3 Men Charged After CBS2 Reporter, Photographer Attacked

CHICAGO — Three men have been charged after a group attacked a CBS2 reporter and photographer Monday near the Adler Planetarium.

One of the men is facing a hate crime charge from the incident, police said. Witnesses told CBS2 at least one man yelled racial slurs at the photographer, who is Black.

Jon Twist, 37, has been charged with two felonies — hate crime and criminal damage to property — and a misdemeanor for resisting a police officer, police said. Rafael Salinas, 29, has been charged with felony aggravated battery of a police officer and felony criminal damages, as well as two misdemeanors: reckless conduct and resisting a police officer. A third man, 41-year-old Wiliam Huerta, has been charged with fleeing, two counts of aggravated assault of a state employee, reckless driving and leaving the scene.

The three are set to appear in court Thursday.

About 4:30 p.m. Monday, a reporter and photographer were working in the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive, preparing to go live on TV, when three men drove up in a white tow truck, according to CBS2.

One of the men yelled racist slurs and tried to direct his dog to attack one of the CBS employees, a 54-year-old man, police said. When the dog did not attack, the man “became irate” and threw the victim’s property on the ground, breaking it, and then drove off with the other men in the white truck.

Witnesses told CBS2 the racial slurs were directed at the photographer, who is Black. Witnesses also said that when one CBS2 staffer tried to defend himself from the dog, two other men jumped out of the white truck, smashed the photographer’s camera and broke the news truck’s windshield.

The photographer and reporter were not injured.

“We are shocked and horrified by this crime, and we are grateful that our journalists are safe,” a CBS spokesperson said in a statement.

The National Press Photographers Association and the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists condemned the attack Tuesday, urging prosecutors in a joint statement to pursue all charges supported by the evidence.

“We are relieved that our colleagues escaped without serious physical injury,” Alex Garcia, National Press Photographers Association president, said in a statement. “Journalists serve the public by documenting events in our communities, and they should never have to fear being threatened, assaulted or targeted simply for doing their jobs. Acts of violence and intimidation against journalists are attacks not only on individual members of the news media, but also on the public’s right to receive information.”

The organizations also expressed concern over the reported use of racial slurs during the attack.

“No journalist should be subjected to threats, violence or intimidation because of their race or while carrying out their professional responsibilities,” Brandon Pope, president of NABJ Chicago, said in a statement. “This attack underscores the very real risks journalists continue to face and reinforces the need for all of us to stand together in defense of a free and independent press.”