Media Contact: Dylan Manshack, dmanshack@cwa-union.org | 202-445-4033
WASHINGTON — The NewsGuild-CWA joined a class action lawsuit with the ACLU of Minnesota, Status Coup News, longtime Minneapolis residents and others to uphold the rights of the Minnesotans and journalists who have been obstructed and targeted by the federal government for exercising their First Amendment rights. The suit is supported by pro bono partners Ciresi Conlin, Forsgren Fisher, and Riach Law.
The lawsuit seeks to ensure that journalists and others can observe, document, assemble and criticize DHS’s activities, safely and unburdened by the fear of retaliation.
The lawsuit names Kristi Noem, Todd Lyons and other senior staff with ICE and DHS as Defendants for directing federal agents to use dangerous militarized methods that have targeted journalists, observers and peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights.
Many of the individual reporters and photojournalists subjected to retaliation for engaging in newsgathering are represented by The NewsGuild-CWA. Last month federal agents hit a Minnesota Guild member and photojournalist with a teargas canister while he was covering the protest of Alex Pretti’s shooting for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A few days later federal agents pushed and threatened to arrest a visual journalist and Guild member at the Associated Press.
“Every person on U.S. soil has a right to observe, gather news and criticize our government as enshrined in our Constitution through the First Amendment,” said Jon Schleuss, president of The NewsGuild-CWA.
“Our union is proud to stand with community members and journalists to fight for our rights to safely record federal officers and gather information, especially when federal agents are going door-to-door terrorizing our communities and disappearing neighbors in broad daylight, including our own members.”
The NewsGuild-CWA has joined other lawsuits against DHS for attacking journalists, peaceful protestors and observers. In June, the Guild joined the ACLU of Southern California in a suit against the government, winning a preliminary injunction stopping federal agents from attacking journalists. In October the Chicago NewsGuild joined a lawsuit to bar similar assaults on journalists and protestors in Illinois.
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About The NewsGuild-CWA
The NewsGuild-CWA is the largest labor union of media workers and was founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. The Guild represents more than 27,000 members in newsrooms, online publications and nonprofit organizations across North America, including the ACLU of Minnesota.