EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — On Thursday evening, the Ohio State Highway Patrol released body camera footage that provides detailed information on the arrest of NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert during Wednesday's train derailment briefing in East Palestine.
The video, which is over nine minutes long, starts with troopers approaching Lambert as he was doing a live report at the start of the news conference that featured Gov. Mike DeWine. According to police, Lambert was described as being "loud" inside the East Palestine Elementary School gymnasium.
As the video progresses, members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol along with Ohio National Guard Adjutant General John Harris are seen waiting for Lambert to finish. At around the 1:30 mark, an argument ensued between Lambert and Harris. Harris told officers that Lambert came at him in an "aggressive manner," resulting in the Harris pushing Lambert away when he felt threatened.
“I instinctively put my hands on his chest to keep him from bumping into me, which I felt was inevitable if I had not protected myself," Harris said in a statement made to investigators and provided by his office.
Harris added that he removed his hands after less than a second and walked away after Lambert yelled that he had been assaulted, the statement added.
WATCH: You can see the entire OSHP body camera video of the incident below
Around the 1:40 mark, audio is heard for the first time in the footage as authorities separate Harris and Lambert.
Four law enforcement members told Lambert that he needed to leave the gymnasium as the incident was escalating into a physical confrontation. "You were told to shut it down. Leave now, or you can go to jail," one of the officers is heard telling Lambert.
"Do you know how quickly our lawyers can get me out (jail)?," Lambert responded.
A Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper, an East Palestine detective, and a school official asked Lambert to move outside. "Out the doors. Out the doors," an officer is heard saying.
"I'm going to listen (to the briefing) because it's my job," Lambert fired back. "I'm trying to listen and he (Harris) escalated it with me. I'm doing my job that's covered by the First Amendment."
A man identifying himself as the building supervisor then told Lambert to leave.
"There you have it," said an officer. "You are going to stand outside or you are going to jail."
According to a release from the East Palestine Police Department, "with all reasonable means to deescalate exhausted," two law enforcement officers tried to take Lambert out of the building and told the reporter he was being arrested.
While being escorted out, Lambert is seen briefly turning back towards the gymnasium. Police said that he attempted to pull away and was resisting arrest, which led to him being taken to the ground.
A female voice in the background is asking officers to stop, shouting "This is bad. This is bad. Stop this. Evan, I'm sorry." Officers order Lambert to "stop resisting."
"I'm a reporter with NewsNation. This is all being recorded right now," Lambert responded. "This is what it's like to be a Black reporter in 2023."
Police add that Lambert was initially not listening to the instructions of officers and attempted to get up, before finally complying. He was taken to the Columbiana County Jail by sheriff's deputies before being released approximately five hours later.
NewsNation indicated that Lambert was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.
3News also captured footage of the incident that you can watch below:
After Lambert's arrest, his NewsNation photographer Preston Swigart is seen talking to one of the arresting officers.
"We had a live shot scheduled for 5:15," Swigart told police. "It was locked in stone. A coincidence of all coincidences, the governor walks out at 5:15. "There's nothing we can do about it. He (Lambert) is committed to his live shot."
"The reason why he (Lambert) is where he is, is that he refused to leave," the officer responds. "The building supervisor came over and told him 'I don't want you here' and he still refused to leave and now he's arrested. That's his own fault."
Reaction to Wednesday's viral incident has come from several different political, social, and journalistic fronts.
As Lambert was being detained during the briefing, DeWine was asked for his thoughts about the altercation. "It has always been my practice that if I’m doing a press conference, someone wants to report out there and they want to be talking back to the people back on channel, whatever, they have every right to do that. If someone was stopped from doing that, or told they could not do that, that was wrong. It was nothing that I authorized and certainly would be something I would not want to see happen," he said.
"Last night's arrest of a NewsNation reporter who was doing his job at a press conference in East Palestine is unacceptable," said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Journalists have an inalienable right to report in this country. Ohioans deserve to know what's going to change to make sure this doesn’t happen again."
The East Liverpool/Wellsville NAACP Chapter #3182 released the following statement to 3News:
"Last night, many of us at the NAACP were watching the press conference in East Palestine about the tragic train derailment situation. We watched in horror as Emmy-nominated, award-winning journalist Evan Lambert from NewsNation was attacked by law enforcement officers. He was arrested for doing his job too loudly. Anyone who has been to a press conference knows this happens too often to journalists doing live and previously recorded segments. A free press is at the bedrock of this democracy and it must be protected.
We here at the NAACP #3182 of Wellsville and East Liverpool condemn the attack of this young, black journalist. We also call for local law enforcement to drop the charges they have pending against Mr. Lambert (charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.)
After the statement put out by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, we believe this further proves that what Mr. Lambert was doing was no harm. We look forward to seeing the report of the charges dropped against Mr. Lambert."
The Society of Professional Journalists is also condemning the arrest of Lambert:
“It is imperative reporters remain free to keep the public informed without interference from law enforcement,” said SPJ National President Claire Regan and SPJ Vice-President Ashanti Blaize Hopkins. “Journalism is not a crime and we urge East Palestine PD to drop all charges against Mr. Lambert immediately and issue a public apology for his arrest.”
Lambert was arrested for trespassing at a news conference where Gov. Mike DeWine was speaking about the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in Ohio. NewsNation said Lambert was asked by police to stop his live report before he was arrested. He was held for about five hours before being released from jail.
DeWine said he did not request that Lambert stop his live broadcast or know the request was being made by police. SPJ is glad to hear that DeWine supports journalists’ rights to report. He told reporters they had a right to report during the press conference and "if they were in any way hampered from reporting, that certainly is wrong and it's not anything that I approve — in fact I vehemently disapprove of it."