US investigative journalist stabbed to death, others fear online threats

An investigative journalist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jeff German, was found dead with signs of stabbing on his body outside his home on Saturday.

German had covered issues related to corruption, organized crimes, and mass shootings for four decades. The last piece published in the newspaper by German was about a tax evasion case in Nevada, where several online travel firms requested the Nevada Supreme Court to reject a legal case requiring them to pay millions in dollars in taxes.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) reported that the police received a call from a neighbor about an “unresponsive man outside of a residence located in the 7200 block of Bronze Circle.” The LVMPD said that they launched an investigation into the accident.

“There are no words for a loss like this. The Review-Journal newsroom has been through a lot in recent years. Nothing harder than this. Great reporter, better man. RIP @JGermanRJ,” Executive Editor Gleen Cook took to Twitter on September 4.

According to Review-Journal, Cook said that German did not report threats against his safety.

German became one of the Review-Journal staff in 2010 after he had worked previously at the Las Vegas Sun as a columnist and reporter who covered courts, politics, labor, government and organized crime. “He has a master's degree from Marquette University and is the author of the 2001 true crime book, ‘Murder in Sin City,’” Review-Journal said.

Targeted journalists

The death of German is still mysterious and the police launched an investigation to arrest the killer. German was not the only US journalist who could find trouble for their coverage.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that journalists who write about the issue of abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion in May 2022 fear of “online harassment and the threat of physical violence.”

“The changing legal landscape has put some journalists on edge, as concerns abound over whether reporters could be compelled to reveal their sources or could face legal consequences for publishing information about the procedure,” said CPJ's reporter Katherine Jacobsen.

According to data from the US Press Freedom Tracker, 11 journalists were arrested or criminally charged over the past six months across the states, while the number of assaults documented reached 22 assaults over the same period.