The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Jim McDonnell, in his official capacity, for violating journalists’ rights under the U.S. Constitution and state law.
As FAC and a coalition of advocacy organizations noted in a June 11 letter, officers of both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department repeatedly obstructed journalists’ reporting on the June 2025 Los Angeles protests. Journalists covering the protests were shot with “less-lethal” munitions, injured, detained, searched, and unnecessarily removed and excluded from the protest area based on general closure and mass dispersal orders.
The Los Angeles Press Club’s and Status Coup’s lawsuit seeks a judicial declaration that the LAPD’s actions against journalists violated state laws that protect journalists’ right to access and cover protests, including California Penal Code section 409.7, and First Amendment and other statutory and constitutional protections, including California Penal Code section 13652, that apply to everyone. It also seeks an injunction requiring the LAPD to comply with these laws moving forward.
The case, Los Angeles Press Club v. City of Los Angeles, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup are the plaintiffs.
Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup are represented by Carol Sobel and Weston Rowland of the Law Office of Carol Sobel; Susan Seager; Peter Bibring of the Law Office of Peter Bibring; the law firm of Schonbrun, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Zeldes LLP; and the First Amendment Coalition.
Press Release:
- Journalists Sue LAPD to Stop Attacks at Protests (6/16/2025)
Legal Documents:
- Complaint (6/16/2025)