PHOENIX - A new Arizona law making it a crime to videotape police activity is unconstitutional and should be blocked from taking effect, a coalition of news organizations is arguing.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court here says that HB 2319, approved earlier this year by the Republican-controlled legislature, "infringes the clearly established First Amendment rights of plaintiffs and everyone else in Arizona to record the public activities of law enforcement officers.''
"By allowing police officers to arrest and punish people for simply recording video of their actions, the law creates an unprecedented and facially unconstitutional content-based restriction on speech about an important governmental function,'' wrote David Bodney representing multiple media outlets.
