California woman visits post office to find men with allegedly fake press badges filming. When she refused consent, they followed her to her car

There has been a growing trend around the First Amendment. One that leaves most people on the wrong side of the camera unsettled, as a California photographer shared. Becca Murray (thebeccamurray) was visiting her local post office when she stumbled upon two men filming with seemingly fake press badges. After a tense confrontation, she took to Instagram and TikTok to vent. Then her 324K viewers explained who they might be.

In her video, Murray breaks down her version of what went down from her car. She alleged, “I just walked out of my post office. I am shaking right now. Actually, I had to drive around the block because there were two men in there filming everything. They followed me to my f—ing car. I walked in, and there are these two guys with their phones on gimbals. They’re wearing badges, fake press badges. They’re wearing sunglasses. Their faces are covered, and they’re just recording.”

She claimed, “And I was like, I don’t give my consent to be filmed. And they’re like, what do you think about those? And they started pointing to security cameras in the post office. And I was like, yes, those are security cameras in a government building. Like, I am aware that those exist. You are private citizens.” Allegedly, they then pointed to their badges, which only said “press” and “media.” Murray included pictures to highlight that they had no other information. 

Her boundary seems to have made her a target

According to Murray, they then “just started snapping at me and shushing me and trying to get a rise out of me, which they did, because I was very irritated by these two f—ing men who then followed me to my car and filmed my car, filmed me driving out of the parking lot. I got a little bit of video of them.” At this point, we see a clip of two men following her, with one filming her in her car. Outside of her story and the clips, we can’t verify any details.

Murray’s video then cut ahead where she wryly told her audience, “I’m feeling a little bit less shaky now. Still riled up, though.”

She mused, “I do assume that the snaps in the shushing were their version of a slate so that they could find, like, sync the audio and. And find those clips to use of me. Cause I gave them what they wanted, and I got riled up. Have no idea what they’re gonna use that for. Their press passes were not real. So I’m assuming that they’re just shooting for their own channels and that it’s gonna be online somewhere.”

The community identified them as First Amendment Auditors. One TikToker noted, “They’re called ‘first amendment auditors’ and they come to libraries on occasion and we have to deal with them. The whole goal is to get in your face and rile you up so they can have a ‘gotcha’ moment at a government building.”

An Instagrammer agreed, stating, “Looks like this was one of those First Amendment auditors who film in public spaces to provoke reactions. Their whole strategy is to say ‘you’re in public, there’s no expectation of privacy,’ then keep recording until someone confronts them. If you touch them or try to take their camera, they immediately call the police and claim assault. They also typically carry pepper spray, so it’s best not to engage.”

Per Now Georgia, people identifying as First Amendment auditors have become increasingly common in government lobbies and on city sidewalks. The article explains that while many people view these encounters as harassment, the auditors themselves claim they are conducting a test of government transparency. Interestingly, recently a businessman claimed the First Amendment should be limited. 

The legal argument for their filming is that federal courts have established a right to record public officials carrying out their duties in public spaces. However, the line is often blurred. As the Now Georgia article points out, not every inch of a government building is a public forum. 

People can film freely on sidewalks and in parks without presenting ID. However, lobbies aren’t considered completely public, and agencies can enforce specific rules that constrain filming. The article noted that most auditors are looking for a “fail,” where they are asked to stop recording, or the government employee gets angry. So, the best option is to be “boring” and not react like a McDonald’s employee recently did. 

Some commenters supported the movement. As one TikToker noted, “They’re the necessary stress test to make sure our rights are protected.” Others were more critical of the tactic. One Instagrammer wrote, “Yeah.. first amendment auditors are a-holes who disguise ‘constitutional protected activity’ as an excuse to try and upset people for click bait.”