U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken formally declared on Sunday that Russian authorities had wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, giving federal officials additional resources to secure his release.

Blinken announced the official classification involving Gershkovich, who was arrested last week on accusations of espionage by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The category gives control to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department to handle the situation.

“Journalism is not a crime,” Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson, told NBC in a statement. “We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth.”

Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week, calling for the “immediate release” of Gershkovich, and Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran detained in the country since 2018.

On March 29, in the first arrest of an American journalist on espionage charges since 1986, Gershokovich was detained in Yekaterinburg, located in the Ural Mountains, while on a reporting trip, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Russian Foreign Ministry claimed the United States was politicizing Gershokovich’s detention, saying, “it is unacceptable for officials in Washington and the western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political colouring.”

“Blinken’s attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, taken in accordance with the law and international obligations of the Russian Federation,” the foreign ministry said.

Russia has yet to provide any evidence for the allegations against Gershkovich but claimed he was “caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information, collecting data constituting a state secret under the guise of a journalistic status.”

According to The New York Times, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. The Wall Street Journal “vehemently denies” the allegations, as did Gershkovich in a court appearance last week.

Whelan is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in a penal colony on espionage charges, accusations which Whelan denies and the U.S. government says are baseless.

President Joe Biden recently told reporters that his message to Russia regarding Gershkovich was “let him go.”

Ben Whitehead contributed to this report.

Baltimore residents under 17 face a citywide curfew this summer after two teenagers were injured Sunday night in a shooting amid a crowd of over 200 minors gathered around the incident.

According to local media, a large presence of police broke up a fight at the Inner Harbor around 9:00 p.m. last night, leaving a 14-year-old and 16-year-old injured from gunshot wounds. Authorities said two were arrested, including one police found with a loaded gun in the police headquarters parking garage after attempting to escape the scene on a dirt bike, and another believed to have been involved in the shooting.

Following the report, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott called for a 9:00 p.m. curfew for minors under 14 years old and a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone younger than 17.

“I want everyone to hear me, and hear me clearly,” Scott said, according to CBS. “We are going back to the old days. We will be enforcing a youth curfew as we move into the latter spring and summer months.”

Scott said the city would host summer camps and programs, which have yet to be announced.

“We are going to have summer camp,” Mayor Scott said. “We are going to do the great things we do in recreation and parks, but we are also going to put a sense of accountability on families. We want our young kids to come out to the Inner Harbor and enjoy it in a safe way.”

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison addressed the incident in a press conference following the shooting, stating more than 40 officers responded to the scene.

“This speaks to a larger issue, that young people have easy access to these firearms and would use them indiscriminately, shooting people within 30 feet with 25 to 30 police officers who were in the area,” Harrison said. “They don’t care about the consequences and have no respect for human life or authority to pull off that brazenly cowardly act in front of police officers.”

Some residents described a disturbing atmosphere around the Inner Harbor area to local media.

“You want to be able to come out any time and be safe. So, that makes me feel like we have to come in before dark,” Tammy Williams, a resident, said.

Another resident said she had to leave the area while visiting with her daughter, who said the youth flooded the streets with dirt bikes.

“I was telling her, ‘Where are their parents?’ And, if something happens, then their parents are going to be the ones saying, ‘Oh, this is terrible.’ But you know, the time is now,” Velvette Clayton said.

Baltimore police reported at least five children had been fatally shot in 2023, with 23 residents under 18 years old having sustained gunfire injuries.