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Officer arrests man, seizes news videos

A Lincoln County sheriff's deputy arrested activist Glenn Campbell on Tuesday and confiscated videotapes from a news crew working near the Air Force's secret Groom Lake base.

Early Tuesday evening, a reporter and a camera operator from KNBC-TV in Los Angeles were interviewing Campbell _ a government oversight activist and leader of the Rachel-based Secrecy Oversight Council _ on public land near Freedom Ridge, a viewpoint overlooking the secret installation 12 miles to the west.

Reporter Chuck Henry and camerawoman Julie Yellen assert that they obeyed signs posted in the area and did not videotape the restricted base itself. But they said they intended to emphasize the absurdity of being able to see the base yet not photograph it.

Lincoln County sheriff's Sgt. Doug Lamoreaux arrived on the scene at the request of unidentified security guards who accused the crew of directing their cameras toward the base, Campbell and Henry said.

When Henry refused to turn over the videotapes for inspection by the Air Force, Lamoreaux threatened to seize them without a warrant, Campbell and Henry said. Campbell then reached into the news crew's vehicle and locked the door to block seizure of the tapes that were inside.

Lamoreaux arrested Campbell on a charge of obstructing a police officer. Without a search warrant, Lamoreaux rummaged through the KNBC-TV crew's equipment and confiscated five of their videotapes, Campbell and Henry said.

"It's a disturbing precedent to see film seized without a warrant," Campbell said. "The important thing is that people are being interfered with on public land."

Although Henry and Yellen were not arrested in the incident, KNBC-TV plans to legally pursue the case.

"I was shocked that they intimidated and harassed us, that they went through our vehicle without a search warrant or even probable cause, all because of a base they say doesn't exist," Henry said.

Lincoln County sheriff's office did not respond Wednesday to phone calls regarding Campbell's arrest. Officials at the Air Force's Office of Special Investigation in Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment.

The incident was the third since March in which Lincoln County sheriff's deputies detained news crews working near the secret base.