Harris Threatens Student Reporter Over Recording

Rep. Andy Harris threatened to refer a student journalist to prosecutors and called for an officer to take her camera after she recorded him at a public press gathering in Cambridge, Maryland, following an October 13 debate. No camera seizure or criminal charge was reported in the accounts available by October 16. The reporter, Cat Murphy of Capital News Service, was recording alongside other journalists when Harris said she lacked his permission and invoked Maryland’s two-party-consent law. He demanded that an officer intervene, accusing Murphy of violating the law. Murphy continued to question him, including about his comments on the Iran war, before Harris left the gathering. Harris had just debated Democratic challenger Dan Schwartz in a League of Women Voters forum. During a discussion of diesel prices, he began attributing rising costs to Democratic policies and environmental regulations. Audience members laughed and interrupted, and Harris called a woman rude. The moderator urged the audience to allow both candidates to speak, and Schwartz also asked attendees to hear from them. After the debate, Harris faced questions from reporters about the Iran war. Murphy asked...