Mother Jones magazine confirmed that one of its journalists was arrested while photographing a private prison in Louisana where a second reporter was working undercover, CNNMoney reports. After James West was arrested last week, a local news report said Mother Jones reporter Shane Bauer was working undercover at the prison. A spokesman for the Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the facility, told CNNMoney that Bauer did not tell officials that he was a reporter.
“He did not indicate that he was a reporter for Mother Jones and, to our knowledge, he was never transparent about his occupation with facility leadership,” spokesman Jonathan Burns said. “Further, at no point prior to his taking this position did Mr. Bauer ever make a request of CCA seeking any information about our company. This raises serious questions about his journalistic standards.” Burns said Bauer began work at the facility in December and resigned Tuesday. West spent the night in jail after authorities in Winnfield, La., were notified that a person had snuck onto the premises of the prison. Winn Parish Sheriff Cranford Jordan said West had several pieces of camera equipment in his possession, as well as a drone.