Media groups call on the U.S. government to respect press freedoms as National Guard is deployed to D.C.

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc

August 21, 2025

HRRC calls on the U.S. National Guard to respect the press freedom rights of journalists as they cover the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., including the right of journalists to cover protests without fear of harassment, violence, or detention.

Pedestrians can be seen passing an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles) combat vehicle deployed by the Washington, D.C., National Guard outside Union Station on August 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C. [Image credit: Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]

As the U.S. government deploys National Guard troops to the streets of D.C., 12 press freedom groups have sent a letter to the head of the National Guard outlining the risks to press freedoms for reporters covering the deployment and anti-Trump demonstrations that have occured in response. 

The organizations, including Reporters without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the National Press Club, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, call attention to the “dozens of recent violent acts committed by law enforcement officers against journalists doing their Constitutionally-protected work covering protests in Los Angeles” in June, when thousands of National Guardsmen were deployed against the wishes of the state’s governor. 

Among other instances, journalists were intentionally shot at with nonlethal bullets, tear gassed, and trampled by police horses while covering the summer’s protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in LA. 

U.S. National Guard troops were deployed on August 11 in Washington, D.C. in tandem with the President’s decision to call a 30-day emergency and take control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under the 1973 Home Rule Act to combat what the administration describes as high crime rates in the nation’s capital. (D.C. is currently experiencing a 30-year low in violent crime rates.) On August 19, additional National Guard troops were deployed to D.C. from states governed by the Republican party, including from Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

The press freedom organizations specifically call attention to the lack of training that U.S. National Guard troops have about the rights and protections of journalists, such as what journalists are legally allowed to cover without fear of harassment. It also reiterates that no journalist should be arrested or detained for doing their jobs, which is a violation to their First Amendment right to freedom of the press. 

The United States is currently ranked 57 out of 180 countries in the world for press freedom by RSF, a decline of 12 places over five years. Press freedom organizations have described a rapid deterioration in press freedoms during President Trump’s second term, with instances including the detention of a foreign journalist by ICE contributing to growing self-censorship of foreign journalists working in the U.S.

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Glossary 

• Detention – holding a person for a limited period of time.

• Deterioration – decline. 

• First Amendment – an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects the right to freedom of speech, expression, the press, and religion. 

• Harassment – creating a hostile environment, usually short of direct violence. Examples include verbal or online abuse and “lawfare” – the uss of lawsuits to drain a targeted person of time and money. 

• National Guard – a military reserve force responsive to their respective U.S. States meant to be used in case of national disaster, unrest or foreign invasion. Distinct from the U.S. Army or Marines, which are meant to be used in foreign conflicts. 

• Press freedom – the ability for independent journalists to report without fear of censorship, harassment, or violence. 

• Self-censorship – the practice of policing what a person reports, expresses or says for fear of consequences.