FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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LOS ANGELES – Today the Los Angeles Press Club (LAPC) and investigative reporting network Status Coup filed a federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department for violating journalists’ rights under the U.S. Constitution and state law. The groups are represented by Carol Sobel and Weston Rowland of the Law Office of Carol Sobel; Susan Seager; the Law Office of Peter Bibring; the firm of Schonbrun, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Zeldes LLP; and the First Amendment Coalition.
“With today’s lawsuit, the L.A. Press Club is fighting for the rights of all of its nearly 1,000 members to report the news without risking their health and safety,” said Adam Rose, press rights chair of LAPC, a nonprofit organization that supports journalists in Southern California.
Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers began carrying out raids across the Los Angeles region this month, protests have erupted. LAPD officers have responded with excessive force against both the press and public. Journalists covering the protests have been shot with “less-lethal munitions,” charged by horses, and forcibly prevented from filming.
“Our democracy depends on an informed public. When press rights are threatened, it’s the public that suffers,” said Carol Sobel, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.
Today’s lawsuit seeks to protect the rights of the press under the First Amendment and California state law, including Senate Bill 98, which specifically prohibits law enforcement from assaulting the press to obstruct reporting, and Assembly Bill 48, which limits the use of kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents to disperse protests. 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 complaint can be found here: https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/LAPC-v-City-of-LA-Complaint-6-16-2025.pdf