CNN's April Ryan Remains Silent In NJ Bodyguard Assault Charge

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — CNN political analyst April Ryan continues to remain silent in the wake of one her bodyguards being charged with assault, theft and harassment after he physically removed a local news reporter from an event at which Ryan was speaking at the Heldrich Hotel in downtown New Brunswick.

And her silence has drawn criticism from a number of people who believe Ryan, as a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, should condemn the incident. When she speaks on CNN, Ryan regularly bashes Trump for his combative relationship with the media. She even wrote a book in 2018 called “Under Fire: Reporting from the front lines of the Trump White House,” where she criticizes the president for censoring the press.

The incident happened Sunday, Aug. 3 at the Heldrich: Ryan was in town for the New Jersey Parent Summit, and she was a featured speaker. The reporter is Charlie Kratovil, the editor of New Brunswick Today, and also a candidate who ran unsuccessfully to be New Brunswick mayor last year. The bodyguard is Joel Morris, 30.

“It is never under any circumstances permissible for a person ... to lay hands on a journalist, or attempt to take away the journalist’s equipment," said Kratovil in a video he posted to Twitter this past Sunday about the incident. "It is sad we have to say this, and remind people of this, and it’s super sad that we have to remind another journalist of this, April Ryan. She's been silent about the unethical and illegal behavior of her bodyguard and we are still waiting for her to comment on this unfortunate incident."

"Maybe now that there’s criminal charges we might hear something from her," he added. "I hope sincerely that she does comment and I hope she does condemn this. This is unacceptable … Not in our country, we have freedom of the press here.”

Watch the two videos of the entire incident below: The first shows Kratovil being approached by her bodyguard, and the second shows her bodyguard physically dragging him out of the lobby of the Heldrich Hotel.

The New Jersey Parent Summit is held every summer by Newark-based non-profit Project Ready. Kratovil said he was invited to the hotel by Mercury Public Relations firm to cover the summit as a journalist; he sent Patch copies of the invitation, which freely invited all media to come and cover the event. Ryan was highlighted as a keynote speaker. Also, Kratovil had been filming for the past two hours that Sunday without any incident.

"As soon as I got there on Sunday I asked where I could set up my camera ... I recorded about 50 minutes of footage prior to Mr. Morris harassing me," Kratovil said. "Many others (in the audience) took videos on their phones, including TapInto's Chuck O'Donnell."

However, Ryan apparently took issue with Kratovil filming her with his noticeable tripod digital camera. Before Ryan begins her speech, her bodyguard, Morris, comes up to her and whispers something. She nods her head.

An awkward silence follows and then you can hear Kratovil saying, "Don't touch me! Don't touch my camera!"

“What I will say, when I speak, I don’t have news covering my speeches,” Ryan told the crowd apologetically as her bodyguard scuffled with Kratovil.

"Don't you dare, put that down, sir! That's my camera!" Kratovil can then be heard yelling.

The bodyguard then physically grabbed Kratovil, took his video camera and forcibly ejected from from the room, according to a New Brunswick police report of the incident, which you can see below.

The complaint alleges the bodyguard "chased Kratovil, grabbed him by the left arm and twisted his arm behind his back, causing injury to his forearm and shoulder."

"It's a shame we even have to be at this point. I'm pleased that the New Brunswick municipal court has found probable cause to charge Joel Morris with three different criminal offenses related to the unfortunate incident that happened here in our city August 3," Kratovil said. "I filed harassment and assault complaints, and theft. He stole my camera and hightailed it out of the room."

Morris, who lives in Illinois, is due back in New Brunswick municipal court Sept. 12 for the theft, a third-degree indictable charge that he must appear in court for.

"On Sept. 12 Joel Morris is going to have to make a trip back to New Brunswick and be arraigned," said Kratovil.

“Her silence is deafening at this point,” Kratovil told NJ.com this week. “It’s been more than two weeks. Anybody who’s a journalist should be condemning this.”