Vanderbilt Says Arrest Of Reporter Not An Attack On First Amendment Following Independent Investigation

Image Credit: @NashvilleScene / X

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

Vanderbilt University released a statement yesterday regarding the arrest of a reporter during a student protest on campus two months ago.

Following an independent review of their decision to have Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka arrested for criminal trespassing, the university says that the review found that the arrest “was not done to impede or prevent a reporter from covering the protest and, thus, was not contrary to its values to support and encourage the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly, and press.”

Motycka was arrested by Vanderbilt University police on March 26th, 2024 while reporting on a pro-Palestine sit-in organized by a group of students called the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition who had occupied Kirkland Hall.

Vanderbilt hired Nashville attorney Aubrey B. Harwell Jr. to conduct the investigation and the report states that attorneys from the law firm of Neal & Harwell interviewed Vanderbilt officials, police officers, and Motycka, as well as other witnesses.

The day of his arrest, Motycka had sent a text to a Vanderbilt communications officer saying that he was “on-campus at the sit-in.” Vanderbilt police believed Motycka may have been inside Kirkland Hall with students after he sent a second text saying, “I’m at Kirkland. I’m wondering who my University point of contact is for this sit-in please call me.”

Claiming they just wanted to check if Motycka was with the students inside Kirkland, with no intention of arrest, police eventually found him to be outside where he attempted to enter by approaching several different entrances.

Motycka was not asked to leave the campus, but because of his repeated attempts to enter Kirkland Hall, the university had him arrested for criminal trespassing. 

At the time of his arrest, Motycka stated, “I’m here working on a story. I’m a credentialed member of the media. I’m a reporter at the Nashville Scene. I wasn’t warned today that I would be taken off this campus in handcuffs. I was here interviewing students. I was here witnessing a protest and now it’s become about me I guess.”

Nashville Reporter Released After Being Arrested While Covering Pro-Palestine Protests at Vanderbilt University

Motycka was not charged however, but released from police custody and brought back to Vanderbilt by the arresting officer later that day.

A spokesperson for Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk said, “This office will not prosecute a reporter for peacefully doing his or her job.”

Before the student occupation of Kirkland Hall, Motycka had reported on the efforts of some students at Vanderbilt to amend their Student Government Constitution. The students – part of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition – describe themselves as “a diverse coalition of student organizations on Vanderbilt University’s campus launching a campaign for the passage and adoption of a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) constitutional amendment by Vanderbilt Student Government.”

The aim of the amendment was to prevent student government funds from “going to certain businesses that support Israel” but administration officials removed the amendment from the student government’s ballot and did not permit them to vote. Vanderbilt said that the amendment had the potential to conflict with federal and state law, and a boycott of the type the students proposed could make the university “ineligible for new state contracts and could have existing contracts voided.”

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.