Press body rejects Trump accusations

The Inter­American Press Association (IAPA) has  rejected attacks  of U.S. President Donald Trump and  his White House Strategy Chief Steve Bannon, against the media and journalists.

IAPA President Matt Sanders rejected statements as  “inaccurate and far from the spirit of the First Amendment” of the U.S. Constitution.

The position of the IAPA is based on the fear “that the derogatory attacks  can end in concrete restrictive actions against the freedom of the press.”

Bannon, in an interview with The New York Times, said “the media should keep their mouths shut” and that they are Trump’s true opposition party.

Sanders, a senior director and general manager of Deseret Digital Media in Salt Lake City, Utah, who is on a tour in Mexico City, stressed that the U.S. government “should call for prudence and respect for the fundamental values of The First Amendment, including those of freedom of the press and expression.”

The IAPA president stressed that “there is a risk of creating a favorable climate that could trigger specific restrictive measures.”

Journalist arrests
Roberto Rock, the chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, called on the U.S. government to remove charges against six journalists who were arrested along with 230 activists during Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Journalists covering the protest were arrested and charged with the crime of criminal disorder and face 10 years in prison and fines of $ 25,000, the IAPA said in a statement.

The journalists arrested are Alexander Rubinstein, RT America reporter; Jack Keller, producer of the

documentary series Story of America; Shay Horse, photographer and freelance journalist; Evan Engel,

journalist for Vocativ, and Matthew Hopard and Aaron Cantú, independent correspondents.