Last year, as President, Trump said he stopped government censorship and “brought back free speech in America.” In his March 2025 address to Congress, he asserted that his administration ended government censorship and restored free speech.

Same year, Trump signed and Executive Order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” He framed it as preventing government censorship and protecting Americans’ speech rights.

At a conservative get together Turning Point Action event, Trump argued that the “radical left” was waging war on free speech on college campuses. He claimed conservatives and dissenting voices were being canceled, censored, de-platformed or punished for speaking.

And continuing the trend, same year 2025, he complained that overwhelmingly negative media coverage which he he views as liberal or hostile. “97% of the stories… are bad about a person ... it’s no longer free speech.”

Federal courts recognize a First Amendment right to record law-enforcement officers performing their duties in public, as long as the journalists are in a public place (street, sidewalk), not interfering with police activity, not trespassing or violating lawful safety perimeters.

Simply filming or standing on a public sidewalk is not interference by itself.

Federal officers push AP reporters back to their car as they document operation

Associated Press