Court rules FBI agents who attacked journalists can't be held responsible

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed an appeal of a federal court ruling that found that, even though there was enough evidence to prove that FBI agents violated the Fourth Amendment rights of journalists by attacking them unprovoked, the agents who committed the attack could not be held responsible for their actions. The August 14 decision came in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of journalists who were kicked, punched and pepper sprayed by FBI agents as they attempted to report on the search of a San Juan apartment. While finding that the journalists' evidence showed there was a violation of their constitutional rights, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ruled that the law was not clearly established enough at the time of the attack to hold the agents responsible for their actions, and that the reporters cannot seek compensation for the violation. "This decision makes clear that the FBI cannot exert excessive force and intimidation every time it wants to avoid public scrutiny. As the ruling found, reporters should be able to approach law enforcement officers without fear of harassment," said Catherine Crump, staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group. "Unfortunately, this ruling lets FBI agents who broke the law off the hook. It should have been clear to any law enforcement agent that such brutal force against reporters who were just trying to do their job was not only unacceptable but unlawful."