Photographer Questioned at Home by FBI Over His Images of Protesters

A photographer was questioned by the FBI at his own home about photos he took of anti-deportation protesters, including whether he could identify any of the individuals involved.

Photographer Robert Scherle was at his home in Eugene, Oregon, on February 4 when federal agents knocked on his door. Scherle had recently covered demonstrations at the city’s Federal Building, where Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement operations are based. The building had become a focal point for escalating anti-deportation protests, and on January 30, it was vandalized, with windows damaged.

According to a report by Eugene Weekly, Scherle says he initially thought the knock at his door was related to donations he was collecting for Oregon Community Asylum Network, a group that works with asylum seekers and other immigrants. Instead, he says, two FBI agents — a man and a woman in civilian clothing — identified themselves as being affiliated with the Eugene office of the FBI’s Portland field office.

Scherle is reportedly well-known for his protest photos in Oregon and clearly marks himself as a media representative with a press pass while covering demonstrations. The FBI agents told Scherle he was “not in any trouble at all” before asking whether he had photos of protesters who damaged the Federal Building.

“They immediately said, ‘You’re not in any trouble at all. We just want to talk to you, don’t worry.” Scherle explains, according to Press Freedom Tracker. “And then they started asking me if I had photos to share with them of protesters destroying federal property, and I said no.”

Scherle says agents then asked whether he could help identify individuals if they showed him photographs. Scherle said he told them he could not identify anyone because the scene was “too chaotic,” and many protesters were wearing masks.

Scherle says he told them, “I didn’t see anything, I had a gas mask on, and they were wearing Black Bloc.”

Black Bloc is a protest tactic in which participants wear black clothing and masks to conceal their identities. Scherle says the agents were not threatening or coercive, but the encounter left him feeling “stressed.”

“It was sort of just an implied threat, just by the fact that they’re there,” he said.

The incident has raised questions about press freedom in Oregon. In a statement to Eugene Weekly, the FBI’s Portland office says it sometimes interviews people who were filming at the scene and asks for their footage, but if someone is a journalist, it follows rules meant to protect press freedom.

“During our investigative efforts, we have interviewed members of the public who were taking images and/or video on the ground that evening and asked for footage,” the FBI’s Portland office tells the news outlet. “Should an interviewee identify themselves as a member of the media and produce identification or credentials, we have processes in place to request information that adheres to the Constitutional right ensuring freedom of the press.”

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.