It’s been a chaotic few days in Los Angeles amid immigration raids, protests against those raids and violence that stemmed from the throngs who took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
It’s prompted the deployment of military personnel to augment law enforcement in L.A., something Gov. Gavin Newsom and other local leaders say is an unconstitutional use of power by federal officials.
But the use of the military isn’t the only alleged violation of the Constitution to emerge from this crackdown.
Free-speech advocates have noted that some actions by law enforcement aren’t targeting those suspected of being in the country illegally. Instead, they’re taking aim at those who stand with immigrants and against federal law enforcement, which they characterize as violations of the First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful protest.
Perhaps the most prominent example over the weekend was the arrest of David Huerta, president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union, who faces a felony charge of conspiracy to impede an officer after a protest on Friday.
But the alleged infringement upon First Amendment rights in Southern California dates back farther than just this weekend.
In a report about Stephen Miller, a top White House advisor, pressuring federal law enforcement to deport more people, the Wall Street Journal listed a May 1 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a home in Irvine as an example of established rules and best practices being thrown out.
That day, ICE was looking for Michael Chang, who’d allegedly put up fliers identifying ICE officers in the area.
Even though Chang had moved to New York the month before, his parents’ Turtle Rock home was raided while they slept by ICE agents who arrived in “a phalanx of military vehicles.”
Federal officials say Chang’s fliers were an act of “doxxing,” or publicizing personal information often with malicious intent.
A Department of Homeland Security official responded to KTLA’s request for an interview with an agency representative with the following statement:
“Homeland Security Investigations & U.S. Secret Service served a criminal search warrant in an upscale Irvine neighborhood, targeting the suspect they believe was responsible for posting fliers w/ the names, photos, phone numbers, & locations of ICE agents in Southern California in February.”
However, Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said identifying law enforcement officers is not a crime unless there’s a call for violence or harm.
“In this case, from what we know about what was on the flier, there was nothing that amounted to a threat,” Terr told KTLA. “There’s no evidence of a threat or intent to harm anybody, just the dissemination of information coupled with political criticism.”
In the weeks since that Irvine raid, federal officials have kept mum, even as FIRE requested more detailed information, Terr said.
U.S. Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine) released a statement last month saying his office also sought more information, but if they received any updates, they haven’t been disclosed. Min’s office did not return a request for more information prior to publication.
Further complicating the issue, President Donald Trump and his so-called “border czar” Tom Homan have threatened political opponents and protesters with criminal prosecution, which they say could be necessary to protect the safety of officers.
But it’s not just officers’ safety that seems to be Trump’s concern. He’s said that anyone who protests the military parade on Saturday — which is also Trump’s birthday — will be met with “very heavy force.”
“If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,” Trump said, as reported by NBC News. “I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”
Terr said that notion doesn’t align with the Bill of Rights.
“That’s concerning because people who are peacefully protesting shouldn’t be met with any level of government force … It’s very important for the government and for law enforcement to understand what the First Amendment does and doesn’t protect and to let that guide their actions.”
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