A similar ruling regarding Ferguson police applies to any “rule, policy, or practice that grants law enforcement officers the authority or discretion to arrest, threaten to arrest, or interfere with any individual, including any member of the media or member of the public.”

Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri, said the orders would provide “immediate recourse” if freedom of the press was violated.

The suit was filed on behalf of Mustafa Hussein, of the Argus Media Group, who said he and others were ordered to stop making videos during the early days of protests in Ferguson.

Since then, the ACLU documented accounts from six other journalists who complained of continued mistreatment by police.

Among them was a declaration from Post-Dispatch photographer David Carson, who said he was ordered to stay in a special media zone or else face arrest at protests Aug. 17. Some claimed they were prodded, threatened with guns or arrested.

The filing included a PEN American Center report from last month that cited 52 alleged violations of freedom of the press, including the arrests of 21 journalists and citizen journalists.