On October 8, FAC and the ACLU of Southern California sent the following letter to the Los Angeles Police Department objecting to LAPD officers’ threats to arrest journalist Lexis-Olivier Ray while he was attempting to observe and document the clearing of homeless encampments. The letter states:
Mr. Ray was not obstructing any city employees when he was threatened with arrest, and his presence at the encampment sites did not present any safety risk. The arrest threats therefore infringed on Mr. Ray’s First Amendment rights to observe and document these operations, which are of immense public concern. We write to urgently request that you immediately take action to ensure that LAPD officers refrain from violating Mr. Ray’s constitutional rights during similar operations going forward.