LA Press Club Sues City of Los Angeles For Targeting Journalists

The Los Angeles Press Club, alongside Status Coup, an independent investigative outlet, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, alleging excessive force against journalists covering recent anti-ICE protests. 

The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Western Division), claims that journalism in Los Angeles has become a “dangerous profession.”

The complaint accuses the LAPD of using physical force, making arrests, and blocking journalists’ access to public police activities, in violation of California Penal Code Section 13652. Enacted in 2021 following the George Floyd protests, this law bans the use of non-lethal kinetic impact projectiles and chemical agents against reporters. The plaintiffs assert that the LAPD disregarded this law.

They seek injunctive relief to stop the LAPD’s “unlawful and unconstitutional” actions, plus attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.