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Infowars.com<\/strong> In a gross attack on the First Amendment, a police officer told Infowars reporters and crew that they could not film a wastewater plant from across a public street.<\/p>\n The officer said that he had the \u201cauthority\u201d to stop them from filming even though he admitted that it was not illegal to film the facility.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s no law, but like I said, based on the fact that it is a critical site, your activity is being deemed suspicious so we have the authority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This is a perfect example of how police officers routinely use the \u201ccolor of law\u201d to deprive journalists of their First Amendment right to publicly film and cover news stories.<\/p>\n They use their \u201cauthority\u201d to intimate reporters even though that authority runs contrary to basic human rights and the law.<\/p>\n The right to film in public has been affirmed time and time again by the U.S. Supreme Court and several federal Appeals Courts, which have all ruled that everyone \u2014 not just journalists \u2014 has an individual right to film (video, audio, photography, etc.) in public because there is \u201cno expectation of privacy\u201d in a public place.<\/p>\n In 2011, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unambiguously that the First Amendment recognizes this right<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is firmly established that the First Amendment’s aegis extends further than the text’s proscription on laws \u2018abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,’ and encompasses a range of conduct related to the gathering and dissemination of information,\u201d Circuit Judge Kermit Lipez wrote in the court’s opinion.<\/p>\n Additionally, in 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with a lower court ruling that a Illinois law which prevented citizens from filming police was unconstitutional<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article was posted: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 1:24 pm<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <!– this is where we need to show the related articles <\/p>\n
January 15, 2014<\/p>\n
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