Press ‘brutalized’ covering LA protests

Friends of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker:

“What do I have to do … so I don’t get brutalized by LAPD?”

That’s how photojournalist Nick Stern put it to the room during a meeting of the Los Angeles Police Department’s board of commissioners in mid-April. Stern showed the shirt he was wearing, with PRESS in large letters on the front and back and across the sleeves, and held up the media credentials hanging from his neck. Then he described being threatened with arrest, shot at with crowd-control munitions and kicked in the chest while covering protests at an immigration detention center in downtown LA on April 11. Last year, Stern was also assaulted multiple times by law enforcement, including being shot in the leg with a crowd-control munition, which needed to be surgically removed. He has since filed suit against the Los Angeles County and its sheriff’s department staff.

Watch Stern’s testimony here, as captured by documentarian Rocky Romano, who’s also been shoved, hit with pepper balls and had his camera damaged by law enforcement, among other assaults. And watch FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Adam Rose testify before the police commission.

We’ve documented more than 60 assaults of journalists during protests across the nation already this year; over half of those have come out of California. At least 15 others were detained or caught in a police kettle while covering protests in LA.

Last year was no better for the state, as far as aggressions against the press. We documented more than 100 assaults of journalists in California in June 2025 alone.

At least some of those resulted in legal challenges. Last summer, a group of journalists, press organizations, protesters and others filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and its then-head, Kristi Noem, following a wave of assaults during protests over federal immigration raids in the LA area.

On April 1, a federal court ruled that a preliminary injunction in the suit, designed to shield journalists and others from violence by federal agents, was too broad, sending it back to a lower court for revisions. Importantly, the appeals court noted the injunction was necessary to safeguard the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights against law enforcement, citing “extensive evidence that Defendants acted with retaliatory intent.”

From assaults to arrests and damaged equipment, we’ve documented more than 200 aggressions against the press in California since the beginning of 2025 — including over 100 assaults in June of that year alone.

Pentagon, FBI continue restricting, targeting press

An appeals court ruled on April 27 that the Pentagon can, at least temporarily, mandate official escorts for journalists within the building. The decision is part of an ongoing dispute over press restrictions, which began last year when the Defense Department updated its policies, notably adding a loyalty pledge requirement for the press. The New York Times challenged these restrictions in a December lawsuit, and a federal judge found in March that the policies were unconstitutional. The temporary escort requirement came as part of the administration’s appeal.

Over at the FBI, Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic and one of its reporters for defamation after an article reported Patel’s conduct on the job has included “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences.” The suit, filed April 20, demands $250 million in damages. The Atlantic responded to the allegations on the social platform X, writing: “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.”

Two days later, on April 22, the Times reported the FBI had opened an investigation into features writer Elizabeth Williamson following her February article on Patel’s use of agency funds for his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins. Agents launched the investigation into Williamson after Wilkins said she felt “harassed” by the reporting, which involved, of all things, talking to sources. While the case has since been dropped, Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn called it “alarming.” He told the paper, “The F.B.I.’s attempt to criminalize routine reporting is a blatant violation of Elizabeth’s First Amendment rights and another attempt by this administration to prevent journalists from scrutinizing its actions.”

Other notable updates

Several incidents that we’ve been tracking for years came to a conclusion this month.

• Independent journalist Justin Pulliam was awarded more than $75,000 in damages in March after a federal judge ruled he was unlawfully arrested and his recording equipment seized in 2021 while filming sheriff’s deputies in Texas. “For true press freedom to exist, accountability can’t take over four years,” Pulliam told the Tracker. Last we checked with Pulliam, he was still waiting for the return of his equipment.
  
• Three men who shot and killed security guard Kevin Nishita while attempting to rob a KRON-TV reporter in Oakland, California, in 2021 were sentenced on April 7 to extended prison terms.
  
• In May 2023, Jarrad Nathan fired a shot from an AR-style rifle into the WHBQ-TV newsroom in Memphis, Tennessee. No one was hurt. Nearly three years later, on April 8, he was sentenced to five years in prison.
  
• Also, a federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation claims against The Wall Street Journal on April 13, but said he could file an amended complaint. Trump has indicated he would do so.