Seth Stern

Screenshot of letter to Hyattsville Immigration Court's top judge about how the requirement violated the constitution.

Hyattsville Immigration Court has lifted its ridiculous requirement for reporters to get permission from furloughed federal agents to cover hearings.

We wrote to the court’s top judge yesterday about how the requirement violated the constitution.

cnsmaryland.org/2025/10/31/c...

Interesting how everyone so worried about jawboning when the government pressures tech megacorporations with billions of dollars and armies of lawyers to self-censor doesn't care when the government threatens individual reporters at nonprofit outlets. When's Ted Cruz calling a hearing on that?

Maybe this explains why ICE taped bags over windows of journalist @peoplesfabric.com’s cell so he couldn’t see out when they baselessly arrested him in September.

Local immigration court ousts reporters from hearings Federal officials ordered two reporters out of immigration court and barred them from observing future proceedings until they get permission from the Trump administration.

Shutting down the government doesn't shut down the First Amendment.

It's absurd to exclude reporters from immigration hearings absent government permission, especially when it's impossible to obtain permission, and especially when the current government despises First Amendment freedoms.

They've used Chicago as a testing/training ground for this roving army of BP dipshits after doing the same in LA. Feels pretty crucial that everyone not in Chicago continue paying attention to Chicago to know exactly what to expect when they move elsewhere.

Invitation to FPF zoom webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT RSVP: http://freedom.press/unpaywalled

🔔 Public records-based reporting belongs to the public. @404media.co and @wired.com are leading the way.

Hear why this is a public service and good for business, featuring @josephcox.bsky.social and @katie-drummond.bsky.social.

🗓️ Oct. 29, 2 p.m. EDT

RSVP: freedom.press/unpaywalled

YouTube video by American Constitution Society Rights Under Attack: DHS Violence Against Journalists, Observers, and Protestors

What are journalists dealing with on the front lines covering DHS and ICE?

@attorneynora.bsky.social @writeralejandra.bsky.social @plasticjesusart.bsky.social @mvtopic.bsky.social and I had a lot of ground to cover in this 1-hour panel hosted by
@exposedbycmd.bsky.social and @acslaw.bsky.social!

Rights remain under attack by ICE Plus: Deported journalist speaks out

📩 Read in our weekly newsletter (and subscribe):

- Rights remain under attack by immigration officers
- Help us fight for private prison transparency
- Deported journalist speaks to @pressfreedomtracker.us from El Salvador
- Plus, get to know what we're reading…

FOIA-based reporting should be free Plus: Tell Congress that FOIA must apply to ICE’s secret prisons

The Trump administration is keeping too many secrets and public access to reliable government information is increasingly tenuous.

Journalists can combat this existential threat to democracy by making FOIA-based reporting free.

This story and more in our secrecy newsletter, The Classifieds.

The Latest FCC Censorship Push No One Is Talking About Targets Incarcerated People Brendan Carr is advancing a plan to choke communications for people who use cellphones to expose abuses in prison.

Incarcerated people use contraband phones to expose abuses. That's why the FCC wants to jam them - not to stop crime.

Read Jeremy's article for @theintercept.com in partnership with @freedom.press. And watch The Alabama Solution on @hbo.bsky.social for more on what cell phone footage has revealed

Federal law closes courthouse doors to incarcerated journalists The Prison Litigation Reform Act keeps us all in the dark about what goes on behind bars.

Incarcerated people facing retaliation are confronted with "a maze of onerous procedural requirements" when they try to sue.

Jeremy joined @freedom.press and @aclu.org to talk about how this broken system harms journalists -- both inside and outside prisons.

YouTube video by Inmate Tea with A&P Join Jeremy: Amplifying the Voices Texas Prisons Try to Silence

We're excited to announce our partnership with the podcast Inmate Tea with A&P. For the first episode of our collaborative series, Jeremy talks with April and Pig about his personal journey and the vital importance of amplifying incarcerated journalists:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Iq...

Judge orders ex-police chief who led raid on Kansas newspaper to stand trial for deleted texts • Kansas Reflector Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody probably committed a felony crime when he told a witness to delete text messages they exchanged before, during and after he led raids on a newspaper office and t...

Yes, deleting those texts was a crime but this kind of reminds us of getting Al Capone for tax evasion.

The former police chief has done a lot worse, like illegally raiding a newspaper publisher’s home, likely resulting in Joan Meyer’s death.

Figured out how they are funding the ballroom!

🔔 Public records-based reporting should be free. @404media.co and @wired.com are leading the way.

Hear why this is a public service and good for business, ft. @josephcox.bsky.social, @katie-drummond.bsky.social, Caitlin Vogus, and Lauren Harper.

🗓️ Oct. 29, 2 pm EDT

RSVP: freedom.press/unpaywalled

A subject near and dear to my heart!

Excited for this talk.

I’ll be attending this

Great to hear a crowd of tens of thousands cheering for independent media, including @unraveledpress.com, @thetriibe.com and @blockclubchi.bsky.social.

Well deserved, they’ve been doing incredible work.

California Press Rights Tracking Doc (Consolidated)

Investigating LAPD-press incidents in Los Angeles on Saturday. No doubt LAPD violated court injunction. Just a question of how bad.

So far I think only minor injuries to press. Still confirming. Not a passing grade regardless.

Preliminary leads in blue at top. Please share evidence if you have!

I did not know it was possible for this many people to exist in one place in Evanston

Just going to work at my job as the masked guy in body armor on the roof of the kidnapping factory

"The officers at the Coast Guard station did not appear to wear any agency or personal identification. They did not speak when asked to identify themselves, while one officer moved behind a bush as a Block Club reporter took photos and videos."

Not at all concerning!

There are going to be so many journalists in one spot and I love to abuse journalists, pretty please judge, let me live my best life and abuse journalists, it's an emergency, I swear.

Chicago-area modified temporary estraining Order (Northern District of Illinois) -- Oct. 17, 2025 As each DHS subsidiary agency provided their own cover sheet to personnel, it may be useful to print each of the following: Federal Protective Service Cover Sheet Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cover Sheet Customs and Border Patrol Cover Sheet Department of Justice Cover Sheet

📣 Reporters covering #NoKings protests in Chicago over the weekend may want to print this latest temporary restraining order that prohibits federal agents from using excessive force against journalists and peaceful protesters.

🖨️ storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Horrifying firsthand account. Israel did this to an American journalist.

Who is Jewish.

With a Jewish publication.

I'm of Jewish descent. Family escaped pogroms. Survived Nazis. Fought Nazis.

This is what we were taught to "never forget."

"Never again" means Israel too.

Proceedings: (IN CHAMBERS) ORDER RE DEFENDANTS’ EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR STAY PENDING APPEAL [98] On September 10, 2025, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. [Dkt. 83]. Defendants filed a Notice of Appeal nearly a month later. [Dkt. 89]. The instant Ex Parte Application for Stay of the Preliminary Injunction Pending Appeal (“Application”) was filed on October 15. [Dkt. 98]. Defendants contend that immediate, ex parte relief is required in light of the “No Kings” rally scheduled to take place in Los Angeles (and across the country) on October 18. Application at 2. They also assert various “workability” concerns and other substantive arguments largely mirroring those raised and addressed in prior briefing. Id. at 12–31. To justify ex parte relief, the moving party must show that its “cause will be irreparably prejudiced if the underlying motion is heard according to regular noticed motion procedures,” and that it is “without fault in creating the crisis that requires ex parte relief, or that the crisis occurred as a result of excusable neglect.” Mission Power Eng’g Co. v. Cont’l Cas. Co., 883 F. Supp. 488, 492 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Here, Defendants waited five weeks after the Court issued its injunction to file their Application, during which time the Court presumes Defendants complied with its order to disseminate the injunction. Furthermore, they waited almost three weeks from when they first indicated to Plaintiffs that they would be seeking a stay. Declaration of Peter Bibring in Opposition to Application ¶ 2 [Dkt. 100-1] (noting that Defendants notified Plaintiffs of their intent to move for a stay pending appeal on September 26, 2025). And Defendants waited over a

week from when they first filed their notice of appeal. Indeed, although they now assert urgency given the upcoming demonstrations, the protest has been well publicized for more than ten days. See Alexa Mae Asperin, List: 'No Kings' anti-Trump protests in Southern California on Oct. 18, Fox 11 L.A. (Oct. 7, 2025 at 10:48 PT), https://www.foxla.com/news/no-kings-day-anti-trump- protests-california-oct-18. In short, Defendants have not shown any exigency not of their own creation and therefore have not shown an entitlement to extraordinary relief. Notwithstanding these procedural deficiencies, the Court will address the merits of the arguments presented. To that end, the Court will issue a substantive order on the stay request no later than October 24, 2025. Given that a substantive opposition has already been filed, the matter is deemed submitted until then. All prior orders remain in full force and effect. IT IS SO ORDERED. Page 2 of 2 CI

Federal judge denies LAPD emergency motion to let officers to use force against press during #NoKings protest on Saturday.

I’m hearing, unconfirmed, City Council unanimously ordered City Attorney to withdraw motion anyway. Thank you! Much needed oversight!

drive.google.com/file/d/1tVyi...

Journalists in Los Angeles & Chicago: Links in here to PDFs of court orders and/or dept orders that may help you deescalate with ICE, CBP, FPS, DHS, LAPD, etc.

Annoying to print and carry a bunch of pages and can't guarantee it'll work. But better to have than not have.

Stay safe at #NoKings.

If you’re in Chicago and fortunate enough not to have to hide from the ICE invaders, come to Northwestern for a panel on Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. CT featuring FPF’s Seth Stern.

We’ll discuss the numerous digital and physical challenges journalists are facing.

www.medill.northwestern.edu/news/2025/me...

Pentagon Revises Rules for Press, Journalists Reject the Changes and Turn in their Badges WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dozens of journalists who cover the Pentagon gave up their press badges and walked out of the building on Wednesday. The group of journalists from a wide

The premise that all unauthorized reporting is a risk to national security is “absolutely absurd and baseless,” @seth-stern.bsky.social says.

Reporting “on unauthorized information that the government doesn’t want the public to know bolsters national security by exposing corruption.”

Invitation to FPF zoom webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT

🔔 Join us for a conversation about making public records-based reporting free, featuring @josephcox.bsky.social, @katie-drummond.bsky.social, and FPF's @caitlinvogus.bsky.social and @laurenleharper.bsky.social.

🗓️ Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT

RSVP: freedom.press/unpaywalled