September, however, brought two major legal wins in the state for journalists targeted by law enforcement.
On Sept 10, a judge agreed to a preliminary injunction on Department of Homeland Security agents, placing new restrictions against violent tactics while policing protests in the Los Angeles area.
U.S. District Judge Hernán Vera agreed with the plaintiffs in the June lawsuit — multiple journalists, along with press advocacy groups, protesters and legal observers — that DHS seemed to be retaliating against them for First Amendment-protected behavior. His order prohibits agents from dispersing, threatening or assaulting journalists or legal observers without probable cause; using crowd-control weapons and kinetic impact projectiles without threats of imminent harm and before giving two audible warnings; and firing weapons at sensitive areas of the body.
“Under the guise of protecting the public, federal agents have endangered large numbers of peaceful protestors, legal observers, and journalists — as well as the public that relies on them to hold their government accountable,” Vera wrote. “The First Amendment demands better.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has appealed the order.
On the same day, the same judge granted the Los Angeles Press Club and the news outlet Status Coup a preliminary injunction that placed new restrictions on the LA Police Department’s violent protest policing tactics.
“The LAPD’s heavy-handed efforts to police this summer’s protests violated state law, as well as the federal Constitution,” Vera wrote.
The Tracker’s West Coast reporter Briana Erickson brings it all together in a sweeping analysis with interviews from reporters who were on the ground.
