September 17, 2016 | No Comments
A Vice News reporter was arrested outside a Donald Trump rally in Houston on Saturday, POLITICO has confirmed.
Alex Thompson was arrested by Houston Police at Omni Westside Hotel after attempting to inquire about press credentials to a Trump event being held there, according to a Vice News report.
Thompson was arrested at about 1:30 p.m. ET and is being held at Houston Central jail. He has been charged with trespassing.
Vice News requested access to the event earlier this week, but was told its status at the event was “pending.” Thompson entered the Omni to ask Trump’s communication staff about the final status of Vice News’ access, according to Vice News’ report.
Thompson was confronted by a man who identified himself as the hotel manager and asked the reporter to leave and said the reporter would be arrested if he did not, the Vice News report said. Minutes after the encounter, while waiting to hear back from Trump’s communications staff, Thompson was arrested.
Trump’s campaign has had a rocky relationship with press throughout the campaign cycle. The Republican nominee’s campaign recently has ended a media blackout for some news organizations, including POLITICO, the Washington Post, and BuzzFeed.
Patrick Reis contributed to this report