The New York Times reports:

A prominent American-born journalist working for an Iranian state-run satellite television channel has been arrested in the United States, the broadcaster said Wednesday.

The reported action, which has not been confirmed by the American authorities, was condemned by Iranian officials. The journalist, Marzieh Hashemi, who has lived in Iran since 2009, is an anchor at the channel, Press TV.

It said that Ms. Hashemi, 59, was arrested at the St. Louis airport on Sunday and transferred by the F.B.I. to Washington, where she remained in custody. No charges have been filed against her, the channel said. [Continue reading…]

The Associated Press reports:

Federal law allows judges to order witnesses to be arrested and detained if the government can prove their testimony has extraordinary value for a criminal case and that they would be a flight risk and unlikely to respond to a subpoena. The statute generally requires those witnesses to be promptly released once they are deposed.

Material witness statue? Smells of retaliation and harkens back to post 9/11 days when the US grossly abused this statute. US needs to explain now grounds for holding Hashemi and provide process immediately. https://t.co/8N6sKNNym9

— Laura Pitter (@Laurapitter) January 17, 2019