A bill was introduced in Congress that would create a right for videographers to sue federal law enforcement officers who stop someone from filming police activity.
Last week, Democratic lawmakers Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Maxwell Frost introduced the “Right to Record Act of 2026” which they say would create new consequences for individual federal officers who violate a person’s First Amendment right to film police. The bill would allow individuals to sue federal law enforcement or immigration officers who engage in a range of retaliatory conduct, including threatening and harassing videographers, monitoring them, and seizing or destroying their equipment.
According to a press release, the legislation has been prompted by reports of several photojournalists covering protests outside Delaney Hall immigration detention center in New Jersey who have been targeted and attacked by ICE agents — with some reporting physical injuries as well as damaged and stolen camera equipment. The lawmakers behind the Right to Record Act of 2026 say the incidents at the Delaney Hall protests are just the latest example of federal immigration officials denying the public the transparency they deserve.
“Over the last year, I’ve investigated dozens of cases of Americans brutalized by agents of their own government, and across the board, video footage corroborated their testimony — showing the world what they experienced and making sure that justice was served,” Senator Richard Blumenthal says in a statement.
He adds: “I’m proud to work with Congressman Frost on bicameral legislation that will strengthen the right to record, observe, and peacefully protest — creating real enforcement tools for the protections of the First Amendment that lay the foundation for our democracy.”
The two lawmakers say that the Right to Record Act of 2026 would protect individuals’ First Amendment Rights while engaging with ICE agents and federal law enforcement officers — giving citizens an opportunity to sue for civil compensation if these rights are infringed upon.
Civil liberties groups say recording police is a core First Amendment activity, but argue that people still face significant obstacles when trying to hold individual officials accountable for alleged constitutional violations. Lawmakers believe the Right to Record Act of 2026 would prevent federal agencies from concealing their unlawful behavior, and ensure that they are held accountable in a court of law if they do.
A violation of this act includes preventing or attempting to prevent a person from recording, observing, or
peacefully protesting law enforcement activities. In addition, officers must not pursue a person to a
different location, conduct surveillance of an individual to intimidate them, demand identification from an individual because they are recording, or command that an individual stop recording. If officers try to stop anyone from filming or retaliate against them if they do film, this bill would let people sue individual officers.
The Right to Record Act has been endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which recently filed a lawsuit against ICE, accusing it of failing to turn over records of its practice of threatening and surveilling photographers who film federal agents.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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