No charges filed against journalist handcuffed by Miller security

Chief Municipal Prosecutor Albert Patterson has filed no charges against Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger, who was arrested by security guards until police arrived Sunday at a town hall event held by U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller.

"After careful review by the Municipal Prosecutor's office of witness statements, police reports, and other materials relating to this incident, it has been determined that no criminal charges will be filed against any party," Patterson said in a statement.

Hopfinger was handcuffed by security guards at the Central Middle School event Sunday afternoon. Hopfinger says he approached Miller to ask questions, but was detained by private security officers for half an hour until police arrived.

According to Hopfinger, Miller’s security team pushed him and he pushed back because he felt his personal space was being invaded. He says guards detained him and accused him of trespassing, although the town hall was a public event held at a public building.

“At some point I was suddenly surrounded by more guys, more security guards I guess,” Hopfinger said. “They were kind of putting their chest into me, and at one point I put my chest in too -- it got to be too much.”

Hopfinger says the incident escalated so fast he barely remembers what happened, and that next thing he knew he was in handcuffs.

The Alaska Dispatch is one of several news organizations suing for access to Miller's employment records at the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Miller worked at the FNSB as a part-time attorney from 2002 to 2009.

The Anchorage Daily News filed papers in Fairbanks Superior Court Friday to join a lawsuit filed by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner last week. The Alaska Dispatch has filed a separate suit asking for Miller's employment records.

The news organizations are interested in documents that contain the details of Miller’s departure or allegations of misuse of borough property.

Miller called the request a violation of his privacy. But the Alaska Dispatch’s attorney says that the requests relate to Miller's performance as a government employee, not his private life.

“I mean, I asked him some hard questions; we need to get some answers,” Hopfinger said. “He's being sued by two newspapers and an online newspaper now over his employment at the North Star Borough. He hasn’t denied the accusations, so I started out -- that's where this all came from.”

The owner of the firm hired to protect Miller, William Fulton with Dropzone Security, said in a statement Sunday that he was responding to Hopfinger’s actions.

“The Dispatch reporter repeatedly pushed a camera into the face of Mr. Miller,” Fulton said. “He continued to aggressively pursue him. I told the reporter several times that he needed to stop and that he was trespassing, he ignored me. He then proceeded to stalk Mr. Miller and even shoved an individual into a locker.  Based upon this trespass and his assault, we detained him and escorted him from the premises.”

In a subsequent interview, Fulton said he didn't know at the scene that Hopfinger was a journalist.

“I didn't even know he was a reporter until he told me,” Fulton said. “Normally we would assume that he's just some crazy guy from the audience.”

Fulton says he was trying to do his job when he arrested Hopfinger.

“After I told him he was trespassing, he said he was a reporter,” Fulton said. “I said, ‘Sir, that doesn't matter: you've been asked to leave, this is a private event.’ At that time, I told him again he was trespassing, then he hit the guy -- he pushed the guy, well, pushed the guy, into the locker. And at that point we decided he had become violent and would effect the arrest.”

In a statement on the incident Sunday evening, Miller said Hopfinger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.

“While I've gotten used to the blog Alaska Dispatch's assault on me and my family, I never thought that it would lead to a physical assault,” Miller said. “It's too bad that this blogger would take advantage of a ‘Town Hall’ meeting to create a publicity stunt just two weeks before the election.”

Contact Jackie Bartz at jbartz@ktuu.com