Criminal charges filed against NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert have been dropped by the Ohio Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost made the announcement, saying, “My office has reviewed the relevant video and documentary evidence and is dismissing the charges against Evan Lambert as unsupported by sufficient evidence.”
Lambert released a statement saying, “I am grateful to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Attorney General Dave Yost, the management and legal team at NewsNation and Nexstar Media Group, and anyone else who worked to secure my release and the eventual dismissal of my charges, which, to be clear, should never have been filed in the first place.”
Last Thursday, Lambert was in East Palestine, Ohio, covering the train derailment and was providing a live report for NewsNation while Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was holding a news conference.
The news conference was at the East Palestine Elementary School gymnasium, and law enforcement told Lambert to be quiet because the governor was speaking.
Lambert wrapped up his report but was then asked to leave the gymnasium by law authorities, who then tried to forcibly remove him from the event, subsequently taking him into custody.
He was released later that night after being charged with resisting arrest, a second-degree misdemeanor, and criminal trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
Yost added, “While journalists could conceivably be subject to criminal charges for trespassing in some situations, this incident is not one of them. The reporter was lawfully present at a press conference called by the Governor of the state. His conduct was consistent with the purpose of the event and his role as a reporter.”
“Regardless of the intent, arresting a journalist reporting at a press conference is a serious matter,” Yost said. “Ohio protects a free press under its constitution, and state officials should remember to exercise a heightened level of restraint in using arrest powers.”
For his part, Lambert continued his statement by saying, “I’m still processing what was a traumatic event for me, in the context of a time where we are hyper-aware of how frequently some police interactions with people of color can end in much worse circumstances. That is not lost on me.”
“At the same time, as a journalist who has spent more than a decade covering crime, courts, and, more recently, federal law enforcement, I have great respect for the officers who do their jobs each day with integrity, civil rights, justice and safety at the core of their mission,” he added.
I hope these thoughts come out coherently. @NewsNation @NewsNationComms @NXSTMediaGroup @fcasseseYO pic.twitter.com/BbS4WpHu4l
— Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) February 15, 2023
Lambert will be a guest tonight on NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live at 9 p.m. ET, which will be only his second appearance since being released from jail.