“We have the First Amendment. We are all now journalists,” Carlos Miller said, explaining how he believes the Internet truly gave citizens “freedom of the press.”
This photo was taken by Carlos Miller before he was arrested under various charges, for which he was acquitted, while he was recording the activities of police.
Carlos Miller has been arrested three times for photographing and filming police officers performing public duties. He knows his rights, but in a world where an increasing number of people carry a device with video and picture-taking capabilities everywhere they go, he thinks it’s time for them to learn too.
“I don’t purposefully set out to get arrested. I hate getting arrested,” Miller said in an interview with TheBlaze. “It really screws up your whole night.”
But Miller — who has worked professionally as a print journalist — is willing to stand up for what he believes is his lawful filming of cops in public.
Miller began detailing his first arrest in 2007 and trial on a blog. Even after he was acquitted of all charges — except resisting arrest, which he appealed and won — he started getting stories from other people who had trouble with the law while taking photos or filming. The blog Photography Is Not a Crime (PINAC) has continued in the several years since, sharing more of Miller’s stories and those from others.
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