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{
"title": "University of Maryland student journalist detained while covering protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/university-of-maryland-student-journalist-detained-while-covering-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-12T18:18:15.535214Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-13T17:11:15.269122Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-13T17:11:15.157899Z",
"date": "2025-10-21",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "College Park",
"longitude": -76.93692,
"latitude": 38.98067,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rr7r8\">Riona Sheikh, editor-in-chief of Al-Hikmah, the University of Maryland’s independent Muslim student newspaper, was detained on Oct. 21, 2025, while covering a protest outside an event that featured speakers from the Israeli military on the school’s campus in College Park.</p><p data-block-key=\"drdd2\">The event, hosted by a pro-Israel student group, took place inside the university’s Jiménez Hall and featured Israel Defense Forces soldiers speaking about their experiences during the war in Gaza, according to Sheikh and <a href=\"https://dbknews.com/2025/12/11/advocacy-group-urges-umd-to-drop-charges-against-student-journalists-detained-in-october/\">The Diamondback</a>, another student newspaper at the university that <a href=\"https://dbknews.com/2025/10/22/umpd-detains-protesters-journalists-israel-soldier-event/\">covered</a> the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vnsu\">Sheikh told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she and <a href=\"https://alhikmahnews.com/about/#\">Al-Hikmah</a> colleague <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/university-of-maryland-police-detain-student-journalist-covering-protest/\">Rumaysa Drissi</a> were initially covering a protest held outside the building by a pro-Palestinian group.</p><p data-block-key=\"9teen\">She said that before the soldiers’ event began, she had asked a university police officer if she could sit in, identifying herself as a journalist. She was denied access.</p><p data-block-key=\"cc8nr\">Later, a small group of protesters entered Jiménez Hall, and began chanting and holding signs outside the classroom where the evening event was taking place.</p><p data-block-key=\"gi3i\">Sheikh said she and Drissi followed the group into the building, but stayed apart from the protesters. She added that she was recording on her cellphone, and Drissi was holding a professional camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9tqk\">Two or three University of Maryland police officers were standing in front of the classroom door. Once more officers arrived at the scene, Sheikh said they surrounded her and two protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"9oevv\">She identified herself as a journalist and said she was covering the event; the protesters said they did not know her, she added. The officers replied that it did not matter that she was a journalist, alleging that she was disrupting the event, Sheikh said. She attempted to leave, but they blocked her path.</p><p data-block-key=\"dml32\">Drissi then approached the group that was detained and explained to the officers that she and Sheikh were reporters covering the story, Sheikh said. The officers surrounded her as well, and alleged that they came as a group with the protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"9st3\">“They never asked me for press credentials, but I did ask them if they wanted to speak to my editor, and they said ‘no,’” Sheikh said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ov9e\">Sheikh added that the officers asked her and Drissi for their student identifications so they could obtain their ID numbers to report them to the Office of Student Conduct. They declined to provide the IDs because they felt they were “wrongfully detained,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"dnmjr\">The two journalists were released after around an hour.</p><p data-block-key=\"c7214\">According to a letter sent to the university by the <a href=\"https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/fire-letter-university-maryland-december-8-2025\">Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression</a>, citing video footage of the incident, Sheikh and Drissi “repeatedly” identified themselves as journalists; nevertheless, an officer accused them of screaming and being disruptive.</p><p data-block-key=\"b9q35\">FIRE added that the footage “shows neither Sheikh nor Drissi shouting as they documented the interaction between protesters and university police.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5jgkk\">The Diamondback — citing its review of officer body camera footage obtained in a public records request, along with witness videos and videos from staff reporters — <a href=\"https://dbknews.com/2025/10/22/umpd-detains-protesters-journalists-israel-soldier-event/\">also</a> <a href=\"https://dbknews.com/2025/12/11/advocacy-group-urges-umd-to-drop-charges-against-student-journalists-detained-in-october/\">reported</a> that Sheikh and Drissi were “holding cameras and standing behind protesters who chanted and held signs,” and not participating.</p><p data-block-key=\"6fur7\">The paper also noted that its own reporters, who were wearing credentials around their necks, covered the incident and were not asked to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"6rqqs\">FIRE wrote that Sheikh and Drissi were informed Nov. 17 by a university official that they faced charges for violating the code of student conduct, including interfering with the lawful freedom of expression of others, and participating in disorderly or disruptive action.</p><p data-block-key=\"ds18t\">The group urged the university to drop the charges, which would “sanction Sheikh and Drissi for exercising their rights as members of the student press to document newsworthy events on campus.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bpfln\">Christopher Lord, the university’s associate general counsel, in a Dec. 18 <a href=\"https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/university-maryland-response-fire-december-18-2025\">response</a> to FIRE, said Sheikh and Drissi were facing charges “because evidence indicates that they may have been part of the active disruption” of the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4n0e\">He added that Sheikh and Drissi were “not entitled to special treatment just because they claimed to be student journalists,” and noted that the outcome of their disciplinary conferences was pending.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8rgu\">Lt. Rosanne Hoaas, public information officer for the University of Maryland Police Department, told the Tracker that officers “stopped four people for their failure to obey a command from law enforcement and for disrupting a university-sanctioned event,” adding that the students were required to provide identification to police.</p><p data-block-key=\"fboca\">She also noted that of the “group of six people” who approached the room where the event occurred, none displayed media credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"bi3md\">Sheikh said the incident left Al-Hikmah’s staff more hesitant amid an already fearful climate, especially for reporters and photographers who wear a hijab.</p><p data-block-key=\"g2i2\">“The whole reason I was covering it was because already a lot of Muslims are afraid to go and cover things like this,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqtkj\">“But now even I am a little nervous,” Sheikh added. “Am I going to be able to cover protests without experiencing this kind of harassment from the police?”</p><p data-block-key=\"65g8t\"><i>Update: This report has been revised for clarity of quoted material.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/University_of_Maryland.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"i3gi2\">An entrance to the University of Maryland in College Park. Two student journalists were detained on campus while covering an Oct. 21, 2025, pro-Palestinian protest. Licensed under <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Creative_Commons\">Creative Commons</a><a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en\"> Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International</a>.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "University of Maryland Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2025-10-21",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Maryland",
"abbreviation": "MD"
},
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"tags": [
"Israel-Gaza war",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Riona Sheikh ([University of Maryland] Al-Hikmah)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with projectiles, baton at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-projectiles-baton-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-08T15:11:03.603146Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-08T15:11:03.603146Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-04-08T15:11:03.433950Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nds52\">Henry Cherry, an independent photojournalist, was struck with a police baton and crowd-control munitions while covering a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. </p><p data-block-key=\"fh13h\">The police actions at the rally, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"5krd9\">The actions also seemed to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">flout a preliminary injunction</a> issued earlier this fall that bars the LA Police Department during protests from restricting press access to areas that are not crime scenes.</p><p data-block-key=\"9s0kt\">Cherry told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a mounted LAPD officer struck him on the helmet and arm with a baton while he was documenting the demonstration. Another officer shoved him. And in a separate incident, he was hit with crowd-control munitions in the feet, legs and knee. </p><p data-block-key=\"s4n6\">Also that day, officers blocked Cherry from documenting a cordoned-off area before allowing him in. Cherry said he was also affected by chemical irritants, such as tear gas and pepper spray. </p><p data-block-key=\"20dt9\">Cherry, who was clearly identified as press, said the attacks felt targeted. </p><p data-block-key=\"30sln\">“There’s no doubt I’m a journalist,” he said. </p><p data-block-key=\"dlrfn\">The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-10-19T031125Z_2142721698_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dq6yj\">Mounted officers confront individuals at a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. Photojournalist Henry Cherry was hit with a baton and struck by impact projectiles while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Henry Cherry (Independent)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter shoved, struck by police while documenting LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shoved-struck-by-police-while-documenting-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-23T21:19:04.936101Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-23T21:19:04.936101Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-23T21:19:04.777210Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u7by9\">Los Angeles Daily News reporter Ryanne Mena was pushed by police and struck with a baton by an officer on horseback while documenting the “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"429ot\">Mena told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was not on assignment that evening but had gone to document the event, informing her editors.</p><p data-block-key=\"1qeu3\">She said the protest, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, was peaceful up until 7:30 p.m., when the Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly.</p><p data-block-key=\"7v1ci\">By that point, Mena was near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where officers had already blocked off part of the area with police tape.</p><p data-block-key=\"bqkm3\">“They wouldn’t let members of the press through,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"af3a6\">When the police line began advancing down the street, Mena said mounted officers pushed through both protesters and members of the press. When one officer on foot pushed her, Mena reminded her she was a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"elu5p\">“She looked down and saw my credentials and kind of backed off,” Mena said.</p><p data-block-key=\"83o13\">As the crowd was pushed farther down the street, Mena remained on the sidewalk filming when she said she and other journalists were violently shoved. She said she felt a pole-like object, which she believes was a police baton, swing against her left arm, leaving a bruise.</p><p data-block-key=\"e28gl\">“It all happened so fast,” said Mena, who added that police officers also deployed crowd-control munitions into the gathering.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0v3h\">Mena, who was wearing a tactical vest marked “press” and two visible press credentials around her neck, said she couldn’t definitively say if she was targeted as a member of the media in either incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"dpqa3\">“It was pretty clear that we were there just documenting events, and that didn’t protect us,” she added.</p><p data-block-key=\"eedr5\">The police actions at the rally appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from using force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah9c\">They also seemed to flout <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">a preliminary injunction</a> issued earlier this fall that bars the LAPD during protests from restricting press access to areas that are not crime scenes.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkrgs\">The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-10-19T011524Z_797161550_RC2O.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5p8st\">Demonstrators and police officers face off during a “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. Reporter Ryanne Mena was struck with a police baton while covering the rally.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ryanne Mena ([Los Angeles] Daily News)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist knocked to the ground by mounted officer at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-knocked-to-the-ground-by-mounted-officer-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-23T16:59:25.119961Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-23T16:59:25.119961Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-23T16:59:24.999918Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gd5c2\">Independent photojournalist Nick Stern was felled by a policeman on horseback and threatened with arrest while covering a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. </p><p data-block-key=\"2ivsi\">The police actions at the rally, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6cpq\">They also seemed to flout <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">a preliminary injunction</a> issued earlier this fall that bars the Los Angeles Police Department during protests from restricting press access to areas that are not crime scenes.</p><p data-block-key=\"6u075\">Stern told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived at the protest late in the day and found a peaceful march underway. Around 7 p.m., the LAPD issued a dispersal warning.</p><p data-block-key=\"ertt6\">Shortly after, about 10 officers on horseback descended on the group near the Metropolitan Detention Center and started pushing the crowd back. Stern said one mounted officer instructed him to move onto the sidewalk. But moments later, another officer charged onto the sidewalk, toppling him and ordering him to disperse. </p><p data-block-key=\"6brej\">In a video Stern posted to <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQDIpr1ku5I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\">Instagram</a>, he is seen falling, which he said caused a scrape on his right knee. An officer can be heard shouting, “You’re obstructing, leave the area!” </p><p data-block-key=\"1ehf3\">When Stern identified himself as press, the officer said he needed to identify himself, despite Stern clearly wearing a press badge around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"1khcu\">“I was threatened with arrest at least a couple of times for not dispersing,” he told the Tracker. “On one occasion, I was told that because I was protesting their order to disperse, and protesting the fact that I was media, that then means I am a protester and not a journalist.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fc02n\">The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations. </p><p data-block-key=\"egni0\">Stern has been documenting protests in LA since June, following federal raids of workplaces and areas in and around the city where immigrant day laborers gather. During his coverage, he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-baton-press-credential-damaged-at-la-protest/\">struck in the face with a baton</a> and suffered a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/munition-strikes-photojournalist-at-la-protest-shrapnel-surgically-removed/\">severe leg injury</a> from shrapnel caused by a crowd-control munition. </p><p data-block-key=\"divlp\">With the federal injunction still in place — under which the LAPD is barred from using force against clearly identified journalists engaged in news gathering — Stern asked: “What more can we do? What will it take to get LAPD to respect the constitutional rights of journalists?”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lptvb\">Mounted police officers push through a group of protesters and media during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. Photojournalist Nick Stern was knocked to the ground by an officer while covering the protest. </p>",
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"name": "California",
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Nick Stern (Independent)"
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{
"title": "Reporter struck by foam rounds at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-by-foam-rounds-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-24T17:12:13.135738Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-27T13:31:40.627097Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-27T13:31:40.511084Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7hb54\">MintPress News reporter Jalyssa Dugrot was hit twice in the legs by police impact projectiles while covering the “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"cjqi0\">Dugrot told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was documenting interactions between Los Angeles Police Department officers, demonstrators and members of the press when officers declared the protest an unlawful assembly.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jvv5\">Police instructed Dugrot and others to get behind them as they pushed through the crowd, which made documenting what was going on unfeasible.</p><p data-block-key=\"5qmm9\">“That made it very difficult for press and media to even report,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2gp6a\">After receiving permission from one officer to move closer, Dugrot, who wore a large “PRESS” label on her vest, said she began filming at the front of the police line as mounted officers advanced on the crowd, waiving their batons, and firing flash bangs and other munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"a2ihl\">One officer deliberately aimed a projectile launcher at her, <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DQFYZ4JElwE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\">video of which Dugrot posted on Instagram.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"fkni6\">“They were very familiar with who I was,” she said. “So for him to take his nonlethal and deliberately shoot me, it was pretty intentional.”</p><p data-block-key=\"m0tf\">Dugrot said she was struck twice in the legs, leaving deep bruises.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-image block-image\">\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Attachment-1_bJkEeiC.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1104\" alt=\"COURTESY JALYSSA DUGROT\">\n\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7hb54\">“It definitely makes you a lot more wary of having to cover these kinds of things,” Dugrot said. “It’s a bit worrisome when even if you’re complying, you’re still at risk of being shot and targeted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1f1ur\">The police actions at the rally, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"e7rcp\">It also seemed to flout <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">a preliminary injunction</a> issued earlier this fall that bars the LAPD from restricting press access to areas that are not crime scenes during protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"4436d\">The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-10-19T021958Z_1412104190_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h3lsw\">Police officers hold batons and green munition launchers during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. Reporter Jalyssa Dugrot was shot twice with foam rounds while she covered the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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},
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"tags": [
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jalyssa Dugrot (MintPress News)"
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},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist grabbed by officer at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-grabbed-by-officer-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-29T20:07:42.227237Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T20:07:42.227237Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-29T20:04:56.145771Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ge4t6\">A freelance photojournalist was physically restrained by a police officer while covering a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"3h8tr\">The photographer — who has previously asked not to be named due to fear of legal trouble when traveling abroad — did not respond to a U.S. Press Freedom Tracker request for comment. Another journalist who filmed the incident confirmed that he was the individual involved.</p><p data-block-key=\"1clj0\">According to the reporter who witnessed the assault, the photographer was clearly identifiable as press, wearing visible credentials and carrying his camera, when a Los Angeles Police Department officer grabbed him.</p><p data-block-key=\"644f6\">In a video the journalist shared with the Tracker, an officer can be seen seizing the photographer and appearing to try to tackle him.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hta2\">The journalist said she and the photojournalist later tried to alert an LAPD public information officer about what had happened, but were told to go to another area to find one.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ref8\">The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"4dnrg\">The LAPD’s actions at the rally, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">preliminary injunction</a> prohibiting officers from using force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"700iq\">A demonstrator holds his hands up in front of police officers at a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. A photojournalist covering the demonstration was grabbed by an officer.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"Anonymous photojournalist 8 (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter injured while dodging police munition at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-injured-while-dodging-police-munition-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-22T19:50:56.752710Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-22T19:50:56.752710Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-22T19:44:10.039853Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"aqch0\">Lexis-Olivier Ray, an investigative reporter with L.A. Taco, was targeted by a police officer who fired a crowd-control round during a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 18, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"4cba0\">Though the projectile missed him, Ray stumbled over a curb while dodging it and fell, sustaining bruises and scrapes to his side, hand, thumb and knee.</p><p data-block-key=\"7mboc\">The police actions at the rally, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"5k9pm\">It also seemed to flout <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">a preliminary injunction</a> issued earlier this fall that bars the Los Angeles Police Department during protests from restricting press access to areas that are not crime scenes.</p><p data-block-key=\"5re6\">After sunset that day, the LAPD issued dispersal orders, and mounted officers began pushing back the crowds, Ray told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6t4n\">He was wearing a shirt labeling him as press, along with a press badge, and standing with a small group of protesters and fellow journalists when an officer on foot fired a crowd-control projectile directly at him.</p><p data-block-key=\"88e5l\"><a href=\"https://x.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/1979765853840409023\">Video from the scene</a> captured the shooting and another officer dismissively calling Ray “fake press” after the incident. LAPD said in a statement Oct. 21 that it was investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1fgf\">“It was probably some of the most significant injuries I’ve suffered while covering protests,” commented Ray, who said his thumb is still swollen from bearing the brunt of his fall and is difficult to move.</p><p data-block-key=\"3cqec\">In<a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/lataco.bsky.social/post/3m3jfrmja4c2e\"> another video posted that night</a>, a mounted journalist charged at Ray, who identified himself as a member of the media. The officer responded, “It doesn’t matter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8vke0\">Ray was also denied access to large portions of the street near the Metropolitan Detention Center, after officers had designated the area an incident command post. In one video, Ray asked an officer why the street was blocked off and reminded him that he is a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"eag3u\">“Nobody can walk through here,” the officer replied.</p><p data-block-key=\"bvis\">When Ray asked why the road was closed, the officer replied, “We say so, that’s why.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c8p3e\">Ray asked to speak to a police supervisor, as outlined in state law and the federal judge’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">preliminary injunction</a>, but was ignored.</p><p data-block-key=\"b3rhe\">“It’s extremely discouraging to see that even after these court orders and state laws, the LAPD continues to violate our rights as members of the press,” he told the Tracker. “I’ve had to remind myself that state law or a judge’s order isn’t necessarily going to keep you safe. The police are going to do what they want and face consequences later.”</p><p data-block-key=\"castf\">During anti-deportation protests over the summer, Ray was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-by-officer-during-la-immigration-protest/\">shoved by a police officer</a> and blocked from filming, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-pepper-balls-while-covering-la-immigration-protest/\">struck with pepper balls by federal law enforcement</a> (over which he later sued), and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/sheriffs-deputy-searches-journalists-bag-during-la-immigration-protest/\">searched by a sheriff’s deputy</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nago\">The Tracker has documented other incidents in which Ray, covering protests and gatherings in LA, was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-repeatedly-shoved-while-covering-la-reproductive-rights-protests/\">shoved,</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/la-taco-reporter-detained-while-covering-echo-park-protest/\">detained,</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-tackled-equipment-damaged-while-covering-dodgers-celebrations/\">tackled</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/multiple-journalists-covering-protests-los-angeles-assaulted/\">struck with a baton</a>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-10-19T025711Z_1863254611_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"41tbz\">Mounted police clash with protesters at a “No Kings” rally against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. One officer fired a crowd-control munition at reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray, who was injured while trying to dodge it.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"name": "California",
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},
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"tags": [
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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],
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"Lexis-Olivier Ray (L.A. Taco)"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit by police projectile at LA protest, damaging armor",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-by-police-projectile-at-la-protest-damaging-armor/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-24T18:49:28.634608Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-24T18:49:28.634608Z",
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"date": "2025-10-18",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5otj1\">Freelance photojournalist Ted Soqui was struck in the back with a crowd-control munition fired by police officers while he was covering a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. </p><p data-block-key=\"51ckv\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DP_6jtjkTWw/\">post on Instagram</a>, Soqui said that mounted police officers were dispersing the crowd when they began firing crowd-control munitions. </p><p data-block-key=\"ai8ce\">Soqui was clearly marked as a member of the press when a round struck him, penetrating the outer fabric of his protective gear and chipping an armored plate beneath.</p><p data-block-key=\"5akab\">His metal helmet also sustained impact from stick strikes by police on horseback, according to Soqui’s post. </p><p data-block-key=\"8srvo\">Soqui did not return U.S. Press Freedom Tracker requests for comment. The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"e29o4\">The police actions at the rally, one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">a preliminary injunction</a> prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"dud3h\">Soqui was also struck by <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?targeted_journalists=Ted%20Soqui\">crowd-control munitions</a> while covering LA protests in June, which occurred after federal raids of workplaces and areas in and around the city where immigrant day laborers gather. </p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-10-19T041501Z_1171475713_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1qou1\">Mounted police clash with protesters at a “No Kings” rally against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. Photojournalist Ted Soqui was struck with a police-fired munition while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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{
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"categories": [
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"Equipment Damage"
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},
{
"title": "Student reporter hit by projectile, charged by police horse at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-reporter-hit-by-projectile-charged-by-police-horse-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-11-13T14:30:59.140720Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-11-14T18:31:26.006533Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-11-14T18:31:25.916520Z",
"date": "2025-10-18",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"27gvi\">Kayjel Mairena, a student journalist for Santa Monica College’s The Corsair, was struck in the side with a police-fired projectile and nearly trampled by a mounted officer while covering a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"3p6ij\">The police actions at the rally, which was one of thousands nationwide that day voicing opposition to the Trump administration, appeared to violate a state law and federal injunction prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6g1m\">Mairena, news editor for The Corsair, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Los Angeles Police Department officers on horseback charged at a group of journalists and protesters as police blocked entry to parts of the demonstration.</p><p data-block-key=\"4oj7j\">The crowd, including Mairena and other members of the press, was pushed into a tight area as the horses advanced, forcing people to back away to avoid being trampled. As police lines moved forward, Mairena said officers restricted journalists’ movement and forced them behind a line of vehicles, where visibility was limited.</p><p data-block-key=\"3oef\">“Once they said the press were agitators, whatever they were doing felt intentional,” Mairena said. “If you run, you kind of risk being shot in the back, but if you’re walking backwards, you can also risk falling. If you walk too slow, you can get trampled.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2um5c\">It was in that confusion, he said, that he was struck on the side by a crowd-control munition fired by the LAPD to disperse demonstrators. Mairena, who was wearing clothing and credentials identifying him as press, said he had moved behind a group of other credentialed journalists when the round struck him on his right side. He said he was not seriously injured.</p><p data-block-key=\"de3fp\">The experience, though, has worsened his post-traumatic stress from previous military service and revisiting the photos later triggered a panic attack.</p><p data-block-key=\"57l17\">“I am terrified of the mounted units,” he said. “I’m at more risk now than when I was in the Navy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"89v1c\">The LAPD said in a statement that it is investigating all use-of-force incidents from Oct. 18 and could not comment on active investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lbhc\">Mairena, while on assignment <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-hit-with-pepper-ball-and-pepper-sprayed-at-la-protest/\">Sept. 1</a>, was also pepper-sprayed and hit with a pepper ball fired by Department of Homeland Security officers.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"czgrq\">A mounted police officer at a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 18, 2025. Reporter Kayjel Mairena was struck with a projectile and nearly trampled by a horse while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
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},
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"tags": [
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"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Kayjel Mairena (The [Santa Monica College] Corsair)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Indiana University orders student paper to stop printing after firing adviser",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/indiana-university-orders-student-paper-to-stop-printing-after-firing-adviser/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-29T14:08:35.890110Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-27T16:15:58.616035Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-04-27T15:51:03.407903Z",
"date": "2025-10-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Bloomington",
"longitude": -86.52639,
"latitude": 39.16533,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mlpjl\">Administrators at Indiana University Bloomington fired the adviser to the Indiana Daily Student on Oct. 14, 2025, and then hours later ordered the newspaper to cease all print publication. The outlet has continued publishing online.</p><p data-block-key=\"98p5t\">Founded in 1867, the independently-run newspaper reduced its print production in January to seven times per semester due to financial challenges and a new business plan launched by the university’s media school.</p><p data-block-key=\"411js\">After the paper’s spring run, the university began pushing for its “special editions” to include no news but just themed coverage about topics like fall sports, Homecoming and Thanksgiving.</p><p data-block-key=\"62nt0\">Student media director Jim Rodenbush and newspaper editors opposed the demand. Then, when Rodenbush pushed back against an order to remove news content from the newspaper’s print editions Oct. 14, he was fired.</p><p data-block-key=\"acgqt\">“I was terminated because I was unwilling to censor student media,” Rodenbush <a href=\"https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2025/10/15/indiana-university-orders-student-newspaper-ids-to-stop-printing/86709732007/\">told</a> The Indianapolis Star.</p><p data-block-key=\"34p1m\">The next day, administrators ordered the newspaper to halt all printing entirely.</p><p data-block-key=\"dbhc8\">“Telling us what we can and cannot print is unlawful censorship,” Co-Editors-in-Chief Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller <a href=\"https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/ids-print-indiana-university-daily-student-fired-newspaper\">wrote</a> on the online site Oct. 15. “We will continue to resist as long as the university disregards the law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dg7db\">University Chancellor David Reingold <a href=\"https://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2025/10/15/indiana-university-orders-student-newspaper-ids-to-stop-printing/86709732007/\">maintained</a> the school “is firmly committed to the free expression and editorial independence of student media” and that the decision “concerns the medium of distribution, not editorial content.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ed4o\">Spokesperson Mark Bode likewise said that the university is prioritizing digital media over print due to the newspaper’s financial status.</p><p data-block-key=\"bm5sv\">But for Hilkowitz, the decision is still a violation. “The Media School thinks they can violate the First Amendment if it’s under a business decision,” she told the Indy Star. “That’s a really, really dangerous thought process for administrators to have. The fact that they’re trying to frame clear censorship as business is so disrespectful to every party involved.”</p><p data-block-key=\"du1rb\">Attorney Kris Cundiff of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is representing Hilkowitz and Miller.</p><p data-block-key=\"776t9\">In a letter to Reingold, President Pamela Whitten, Media School Dean David Tolchinsky and other school leadership, Cundiff <a href=\"https://www.idsnews.com/article/2025/10/ids-editors-attorney-censorship-iu-print\">wrote</a> the termination of Rodenbush and cuts to the print paper were “ill-advised, unconstitutional, and appear to be aimed at suppressing core press and speech rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cdfa7\">“Telling student journalists what they can and cannot include in a newspaper is censorship of ‘editorial content’ by any definition,” Cundiff added.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kmdu\">The news outlet had <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/indiana-student-paper-says-state-politicians-posts-about-outlet-threatening/\">previously been targeted</a> by Indiana Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith, who, after his election last November, called the paper’s political coverage “elitist leftist propaganda,” and said university officials should evaluate the publication and investigate any financial support for it.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4gea6\">The Indiana Daily Student was ordered by officials at Indiana University Bloomington to cease publishing its print version on Oct. 15, 2025. Above, a statue of journalist and alum Ernie Pyle in front of the building housing the student-run news outlet.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Indiana",
"abbreviation": "IN"
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"updates": [
"(2025-10-30 15:01:00+00:00) Indiana University reverses order that student paper stop printing"
],
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"target_nationality": [],
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"Indiana [University Bloomington] Daily Student"
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"student journalism"
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"Other Incident"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist repeatedly struck with baton, tackled at Illinois immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-repeatedly-struck-with-baton-tackled-at-illinois-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-11-06T18:13:27.329856Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-11-06T18:13:27.329856Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-11-06T16:58:09.619525Z",
"date": "2025-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Broadview",
"longitude": -87.85339,
"latitude": 41.86392,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"e08l6\">Freelance photojournalist Dave Decker was struck at least three times with a baton and then tackled to the ground by Illinois State Police while reporting on protests outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview on Oct. 11, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"8hol7\">The facility, where detainees are being held and processed ahead of deportation, has drawn escalating protests and federal response since early September, following the Department of Homeland Security’s <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/08/ice-launches-operation-midway-blitz-honor-katie-abraham-target-criminal-illegal\">launch</a> of Operation Midway Blitz.</p><p data-block-key=\"23k7j\">Following pressure from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a unified command composed of local law enforcement agencies and headed by the Illinois State Police <a href=\"https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/02/unified-command-outside-broadview-ice-building/\">took over the protest response</a> Oct. 2, establishing designated protest zones around the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"8cu40\">Decker told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for the PBS News show “Frontline” as part of a larger reporting project, and had been routinely covering protests at the facility. On Oct. 11, as with previous demonstrations, officers with the unified command were ensuring that protesters remained in the designated zones.</p><p data-block-key=\"b947k\">“If you literally just crossed the street, they’d come out, they’d give you some warnings,” Decker said. “But, you know, protesters are emotional and cops have emotions, and when they’re getting yelled at all day, tempers start to rise.”</p><p data-block-key=\"669fv\">He said that he was standing on the edge of the protest, filming a large group of Illinois State Police officers when they advanced to push back the crowd with large wooden batons that he described as akin to baseball bats.</p><p data-block-key=\"5jg0f\">“After they get tired of dealing with protesters, they’ll form these big lines and you can hear them talking and they’ll pick who the ‘agitators’ are. They’ll pick the loudest five, and they pretty much know that they’re going to detain those people,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"1d3re\">Then, Decker said, he suddenly became a target. “I don’t know. I had a black hoodie on, so maybe they thought I was a protester,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5c1tk\">“I think their tactic is to take the back of those billy clubs and just go right into the muscle of your leg,” Decker told the Tracker. “They hit me three times really hard. And then they just took me down.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ats3u\">Decker said he repeatedly shouted that he was press, and when one of the officers realized, he pulled the photojournalist out of the dogpile. Afterward, he told one of the officers, “Bro, you hit me.” Decker said the officer just gave him a dead-eyed stare.</p><p data-block-key=\"aj779\">“My leg the next day was hyperswollen. Our director and correspondent were really worried about me. I was bruised pretty bad,” he told the Tracker. “I just kept working.”</p><p data-block-key=\"21qu8\">When reached by email, Illinois State Police Public Information Officer Melaney Arnold said, “ISP and the Unified Command’s highest priority is to protect the community and the rights of individuals to express their First Amendment rights — whether they are protestors or members of the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"91s3h\">“ISP adheres to use-of-force training, policies, and operations that are predicated upon using no force, or the lowest level of force, only when absolutely necessary to protect public safety,” she continued.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"8mksb\">Freelance photojournalist Dave Decker, center, is taken to the ground by Illinois State Police as officers responded to protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 11, 2025.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
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"Assault"
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"Dave Decker (PBS News)"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with projectile while covering Oregon ICE protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-projectile-while-covering-oregon-ice-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-17T18:10:20.754455Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T18:28:37.782335Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-29T18:28:37.675240Z",
"date": "2025-10-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vi0va\">Independent photojournalist John Rudoff was struck by a stinger grenade while documenting a protest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 11, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"727c6\">It was one of a series of demonstrations that have taken place outside the facility since June, when President Donald Trump ramped up immigration enforcement and later raised the possibility of deploying the National Guard to the city.</p><p data-block-key=\"1q084\">Rudoff told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was standing on city property when a federal officer hit him in the upper right arm with what he identified as a sting-ball projectile. The device can have a disorienting explosion, and eject rubber pellets and a chemical irritant.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ms9r\">Rudoff said federal agents frequently used such crowd-control munitions — including pepper spray, flash bangs and projectiles — when entering or exiting the facility’s gated driveway, often emerging fully armored and prepared to fire if the perimeter is encroached upon.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9pr8\">“They come charging out,” he said. “I’m extremely cautious around them, and that makes it a little more difficult for me to get the kind of photographic documentation that I need.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3i19e\">On the night of the incident, Rudoff, a veteran photojournalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Reuters and The Nation, wore a white shirt to distinguish himself from protesters, a large press credential around his neck and a helmet labeling him as media. He was also carrying professional photo equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"aj35m\">With agents firing from both the ground and the roof, Rudoff said he could not determine who hit him.</p><p data-block-key=\"b00go\">“It was pretty obvious what I was doing, and they shot me anyway. That pisses me off,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"fah77\">Rudoff described feeling a strong impact on his upper right arm, followed by white powder trickling down his sleeve. He backed up roughly 10 feet, dusted himself off and continued documenting the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"b98cd\">Later, he found a red bruise on his arm that developed into a black-and-blue mark. Though the injury was minor, Rudoff said he was clearly identifiable as a journalist and posed no threat to officers.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-aligned_image block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n\t\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/IMG_9273.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1104\" alt=\"COURTESY JOHN RUDOFF\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"s6ste\">A photo of a bruise on John Rudoff’s arm, taken Oct. 14, three days after he was struck with a crowd-control munition by a federal officer.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY JOHN RUDOFF\n\t\t\t</span>\n\t\t\n\t</figcaption>\n\t\n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vi0va\">“It is objectively reasonable to say I was obviously a member of the press, and I was obviously not committing a misdemeanor or felony,” he said. “That should give them pause to say to themselves, ‘No, we shouldn’t shoot this guy.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"82j7q\">The Tracker has documented <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?targeted_journalists=John%20Rudoff\">seven other incidents</a> since 2017 in which Rudoff’s press rights have been violated.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"10tw3\">A federal officer grapples with a protester at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement demonstration in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 12, 2025. The day before, photographer John Rudoff was hit with a projectile fired by a federal agent.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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"John Rudoff (Independent)"
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{
"title": "Baltimore broadcast photographer punched in the face ahead of live report",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/baltimore-broadcast-photographer-punched-in-the-face-ahead-of-live-report/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-16T16:32:10.606785Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-16T16:32:10.606785Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-16T16:30:10.872025Z",
"date": "2025-10-10",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Baltimore",
"longitude": -76.61219,
"latitude": 39.29038,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ao2o8\">A photographer with Baltimore, Maryland, station WJZ-TV was punched by an individual attempting to intervene in a live broadcast late on Oct. 10, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"1tco2\">According to FTVLive, the news crew for the CBS-owned station was setting up for a live shot when an individual attempted to intervene in their broadcast. When the photographer stepped in, the individual punched him in the face, causing a laceration.</p><p data-block-key=\"8mr1o\">The reporter was not injured.</p><p data-block-key=\"fhvog\">Tanya Black, vice president and news director for WJZ-TV, addressed the incident in an email to the station’s staff on Oct. 12.</p><p data-block-key=\"29d65\">“We experienced a frightening and concerning incident Friday night during a live shot for the 11 p.m. newscast. Thankfully, everyone is okay,” Black wrote. “Please remember, you do not need permission to leave a location if you feel unsafe.</p><p data-block-key=\"1n5km\">“Your safety and well-being come first—always. If you feel uncomfortable or threatened, leave immediately, get to a safe place, and call the station once you’re in a safe location. No interview, shot, or live segment is worth risking your safety,” she continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"abl7a\">WJZ-TV did not respond to a request for additional information.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xlbuo\">A news crew with broadcast station WJZ-TV was setting up for a live shot in Baltimore, Maryland, on Oct. 10, 2025, when an individual attempted to interfere. The individual punched the photojournalist when he interceded. Licensed under public domain, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/\">CC0</a>.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
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"state": {
"name": "Maryland",
"abbreviation": "MD"
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"Unidentified photojournalist 44 (WJZ-TV)"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shot with dozens of pepper balls at Illinois ICE protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-with-dozens-of-pepper-balls-at-illinois-ice-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-21T14:14:46.400791Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T18:29:25.877987Z",
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"date": "2025-10-04",
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"city": "Broadview",
"longitude": -87.85339,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7paih\">Independent journalist Zach Hussein was shot 20-30 times with crowd-control munitions by federal officers while covering protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 4, 2025. One of the rounds also damaged his camera flash.</p><p data-block-key=\"8mi31\">The facility, where detainees are being held and processed ahead of deportation, has drawn escalating protests and federal response since early September, following the Department of Homeland Security’s <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/08/ice-launches-operation-midway-blitz-honor-katie-abraham-target-criminal-illegal\">launch</a> of Operation Midway Blitz.</p><p data-block-key=\"7e2l5\">Hussein told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that as he arrived to cover protests that morning, he heard federal officers fire several crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"713b1\">“I talked to the kids who were covered in pepper ball dust and asked them what happened,” he said. “They said that they had been shot because they were calling the ICE agents names through the fence and so they lit them up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6cru9\">There were approximately 30 people present, Hussein said, and he spoke with various individuals to get a sense of what was going on, but it was generally quiet.</p><p data-block-key=\"674pk\">Officers had told those assembled that if they were going to protest they had to stay behind a particular line. Hussein said he wanted to document the graffiti close to the fence, however, and didn’t think it’d be a problem.</p><p data-block-key=\"10jdb\">“I walked up with a kid who had a sign but then he turned around and it was just me and my camera,” he said. “Then 30 or 40 of the ICE guys popped out of their little building and one of them said, ‘Hey! You have to protest in your designated free speech zone.’ I was like, ‘I’m not protesting, I’m press.’ He’s like, ‘You have to go back there.’ I say, ‘I’m not protesting, I’m taking pictures. I’m press.’ Then he says, ‘OK, well, we’ll be back.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eb03b\">Hussein said that he resumed taking photos of the graffiti on the ground, as well as on the fence. When the federal officers came back, they told him that if he didn’t leave he’d be arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddb0f\">“I was like, ‘I’m not protesting. Once again, I’m press.’ He says, ‘I don’t give a fuck. Get the fuck back,’” Hussein recounted. “So I put my hands up and I took a step back. As I was walking backward, I went to take a picture and that’s when they shot me with the pepper balls.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a7c9b\">He told the Tracker he was able to go back to an aid station to rinse his eyes and clean up his gear.</p><p data-block-key=\"1u25m\">“It looked like I was in a blizzard or something. I was completely covered in the pepper dust,” he said. “One of them actually ran out of ammo, because I could hear his paintball gun thing make the noise it makes when it’s out of ammo, so they were definitely shooting at me a lot.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e3vog\">Hussein said he was hit at least two dozen times: multiple times each in the head, back, arms and legs. One round also damaged his equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2qi7m\">“I was holding my camera up to my face to get a picture and they hit the flash on my camera and they hit my head,” Hussein said, adding that the impact tore the main dial off his flash. “They were definitely aiming for the head. They’re pretty close, so it wasn’t an accident.”</p><p data-block-key=\"h034\">Hussein was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-by-federal-agents-at-illinois-immigration-protest\">shoved by federal officers</a> while covering protests the previous day.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qqbj\">ICE did not respond to a request for comment. In an <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/06/dhs-debunks-governor-pritzkers-harmful-lies-about-operation-midway-blitz-chicago\">Oct. 6 news release</a>, DHS alleged that officers are facing “a nearly 1000% increase in assaults.”</p><p data-block-key=\"47vpf\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks — though our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights,” it said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q3f41\">Photojournalist Zach Hussein, right, was shot 20-30 times with pepper balls by federal officers while covering protests at a Broadview, Illinois, immigration facility on Oct. 4, 2025. Impact marks from multiple rounds were visible on his helmet, left.</p>",
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist tackled by federal officers at Illinois immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-tackled-by-federal-officers-at-illinois-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-17T14:57:58.511018Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T21:21:15.033800Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-29T21:21:14.908596Z",
"date": "2025-10-03",
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"city": "Broadview",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"juhzv\">Freelance photojournalist Tom Hudson was knocked to the ground by a federal officer while covering anti-deportation protests at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 3, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"achp6\">The facility, where detainees are being held and processed ahead of deportation, has drawn escalating protests and federal response since early September, following the Department of Homeland Security’s <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/08/ice-launches-operation-midway-blitz-honor-katie-abraham-target-criminal-illegal\">launch</a> of Operation Midway Blitz.</p><p data-block-key=\"7fgum\">Hudson told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he’s based in Virginia, but traveled to cover protests at the facility. He added that he wasn’t on assignment, but often files photos with Zuma Press or Getty Images.</p><p data-block-key=\"6db18\">On Oct. 3, both Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino were at the facility, and Hudson said the protest was like any other.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bel6\">“Pretty normal protest stuff going on: people chanting, there was a prayer service going on with some local religious leaders, people handing out water, that kind of thing,” he told the Tracker. “Super peaceful.”</p><p data-block-key=\"73g0v\">Illinois State Police, many of whom Hudson said were in full riot gear, were ensuring that the road was clear for ICE vehicles to pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"d59so\">“I was standing on the curb, and I turned and shifted to get a shot, basically, down the line of the protesters and the state police,” Hudson recounted. “I had one foot on the curb and one foot on the pavement, and one of the troopers started jabbing me, striking me in the ribs with the end of his baton.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4sfi2\">Hudson added that it was “more of an annoyance than anything.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d3i26\">When federal officers later advanced out of the facility, Hudson said, the protesters were approximately 500 feet from the fence gates. Agents marched to meet the crowd, with Bovino in front. Hudson said he observed agents from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, among others.</p><p data-block-key=\"a10gu\">Bovino then spoke with a couple of state police officers, and one of their SWAT members motioned for the others to start putting on their gas masks.</p><p data-block-key=\"542qc\">“Bovino told everybody, ‘You have to leave,’” Hudson said, “and within 30 seconds — not enough time for anybody to disperse even if they were going to — he made a motion to his crowd and said, ‘Go get them.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"383g1\">Hudson said he saw Bovino tackle a demonstrator and was attempting to photograph him when a CBP officer suddenly tackled him.</p><p data-block-key=\"3as0i\">“I did not see it coming. Another agent came up and grabbed my arms,” he said. “I started yelling at him, ‘I’m press, I’m press, I’m press.’ And then they took their hands off and went and got somebody else.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9udnb\">Hudson was uninjured, and his equipment only suffered some minor scrapes.</p><p data-block-key=\"d96o1\">He added that he was clearly identifiable as a member of the press: “I was wearing a vest that said ‘PRESS’ on it. I had a helmet on that said ‘PRESS’ on it. I had my two big cameras. There was absolutely no question, there was no ambiguity, and they just did it anyway.”</p><p data-block-key=\"71g7q\">ICE did not respond to a request for comment. In an <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/06/dhs-debunks-governor-pritzkers-harmful-lies-about-operation-midway-blitz-chicago\">Oct. 6 news release</a>, DHS alleged that officers are facing “a nearly 1000% increase in assaults.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c3ele\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks — though our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights,” it said.</p><p data-block-key=\"dusaq\">Before working as a photojournalist, Hudson told the Tracker he was a critical care paramedic and a police officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"5lo3k\">“I spent more than two decades in the public safety sphere, and I was just completely aghast at what happened that day. It was 100% outside of any norm,” he said. “What I saw was quite literally an attack, that’s the only word that I can use for it.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/_MG_9737.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"o4zvs\">A U.S. Border Patrol officer and other federal agents respond to protests outside an immigration facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 3, 2025. Officers tackled freelance photojournalist Tom Hudson to the ground while he photographed the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
"abbreviation": "IL"
},
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"Department of Justice",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"Assault"
],
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"Tom Hudson (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "California county cuts news outlet from media list after critical coverage",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/california-county-cuts-news-outlet-from-media-list-after-critical-coverage/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-16T18:14:18.036938Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-16T18:14:18.036938Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-16T18:14:14.154635Z",
"date": "2025-10-03",
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"city": "Redding",
"longitude": -122.39168,
"latitude": 40.58654,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"v5x7f\">Shasta Scout, an independent nonprofit news outlet based in Redding, California, was notified on Oct. 3, 2025, that it had been removed from the media distribution list for the registrar of voters for Shasta County.</p><p data-block-key=\"9r916\">When Shasta Scout asked about its removal, Registrar Clint Curtis said he excluded the outlet because it’s not a “legitimate” newsroom, citing its nonprofit status and perceived “political lean,” <a href=\"https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/2025/10/09/shasta-county-unlawfully-denies-shasta-scout-press-releases-fac-objects/\">according to a letter from David Loy</a>, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition.</p><p data-block-key=\"21spr\">The coalition said the move violates press freedom and has prompted widespread public condemnation. “No publication should have to couch its news coverage for fear of losing basic rights guaranteed to the media,” Loy wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"95lmm\">After demands that Scout be reinstated to the press list and threats of legal action, Curtis responded by halting all news releases to outlets and referring the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice, according to an email shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"eb2bc\">“If they agree that we must include them then we will do so, should we ever decide to continue sending press releases,” wrote Curtis.</p><p data-block-key=\"260do\">The issue came to a head Oct. 14, when the Shasta County Board of Supervisors held a closed-session meeting and unanimously voted to issue a public statement supporting a free press and condemning Curtis’ actions.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kj1j\">The board also warned it may consider censure if the behavior continues, according to county spokesman Stewart Buettell.</p><p data-block-key=\"bm3m5\">“I’m really grateful that the community’s rights to a free and unfettered press are being upheld by our board,” Annelise Pierce, Shasta Scout’s editor, told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"9l8f4\">In an email Oct. 16, Curtis told the Tracker all news releases are now published on the county’s website, which he said has been the case since before he was in the position.</p><p data-block-key=\"cp9f1\">After the board meeting, Curtis told reporters it felt “morally wrong” to share news releases with Shasta Scout, which he believes is “operating improperly” as a nonprofit newsroom, <a href=\"https://shastascout.org/supervisors-unanimously-condemn-shasta-election-official/\">Shasta Scout reported.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"49efv\">Pierce said Curtis has refused to provide evidence to support his claims, which she called baseless. She said Shasta Scout’s reporting is fair, factual and fully compliant with nonprofit law.</p><p data-block-key=\"e87uu\">“We have worked very hard to be excessively cautious in our coverage,” she said. “We have provided pretty hard-hitting reporting on Mr. Curtis, because a lot of issues have arisen since he was placed in the role.”</p><p data-block-key=\"58fkj\">Shasta Scout was targeted, Pierce said, after it published election stories critical of Curtis, <a href=\"https://shastascout.org/shasta-registrar-clint-curtis-claims-the-secretary-of-state-has-greenlit-his-election-plans-the-state-says-otherwise/\">including an article</a> questioning whether the California secretary of state had approved his proposed ballot procedures.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4nbc\">Pierce had also received a voicemail and phone call from Assistant Registrar of Voters Brent Turner, who accused her of trying to sway the election in favor of Curtis’ opponent.</p><p data-block-key=\"20os3\">Though Pierce said the situation is stressful, she and her team remain committed to providing the community with local news coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"3fb67\">“Front-line democracy reporting requires courage, and we have plenty of it,” Pierce said. “We will not shrink back from reporting these stories.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Benda_Curtis.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jerz9\">The Shasta County, California, Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis, at right, responds to questions from a reporter. The official excluded online outlet Shasta Scout from its media distribution list starting Oct. 3.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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},
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"Shasta Scout"
],
"tags": [],
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],
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"Denial of Access"
],
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]
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shoved by federal agents at Illinois immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-by-federal-agents-at-illinois-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-21T15:25:59.763964Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T18:29:51.123196Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-29T18:29:51.024299Z",
"date": "2025-10-03",
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"city": "Broadview",
"longitude": -87.85339,
"latitude": 41.86392,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"w3p99\">Independent journalist Zach Hussein was pushed over a guardrail by federal agents while covering protests outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Oct. 3, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"7psc9\">The facility, where detainees are being held and processed ahead of deportation, has drawn escalating protests and federal response since early September, following the Department of Homeland Security’s <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/09/08/ice-launches-operation-midway-blitz-honor-katie-abraham-target-criminal-illegal\">launch</a> of Operation Midway Blitz.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8f0h\">Hussein told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that on Oct. 3, both Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino were at the facility, along with officers from the Illinois State Police.</p><p data-block-key=\"fh1p7\">“There were a bunch of protesters, probably the most I had seen, a few hundred. It was pretty chill until the Border Patrol rolled out in a convoy with their big BearCat,” he said, referring to the armored vehicle, “and their drones and their own photographers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3fn2i\">Another photojournalist, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-tackled-by-federal-officers-at-illinois-immigration-protest/\">Tom Hudson</a>, told the Tracker that federal agents marched out of the facility to meet the crowd. Bovino, in front, warned everyone to leave, but less than 30 seconds later, Hudson said Bovino told his agents, “Go get them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"615jq\">The use of force was immediate, Hussein said. “They started pushing people and arresting people. They threatened to gas people.</p><p data-block-key=\"5e0ns\">“The federal agents were going out of their way to be aggressive,” he added. “They were kind of going after everybody, press included.”</p><p data-block-key=\"658b5\">Hussein said that in the chaos, he was pushed by Bovino and other agents, ultimately falling over the highway guardrail. He added that, luckily, he was uninjured.</p><p data-block-key=\"6iql4\">“I was glad to have my helmet on; that would have hurt,” Hussein said. “It was pretty intense.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dupgk\">ICE did not respond to a request for comment. In an <a href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/06/dhs-debunks-governor-pritzkers-harmful-lies-about-operation-midway-blitz-chicago\">Oct. 6 news release</a>, DHS alleged that officers are facing “a nearly 1000% increase in assaults.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b71qt\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks — though our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights,” it said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ea7r\">Bovino posted a <a href=\"https://x.com/CMDROpAtLargeCA/status/1977778019046674796\">video package</a> of the Oct. 3 protest response on the social platform X on Oct. 13, set to the Soundridemusic song “Adrenaline.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2chqu\">“Interfering with our agents or operations will lead to consequences,” Bovino wrote. “We support the right to protest, but public and agent safety is non-negotiable. Zero tolerance.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Hussein_IL_assault_103.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"sn5hw\">Federal agents, including U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino, at right, detain protesters outside a Broadview, Illinois, immigration facility on Oct. 3, 2025. Photojournalist Zach Hussein was shoved while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Illinois",
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},
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"tags": [
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"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
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],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit in the ankle with impact projectile at Oregon ICE protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-the-ankle-with-impact-projectile-at-oregon-ice-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-12T19:30:10.758530Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-12T19:30:10.758530Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-12T19:26:17.703773Z",
"date": "2025-10-01",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2c2hs\">Freelance photographer John Rudoff was shot in the leg with a crowd-control munition while covering a protest against immigration raids in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"ckqme\">Rudoff was covering one of a series of demonstrations that have taken place since June, when President Donald Trump ramped up immigration enforcement and later raised the possibility of deploying the National Guard to the city.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lg8c\">Rudoff asked the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to omit the date of the incident to protect his sources. He told the Tracker that he was outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility when federal officers began peppering people with projectiles.</p><p data-block-key=\"f2skt\">Rudoff was shot in the ankle with what appeared to be a pepper ball, based on the chalky residue it left on his pants.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgkcj\">“In the heat of events, I just literally didn’t notice it,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5mn3c\">Also that month, he was <a href=\"/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-the-neck-with-projectile-at-oregon-ice-protest/\">hit in the neck</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-projectile-while-covering-oregon-ice-protest/\">arm</a> with impact projectiles.</p><p data-block-key=\"ed3l8\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4uto\">In February 2026, a judge temporarily restricted federal officers from using tear gas at protests outside the Portland facility. After the ruling, <a href=\"https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/federal-agents-limit-tear-gas-now-protests-portland-129831155\">ABC News reported</a> the agency said its officers “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.” It did not address the use of crowd-control munitions against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-02-11_at_2.38.49P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"eceik\">The residue left on photographer John Rudoff’s pants after he was hit with a crowd-control munition while covering an immigration protest in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025.</p>",
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"arrest_status": null,
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"actor": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"John Rudoff (Freelance)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Pete Hegseth targets news outlets, leakers as defense secretary",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-03T16:34:25.156292Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-17T18:02:05.820329Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-17T17:59:38.474668Z",
"date": "2025-10-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yzj9y\">Shortly after President Donald Trump’s second term began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined Trump in taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Hegseth’s efforts in 2025 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ommm\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9v0ko\"><i>This article was first published on March 21, 2025.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yasaj\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"d83lr\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Oct 1\">Oct. 1, 2025 | Pentagon to require nondisclosure agreements, random polygraph testing</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 26\">May 26, 2025 | Defense Department attempts to bar CNN reporter from foreign trip</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#March 21\">March 21, 2025 | Defense Department announces investigation into media leaks</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yzj9y\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"d7qmh\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Oct 1\" name=\"Oct 1\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"s6tia\"><b>Oct. 1, 2025 | Pentagon to require nondisclosure agreements, random polygraph testing</b></p><p data-block-key=\"ej59a\">In its latest move to combat leaks, the Pentagon plans to require all employees within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff to sign nondisclosure agreements and to subject them to random polygraph testing, The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/01/pentagon-pete-hegseth-crackdown-leaks/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F451a1bb%2F68dd5180fe87267da2461848%2F59729333ae7e8a1cf4ab937e%2F11%2F66%2F68dd5180fe87267da2461848\">reported</a> on Oct. 1, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"dhsba\">The estimated 5,000 military service members, civilian employees and contractors will be asked to sign an NDA that “prohibits the release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process.”</p><p data-block-key=\"54fs\">The Post reported that the requirements are part of a larger strategy to identify and remove not only leakers but also those deemed insufficiently loyal to the Trump administration.</p><p data-block-key=\"1f0u2\">News of the planned measures also comes on the heels of <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-restricts-journalists-access-inside-pentagon/#update-1009\">new press restrictions</a> issued on Sept. 19, which mandate that journalists pledge to obtain approval before releasing information gathered at the Pentagon, even if unclassified.</p><p data-block-key=\"cabuf\">A seventeen-page <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/09/20/us/pentagon-press-restrictions.html\">memo</a>, signed by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, asserted that “information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.” Refusal or noncompliance could result in the loss of press credentials and access to the Pentagon.</p><p data-block-key=\"41g09\">The new rules, issued under the insignia of the “Department of War,” the <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/09/04/nx-s1-5529420/trump-department-of-war-department-of-defense\">newly designated</a> “secondary title” for the Department of Defense, also forbade unescorted access to large areas of the building. A May<a href=\"https://media.defense.gov/2025/May/23/2003721693/-1/-1/1/UPDATED-PHYSICAL-CONTROL-MEASURES-FOR-PRESS-MEDIA-ACCESS-WITHIN-THE-PENTAGON.PDF\"> memo</a> issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth already mandated that journalists have official approval and escorts from the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs to enter building areas once freely accessible to credentialed reporters.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 26\" name=\"May 26\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"2y7xj\">May 26, 2025 | Defense Department attempts to bar CNN reporter from foreign trip</h4><p data-block-key=\"3ccj7\">The Pentagon attempted to bar CNN national security reporter Haley Britzky from traveling as the designated television pool journalist during Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s trip to Singapore, Status <a href=\"https://www.status.news/p/pete-hegseth-pentagon-press-access?utm_source=www.status.news&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=hegseth-s-safe-space&_bhlid=8583a82fd7bcd379f720c4d09a22a59a6348c18a\">reported</a> on May 26, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"91gov\">“Pentagon officials—apparently irked by some of her tweets, despite their innocuous nature—relayed to CNN brass that she was not welcome,” Oliver Darcy wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"fh3o\">On May 24, Britzky highlighted her Signal username in a post on the social platform X amid the Department of Defense’s efforts to crack down on leaks, including by <a href=\"/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-restricts-journalists-access-inside-pentagon/\">limiting press access</a> to areas of the Pentagon.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vnlm\">Arthur Schwartz, one of Hegseth’s closest advisers, <a href=\"https://x.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1926304038817013807\">reposted</a> Britzky, adding, “Any reporters that are encouraging DoD employees to bypass DoD Public Affairs and violate the terms of their employment with the government should be permanently banned from the Pentagon. Start with this one.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Any reporters that are encouraging DoD employees to bypass DoD Public Affairs and violate their terms of their employment with the government should be permanently banned from the Pentagon. Start with this one. <a href=\"https://t.co/aFvzPcufyw\">https://t.co/aFvzPcufyw</a></p>— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1926304038817013807?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 24, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2y7xj\">Status reported that the move to exclude Britzky from Hegseth’s Singapore trip triggered an immediate backlash: Multiple other outlets indicated that if she was excluded they would boycott the trip.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qect\">“They don’t get to decide who covers them,” one correspondent told Status.</p><p data-block-key=\"7839n\">The Pentagon relented, and Britzky <a href=\"https://x.com/halbritz/status/1928406436192620655\">traveled</a> with Hegseth as originally planned.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"March 21\" name=\"March 21\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"yzj9y\">March 21, 2025 | Defense Department announces investigation into media leaks</h4><p data-block-key=\"bnd2m\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office sent a <a href=\"https://media.defense.gov/2025/Mar/21/2003674265/-1/-1/0/EFFORTS-TO-COMBAT-UNAUTHORIZED-DISCLOSURES-OSD002809-25-RES-FINAL.PDF\">memo</a> on March 21, 2025, initiating an investigation into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6s70m\">“This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense,” wrote Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff. “I expect to be informed immediately if this effort results in information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure, and that such information will be referred to the appropriate criminal law enforcement entity for criminal prosecution.”</p><p data-block-key=\"76lla\">The memo also noted that department employees will be subject to polygraph exams “in accordance with applicable law and policy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ebe2s\">The memo came hours after Elon Musk, head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, <a href=\"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1902977556329931052\">posted on social media</a> calling The New York Times’ reporting on the planned content of his briefing at the Pentagon “pure propaganda.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cjh0\">“I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT,” Musk wrote. “They will be found.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e5n7v\">Musk’s meeting with members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ultimately did not take place, Reuters <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/world/us/elon-musk-calls-prosecutions-pentagon-staff-who-leaked-new-york-times-2025-03-21/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ceird\">A Times spokesperson told Reuters that leak investigations are “meant to chill communications between journalists and their sources and undermine the ability of a free press to bring out vital information that may otherwise be hidden.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-03-21T163635Z_985503578_RC2S.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"of4rh\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on as President Donald Trump (not pictured) delivers remarks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media",
"The New York Times"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Defense",
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Haley Britzky (CNN)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit in the neck with projectile at Oregon ICE protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-the-neck-with-projectile-at-oregon-ice-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-12T19:22:34.523343Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-12T19:31:39.495102Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-12T19:31:39.346350Z",
"date": "2025-10-01",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"62lt6\">Freelance photographer John Rudoff was shot in the neck with a crowd-control munition while covering a protest against immigration raids in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"2p0b9\">Rudoff was covering one of a series of demonstrations that have taken place since June, when President Donald Trump ramped up immigration enforcement and later raised the possibility of deploying the National Guard to the city.</p><p data-block-key=\"ece5j\">Rudoff asked the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker to omit the date of the incident to protect his sources. He told the Tracker that he was outside Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility when federal officers began peppering people with projectiles.</p><p data-block-key=\"e67aj\">“I shoot everything I can get my hands on,” he said. “My job is to get a complete record of what happened.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ajjn3\">Rudoff said federal agents frequently used such crowd-control munitions — including pepper spray and tear gas — when entering or exiting the facility’s gated driveway, often emerging fully armored and prepared to fire if the perimeter is encroached upon.</p><p data-block-key=\"7qiuk\">Rudoff said he was wearing a military gas mask, a helmet and a badge marking himself as press, and was carrying two large cameras strapped around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"6m0n6\">After the chaos had died down and the tear gas was clear, federal agents formed a line in front of protesters, some of whom were confronting the officers. Rudoff snapped a photo of one of the agents and then turned his head to get another picture of an officer pepper-spraying a protester.</p><p data-block-key=\"amh73\">“All of a sudden, I felt this tremendous whack on the side of my neck,” he said. “It was like a very hard punch from something about the size of a bald fist.”</p><p data-block-key=\"psg8\">The impact, which happened while his neck was facing federal officers, caused him to drop the camera that was hanging around his neck.</p><p data-block-key=\"amt6h\">“I was hurt, I was in pain, I was pissed off,” he said. “I was non-functional that night.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fl55a\">Disoriented, Rudoff staggered backward from the line of federal officers. He kept taking pictures, but eventually moved away from the action to re-collect himself on a park bench.</p><p data-block-key=\"erpqi\">“I was reporting up until I got hit, and after I got hit, I wasn’t reporting,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ap5m0\">Rudoff said the impact left a lump on his neck and a soreness that lasted for a few days.</p><p data-block-key=\"93jk6\">“I wasn’t doing anything hostile, and in fact, I was even turned away from the line of people who shot at me,” he said. “I have to conclude — I have to infer — that he shot at me because I was a journalist.”</p><p data-block-key=\"185i6\">Also that month, he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-the-ankle-with-impact-projectile-at-oregon-ice-protest/\">struck in the leg</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-projectile-while-covering-oregon-ice-protest/\">arm</a> with impact projectiles. </p><p data-block-key=\"cqmtm\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tvj3\">In February 2026, a judge temporarily restricted federal officers from using tear gas at protests outside the Portland facility. After the ruling, <a href=\"https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/federal-agents-limit-tear-gas-now-protests-portland-129831155\">ABC News reported</a> the agency said its officers “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.” It did not address the use of crowd-control munitions against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/3DEFA37F-D099-4224-89A4-55FC30401.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yif8d\">Photographer John Rudoff’s neck after he was struck with an impact projectile while covering an immigration protest in Portland, Oregon, in October 2025.</p>",
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"John Rudoff (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist hit in face while covering Oregon ICE protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-hit-in-face-while-covering-oregon-ice-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-09T20:42:23.518320Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-09T20:42:23.518320Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-09T20:42:23.307959Z",
"date": "2025-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Portland",
"longitude": -122.67621,
"latitude": 45.52345,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hvj16\">Katie Daviscourt, a reporter for the conservative news site The Post Millennial, had her eye blackened by a person swinging a flagpole during a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 30, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"2676i\">In a video Daviscourt posted to the social platform X, a woman is seen waving a flagpole at the protest, apparently saying Daviscourt’s name as she accuses her of being at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. An impact is heard in the video, followed by a voice exclaiming, "She just hit me in the face! Oh my God!”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Breaking: I just got assaulted by an Antifa agitator outside the ICE facility in Portland.<br><br>The suspect walked up to me and hit me in the face with her flag pole, swinging it like a baseball bat. <a href=\"https://t.co/BFi39Ym8R6\">pic.twitter.com/BFi39Ym8R6</a></p>— Katie Daviscourt 📸 (@KatieDaviscourt) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/1973241441834115509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hvj16\">Daviscourt, <a href=\"https://x.com/KatieDaviscourt/status/1975306746416730502\">who posted on X</a> that she is a full-time reporter who has been covering ICE activity in Portland for the past several months, did not respond to a Tracker request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4c5rk\">The day after the incident, Daviscourt <a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/video/6380634589112\">appeared on Fox News</a> with a visible black eye.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah89q\">She criticized the Portland Police Bureau’s response to her reported attack and demanded the resignation of Chief Bob Day, stating she immediately sought help from nearby police and chased the suspect for more than half an hour.</p><p data-block-key=\"85j9i\">According to a bureau <a href=\"https://www.portland.gov/police/news/2025/10/1/ppb-needs-publics-help-identifying-assault-suspect\">press release</a>, a “dialogue liaison” officer, who cannot take enforcement action, was flagged down after an assault was reported Sept. 30. When he tried to detain the suspect, she fled.</p><p data-block-key=\"a90uj\">Daviscourt was not named in the release, but police shared photos of the suspect and asked the public for help identifying her. The person with the flagpole in Daviscourt’s video matches the suspect in those photos.</p><p data-block-key=\"d91dv\">In a statement to <a href=\"https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/10/conservative-media-personality-reports-assault-at-portland-protest-slams-police-as-antifa.html\">The Oregonian</a> newspaper, a spokesperson for the Police Bureau said it would enforce the law at protests: “Free speech and gathering is lawful and protected by the Constitution, no matter the content of what’s being said. But criminal activity is not free speech, and the Portland Police Bureau is committed to addressing criminal behavior.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2025-10-09_at_12.58.08.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xq641\">Katie Daviscourt, second from left, speaks to Fox News host Jesse Watters on Oct. 1, 2025, about her reported assault the day before, while covering an anti-deportation protest in Portland, Oregon.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
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"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Katie Daviscourt (The Post Millennial)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Turkish journalist hospitalized after assault at NYC immigration court",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/turkish-journalist-hospitalized-after-assault-at-nyc-immigration-court/",
"first_published_at": "2025-09-30T19:58:18.550020Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T18:30:08.369080Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-29T18:30:08.262460Z",
"date": "2025-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6pkd5\">L. Vural Elibol, chief videographer for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was knocked to the ground by federal officers while reporting at the immigration court in New York, New York, on Sept. 30, 2025. He struck his head and was later hospitalized.</p><p data-block-key=\"dhilm\">Multiple journalists have reported <a href=\"https://x.com/arya_sundaram/status/1928105201392632061\">access issues</a>, <a href=\"https://www.amny.com/police-fire/more-immigrants-arrested-ice-lower-manhattan-06262025/?ref=hellgatenyc.com\">intimidation</a> and <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DOehXSpjuTI/?hl=en\">threats</a> when covering the court at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been arresting asylum-seekers following their hearings there since May, part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bdeb\">Previously, on Sept. 18, independent journalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-by-officer-barring-lawmakers-from-nyc-immigration-facility/\">Michael Nigro</a> was assaulted by a man he identified as a plainclothes ICE officer while reporting on a lawmaker-led protest at the court.</p><p data-block-key=\"1g8ja\"><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPO4gdLDrzH/?igsh=c3ppcjdiaHZ0cHJ0\">Footage</a> of the Sept. 30 incident, captured by a fellow journalist, shows masked federal officers pulling amNewYork’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shoved-by-federal-officers-outside-immigration-court-in-nyc/\">Dean Moses</a> out of a public elevator while shouting at him, “Get out of the fucking elevator!”</p><p data-block-key=\"e27rs\">Another officer standing outside the elevator doors can be seen shoving freelance photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nyc-photojournalist-shoved-to-ground-by-federal-officers-at-immigration-court/\">Olga Fedorova</a> back, causing her to go crashing to the hallway floor, landing atop Elibol.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Footage taken by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Steffikeith?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Steffikeith</a> this morning of ICE agents shoving photographers on assignment at 26 Federal Plaza. One journalist has been hospitalized. <a href=\"https://t.co/sOo6XAMWJP\">pic.twitter.com/sOo6XAMWJP</a></p>— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/molcranenewman/status/1973061570407051644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6pkd5\">Elibol is then seen on the floor in pain before emergency medical services arrive, place him in a neck brace and onto a stretcher. The photojournalist, who did not respond to a request for comment, <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/new-york-governor-criticizes-ice-officers-who-she-says-shoved-injured-2025-10-01/\">told Reuters</a>, “I was trying to get the video and someone yanked me and threw me to the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"egigm\">A photographer for the wire service captured the moment Elibol started falling backward, showing multiple federal officers standing in front of Elibol and looking toward the elevator.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8n6g\">Elibol said that he hurt his back and head and was taken to the hospital. He added that after he was examined, he was discharged with pain medicine.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcec5\">Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfo1o\">City Comptroller Brad Lander quickly condemned the assault, <a href=\"https://x.com/bradlander/status/1973052678767776229\">writing</a> on the social platform X, “Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ndt6\">“Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a2e1e\">The National Press Photographers Association condemned the assaults as “a blatant attack on press freedom.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bv626\">“ICE must be held accountable for violating its own policy and for trampling on the First Amendment rights of these photographers,” said NPPA General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher. “Anything less sends a chilling message to journalists everywhere.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aknft\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article was updated to include additional details from L. Vural Elibol and comment from the National Press Photographers Association</i>.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25273721472019.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1atae\">Bystanders assist journalist L. Vural Elibol, chief videographer for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, as he lies on the floor after being shoved by federal officers while covering detentions in New York City’s immigration court on Sept. 30, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"L. Vural Elibol (Anadolu Agency [Turkey])"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "NYC photojournalist shoved to ground by federal officers at immigration court",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nyc-photojournalist-shoved-to-ground-by-federal-officers-at-immigration-court/",
"first_published_at": "2025-09-30T20:29:15.821232Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-29T18:30:33.108897Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-29T18:30:32.995862Z",
"date": "2025-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gaq8u\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was shoved to the ground by federal officers while on assignment for The Associated Press at the immigration court in New York, New York, on Sept. 30, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"3lg43\">Multiple journalists have reported <a href=\"https://x.com/arya_sundaram/status/1928105201392632061\">access issues</a>, <a href=\"https://www.amny.com/police-fire/more-immigrants-arrested-ice-lower-manhattan-06262025/?ref=hellgatenyc.com\">intimidation</a> and <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DOehXSpjuTI/?hl=en\">threats</a> when covering the court at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been arresting asylum-seekers following their hearings there since May, part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"et5on\">Previously, on Sept. 18, independent journalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-by-officer-barring-lawmakers-from-nyc-immigration-facility/\">Michael Nigro</a> was assaulted by a man he identified as a plainclothes ICE officer while reporting on a lawmaker-led protest at the court.</p><p data-block-key=\"aidbq\"><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPO4gdLDrzH/?igsh=c3ppcjdiaHZ0cHJ0\">Footage</a> of the Sept. 30 incident, captured by a fellow journalist, shows masked federal officers grabbing, pushing and pulling amNewYork’s <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shoved-by-federal-officers-outside-immigration-court-in-nyc/\">Dean Moses</a> out of a public elevator while shouting at him, “Get out of the fucking elevator!”</p><p data-block-key=\"hlgp\">Another officer standing outside the elevator doors can be seen shoving Fedorova back, causing her to go crashing to the hallway floor atop Anadolu Agency videographer <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/turkish-journalist-hospitalized-after-assault-at-nyc-immigration-court/\">L. Vural Elibol</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Footage taken by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Steffikeith?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Steffikeith</a> this morning of ICE agents shoving photographers on assignment at 26 Federal Plaza. One journalist has been hospitalized. <a href=\"https://t.co/sOo6XAMWJP\">pic.twitter.com/sOo6XAMWJP</a></p>— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/molcranenewman/status/1973061570407051644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gaq8u\">Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was taking photos of the officers shoving Moses while she backed up to get out of their way.</p><p data-block-key=\"arvsr\">“Then one of them threw me on the ground,” she said. “I got up immediately to keep shooting and only then realized that someone was on the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1383h\">She said that she was not injured and that her cameras appeared to be undamaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"3clvo\">Another journalist at the scene confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Elibol struck his head quite severely and was taken to a hospital for further monitoring and testing. He was later discharged with pain medication.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lsab\">Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2fjth\">City Comptroller Brad Lander quickly condemned the assault, <a href=\"https://x.com/bradlander/status/1973052678767776229\">writing</a> on the social platform X, “Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ve4c\">“Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8e4rv\">The National Press Photographers Association condemned the assaults as “a blatant attack on press freedom.”</p><p data-block-key=\"era78\">“ICE must be held accountable for violating its own policy and for trampling on the First Amendment rights of these photographers,” said NPPA General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher. “Anything less sends a chilling message to journalists everywhere.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7h1ma\"><i>Editor’s Note: This incident has been updated to include comment from Olga Fedorova and the National Press Photographers Association</i>, <i>and information on L. Vural Elibol.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25273716924096.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h58c4\">Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova, on assignment for The Associated Press, captured this image moments after federal officers shoved her and a second journalist to the ground outside New York City’s immigration court on Sept. 30, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Olga Fedorova (The Associated Press)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Kristi Noem targets press, leakers as homeland security secretary",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers-as-homeland-security-secretary/",
"first_published_at": "2025-04-03T16:42:15.375266Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-05-08T20:57:46.421336Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-05-08T20:57:46.317977Z",
"date": "2025-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7xkxf\">Shortly after President Donald Trump’s second term began, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined Trump in taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that covered him and his administration unfavorably. We documented her efforts in 2025 in this report.</p><p data-block-key=\"46hnn\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"9spoe\"><i>This article was first published on March 14, 2025.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"3aacq\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p>\r\n<div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Sept. 30\">Sept. 30, 2025 | Under DHS secretary, reporter’s TSA PreCheck and Global Entry revoked\r\n<p><a href=\"#July 1\">July 1, 2025 | DHS secretary announces efforts to criminally charge CNN over reporting</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 20\">May 20, 2025 | DHS secretary oversees ‘unprecedented’ use of polygraphs to identify leakers</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#March 9\">March 9, 2025 | DHS secretary pledges to use lie detectors to identify leakers</a>\r\n<p><a href=\"#March 7\">March 7, 2025 | DHS secretary threatens to sue South Dakota newspaper over coverage</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7xkxf\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"87b1q\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Sept. 30\" name=\"Sept. 30\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"67lyt\">Sept. 30, 2025 | Under DHS secretary, reporter’s TSA PreCheck and Global Entry revoked</h4><p data-block-key=\"24r2s\">Reporter Steve Held received a notice that his TSA PreCheck was suspended on Sept. 30, 2025, three days after he was arrested by a federal officer while covering an immigration enforcement protest in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Illinois. On Oct. 9, he received another letter informing him that his Global Entry membership was revoked.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2gvq\">The Transportation Security Administration, which sent the first notice, and Customs and Border Protection, which sent the second, both operate under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.</p><p data-block-key=\"295q6\">According to the TSA letter, which Held later <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/peoplesfabric.bsky.social/post/3mgb6mvdwdk2z\">posted to a social media thread</a>, his eligibility for the PreCheck program, which he’s had since 2020, was preliminarily revoked. The agency said it made the determination after a check against law enforcement, immigration, regulatory violation and intelligence databases.</p><p data-block-key=\"21cbp\">The letter cites Held’s alleged conduct Sept. 27 — the date he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-tackled-arrested-by-federal-agents-at-illinois-ice-protest/\">tackled and handcuffed</a> by a Customs and Border Protection agent outside an immigration detention facility. It incorrectly claims that Held assaulted an officer and misidentifies the location of the incident. Held was detained and later released without charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"33ba9\">Held said his wife’s privileges were also suspended.</p><p data-block-key=\"k9es\">“It’s certainly tied to the arrest. How much is incompetence versus malice, it’s always hard to say,” he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “What really made me feel like this was more retaliatory was when they inactivated my wife’s TSA PreCheck and Global Entry; she wasn’t even there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"k071\">The TSA letter stated its decision is separate from any related criminal or civil proceedings, of which there are none. It also asserted Held’s conduct was “inconsistent with expedited screening eligibility, which is reserved for persons known to pose a low risk to transportation security.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3kd9b\">The second letter, reviewed by the Tracker, only informed Held that he did not meet Global Entry’s eligibility requirements.</p><p data-block-key=\"59au4\">Held pointed to a <a href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-watchers-global-entry-memo_n_699e3cdee4b0c4f808270959\">recent HuffPost article</a> about two people who claimed they also lost Global Entry after observing federal agents during immigration operations.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sfbj\">“It just seems like an intimidation tactic, or just trying to deter people from observing them or protesting them or reporting on them,” Held told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"884g9\">Held said he appealed TSA’s decision in November and had not heard back as of March 2026. The Department of Homeland Security and TSA did not immediately respond to a Tracker request for comment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"July 1\" name=\"July 1\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"p32dz\">July 1, 2025 | DHS secretary announces efforts to criminally charge CNN over reporting</h4><p data-block-key=\"e7tv7\">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters during a trip to a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Florida on July 1, 2025, that her department was looking to prosecute CNN over its reporting on an app that allows users to track ICE agents.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddmfn\">CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/30/tech/iceblock-app-trump-immigration-crackdown\">reported</a> June 30 on the new platform, called ICEBlock, noting that the developer behind the controversial app created it as an “early warning system” so users can avoid interactions with ICE, not to interfere with the agency’s operations.</p><p data-block-key=\"4e1j9\">Noem <a href=\"https://x.com/KristiNoem/status/1940101932455985177\">posted a clip</a> from the CNN report on the social platform X, writing that it “sure looks like obstruction of justice.”</p><p data-block-key=\"73hea\">“Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500% increase in assaults against them,” Noem wrote. “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.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This sure looks like obstruction of justice. Our brave ICE law enforcement face a 500% increase in assaults against them. <br><br>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. <a href=\"https://t.co/9w3msUhgB0\">pic.twitter.com/9w3msUhgB0</a></p>— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/KristiNoem/status/1940101932455985177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 1, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p32dz\">While it was unclear whether the post was referencing the app or CNN’s reporting on it, Noem made her stance clear when she was directly asked by a reporter during the Florida visit whether CNN should be charged for “pushing” the app.</p><p data-block-key=\"6b2o6\">“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them,” Noem <a href=\"https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1940069653268599097\">said</a>, “because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities and operations. We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them. What they’re doing is illegal.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5g3ir\">President Donald Trump, who was with Noem and the Florida ICE facility, agreed, saying he would support the move to prosecute the network.</p><p data-block-key=\"1tfjo\">Trump added that CNN should also be charged for what he said were “false reports on the attack on Iran.” He has <a href=\"https://taps.pressfreedomtracker.us/post/e5a7cc6b7eb2/\">repeatedly</a> <a href=\"https://taps.pressfreedomtracker.us/post/edf14355c8b0/\">alleged</a> that both CNN and The New York Times falsified reporting on the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and <a href=\"https://taps.pressfreedomtracker.us/post/0947da548603/\">called</a> for the journalists behind the reports to be fired.</p><p data-block-key=\"35vde\">CNN defended its reporting in a <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/trump-kristi-noem-cnn-threat\">statement to The Guardian</a>, noting that the app is free and publicly available. “There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN,” the spokesperson said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 20\" name=\"May 20\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"vkbuz\">May 20, 2025 | DHS secretary oversees ‘unprecedented’ use of polygraphs to identify leakers</h4><p data-block-key=\"8o3a\">Under the leadership of Secretary Kristi Noem, Department of Homeland Security employees are being subjected to polygraph exams, The Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/dhs-kristi-noem-employee-polygraph-tests-7249fc38\">reported</a> on May 20, 2025. Noem had announced her intention to use such tests as part of her efforts to clamp down on leaks.</p><p data-block-key=\"anunu\">According to the Journal, employees — ranging from agency leadership to designated media liaisons — are being specifically questioned about whether they’ve been sharing unapproved information with the media, even if it isn’t classified.</p><p data-block-key=\"9qlo\">DHS employees told the newspaper that the scale of polygraphing is unprecedented, and that the seeming randomness of who is selected for an exam and why has had a chilling effect.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7cpb\">“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is unapologetic about its efforts to root out leakers that undermine national security,” said Tricia McLaughlin, spokeswoman for DHS. “We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant—we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ddcl3\">Both Noem and Madison Sheahan, deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have reportedly threatened employees with polygraphs and Noem has personally requested that certain employees be examined.</p><p data-block-key=\"3hb7f\">National Intelligence Director <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tulsi-gabbard-targets-press-leakers-as-national-intelligence-director/#March%2014\">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, Defense Secretary <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">Pete Hegseth</a> and FBI Director <a href=\"/all-incidents/kash-patel-targets-press-leakers-as-fbi-director/\">Kash Patel</a> have also announced the use of polygraphs to identify leakers in their agencies.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"March 9\" name=\"March 9\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"7xkxf\">March 9, 2025 | DHS secretary pledges to use lie detectors to identify leakers</h4><p data-block-key=\"819t1\">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed during an <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kristi-noem-homeland-security-secretary-face-the-nation-transcript-03-09-2025/\">appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation”</a> on March 9, 2025, that the department would subject employees to polygraph exams as part of its investigation into the source of leaks to the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"155vd\">Noem <a href=\"https://x.com/KristiNoem/status/1898099666245333409\">announced on March 7</a> that two individuals who allegedly leaked details about immigration enforcement operations have been identified and will face felony prosecution. She told CBS two days later that the leak investigations are ongoing and that she plans on using the full power of her office to ensure “that we’re following the law, that we are following the procedures in place to keep people safe.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4fdfm\">“Anyone who is leaking information outside of how something is planned for the safety of those law enforcement officers needs to be held accountable for that,” Noem added.</p><p data-block-key=\"frng9\">The Associated Press <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ice-deportation-immigration-dhs-kristi-noem-leak-cf09189abaa6147a0c990225c2d27bad\">reported</a> that while polygraphs are not typically admissible in court, they are often used by federal law enforcement, including for national security clearances.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ti0m\">“The Department of Homeland Security is a national security agency,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to the news agency. “We can, should, and will polygraph personnel.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"March 7\" name=\"March 7\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"7xkxf\">March 7, 2025 | DHS secretary threatens to sue South Dakota newspaper over coverage</h4><p data-block-key=\"2mvq\">A personal attorney for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threatened on March 7, 2025, to sue The Dakota Scout, an independent newspaper based in Sioux City, South Dakota, after the outlet <a href=\"https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/sec-kristi-noems-use-of-taxpayer\">reported</a> on Noem’s use of two taxpayer-backed credit cards.</p><p data-block-key=\"alrhi\">The Scout and KSFL-TV reviewed thousands of pages of credit card receipts totaling approximately $650,000 from Noem’s tenure as the state’s governor. The bulk of the expenses were on airfare, rental cars and hotel accommodations for Noem’s security detail, in connection with her appearances at campaign rallies and as a speaker at conservative events, according to the Scout.</p><p data-block-key=\"qsrs\">In a cease and desist letter emailed to the Scout in the early hours of March 7, Noem’s personal lawyer Trevor Stanley alleged that the outlet had published “false, misleading, and inaccurate statements” concerning the spending, KSFL-TV <a href=\"https://www.siouxfallslive.com/news/sioux-falls/kristi-noem-threatens-to-sue-the-dakota-scout-over-credit-card-records\">reported</a>. Stanley specifically asserted that Noem had only personally charged $2,000, and demanded that the outlet stop reporting differently.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ig77\">“Otherwise, we will consider all legal remedies, including a lawsuit seeking maximum compensatory and punitive damages, that we estimate at millions of dollars,” Stanley wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"57k52\">According to a <a href=\"https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/prisons-pipelines-and-pragmatism\">podcast</a> with Scout co-founders and reporters Joe Sneve and Jonathan Ellis, they only obtained the receipts after filing a lawsuit to obtain the public records. They were also threatened with a restraining order to claw back the files after they were released.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qful\">Sneve said that Noem’s cease and desist letter is a blatant attempt to chill their reporting, and that he wouldn’t stand idle when individuals attempt to “saber rattle” in order to “intimidate good, honest reporters who are just trying to provide a service that shouldn’t even be hard to provide.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7d8ec\">The newsroom, he added, remains undaunted. “I would highly doubt they even file a lawsuit,” Sneve said. “And if they did, I’m not losing any sleep over that.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\">\r\n<i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-01-28T213415Z_1536812639_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7ydzv\">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks to employees at department headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [
"CNN",
"Media",
"The Dakota Scout"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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{
"title": "Reporter shoved by federal officers outside immigration court in NYC",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shoved-by-federal-officers-outside-immigration-court-in-nyc/",
"first_published_at": "2025-09-30T20:36:01.973918Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-11-19T20:55:15.535664Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-11-19T20:55:15.437973Z",
"date": "2025-09-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pdnid\">Dean Moses, police bureau chief and resident photographer for the daily newspaper amNewYork, was grabbed and shoved by multiple federal officers while reporting at the federal immigration court in New York, New York, on Sept. 30, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m1oo\">Multiple journalists have reported <a href=\"https://x.com/arya_sundaram/status/1928105201392632061\">access issues</a>, <a href=\"https://www.amny.com/police-fire/more-immigrants-arrested-ice-lower-manhattan-06262025/?ref=hellgatenyc.com\">intimidation</a> and <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DOehXSpjuTI/?hl=en\">threats</a> when covering the court at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been arresting asylum-seekers following their hearings there since May, part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"ff3bf\">Previously, on Sept. 18, independent journalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-by-officer-barring-lawmakers-from-nyc-immigration-facility/\">Michael Nigro</a> was assaulted by a man he identified as a plainclothes ICE officer while reporting on a lawmaker-led protest at the court.</p><p data-block-key=\"4rip2\">On Sept. 30, Moses followed officers into a public elevator at around 10:15 a.m. when it appeared they were going to arrest an individual inside, amNewYork <a href=\"https://www.amny.com/immigration/ice-agents-assault-amnewyork-reporter-journalists-09302025/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2fe6\">“I walked into the elevator behind them, and they started screaming at me, ‘Get the f–k out,” Moses told the newspaper. “Then they pushed me, grabbed me by my arms, and started pulling me out of the elevator. I tried to hold on, but I got shoved out.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Press were assaulted by ICE inside 26 federal Plaza today.<br><br>Full story: <a href=\"https://t.co/BnYLqpxhf0\">https://t.co/BnYLqpxhf0</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/mMXf7HFTE3\">pic.twitter.com/mMXf7HFTE3</a></p>— Dean_Moses (@Dean_Moses) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Dean_Moses/status/1973064604990210540?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pdnid\"><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPO4gdLDrzH/?igsh=c3ppcjdiaHZ0cHJ0\">Footage</a> captured by a fellow journalist shows masked federal officers pulling Moses from the elevator. Another officer standing outside the elevator doors then shoves freelance photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nyc-photojournalist-shoved-to-ground-by-federal-officers-at-immigration-court/\">Olga Fedorova</a> back, causing her and Anadolu Agency videographer <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/turkish-journalist-hospitalized-after-assault-at-nyc-immigration-court/\">L. Vural Elibol</a> — who was standing behind her — to go crashing to the hallway floor.</p><p data-block-key=\"6i2qt\">Another journalist at the scene confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Elibol struck his head quite severely and was taken to a hospital for further monitoring and testing.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Footage taken by <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Steffikeith?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Steffikeith</a> this morning of ICE agents shoving photographers on assignment at 26 Federal Plaza. One journalist has been hospitalized. <a href=\"https://t.co/sOo6XAMWJP\">pic.twitter.com/sOo6XAMWJP</a></p>— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/molcranenewman/status/1973061570407051644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pdnid\">Moses, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, told amNewYork that tensions have been rising at the courthouse over the last several months.</p><p data-block-key=\"26ri9\">“And it’s not just between ICE and the photographers. It’s between ICE, photographers and other staff members,” he said. “It’s also among the immigrants who go there. It’s reached such a boiling point, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened sooner.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8g0jk\">Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"974jj\">City Comptroller Brad Lander quickly condemned the assault, writing on the social platform X, “Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.</p><p data-block-key=\"7rmnl\">“Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25273716221120.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"eact7\">Federal agents push and pull amNewYork police bureau chief and photojournalist Dean Moses from a public elevator outside the immigration court in New York City on Sept. 30, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dean Moses (amNewYork)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
}
]
