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Charges against radio reporter dropped By Damian Mann Updated: Sep 09, 2022 06:31 PM A A All charges against former Jefferson Public Radio journalist April Ehrlich following her arrest two years ago in Hawthorne Park have been dismissed by Municipal Court Judge William Haberlach. Ehrlich, known in court documents as April Fonseca, was arrested Sept. 22, 2020, while attempting to cover evictions of homeless people at the downtown Medford park. Haberlach recently dismissed the trespassing charge because it violated Ehrlich’s Constitutional First Amendment protections. The City Attorney’s Office asked the judge to also dismiss the other charge of resisting arrest, and Haberlach recently approved the dismissal, clearing her of all charges. In a prepared statement, Ehrlich said, “I was humiliated and traumatized that day, and for the last two years, the City of Medford has forced me to relive those events by prosecuting me. My arrest and prosecution were an attack on our Constitution’s First Amendment and our democratic freedom of the press.” She said a body cam video of her arrest, along with other videos by bystanders, contradict the charge of resisting arrest. Ehrlich, who is weekend news editor for Oregon Public Broadcasting, is a member of the board of directors at the Society of Professional Journalists Oregon Chapter, an organization that came out in support of her. SPJ joined a number of news outlets and groups to help Ehrlich’s legal defense. “We appreciate the judge on this case and for understanding the role of the local media and the reporter's goal only to inform the public with accurate information,” said SPJ National President Rebecca Aguilar. Other news organizations lent their name to a legal brief filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press denouncing the trespass charge as being unconstitutional. The brief was signed by 52 news organizations such as The New York Times Company, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Gannett Co., the Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Jefferson Public Radio also supported Ehrlich for attempting to report the eviction of people from the park. In a statement at the time, JPR said Ehrlich was being relocated to a staging area “where it was not possible to adequately see or hear interactions between police officers and campers, or gather audio.” The statement pointed out that Ehrlich’s job is to be present during charged situations to report without interfering. “April was not in the park as an advocate; she was there as a journalist, consistent with the protections afforded her and JPR by the First Amendment,” according to the statement. “She was there to see how the police action was being carried out and to inform the public.” After her arrest in Hawthorne Park, Ehrlich was taken away in handcuffs and spent several hours in jail. Jacob Houze, Ehrlich’s Portland-based criminal defense attorney, made a motion to dismiss the trespass charge based on the city manager’s order to close a public park, where many homeless people had erected tents shortly after the Almeda Fire. At the time, police instructed the media to move to a staging area, but Ehrlich attempted to move closer so she could see and hear interactions between police and campers as well as to gather audio for her reporting. Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].