Local photographer says activists assaulted him

After 88 days atop a redwood in protest, engulfed in media attention, Tracy "Dolphin" McNeely was ready to come down.\nAlthough she'd pledged to remain in her treetop perch until forcibly removed, she climbed down and returned to her normal routine -- a routine that includes hanging out with friends in Peoples Park. \nWhen approached by Herald-Times photographer Jeremy Hogan Tuesday, she denied she was Dolphin. She said she didn't want to be photographed. She claimed she was a private individual and of no public interest.\nHogan said he asked Dolphin if he could take her picture, a request always honored in the past. McNeely allegedly then began shouting she was no longer a public figure and should not be photographed. A crowd quickly gathered. \n"It really was a mob mentality," Hogan said. "I don't think it would have continued as it did had she not threatened to break my camera."\nAs the crowd expanded, few people came forward to protect Hogan. Hogan was then approached, he said, by a man he identified as Jeffrey Einstein of Bloomington. Bloomington Police officials denied comment on the suspect's identity because Hogan has not yet decided to press charges.\nEinstein could not be reached for comment Wednesday.\nEinstein allegedly asked him to leave the park, Hogan said. When Hogan did not, Einstein began threatening physical assault. Hogan then took a picture of Einstein, provoking Einstein to attack.\nHogan said he silently shouldered the attack, attempting only to protect his camera, until police arrived on the scene. He was transported to PromptCare West, where he was placed under 24-hour surveillance for possible head injuries and concussion.\nHogan stated while many individuals perceive McNeely as a "counter-cultural hero," he finds it odd that someone who professes to engage in nonviolent behavior would behave as she allegedly did.\n"I certainly don't think she's a hero after she snuck out of the park as I was being beaten," Hogan said. "At one point I was on my knees asking if they were going to beat me as Ghandi was beaten -- just to make a point. It's my way of showing the absurdity of the situation."\nHe said he doesn't think the incident reflects on what he deems the "Bloomington environmental community" as a whole.\n"It doesn't reflect at all on everyone -- just a 19-year old girl that I would say is a charlatan," he maintained.\nBloomington Police Department officials said no formal charges have been filed at this time, although Herald-Times editor Robert Zaltsberg said the paper pledges its full support behind Hogan, should he choose to press charges. \n"He certainly had a right to be there shooting photos of anyone," Zaltsberg said. "The fact that he was shooting for a news story takes it into a different area. It's not just a pretty picture to be used at our discretion -- it was a photo of someone who is arguably a public figure." \nIU School of Journalism professor Paul Voakes said Hogan had the right to photograph McNeely. \n"I think that McNeely was probably concerned about invasion of her privacy because it seems she is wanting to move to a more private status than she's had over the last several months," Voakes said. "However, the law clearly states that if a person is in a public place or in a place where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, then it's very difficult to claim that right."\nVoakes also noted that McNeely's declaration of herself as a private figure has no legal basis. \n"Individuals don't have the right to declare themselves public or private citizens," he said. "That determination is made by court in a much larger social context and I think that in this context she's going to be public for awhile"