On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said journalists, protestors and legal observers are likely to succeed on their First Amendment claims against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for retaliatory use of force during ongoing protests against federal immigration actions in Southern California.
The NewsGuild-CWA joined a lawsuit in June against DHS and then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem filed by the ACLU of Southern California with the Los Angeles Press Club, journalists, legal observers and others.
The court recognized an “avalanche” of evidence that supported the claim that journalists, legal observers and protesters were subjected to retaliatory force by federal agents and noted “a chilling effect” on the exercise of constitutionally protected freedoms.
The judges reinforced a prior preliminary injunction issued by a district court judge in September.
“Peaceful protests and a free press sit at the core of our democracy,” wrote U.S. Circuit Court Judge Ronald M. Gould in the opinion issued Wednesday. “In light of the First Amendment to our Constitution, the government cannot properly silence the People or the Press simply because the government disagrees with public protests, demonstrations, press reporting, or other speech criticizing the government.”
“Protest and the exercise of free speech—even before such rights existed for the American colonists—were driving forces that helped to propel the American Revolution and to establish the United States’ independence from colonial control,” he wrote.
“We applaud the decision by the Ninth Circuit in affirming everyone’s right to a free press and the right to peacefully protest,” said NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss. “Federal agents attacked journalists, peaceful protesters and legal observers and the union of journalists will not let that stand. We’re proud to stand with the ACLU, the Los Angeles Press Club and our own members in this lawsuit to protect the First Amendment rights of everyone on American soil.”
“Today’s ruling confirms that the Constitution does not permit the government to silence dissent through intimidation or violence,” said Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. “The court recognized the harms inflicted on journalists, observers and protesters are real, ongoing and unconstitutional. We will continue to fight to ensure that those protections are not just recognized but enforced.”
While the Ninth Circuit directed the district court to narrow the scope of the preliminary injunction issued last September, it upheld the core findings that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their retaliation claims and that immediate relief is warranted.
“This ruling is an important step towards accountability,” said Lexis-Olivier Ray, a plaintiff in the case. “Nobody should face violence or retaliation for documenting federal agents or speaking out, especially against government abuse.”
The lawsuit – filed in June 2025 by the Los Angeles Press Club, The NewsGuild-CWA, three journalists, two individual protesters and a legal observer – details the retaliatory violence DHS inflicted in violation of their constitutional rights to protest, observe and report on government actions.
“This decision reinforces that in a democracy, the public has the right to document and observe government action and to speak out without being targeted for doing so,” said Matt Borden, partner with BraunHagey & Borden LLP, representing the plaintiffs. “Shooting projectiles at reporters, targeting observers and injuring demonstrators is not crowd control. It’s retaliation.”
Plaintiffs are represented by the 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.