Prosecutors announced Friday afternoon that they are dropping a felony rioting charge against one of the journalists arrested after covering a violent confrontation outside President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Evan Engel, a senior producer at Vocativ, and six other journalists were among a crowd of 235 people penned in and arrested following a dramatic chase through the streets of downtown Washington. At least four other journalists were released without charges.

Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in the nation’s capital, issued a statement saying the office would no longer pursue the felony rioting case against Engel. The charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a large fine.

Engel’s employer had hired a prominent Washington attorney to represent him, and in a statement the new media outlet called his arrest “an affront to the First Amendment and journalistic freedom.”

Miller’s Friday statement said:



The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia today filed a notice seeking the dismissal of the felony rioting charge filed against Evan A. Engel. After consultation with the counsel for Mr. Engel, who is a journalist with Vocativ, as well as a review of evidence presented to us by law enforcement, we have concluded that we will not proceed with the charge against this individual.

We are continuing to work with the Metropolitan Police Department to review evidence related to the arrests on Jan. 20. As in all of our cases, we are always willing to consider additional information that people bring forward. Because these matters remain pending in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, we have no comment on other specific individuals beyond our public filings. The case against Mr. Engel is now dismissed.

Miller was unable to comment on the status of felony charges facing the remaining six journalists, including Alex Rubinstein of RT and freelancer Aaron Cantu, who has written for Vice and Al-Jazeera America.

Case DISMISSED. Thanks to @vocativ, the legal team, & all who reached out with support. My thoughts are with all journalists still charged. — Evan Engel (@evanengel) January 27, 2017

Others charged with rioting include independent journalists Alexei Wood and Matt Hopard, who streamed footage until their own arrests. Photojournalist Shay Horse, who covers social movements, was also arrested, as was documentary filmmaker Jack Keller, who was identified by The Guardian on Tuesday.

“We have no comment beyond the statement,” Miller says.

It is unclear why some journalists were allowed to leave before the mass arrest occurred and why others were taken to jail.

Engel, Rubinstein and Wood say they identified themselves to police as journalists.