Maryland congressman threatens student reporter over recording

Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican congressman from Maryland, threatened a student journalist with prosecution after she recorded him during a media event in Cambridge, Maryland, WYPR reported.

Video of the incident shows Harris telling the University of Maryland student reporter that she did not have permission to record him and that recording would lead to a referral to prosecutors, according to AOL.

The student journalist responded that others in the room were also recording Harris, but he cited Maryland's Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, which generally prohibits recording private conversations without all parties' consent, as reported by AOL and WYPR.

The incident has drawn attention to legal and ethical questions about recording public officials in Maryland, where the two-party consent law applies, according to the Maryland General Assembly information cited by AOL.