Rep. Andy Harris threatens prosecution of student reporter for trying to record him after debate

A video taken by News4’s partners at The Baltimore Banner shows Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., telling a student reporter from the University of Maryland that she did not have permission to record him and threatening prosecution. “You do not have my permission to record! If you record, we will refer you to the prosecutor,” Harris told the student reporter. “Everyone in here is recording,” the student reporter said. “But you are not allowed to. We are in a two-party state,” Harris said, citing Maryland’s Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, which makes it a felony to record private conversations without consent from both participants. However, the law only protects private conversations, and recording is allowable in situations where there is no “reasonable expectation of privacy.” The exchange went on for several minutes. The reporter then tried to ask Harris his thoughts on the Iran war. “You said that it could’ve gone smoother and it could’ve gone better. What did you mean by that?” she asked. “You’re gonna have to take her camera,” said Harris, who is seeking re-election. “She is violating the law. In fact, get an officer in here.” News4 reached out to Harris’ office for comment but has not heard back. Harris, who is seeking a ninth term in the House, had just left a contentious debate, where he faced scrutiny from audience members over the Iran war and rising diesel prices. Banner reporter Pamela Wood shared in a social media post Wednesday that Harris invited reporters to interview him after the debate. The video shows several journalists participating in the postdebate gaggle. Attorney Kevin Goldberg, vice president of the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit that supports the First Amendment, said Maryland’s two-party consent laws wouldn’t apply in this case because Harris was speaking to a group of reporters in a public space. “If a reporter has a right to be in a space and work as a reporter, they cannot be denied that right simply because somebody doesn’t like the coverage or somebody doesn’t like the questions or somebody doesn’t like their viewpoint,” Goldberg said. This was how Harris’ conversation with the reporters eventually ended: “Congressman, you said that you supported the First Amendment — what does this say about that?” the college reporter asked. “All right guys, she’s ruining your chance to get an answer about anything. See y’all. Thank her profusely,” Harris replied. Harris’ Democratic opponent, Dan Schwartz, released a statement saying in part that the “message of the night was clear, Andy Harris is out of touch, out of practice talking to voters, and much more interested in picking fights and spinning his story than offering real answers.”