• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

Journalists can no longer be attacked with non-lethal munitions during protests in Los Angeles, a federal judge ruled on Friday. 

Widespread assaults on reporters attempting to cover anti-ICE protests prompted the Los Angeles Press Club and the Status Coup news network to file suit, seeking a preliminary injunction to prohibit such assaults. 

“Plaintiffs have amply demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on their First Amendment claims,” writes U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera. “The Supreme Court has recognized that newsgathering is an activity protected by the First Amendment.” 

Vera notes that the plaintiffs cited “at least thirty-five troubling instances between June 6 and June 19, 2025 in which the LAPD hit journalists with LLMs, exposed them to tear gas, forced them away from public places, or used other forms of physical force,.”

Case in point: “On June 9, 2025, photojournalist Michael Nigro took his position on the Temple Street bridge, a pedestrian bridge offering a view of the protests in front of Edward R. Roybal Federal Building, Vera notes. “Though he was high above the protests below, he soon heard the telltale sound of less-lethal munitions (LLMs) hitting a pole near his head a sound he recognized from covering conflict zones. Later that day, he was shot in the head with an LLM by a Los Angeles Police officer.”

The case is on file with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.