Prosecutors have agreed to drop the charges against a CityBeat journalist who was arrested while covering a July demonstration on the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.
Kenton County District Judge Ken Easterling ordered on Nov. 12 that the misdemeanor charges against CityBeat investigative reporter Madeline Fening be dropped with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled.
As part of the agreement between prosecutors and Fening’s attorneys, she has acknowledged that probable cause existed for her July 17 arrest by Covington police. She was facing charges, including failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly.
Fening was arrested while covering an anti-ICE demonstration on the bridge connecting Cincinnati and Covington. She was expected to go to trial in early 2026.
“I was just doing my job,” Fening said in a news release. “I am relieved this is over, and grateful to everyone who stood with me. I look forward to publishing my full account of what transpired that day on the Roebling Bridge.”
Fening was charged alongside 14 other people who were on the bridge that day, including CityBeat photography intern Lucas Griffith. Griffith was convicted at trial on Oct. 2 of a single count of failure to disperse, a misdemeanor. The jury imposed a $50 fine and Griffith was acquitted of all other charges.
The journalists were initially charged with felony rioting; however, prosecutors moved to dismiss those charges during a hearing in July.
What happened during July 17 bridge demonstration?
The demonstration on the bridge was held in support of Imam Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant and former Cincinnati Children’s chaplain who was detained by ICE several days before.
After the rally began in Cincinnati, more than 100 people crossed the Roebling Bridge, heading toward Covington, according to police.
An officer issued a “lawful order to disperse” via a loudspeaker and advised the demonstrators gathered on the bridge that failing to comply would result in arrests, according to testimony and criminal citations.
According to videos, officers waited less than a minute before detaining people.
A video showed Fening standing on the roadway recording a man’s arrest by police, when an officer approached her and placed her in handcuffs. Griffith could also be seen in the footage being led away by police.
Another journalist standing nearby, who took the video of the arrests, can be heard telling police, “She’s press!” Fening also told the arresting officer that she is a journalist.
Former Covington Police Chief Brian Valenti previously said Fening did not have press credentials or other identification that would establish her as a member of the press.
William Sharp, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, said in court that Griffith was wearing CityBeat press credentials.
The journalists’ arrests happened not long after police issued the dispersal order. Police said the decision to make arrests came after people “obstructed traffic and created safety concerns for both demonstrators and the public.”
Arrests prompted backlash from free press advocates
The arrests sparked outrage among press freedom advocates, who said the prosecutions undermined First Amendment freedoms.
The Committee to Protect Journalists advises reporters covering protests to comply with dispersal orders from law enforcement and to ensure press credentials are visible to police. However, U.S. Department of Justice guidance states that blanket enforcement of dispersal orders may violate First Amendment principles by preventing reporters from covering events that happen after such orders are implemented.
The department also advises that if journalists are detained during the enforcement of a dispersal order, police agencies should have policies in place to avoid criminal charges being filed.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Judge dismisses misdemeanor charges against CityBeat reporter arrested at Roebling protest
Reporting by Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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