Pasadena Media Foundation, Local News Pasadena and its affiliate publications are dedicated to protecting freedom of the press and ensuring the free flow of news to the public. We write today to join a myriad of news outlets in expressing alarm that federal officers may have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering recent protests and unrest related to immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area.
Other evidence suggests that Los Angeles Police Department officers and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies have engaged in similar conduct.
A number of reports allege that federal officers have indiscriminately used force or deployed munitions such as tear gas, rubber bullets or pepper balls that caused significant injuries to journalists. In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news.
According to the Los Angeles Press Club, there are at least 24 documented instances of journalists being targeted by law enforcement while covering protests in L.A. between June 6-8, and multiple media workers report having been shot by police with “less-than-lethal munitions,” including Southern California News Group’s Ryanne Mena, freelance journalists Anthony Cabassa and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, The Southlander’s Ben Camacho, British photojournalist Nick Stern, and LA Taco’s Lexis Olivier-Ray.
Australian TV reporter Lauren Tomasi was caught on tape being shot with a rubber bullet by police while reporting live on the air. A video posted by NBC LA shows police in military-style gear aggressively pushing reporter Mekahlo Medina. Another video shows police firing on a KCBS/KCAL TV crew.
Federal and state officers remain subject to constitutional standards that uphold the right of the press to inform the public without fear of assault or injury.
“The First Amendment protects the right to photograph and record matters of public interest,” including “the right to record law enforcement officers engaged in the exercise of their official duties in public places.” — Askins v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 899 F.3d 1035, 1044 (9th Cir. 2018)
Under the First Amendment, journalists who are merely reporting on events and not interfering with federal operations are not subject to general dispersal orders and “cannot be punished for the violent acts of others,” and the “proper response” to any unlawful conduct is “to arrest those who actually engage in such conduct, rather than to suppress legitimate First Amendment conduct as a prophylactic measure.” — Index Newspapers LLC v. U.S. Marshals Serv., 977 F.3d 817, 834 (9th Cir. 2020).
To the extent that officers may lawfully use force against certain individuals who commit illegal acts, the force must be limited to responding to the conduct of those individuals, not used indiscriminately. Nor may officers target members of the press or public who are observing or reporting the news or otherwise exercising First Amendment rights.
State and federal officers or personnel, or anyone acting under their direction and control, must immediately 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.
Thank you for adjusting the perspective with excellent, thoughtful reporting. We mustn’t normalize bully tactics that rip away our constitutional rights.