This article is published in partnership with the Center for Media and Democracy.
On Wednesday, a federal district court judge in Los Angeles issued a sweeping preliminary injunction barring Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers from “dispersing, threatening, or assaulting” journalists or legal observers, or using crowd control weapons on or shooting projectiles at anyone who doesn’t “pose a threat of imminent harm.”
The Los Angeles area has been rocked by protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids since June 6, when the Trump administration first targeted it for a crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
DHS officers have “unleashed crowd control weapons indiscriminately and with surprising savagery” in “retaliation” for those “constitutionally protected” protests and the related activities of journalists and observers, Judge Hernán Vera, a Biden appointee, stated in his ruling.
DHS does not have “carte blanche to unleash near-lethal force on crowds of third parties in the vicinity. Indeed, 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,” Judge Vera wrote. “The First Amendment demands better.”
The judge concluded that “federal agents’ indiscriminate use of force … will undoubtedly chill the media’s efforts to cover these public events and protestors seeking to express peacefully their views on national policies.”
Related: DHS Claims Videotaping ICE Raids Is ‘Violence’
As the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reported in August, journalists in Los Angeles have been repeatedly and severely injured by the actions of DHS, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD), and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) while covering protests against ICE raids and the Trump administration’s deployment of Marines and the National Guard to the city.
“Since the federal government began its violent, chaotic invasion of Southern California, our communities have risen together to bear witness and to speak out for their neighbors and loved ones,” said Adrienna Wong, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, in a statement. “This ruling affirms their constitutional rights to do just that.”
“By granting this relief, the court has affirmed the journalistic duty to our communities and the essential role of a free press,” said Ryanne Mena, a journalist and one of the plaintiffs.
“I’ve spent countless hours compiling evidence of police misconduct toward journalists in Los Angeles. The attacks this summer have been relentless,” said Adam Rose, press rights chair of the Los Angeles Press Club, the lead plaintiff in the case. “It was a relief to hear Judge Vera acknowledge a ‘mountain of evidence’ as we sat in his courtroom last month. This decision affirms our right to be free from violence while doing our jobs.”
The court’s disturbing factual findings about the violence committed by DHS officers include specifically targeting members of the press with “less lethal” rounds even when they were far from protesters; firing on the media even after most protesters had left; and shooting tear gas canisters and pepper balls directly at reporters and others who posed no threat.
“In a disturbing number of cases,” DHS officers shot people in the head, Judge Vera wrote, noting that “less lethal” projectiles are meant to be aimed at the ground and “can—and have—caused severe trauma and death” when “aimed at the head.”
Judge Vera rejected DHS’s “baseless accusations that Plaintiffs themselves participated in violent riots,” saying the agency had failed to produce “a shred of evidence” to support that claim.
The court found that the injunction was necessary because of “strong and persuasive evidence of retaliatory intent” and the likelihood that DHS would continue to violate the First Amendment rights of journalists, legal observers, and peaceful protesters. DHS officers “have injured three members of LA Press Club and NewsGuild” since the denial of a temporary restraining order by a different judge on June 20, Vera noted.
Still, real questions remain as to whether or not DHS will comply with the order. In May, a federal judge in Boston found that DHS had violated a court order by deporting eight men to South Sudan. Members of the LAPD brutalized journalists even after being enjoined against doing so. Nick Stern, who was attacked by officers from both the LAPD and the LASD, said that he is not optimistic that DHS will comply with the preliminary injunction.
“These rulings come down, but when you’re on the ground, they are ignored much of the time,” Stern told CMD. “It seems to make very little difference in behavior. It’s a good administrative success, but whether or not it makes a difference on the streets remains to be seen.”
No one from DHS has responded to CMD’s request for comment.