Price: Reporter arrest was capitol police decision

by Rachel Roubein - 05/10/17 5:21 PM ET

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on Wednesday denied responsibility for the arrest of a reporter accused of willfully disrupting government processes.

Price said the West Virginia Capitol Police did “what they thought was appropriate,” according to STAT. Price said it was not his decision whether the police charged the reporter.

Daniel Heyman, a reporter with Public News Service, was arrested Tuesday in the West Virginia State Capitol and charged with willful disruption of governmental processes. He was allegedly “causing a disturbance by yelling questions” and “aggressively breaching the Secret Service agents to the point where the agents were forced to remove him a couple times from the area,” according to the complaint.

{mosads}Heyman’s question to Price was whether domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition in the GOP’s bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Heyman slammed the arrest as setting a “terrible example” for journalists who are trying to get their questions answered, according to The Washington Post.

“This is my job, this is what I’m supposed to do,” Heyman said. “I think it’s a question that deserves to be answered. I think it’s my job to ask questions and I think it’s my job to try to get answers.”

Heyman was released on a $5,000 bond, according to the AP.

Tags ObamaCare Tom Price