Last night, New Hampshire state troopers in riot gear detained two of our reporters, Charlotte Hampton ’26 and Alesandra “Dre” Gonzales ’27. Hampton, a news managing editor and reporter, and Gonzales, a news reporter and photographer, had been reporting live from the Green during campus protests.
Both were wearing press identification at the time of their arrests. Hampton was also holding her writer’s notebook when officers detained her. Gonzales was taking photographs for the paper.
Gonzales and Hampton were zip tied, arrested by Lebanon police, charged with criminal trespass and held at the Lebanon Police Station before being released on bail.
We are glad Hampton and Gonzales are back in the newsroom safely, but having to retrieve them from the station at all was a slap in the face. If Dartmouth has any commitment to the freedom of the press, it must do everything in its power to get the relevant authorities to drop the charges against our reporters.
Journalists should be off limits. The College should be embarrassed.
We expect a prompt and public apology from College President Sian Leah Beilock.
The editorial board consists of opinion staff columnists, the opinion editors, the executive editors and the editor-in-chief.
This article has been updated to provide additional details about the arrests.
