California AG wants to protect journalists and demonstrators: “The Trump administration used dangerous weapons”
California – California Attorney General Rob Bonta is in the head of a big legal fight over the Trump Administration’s response to protests. He is leading a group of 17 attorneys general who back journalists and demonstrators who allege that federal officials used illegal force to put down dissent. The endeavor is an amicus brief in the case Los Angeles Press Club, et al. v. Kristi Noem, et al., which is now in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The brief is mostly about protests in Los Angeles that happened after the Trump Administration took strong action to enforce immigration laws. Protesters, media, and legal observers say that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used excessive force on mostly nonviolent protests.
Witnesses said that tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets, and other weapons were used without a good reason. Those present say that these techniques did not settle things down but instead harmed people and made it harder for media to report on what was happening on the ground.
Bonta and the other attorneys general say that this method violated First Amendment rights, which are the main protections that let the press report freely and people disagree with the government without fear of punishment. They also say that the government’s actions made people less safe and didn’t do anything to stop the turmoil. Instead, they say that using force without thinking just made things worse and put communities at even more risk.
“The Trump Administration used dangerous weapons against peaceful protesters and journalists in an attempt to discourage communities nationwide from reporting on and protesting the President’s aggressive immigration raids,” said Attorney General Bonta.
“We will not allow the federal government’s bully tactics to undermine Americans’ First Amendment rights. My office will continue to oppose threats to free, safe speech wherever and whenever they arise.”
A coalition, including the Los Angeles Press Club, NewsGuild–Communications Workers of America, several journalists, two demonstrators, and a legal observer, filed the case. Their goal was to get a court injunction that would stop DHS from utilizing the same crowd control methods at future protests against immigration policy. A federal district court agreed and issued an injunction that limited the government’s ability to use these types of weapons. Federal officials have since appealed, and the Ninth Circuit now has the case.
Bonta and his coworkers ask the appellate court to uphold the lower court’s decision in their brief. They stress that tear gas and rubber bullets should only be used as a last resort, not as a first response. The attorneys general stress that journalists should be protected at protests instead of being seen as targets. They also say that the federal behavior described in the complaint seems to fit with how law enforcement has been acting across the country under the Trump Administration.
The attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia are also working with California. Their message is clear and consistent: constitutional rights don’t go away when politics become tense, and the federal government is not above the law.
