Read our statement of solidarity with journalist Samuel Seligson and our editorial on monopoly media and the Middle East
On September 29, Alexa Wilkinson, Anna Owens, and Sarah Schaff, were charged in connection with pouring red paint on The New York Times headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and writing “NYT LIES, GAZA DIES” on its glass windows on July 30. Leaflets scattered outside the building read: “The New York Times is starving Gaza [and]… is an active accomplice in the ongoing genocide”.
Prosecutors charged Owen and Schaff with felony criminal mischief, which carries up to seven years in prison, while photojournalist Wilkinson, who allegedly documented the action, faces aggravated harassment charges in the second degree with a hate crime enhancement, which carries up to four years in prison. All three pleaded not guilty and are expected to return to court in November.
The charges against Wilkinson are claimed to be largely in connection with alleged social media activity, though the photojournalist’s alleged presence at the action is mentioned in the complaint, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The complaint accuses Wilkinson of posting “a threatening social media message targeting the Jewish editor of the New York Times,” which compares NYT executive editor Joseph Kahn to Nazi editors who were executed for their role in the holocaust. The NYPD justified its house raid and arrest of Wilkinson on the basis of the alleged social media posts.
The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Wilkinson, said their client “is a respected photojournalist with no criminal record” and that “once the facts are made known, it will be evident they were simply doing their job as a journalist.”
In response to the arrests, nearly 100 people—mostly photojournalists and press workers—staged a protest outside the Manhattan courthouse on October 1, denouncing the arrests as part of a broader campaign to intimidate reporters and suppress rebellion. Last summer, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office charged Samuel Seligson, an independent journalist and videographer, with two counts of felony hate crimes and criminal mischief after filming an action taken against the Brooklyn Museum Board of Directors by pro-Palestine activists.
One attendee of the October 1 protest told The Worker, “The home raid and arrest of Alexa Wilkinson happened because both the NYPD and New York Times are willing to resort to extreme illegal intimidation tactics that bend our First Amendment rights to the breaking point, arresting a photojournalist for taking pictures… and charging them with a hate crime.”
The Times has become a key target of the Palestine solidarity movement for its leading role in spreading Zionist hysteria. Leaked internal memos as well an analysis by Writers Against the War on Gaza have exposed how the monopoly press systematically defends Israel as well as its ties to US and Israeli intelligence agencies.
Weekly protests have been taking place outside of the NYT headquarters for over a year now due to its role as an arm of Zionism. In late August, individuals doused the entrance to Kahn’s residence with red paint and wrote “JOE KAHN LIES, GAZA DIES,” which remains under police investigation. The New York Times has been actively working with the state to make arrests and suppress journalists.
Photo: NYT headquarters doused in red paint. Retrieved from X.
The Worker is an entirely volunteer-run revolutionary newspaper free from and radically antagonistic to corporate influence. We rely on the support of our readers to sustain our editorial line in service of the working class and the reconstitution of its party, the Communist Party. Make a one-time or recurring donation to our newspaper today:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
