FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2025
Media Contact: communications@aclusocal.org, (213) 977-5252
LOS ANGELES – Last night, protesters, legal observers and journalists sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal court for attacking them with retaliatory violence in violation of their Constitutional rights to protest and report on government actions.
“Each time the community rises in protest against the federal government’s attacks on our people, DHS retaliates with sweeping, excessive force,” said Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. “Federal law enforcement has brutalized demonstrators, causing disorder in a circular ploy to justify deploying military domestically against now and future protesters. But people have the right to keep protesting the violent separation of families and ICE’s terrorizing of our people.”
The suit alleges that DHS’s brutal use of force at demonstrations punishes and suppresses the exercise of First Amendment-protected rights. According to the complaint, DHS “misuse[s] . . . weaponry, including … chemical agents such as tear gas, rubber bullets, impact munitions, pepper balls, pepper spray, exploding grenades, batons, fists, and other weapons” to retaliate against protesters, legal observers, and reporters, and to create a violent spectacle the Trump Administration is using as a pretext to turn the military against Californians.
“Since June 6, at least seven members of our organization have been subject to use of force or suffered a serious press rights violation by DHS officers. This number doesn’t include dozens of incidents with minor amounts of tear gas or similar chemical weapons,” said Adam Rose, press rights chair of the Los Angeles Press Club. “Democracy depends on an informed public. An informed public depends on a press free to do its job without fearing violence by federal agents.”
On June 6, the Trump administration began a series of indiscriminate immigration raids across Southern California. DHS officers—in masks, wearing paramilitary gear and brandishing rifles—abducted community members from churches, carwashes, and ordinary places of business. As news of these attacks spread, Southern California residents took to the streets to document what was happening, to remind the targeted community members of their legal rights, and to peacefully protest the federal government’s invasion of their neighborhoods and violent separation of their families.
“What happened in LA isn’t just a press crackdown, it’s an assault on the rights of all Americans, especially working people,” said Jon Schleuss, president of NewsGuild-CWA. “This state-sanctioned violence against journalists is meant to stop the public from learning the truth. We’re proud to join this fight to demand accountability and end impunity for DHS officers who attack the workers who power our free press.”
Alongside the complaint is a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO), asking the court to issue an order restraining DHS before the weekend. The application, which is supported by dozens of declarations from protesters, legal observers and journalists describing DHS’s attacks on them and the resulting injuries, includes a concussion, hematoma, and burns, among numerous others. Plaintiffs are requesting injunctive relief.
The plaintiffs are represented by ACLU Foundation of Southern California, BraunHagey & Borden LLP, the Law Office of Carol A. Sobel, the Law Office of Peter Bibring, and Schonbrun, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Zeldes LLP.
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