By Vanguard Staff
LOS ANGELES – A coalition of journalists, protesters, and legal observers has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of retaliatory violence during recent protests against immigration raids across Southern California. The suit, filed in the Central District of California, claims DHS officers used excessive and indiscriminate force to suppress First Amendment-protected activities and to justify the domestic deployment of military personnel against demonstrators.
The complaint, brought by the Los Angeles Press Club, NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, and several individuals, alleges that DHS officials brutalized peaceful demonstrators, members of the press, and legal observers without provocation. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the violence was part of a deliberate campaign to silence dissent and construct a pretext for the Trump administration’s military escalation in California.
“Each time the community rises in protest against the federal government’s attacks on our people, DHS retaliates with sweeping, excessive force,” said Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, which is representing the plaintiffs. “Federal law enforcement has brutalized demonstrators, causing disorder in a circular ploy to justify deploying military domestically against now and future protesters.”
The violence escalated after the Trump administration launched a sweeping immigration enforcement operation in early June. DHS agents in full tactical gear—often without visible identification—descended on homes, workplaces, schools, and houses of worship. More than 100,000 people have been detained nationally in just over five months, with Southern California becoming a major focus of the raids.
Outrage followed swiftly. Protests erupted at sites of enforcement, including the downtown Los Angeles Federal Building and courthouses, as community members attempted to document abuses and express solidarity with detained friends and family. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, with legal observers and journalists present in large numbers.
But according to the complaint, federal agents met these protests with a barrage of weapons: tear gas, rubber bullets, exploding grenades, pepper spray, and batons. The plaintiffs argue this was no accident. Rather, it was a deliberate tactic to provoke chaos and rationalize President Trump’s controversial decision to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops and, later, 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles.
“This isn’t just a press crackdown—it’s an assault on the rights of all Americans, especially working people,” said Jon Schleuss, president of NewsGuild-CWA. “This state-sanctioned violence against journalists is meant to stop the public from learning the truth.”
The violence has had real consequences. Plaintiff Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a freelance journalist, was hit in the head with a tear gas canister while covering a protest in Paramount. He suffered a large hematoma and required emergency medical treatment. The next day, he was shot in the press pass with a pepper ball while covering a march in Boyle Heights.
Another journalist, Ryanne Mena of the Southern California Newsgroup, was hit in the thigh with a pepper ball and the head with a rubber bullet on two separate occasions. The second incident caused a concussion, vomiting, and forced her to miss work.
Veteran photojournalist Ted Soqui was shot in the head and back over two days, despite standing in designated press areas. And Lexis-Olivier Ray, an L.A. TACO investigative reporter, was shot multiple times while clearly marked as press, including once in the hand from 10 feet away.
“These journalists were just doing their job,” said Adam Rose, press rights chair of the Los Angeles Press Club. “Democracy depends on an informed public. An informed public depends on a press free to do its job without fearing violence by federal agents.”
The legal challenge also includes declarations from legal observers and community members who were assaulted or exposed to chemical weapons, including children and elders. One video cited in the complaint shows U.S. Representatives Jimmy Gomez and Norma Torres caught in tear gas outside the Federal Building, with Torres coughing mid-sentence as she attempted to describe conditions inside.
Despite calls from Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles officials to de-escalate, the Trump administration doubled down. On June 8, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem requested military assistance from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including drone surveillance and military weaponry. That same day, Trump ordered 700 Marines into Los Angeles.
“We’re not going to let a repeat of 2020 happen,” Secretary Noem said in a national television interview, referencing the protests following George Floyd’s killing.
The plaintiffs argue that this rhetoric and deployment strategy mirror authoritarian tactics. The goal, they contend, is to stoke fear, suppress dissent, and establish federal supremacy over local opposition.
“DHS has systematically—and violently—violated our clients’ constitutional rights to report, observe, and protest,” said Matthew Borden, a partner at BraunHagey & Borden LLP. “Courts have repeatedly rejected this type of intimidation. The rights to report and protest are essential to the function of our government.”
Alongside the complaint, plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to halt DHS’s use of force ahead of further protests. The motion is supported by over a dozen declarations describing injuries ranging from burns to broken bones to psychological trauma.
The case raises significant questions about the limits of federal power, the militarization of immigration enforcement, and the future of civil liberties in a polarized and volatile political environment.
In a statement issued at a June 20 press conference, the plaintiffs and their legal team pledged to continue fighting in court and in the streets.
“Violent crackdowns on dissent have no place in a democracy,” said Carol Sobel, one of the attorneys on the case. “We will not allow this administration to turn our cities into war zones.”
The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, BraunHagey & Borden LLP, the Law Office of Carol A. Sobel, the Law Office of Peter Bibring, and Schonbrun, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Zeldes LLP.
As the legal battle unfolds, DHS has signaled it intends to maintain its presence in Los Angeles, with one federal spokesperson declaring, “We are here, and we are not going away.”
The plaintiffs argue that unless the courts intervene, the damage to democratic institutions—and to those fighting to preserve them—may be irreversible.
