Another Step for Fascism
By 
A three-judge panel on Thursday temporarily halted protections for journalists and legal observers covering the unrest In Portland, Oregon.
Last week, federal Judge Michael Simon ruled that journalists and legal observers were exempt from federal officers’ physical force, arrest or other treatment if the officers “reasonably know” that a person is a journalist or legal observer.
But in a 2-1 decision, the judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, agreed with the government that Judge Simon’s initial ruling was too broad.
“Given the order’s breadth and lack of clarity, particularly in its non-exclusive indicia of who qualifies as “Journalists” and “Legal Observers,” appellants have also demonstrated that, in the absence of a stay, the order will cause irreparable harm to law enforcement efforts and personnel,” two of the three judges wrote. “This means that journalists could be subjected to the same physical force as that of the individuals participating.”
The rest of the story documents Bill Barr’s excitement at getting to brutalize some journalists.