"On May 19, at about 5:15 p.m., a group of people at a rally in support of presidential candidate Pedro Castillo assaulted [Stefanie] Medina, a reporter for the privately owned television outlets América Televisión and Canal N, and [Carlos] Brown, a camera operator for those outlets, while they were covering the event in the southern city of Ayacucho, according to news reports and both journalists, who spoke with CPJ over messaging app.
As the reporting team was walking through the rally, a speaker referred to the press generally as “medios mermeleros,” a colloquialism implying that journalists accepted bribes for their coverage, after which several people in the crowd started insulting Medina and Brown and tried to grab their equipment, Medina told CPJ.
Castillo took the stage soon thereafter and gave a speech that referenced the press, saying that he knew how much television news anchors were getting paid and who paid them, and that he would reveal such information soon, according to Medina and press reports. After his speech, a woman kicked Medina in the back and a man hit Brown on the head with a stick, Medina said."
