US judge exempts media, observers from police curbs

A U.S. judge has granted a preliminary injunction against federal officers, exempting journalists and legal observers from orders to disperse after the officers declare riots at Portland protests.

The 61-page order prohibited federal officers from seizing any “photographic equipment, audio- or video recording equipment, or press passes” from reporters and legal observers.

A lawyer from the U.S. justice department had argued that the press does not hold any special right when police declare an unlawful assembly or riot and order crowds to break up.

Thursday’s order came in a class-action lawsuit filed by the American civil liberties foundation of Oregon, which called it “a crucial victory” for civil liberties and press freedom.

Protests against racism and police brutality have swept the United States since the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.