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Democratic National Convention coverage

Update: Check out the video of the arrest here.

First, a Boulder County Sheriff’s deputy lied to an ABC news crew by informing them that the public sidewalk they were standing on was owned by the Brown Palace Hotel.

Then the same deputy pushed news producer Asa Eslocker into traffic as a way to discourage him from reporting on the meeting between Democratic Senators and their VIP donors taking place inside the hotel in downtown Denver.

Finally, a Denver police officer arrived and handcuffed Eslocker, throwing him in the back of a paddy wagon and hauling him off to jail.

But even after all that, police on the scene were unable to tell ABC lawyers what the charges were against Eslocker.

Police eventually managed to conjure up charges against the news producer, which are the usual list of charges police use when violating someone’s First Amendment rights; trespassing, interference and failure to follow a lawful order. I’m surprised they didn’t throw in a disorderly conduct in there. Or maybe an obstructing traffic charge after they pushed him into the road.

What could Eslocker have been working on that caused so much furor?

Eslocker and his ABC News colleagues are spending the week investigating the role of corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors at the convention for a series of Money Trail reports on ABC World News with Charles Gibson.

Obviously, somone with power did not want to be seen walking out of the hotel.