Both the law and public sentiment support recording government officials

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Recent shootings in Minneapolis by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol have stirred up controversy because members of the public recorded the incidents, ensuring that the official narrative can’t go unchallenged. That unsettles Trump administration officials because, like their predecessors (and probably their successors), they’re uncomfortable with grassroots efforts to monitor government actions. That’s too bad. Both the U.S. Constitution and public sentiment firmly support independent efforts to publicize the conduct of government employees.

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In December, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) representative told Reason magazine’s C.J. Ciaramella that following or recording a federal law enforcement officer “sure sounds like obstruction of justice… If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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This exchange occurred after months of sometimes violent protests against the Trump administration’s vigorous and often brutal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants from the United States. It........

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