The Los Angeles Press Club, investigative reporting network Status Coup and nonprofit newsroom The Southlander filed a federal lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, 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, 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 lawsuit seeks a judicial declaration that the Sheriff’s Department 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 Sheriff’s Department to comply with these laws moving forward.
The case, Los Angeles Press Club v. County of Los Angeles, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The Los Angeles Press Club, Status Coup and The Southlander are the plaintiffs.
They are represented by Carol Sobel and Weston Rowland of the Law Office of Carol Sobel; Susan Seager; the law firm of Schonbrun, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Zeldes LLP; and the First Amendment Coalition.
Legal Documents:
- Complaint (6/18/2025)