MINNEAPOLIS (KFGO) – The ACLU of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of journalists targeted and attacked by law enforcement while covering protests over the death of George Floyd.
Defendants include the City of Minneapolis, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, police union head Lt. Bob Kroll, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, and Minnesota State Patrol Colonel Matthew Langer.
According to the ACLU, Minneapolis Police and the Minnesota State Patrol have engaged in an extraordinary escalation of unlawful force deliberately targeting journalists. They tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed and shot journalists in the face with rubber bullets, partially blinding a photographer. They arrested journalists without cause and threatened them at gunpoint, even though the reporters identified themselves and were clearly in the middle of reporting.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop law enforcement from attacking and targeting journalists, now and in the future; a declaration that police conduct violated the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments; and damages.
“Without a free press, we can’t have a free society,” said attorney Kevin Riach with Fredrikson & Byron. “The press protects us all by keeping us informed about the activities of our government. When the government violently represses journalists in violation of the Constitution, we have a duty to speak out and protect the press in return.”
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