A National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) chapter called a local newspaper unethical after it reported that a candidate for political office had a criminal record for climbing in a window, beating a man with a Bible, and choking him with a bike chain.

The Flint Journal found that of the ten Democrats vying for state representative, three had criminal records, with one arrested in July 2019. It ran stories about those three cases Jan. 2.

The Flint NABJ president, Ebony Stith, issued a statement Jan. 3 saying the three criminals were all black and journalists have an ethical duty to “do no harm.” The articles should have talked about their “achievements,” she said.