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Reporter released after being detained at state Capitol

Mar 29, 2018 5:15 am

Rachel Silberstein is reporting for the Times Union New York Daily News Albany Bureau Chief Ken Lovett was detained by the state police for approximately 45 minutes on March 28, for talking on a cellphone in the state Senate lobby. Lovett was arrested around 1 p.m., following a confrontation with a Senate sergeant-at-arms. "The incident escalated quickly, and unfortunately he was detained by the State Police," Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif said in a statement. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office contacted Lovett while he was in lock-up and asked what they could do to help. Lovett said he told them he did not want special treatment. But shortly thereafter, Cuomo, his secretary and a plainclothes investigator arrived. "I'm here as the state-appointed attorney for Ken Lovett," the governor joked to a trooper before entering the office. A short time later, Cuomo walked out with Lovett. "Freedom of the press is alive and well in the city of Albany," Cuomo said. Read the full story in the Times Union.