Sometimes, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can have serious consequences. For the six journalists covering the inauguration protests, those consequences were prison sentences. The journalists were accused of breaking windows, damaging vehicles, and starting fires.

“These charges are clearly inappropriate, and we are concerned that they could send a chilling message to journalists covering future protests,” said Carlos Lauría, the CPJ’s senior Americas program coordinator, to the Guardian. “We call on authorities in Washington to drop these charges immediately.”

According to BusinessInsider.com, none of the police reports for the six journalists who were arrested mention any specific instances of wrongdoing.

“The US attorney’s office for Washington D.C., which is prosecuting those arrested, declined to comment on the journalists’ specific cases but said it was continuing to review evidence from the day with the police,” wrote Jon Swaine, whose article on the event was published on BusinessInsider.com.

Jack Keller, Evan Engel, Alex Rubinstein, Shay Horse, Aaron Cantú, and Matt Hopard were the six journalists who were arrested.

“It is a maddening and frustrating situation. These are people who were there observing and documenting,” said Annabel Park, Keller’s editor.

While the protest itself falls under first amendment rights, violent protests and vandalism do not. However, there was no evidence showing that the journalists were guilty of the crimes they were accused of.