Press groups push DHS over potential First Amendment violations during LA protests
A group of more than two dozen First Amendment and press freedom advocacy groups sent a June 9 letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over potential First Amendment violations during the protests.
- The California-based First Amendment Coalition, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Los Angeles Press Club led the letter to DHS.
- In addition, 27 other press freedom and First Amendment advocacy groups signed the June 9 letter.
A host of press freedom and civil rights organizations are warning the Department of Homeland Security that federal officers “may have violated the First Amendment rights” of journalists covering protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles.
In a June 9 letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, more than two dozen organizations expressed alarm over how the events have unfolded.
"The press plays an essential role in our democracy as the public’s eyes and ears," wrote the groups, led by the First Amendment Coalition, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Los Angeles Press Club. "The timely reporting of breaking news is necessary to provide the public with complete information, especially about controversial events."
Others signing the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Reporters Without Borders, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and several unions representing journalists.
"A number of reports suggest that federal officers have indiscriminately used force or deployed munitions such as tear gas or pepper balls that caused significant injuries to journalists,” the letter said. “In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news.”
The Los Angeles Press Club has documented at least 30 cases of journalists being injured while covering the protests. Several of those incidents were caught on camera. New York Post photographer Toby Canham was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg and Los Angeles Police Department officers detained CNN correspondent Jason Carroll. The LAPD and the California Highway Patrol have not responded to Paste BN's request for comment on the injuries.
The news organizations with injured members represent a diverse range of media and suggests that law enforcement violence “is a problem for all journalists” covering the protests, First Amendment Coalition legal director David Loy told Paste BN.
“The First Amendment is the First Amendment regardless of who you report for or what your perspective is,” he said. “The government is obligated to respect the First Amendment rights of all members of the press, regardless of politics.”
The letter said federal officers are required to uphold the freedom of the press under the First Amendment and referenced court cases that affirmed individuals’ right to record law enforcement officers executing their duties in public places and journalists’ exemption from general dispersal orders so long as they are not interfering with law enforcement actions.
It said law enforcement’s response to criminal conduct must therefore be “narrowly tailored to addressing the specific conduct of those individuals.”
“To avoid any further First Amendment violations, please immediately ensure that any federal officers or personnel, or anyone acting under their direction and control, refrain from any unlawful, indiscriminate and excessive use of force against members of the press and public who are merely covering events of public concern in the Los Angeles area,” the groups wrote.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to Paste BN that the department received the letter.
“This is a whole-of-government approach to restore law and order,” McLaughlin said of the collaboration among DHS, the Defense Department and others in the Trump administration to respond to the protests. “We are grateful to our military members and law enforcement who have acted with patriotism in the face of assault, taunts and violence.”
Loy said the coalition behind the letter will “evaluate what our next steps are” if the incidents continue.
Protests over immigration raids in the city started on June 6 and grew over the following days. President Donald Trump, against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes, ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to the city on June 7.
Newsom called the move “purposefully inflammatory,” and the state sued the administration on June 9. Newsom referred to Trump’s deployment of hundreds of Marines that same day as a “blatant abuse of power” and said further legal action would follow.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at Paste BN. Reach her at bjfrank@gannett.com.
Paste BN's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
This story was updated to add additional information.