Spanaway, WA – A self-described independent journalist known for filming in public spaces was arrested this month after a series of confrontations across Pierce County, ending with an alleged pepper-spray assault on the Key Peninsula.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the incidents began September 19 when deputies responded to the Lake Spanaway Golf Course for reports of a masked individual filming without permission. Deputies later learned the man was conducting what’s known as a “First Amendment audit,” testing whether public employees would restrict his right to record in public areas.
Over the following weeks, the same journalist reportedly visited the Parkland–Spanaway Precinct to file complaints and the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, where the facility briefly went into lockdown after he attempted to film inside…