news director for Fox 7, did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday or Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New charges brought against Austin journalist covering UT protests