Don’t Listen to the Government & Never Forget Your Rights!

Protestor FilmingDon’t Listen to the Government

We have repeatedly discussed in this Blog the right you have to film and photograph law enforcement officers performing their duties, as long as you are not interfering in their work. Recently, our increasingly repressive federal government has been incorrectly claiming that you do not have such a right. Indeed, the Cato Institute (a libertarian think tank) has noted that Trump administration officials, “including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, have repeatedly spoken as if citizens have no right to photograph or video record ICE raids or identify the officers by name.”

However, as we have stated several times before in this Blog, and as the Cato Institute explains:: “While the Supreme Court itself hasn’t yet faced the issue squarely, the seven federal circuits that have done so—the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th—all agree that the First Amendment protects the right to record police performing their duties in public.” The full Cato Institute article can be read here: https://www.cato.org/blog/lawmakers-all-citizens-have-right-report-ice-raids?utm_source=TMP-Newsletter&utm_campaign=7bf9532686-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_10_31_10_46&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e02cdad9d-7bf9532686-171279605

Never Forget Your Rights

Former United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren once said: “The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.” It is crucial that if we are to remain a free country, “we the people” must continue to push back against government intrusion on our constitutional freedoms, or we will surely lose them. One of the important things we can do is safely film or photograph law enforcement officers as they perform their duties.

The Nobles & Yanez Law Firm has defended numerous people who were falsely arrested and charged by the government for exercising their constitutional rights to protest and assemble. If you are arrested for publicly filming or photographing any law enforcement officer–whether a local police officer or a federal ICE agent–you need a criminal lawyer with knowledge of constitutional law. Please contact us at the Nobles & Yanez Law Firm for a free consultation.