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{
"title": "Photojournalist hit in head with flash bang at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-head-with-flash-bang-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-24T19:55:33.447155Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T19:55:33.447155Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T19:55:33.329453Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ejj9z\">A crowd-control munition bounced off freelance photojournalist Edna Leshowitz’s head while she was covering an immigration protest outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"9se3h\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"3vokv\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. </p><p data-block-key=\"71nfn\">Despite being <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-trampled-shoulder-injured-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">injured in a stampede</a> at a protest outside Delaney Hall days earlier, Leshowitz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she felt it was important to return May 30. </p><p data-block-key=\"ceurr\">When she arrived, New Jersey State Police, Essex County sheriff’s deputies and Newark police officers in riot gear lined the protest. Mounted state police patrolled nearby. Throughout the evening, officers repeatedly deployed flash-bang grenades and tear gas into the crowd. </p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZC-B6tltvz/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZC-B6tltvz\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ejj9z\">“It was a pretty extraordinary show of force,” Leshowitz said. </p><p data-block-key=\"4fr5k\">The state police gave no warning or dispersal order before launching crowd-control munitions, according to Leshowitz. During the protest, a flash-bang grenade bounced off her head. Leshowitz said she did not see the state police officer who fired it and could not say whether it was aimed at her. She was wearing press credentials and carrying a camera at the time.</p><p data-block-key=\"917c5\">“It hit my head. If it did go off, it could have been bad,” she said. “And just the fact that they were OK with that.” </p><p data-block-key=\"afkm\">The barrage of tear gas also burned her eyes and made it difficult to breathe. Leshowitz, who has asthma, said she repeatedly flushed her eyes as officers continued deploying chemical irritants. </p><p data-block-key=\"3pmiu\">“I had a mask. But when it’s constant, you don’t have a lot of time to recover in between,” she said. </p><p data-block-key=\"386ps\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qlhg\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060942858408833236/photo/1\">statement posted to X</a> early May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state and local law enforcement had responded to “aggressive actions” outside Delaney Hall. She also announced that a curfew would be in place around the facility until further notice. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/EdnaLeshowitz_DelaneyHall_17-12.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bfss8\">New Jersey State Police line up amid tear gas at a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026. Photojournalist Edna Leshowitz was struck with a flash-bang grenade while covering the demonstration. </p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shoved, shot with crowd-control munition, camera damaged",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-shot-with-crowd-control-munition-camera-damaged/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-17T21:07:54.567000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T21:27:51.228724Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-17T21:27:51.064188Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"czpjv\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco was shoved, targeted with stun grenades and shot with crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while covering demonstrations outside a private detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"3a34r\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility<a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\"> began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a<a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\"> hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"3jqmt\">Federal<a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\"> officers</a><a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\"> responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"c45qi\">The Department of Homeland Security has<a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\"> denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"gmjr\">Pacheco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they had been covering the protests for several days by May 30 and that day was by far the most brutal, with officers from both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and New Jersey State Police at the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"ddv2k\">“They were firing directly at press and activists, like, point-blank pepper balls to the stomach for one press person that I documented myself,” they said. “And I was shot in the calf and in the shin.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7k42n\">The photojournalist added that the targeting also extended to the use of tear gas and stun grenades, which Pacheco said were repeatedly shot or thrown directly at press and their feet.</p><p data-block-key=\"1m59t\">“The tear gas was just so, so much. I had to have my eyes flushed four times on Saturday,” they told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"9vk1s\">Pacheco was also repeatedly shoved with a metal barricade by a state police officer, who was using it to push the crowd back or knock them to the ground. The repeated ramming damaged their camera lens, chipping the glass front element and the filter thread, as well as a lens hood.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-aligned_image block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media right\">\n\t\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Pacheco_-_equip_damage.width-828.png\" width=\"828\" height=\"547\" alt=\"COURTESY JOSH PACHECO\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"r3iah\">Photojournalist Josh Pacheco documented damage to their camera lens following a protest outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30. The front element, at left, was chipped and pieces of the filter thread, at right, were broken off.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY JOSH PACHECO\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=\"czpjv\">“The whole point of sending in the police was to minimize aggression and violence,” Pacheco told the Tracker. “And it didn’t minimize anything. It just changed faces and, if anything, amped up even more.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tj9d\">They emphasized, however, that the extent of the aggression from federal officers was much higher.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2hdh\">“ICE seemed to be so much more deranged, more angry, and there’s less restrictions on what they’re able to do in terms of enacting violence on civilians,” Pacheco said, “whereas riot cops have done this before and there is sort of a playbook that they go by when they are enacting aggression like this.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4pqem\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7jn8g\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060942858408833236/photo/1\">statement posted to X</a> early May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state and local law enforcement had responded to “aggressive actions” outside Delaney Hall. She also announced that a curfew would be in place around the facility until further notice. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"vu5i\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"afijj\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Jun_2_2026_7_34_49_3.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"q7xwr\">A New Jersey State Police officer pushes back protesters with a metal barricade outside an immigration detention center in Newark on May 30, 2026. Photojournalist Josh Pacheco was repeatedly hit with the barricade, damaging their camera lens.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"actor": "law enforcement",
"border_point": null,
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
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{
"quantity": 1,
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}
],
"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Josh Pacheco (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Documentarian fired at with crowd-control munition during New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentarian-fired-at-with-crowd-control-munition-during-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-23T19:31:16.733379Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-23T19:31:16.733379Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-23T19:17:09.412684Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j1tsg\">Documentary photographer Adriano Kalin was targeted by state police with a flash-bang grenade that landed at his feet during a protest outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"761ut\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"81gth\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"kum0\">Kalin told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he arrived at the May 30 protest as state police pushed protesters and press away from Delaney Hall. Some officers were mounted on horseback. Others, wielding riot shields, formed a line and advanced on the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs5ff\">Kalin said he was wearing press credentials, a helmet and a vest identifying him as a member of the media. Footage he posted on Instagram shows a dense cloud of tear gas being deployed around him as he coughs.</p><p data-block-key=\"cg0t2\">“I can’t breathe,” he says in the video, gasping. Moments later, a flash-bang grenade detonates near his feet, and Kalin groans. The footage shows he was standing near several other members of the press at the time.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY_MZOqu5sc/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY_MZOqu5sc\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j1tsg\">“It was very much intentional,” Kalin said. “I didn’t say anything to warrant them throwing a flash bang in my direction.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c1k9b\">The munition left Kalin’s ears ringing. He was so disoriented that he stopped documenting the demonstration and retreated from the area for about 20 minutes. Kalin said he never heard officers declare an unlawful assembly despite the use of crowd-control munitions and tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"43r43\">“The fact that they did throw something at me was very much a violation of my constitutional rights,” Kalin said.</p><p data-block-key=\"d2hga\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"93bgc\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060942858408833236/photo/1\">statement posted to X</a> early May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state and local law enforcement had responded to “aggressive actions” outside Delaney Hall. She also announced that a curfew would be in place around the facility until further notice. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"lv8nu\">A flash-bang grenade, aimed at photographer Adriano Kalin’s feet, detonates at a protest outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Adriano Kalin (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with wooden board while covering New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-wooden-board-while-covering-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T21:33:45.224019Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T21:33:45.224019Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T21:29:19.541815Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uo2lw\">Photojournalist Angelina Katsanis was struck in the knee and injured by a wooden board while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"ctsiu\">While seeking medical attention at the scene, she left behind her equipment bag containing around $10,000 worth of camera gear and her keys, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalists-equipment-stolen-after-injury-at-new-jersey-protest\">which was stolen</a>. The New Jersey attorney general <a href=\"https://www.njoag.gov/essex-county-prosecutors-office-sergeant-allegedly-steals-injured-journalists-camera-bag-and-equipment-during-delaney-hall-protest-charged-with-theft/\">announced</a> June 4 that an Essex County Prosecutor’s Office sergeant, Darryl Brown, had been charged in connection with the theft.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3m3t\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"dtr04\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"cki8l\">According to <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/delaney-hall-new-jersey-immigration-fd0ff7bfbae8585bba35c7b88bfe9eb0\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/nyregion/delaney-hall-protest-officer-charged-stealing.html?searchResultPosition=1\">news</a> <a href=\"https://www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/04/officer-stole-injured-photogs-cameras-after-delaney-hall-protest-state-ag-says/\">reports</a> and an <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-angelina-after-delaney-hall-attack\">online fundraiser</a> posted on her behalf, Katsanis — on assignment for The Associated Press — was covering the protest on the front line when she was hit in the knee by what was described as a six-foot-long two-by-four.</p><p data-block-key=\"ofgu\">Katsanis <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/nyregion/delaney-hall-protest-officer-charged-stealing.html?searchResultPosition=1\">told</a> The New York Times that she didn’t know who threw the board.</p><p data-block-key=\"eog36\">The blow caused a serious injury that made it difficult for her to walk, but Katsanis fled the area as a line of New Jersey State Police advanced. She left behind the equipment bag, which also contained a keychain with an Apple AirTag — clearly labeled with her name and contact information.</p><p data-block-key=\"6tah1\">“I knew if I didn’t run, I would be more severely hurt,” the photojournalist told the Times. “I ran or hobbled pretty far — the adrenaline kicked in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dlkcj\">She sought assistance from medics at the scene, who provided her with a wheelchair. With the help of other journalists, she went back to the front line and negotiated with police in riot gear to let her through to retrieve her bag and seek further medical care, in a scene captured on video.</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\">🚨"I'm begging you I'm in so much pain!" injured <a href=\"https://x.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AP</a> photographer Angelina Katsanis yells at NJ state police as they REFUSED to let her go to hospital for knee injury she got covering anti-ICE protests. This attack on a journalist went on for 4 minutes.<br><br>cc <a href=\"https://x.com/GovSherrillNJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GovSherrillNJ</a> ⬇️ <a href=\"https://t.co/LLGR8v5xgi\">pic.twitter.com/LLGR8v5xgi</a></p>— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) <a href=\"https://x.com/StatusCoup/status/2061146145938710978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 31, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.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=\"uo2lw\">However, the bag was no longer there. It was later traced via the AirTag to Brown’s residence in northern New Jersey, according to the attorney general’s office.</p><p data-block-key=\"cneqt\">Katsanis was treated at a nearby hospital for what an <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/delaney-hall-new-jersey-immigration-fd0ff7bfbae8585bba35c7b88bfe9eb0\">AP account</a> described as swelling and bruising on her leg, but no broken bones. Her attorney, Wylie Stecklow, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker on June 8 that she has since returned to work.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3t7j\">Stecklow praised the response of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to the theft of her bag.</p><p data-block-key=\"3rqh4\">“The NJAG office took this very seriously and within two days of us first contacting them, they had obtained a search warrant, executed it, and arrested the individual,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vkrl\">A <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-angelina-after-delaney-hall-attack\">GoFundMe</a> set up to assist Katsanis had raised nearly $20,000 as of June 10. In addition to the costs of replacing her equipment, it also listed expenses related to replacing her car and house keys, accessing and towing her car, and medical care.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Pacheco_Katsanis_assault_May_30.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hnv2m\">Photojournalist Angelina Katsanis, pictured, was struck in the knee with a wooden board while documenting a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Angelina Katsanis (The Associated Press)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist targeted with flash bangs at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-targeted-with-flash-bangs-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:50:00.700166Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:50:00.700166Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-26T17:50:00.558092Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q1tq3\">Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was shot at with crowd-control munitions while covering protests outside a federal detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"481vn\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"3aa0c\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"bljvd\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"90si6\">Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting protests when three stun grenades were shot in his direction nearly simultaneously.</p><p data-block-key=\"64u76\">“One landed like a dozen feet in front of me, and then one closer and then at my feet,” he said</p><p data-block-key=\"bthum\">In an <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=977109131587993\">interview</a> on “The Majority Report,” Khan said that New Jersey State Police officers responded to the May 30 protests with crowd-control munitions, despite the small number of demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"8guhq\">“The flash bangs went off right next to me, so part of my left ear’s hearing is a little bit off,” he said, adding, “I’ve had migraines for the last two days.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY_GOurBLoE/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY_GOurBLoE\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q1tq3\">Khan told the Tracker that state police, who were called in to take over the protest response, were the “most brutal” of the law enforcement agencies.</p><p data-block-key=\"8uhf4\">“I was struck by how militarized the response was from New Jersey state troopers,” he said, noting that he was also subjected to tear gas deployed by the officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"d4g5f\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"90bu0\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060942858408833236/photo/1\">statement posted to X</a> early May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state and local law enforcement had responded to “aggressive actions” outside Delaney Hall. She also announced that a curfew would be in place around the facility until further notice. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"scpc2\">Demonstrators retreat from a line of police officers amid tear gas outside a federal detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026. Independent journalist Wali Khan was shot at with crowd-control munitions while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist shot at with flash bang, pepper balls at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-at-with-flash-bang-pepper-balls-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-25T20:29:57.211834Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-25T20:29:57.211834Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-25T20:29:57.076546Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8ly7j\">Photojournalist and filmmaker Will Allen-DuPraw was targeted with multiple crowd-control munitions while covering protests outside a federal detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7p4u\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"dbjaq\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"5480c\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2rilp\">Allen-DuPraw told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for Status Coup on May 30, documenting the New Jersey State Police response to protests outside the facility that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"f20np\">“At one point there was a 30-to-50-foot gap between the main line of protesters and the line of police,” he said, “and I was somewhere in the middle of that gap — forward from the protesters, but not at the police line by any means — and was standing fairly still, taking photos, when all of a sudden a series of flash bangs went off at my feet.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9fag0\">He said that at least three stun grenades exploded at his feet, and that he could feel shrapnel brush past his pant legs.</p><p data-block-key=\"9k2sb\">“I could feel the force of them at my ankle, and then, of course, my ears were ringing from it as well,” Allen-DuPraw added.</p><p data-block-key=\"7atfd\">Later that evening, the photojournalist was targeted again.</p><p data-block-key=\"ev5fc\">He told the Tracker he was standing in the gap between protesters and police, as were two or three protesters at a distance from him. Then, state police officers began firing crowd-control munitions toward the demonstrators.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-aligned_image block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media right\">\n\t\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Will_Allen-DuPraw_1.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1104\" alt=\"Will Allen-DuPraw via Status Coup/@will.allendupraw\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"1aeyp\">Photojournalist Will Allen-DuPraw captured an image of the camera attached to his hip holster after a New Jersey State Police officer shot him with a pepper ball munition amid protests outside a federal detention center in Newark on May 30, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — Will Allen-DuPraw via Status Coup/@will.allendupraw\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=\"8ly7j\">“They started shooting pepper balls; not super rapidly, where they were just trying to do general crowd dispersal, but shooting one, two. It felt more like aimed shots at initially the protesters, but then also at me,” Allen-DuPraw said. “They managed to shoot the camera that I had on my hip with a pepper ball, so that it was completely covered in that white pepper powder.”</p><p data-block-key=\"asfkh\">He said that while he may have been struck by other pepper balls in that moment, he can’t be certain because he wasn’t left with any bruising.</p><p data-block-key=\"rceq\">After making his way to a nearby sidewalk, Allen-DuPraw said he found someone with a battery-powered air blower that helped him clear off a lot of the loose powder.</p><p data-block-key=\"9evil\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ajur5\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X early May 30</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"zn8fd\">New Jersey State Police officers in riot gear outside an immigration detention center in Newark on May 30, 2026. Photojournalist Will Allen-DuPraw was targeted with crowd-control munitions while covering protests at the facility that night.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"tags": [
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"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"targeted_journalists": [
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},
{
"title": "New Jersey newspaper ordered to unpublish video, put under gag order",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-jersey-newspaper-ordered-to-unpublish-video-put-under-gag-order/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-15T01:19:44.579000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-15T15:12:50.803004Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-15T15:12:50.695189Z",
"date": "2026-05-29",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New Brunswick",
"longitude": -74.45182,
"latitude": 40.48622,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"frblf\">New Brunswick Today was ordered by a New Jersey state court to remove footage from its website and YouTube on May 29, 2026, following a complaint by the New Brunswick Board of Education.</p><p data-block-key=\"1o4bs\">According to court filings reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the footage obtained by the newspaper and published May 28 was taken by surveillance cameras at New Brunswick High School, and showed a student entering the building and triggering the alarm on a metal detector. The student was searched by security and was found to be carrying a concealed weapon.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnl40\">“The district has reason to believe that the footage was recorded from a computer by an individual with access to the district’s surveillance system and disseminated without authorization,” Aubrey Johnson, superintendent of the school district, wrote in an affidavit.</p><p data-block-key=\"d84kn\">Johnson argued that the release of the footage could violate student privacy rights and reveal security-related information about the school facilities.</p><p data-block-key=\"enqbc\">The day the footage was published, an attorney for the board of education emailed the news outlet’s founder and editor, Charlie Kratovil, demanding that he immediately remove the video, lest the matter be brought before a judge. The attorney also asked Kratovil to disclose how he obtained the footage.</p><p data-block-key=\"1doo5\">Kratovil refused.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9bbi\">A case was filed with the Superior Court for Middlesex County the following day, asking for the removal of the footage and to restrain the newspaper “from any and all future postings of confidential school security/surveillance video” from schools in the district.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvq5i\">Superior Court Judge Thomas McCloskey <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xPQN1gWsfc\">temporarily granted</a> the district’s requests during an emergency hearing May 29, additionally stipulating from the bench that even publishing descriptions of what was seen in the video would violate his order.</p><p data-block-key=\"7raeq\">Attorneys representing New Brunswick Today filed a request June 5 to appeal the order and have the restraints lifted, but the state’s Appellate Division denied their request, stating that they had not filed a motion to dissolve the restraints with the lower court. The paper’s attorneys filed such a request with the Superior Court on June 10.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ijj3\">“The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly made it clear that prior restraints are the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights,” they wrote. “Ordering content to be removed from the internet and enjoining future publications are unequivocally prior restraints that must be analyzed under the prior restraint doctrine, which this Court ignored.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fnpf\">The parties are not scheduled to appear until July 7 to argue whether the court should order permanent restraints on the newspaper and whether the temporary restraints should be dissolved.</p><p data-block-key=\"e5tae\">But in a June 11 letter to the judge, the newspaper’s attorney Bruce Rosen asked that the hearing be moved to June 15. He argued that the delay violated the judge’s own order stipulating that the motion could be heard within three business days, as well as the Appellate Division’s decision, which requires that it be heard “expeditiously.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4kcep\">After the judge again refused to hear the matter sooner, Rosen filed emergency motions June 12 with both the Appellate Division and, when that too was denied, the New Jersey Supreme Court. He asked that the prior restraint be lifted while the motion to dismiss is pending or that the motion be heard the week of June 15.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"zerba\">A portion of the May 29, 2026, order placing a prior restraint on New Brunswick Today and compelling the New Jersey newspaper to unpublish footage on its YouTube channel from a school surveillance system.</p>",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed over concrete barrier at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-over-concrete-barrier-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-24T18:19:14.448023Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T18:19:14.448023Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T18:19:14.323397Z",
"date": "2026-05-29",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cba3q\">Freelance photojournalist Bruce Cotler was shoved over a concrete barricade by state police and threatened with arrest while covering a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"fktj7\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"9i2r0\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> have <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ejkk\">Cotler told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the protest was peaceful until New Jersey State Police moved in to clear the area outside Delaney Hall.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-ymSFpjz2/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY-ymSFpjz2\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cba3q\">As police wielding riot shields pushed people away from the detention center, an officer shoved Cotler with enough force to send him backward over a concrete barricade.</p><p data-block-key=\"1dm82\">“I was hit so hard that it knocked me out of my sneakers,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"en49r\">A colleague saw him fall and called two others over to help him up. Cotler said he feared he would be arrested if the police had reached him before fellow journalists did. He said he was wearing visible press credentials at the time and believed the shove was targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"27ap2\">“I wanted them to know that I was press, and they just had radar lock,” he said. “They didn’t care who it was, they just went brutal.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c3lvk\">The fall left Cotler bruised and chipped the screen of the cellphone he was using to record the protest. He said his phone has not operated the same since. Days later, he discovered a large bruise on his side from striking the pavement.</p><p data-block-key=\"ctvj9\">Throughout the night, officers deployed tear gas and pepper spray into the crowd, affecting Cotler despite his use of personal protective equipment. He said police also shined bright lights directly into camera lenses, obstructing his and other journalists’ abilities to document the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"19e8l\">After officers announced over a loudspeaker that people should leave the area, Cotler said an officer threatened him with arrest when he tried to return to his nearby vehicle.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ndb9\">Cotler, a veteran photojournalist and president of the New York Press Photographers Association, said he was contributing images to Zuma Press that day, some of which were later distributed by Reuters.</p><p data-block-key=\"carmp\">“I’ve been to many riots over the years and this was definitely the worst that was handled,” he said. “They were just out — in my opinion — for blood.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3ton3\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ar1pl\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> early May 30, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"9obn7\">New Jersey State Police at a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026. Photojournalist Bruce Cotler was pushed by police while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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{
"title": "State police pull photographer from news car during New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/state-police-pull-photographer-from-news-car-during-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-03T13:13:37.531000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T13:23:39.625255Z",
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"date": "2026-05-29",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r3qi2\">A photojournalist for WNBC TV was pulled out of a news vehicle by New Jersey State Police while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"2g4up\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"3tpd6\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"9jrba\">In a video <a href=\"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-jersey/delaney-hall-protest-news-crew-tear-gas/6507083/\">report</a> from the scene, WNBC reporter Checkey Beckford said that at around 10 p.m., state police in riot gear started moving in to push the crowd back, eventually deploying a chemical irritant.</p><p data-block-key=\"7i9ba\">Beckford and two photojournalists — both of whom were wearing press credentials — were sitting in their news vehicle, with the WNBC placard in the window.</p><p data-block-key=\"4dan5\">“We thought we were in a safe area. We moved away from the main protest area and thought we would be fine. And then when state police started moving in, in riot gear, we thought we would stay in the vehicle because we didn’t want to deal with tear gas,” Beckford reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"9nqed\">Beckford said that troopers “pulled one of the photojournalists in my car out and ordered myself and another photojournalist to get out of the car. We did that, started running, we were in the middle of tear gas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5a2d4\">She added, “We had masks on, but they didn’t really do much to help us, and so we ran through tear gas and continued running until we were able to get out of it.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-video block-video\">\n\n<figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n <div style=\"padding-bottom: 56.49999999999999%;\" class=\"responsive-object\">\n <iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/NEBtWpnLxt4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen title=\"WNBC crew removed from news car as law enforcement tear gases Delaney Hall protesters | NBC New York\"></iframe>\n</div>\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n \n \n <p>NBC New York/YouTube</p>\n \n </figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r3qi2\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"3pm15\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X early May 30</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"txcgc\">WNBC’s Checkey Beckford reports from an immigration protest in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026. That night, state police pulled a photojournalist from her team out of a news car and forced the three-person crew to run through tear gas.</p>",
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"Assault"
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"Unidentified photojournalist 47 (WNBC)"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist pinned by police during New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pinned-by-police-during-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-25T20:32:21.309278Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-25T20:53:01.638867Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-25T20:53:01.523422Z",
"date": "2026-05-29",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mwk5e\">Freelance photojournalist Tom Hudson said officers pushed him against a utility pole with a metal barrier while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"eje4p\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"9bjsv\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"87stq\">Hudson did not respond to requests for comment from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. However, on the podcast “<a href=\"https://athousandnaturalshocks.substack.com/p/the-ice-surge-at-delaney-hall-in?has_completed_unsubscribed_unlock=true\">A Thousand Natural Shocks,</a>” he described his experience during the May 29 protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"2h7dh\">According to Hudson, the gathering outside Delaney Hall remained largely peaceful until New Jersey State Police arrived. Officers erected metal fencing and barricades, corralling demonstrators into designated areas they described as “First Amendment zones.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bsdh0\">Rather than disperse, some protesters sat in the street. After nightfall, police escalated their response, deploying riot gear, mounted units, flash-bang and concussion grenades, and tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"aua1o\">“You had mounted cavalry running horses through a crowd of protesters,” Hudson said. “You had state troopers with riot shields just beating people. And it was just indiscriminate.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9khkp\">Hudson, who said he was wearing protective gear that identified him as press, was backing away as a police line advanced. Hudson stepped behind one of the metal fences. Police then seized the fencing and shoved it forward, pinning him against a telephone pole.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g53s\">“They were just crushing me with the fences until I was able to get free,” Hudson said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY99Q7zFjEp/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY99Q7zFjEp\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mwk5e\">While covering subsequent days of the protest, Hudson was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-pepper-balls-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">struck with projectiles</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-pushed-over-concrete-barrier-at-new-jersey-protest/\">pushed over a concrete barrier.</a> </p><p data-block-key=\"3864o\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"931p1\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X early May 30</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3lhdv\">New Jersey State Police in a cloud of tear gas at a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026. Photojournalist Tom Hudson was pushed by police with a metal barrier while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
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"tags": [
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"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tom Hudson (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with riot shields by New Jersey state police",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-riot-shields-by-new-jersey-state-police/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-24T18:31:14.457379Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T18:31:14.457379Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T18:31:14.343790Z",
"date": "2026-05-29",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"utwjr\">Photojournalist and filmmaker Will Allen-DuPraw was shoved with riot shields and subjected to crowd-control munitions while covering protests outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"19cib\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"62a5g\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"cm0jp\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lk7r\">Allen-DuPraw told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was on assignment for Status Coup on May 29, the day that New Jersey State Patrol officers first became involved.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m5qf\">“Riot police were moving forward in their line, and I think a protester tripped or fell, ending up behind the police and was getting arrested,” he said. “I was trying to photograph that, and the police line just kind of kept advancing and eventually made contact with me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"79g6o\">In <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZh_R1-uqXo/\">footage of the incident</a> Allen-DuPraw posted to Instagram, three officers with riot shields are seen forming a line while multiple others behind them detain an individual on the ground, then drag that person further behind the police line.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m15f\">Suddenly, the three officers rush forward, each seeming to strike Allen-DuPraw with their shields.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZh_R1-uqXo/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZh_R1-uqXo\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"utwjr\">“The line of riot police encountered me and treated me like any other obstacle,” Allen-DuPraw told the Tracker. He added that he didn’t experience any bruising from the incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"cp2fh\">Allen-DuPraw was also exposed to multiple crowd-control munitions, including tear gas and stun grenades, while covering the protests and police response that night.</p><p data-block-key=\"1osh\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ohe7\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X early May 30</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3mt7f\">New Jersey State Police officers in riot gear stand guard as protesters gather outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026. Photojournalist Will Allen-DuPraw was repeatedly shoved with riot shields that night.</p>",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist hit by crowd-control munitions at immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-by-crowd-control-munitions-at-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-17T21:01:08.310342Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T21:01:08.310342Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dhgp6\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco was shoved and targeted with chemical irritant spray and crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while covering protests outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"1f77j\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"2h63m\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1lrt\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"77kbf\">Pacheco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were covering protests outside the facility May 29, the day that saw the first involvement of New Jersey State Patrol officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"eojmt\">“The whole point of sending in the police was to minimize aggression and violence,” they said. “And it didn’t minimize anything, it just changed faces.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1u098\">The photojournalist said that they were repeatedly shoved and targeted with pepper spray, which became embedded in their hair. “Anytime that my hair brushed against my face, I was coughing.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9il0v\">As state troopers launched gas canisters and fired 40 mm projectiles toward the crowd, Pacheco said they decided to move back from the active front line, along with several other journalists. Once the group made it across from the entrance to Delaney Hall, they found themselves targeted again: this time by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"6mnjb\">“ICE officers were firing pepper balls and rubber bullets at us from the entrance further back,” Pacheco said. “There were three or four of us, and I was like, ‘OK, done with this. Take it back now, y’all.’ And that’s when we’d get fired at again.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4lh2d\">The photojournalist said the group was forced back and forth by the different law enforcement agencies multiple times.</p><p data-block-key=\"be1ml\">“Clearly they don’t want us documenting what they’re doing,” Pacheco said, “and at the same time they don’t care how violent they’re going to be, even though we’re going to get it on camera.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eiiu9\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2go4v\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> early May 30, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"94d5i\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"86u0v\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"iu913\">New Jersey State Police officers, at rear with riot shields, spray irritants at protesters and press gathered outside a detention center in Newark on May 29, 2026. Photojournalist Josh Pacheco was sprayed and shot at with crowd-control munitions.</p>",
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{
"title": "Reporter knocked down by police, fired at with flash bang at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-knocked-down-by-police-fired-at-with-flash-bang-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-11T18:30:16.646015Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-11T18:30:16.646015Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"46akn\">Independent journalist Nick Valencia was shoved to the ground by a police officer and targeted with a crowd-control munition while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"enaor\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"8al9\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"3904h\">Valencia, <a href=\"https://www.nickvalencianews.com/about\">a former CNN correspondent</a>, was wearing a jacket marking himself as a member of the press while covering the May 29 protest. After authorities issued dispersal orders, Valencia recorded interactions between law enforcement and demonstrators. </p><p data-block-key=\"5dch3\">He said he repeatedly asked officers where members of the press could position themselves to continue documenting the protest but received no clear guidance. One commanding officer told him that everyone — including journalists — was subject to the dispersal orders. </p><p data-block-key=\"8o0ga\">“They were not acknowledging me when I said I was press,” Valencia later told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. </p><p data-block-key=\"3e3nn\">In a video he <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1512186563706376\">posted on Facebook</a>, Valencia, who was wearing a gas mask, violently chokes after chemical irritants were sprayed into the air. He can also be clearly heard shouting, “I’m press! I’m press!” as officers with shields push through the crowd. He tells one officer, “I’m independent media. I’m allowed to be here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7odn1\">As state police moved to clear the area, Valencia remained out of the way, on a public sidewalk. He described on video as officers pushed demonstrators and mounted police advanced into the crowd. </p><p data-block-key=\"fq0n8\">At one point, a flash-bang device was fired directly toward Valencia and exploded nearby. “I don’t know how I wasn’t hit,” he told the Tracker. Minutes later, he was shoved to the ground by a state police officer in riot gear while he was documenting an arrest. </p><p data-block-key=\"3jvqk\">“I do believe I was deliberately targeted,” Valencia said. “There’s no way they could have mistaken me for anyone else other than a member of the press.” </p><p data-block-key=\"n209\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ehcen\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X early May 30</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"o0ece\">Journalist Nick Valencia reporting outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center on May 28, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey. At a protest the next day, he was shoved by police and targeted with a flash-bang grenade.</p>",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist injured by crowd-control munition at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-injured-by-crowd-control-munition-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-02T18:01:44.694034Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-02T18:01:44.694034Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dusx8\">Photojournalist David “Dee” Delgado was shoved by state police and targeted with crowd-control munitions, one of which burned his hand, while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4a7c2\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"20u3h\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"efr7i\">Delgado told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that after dark on May 29, it became clear that New Jersey State Police had taken the lead in responding to the protest. Officers began pushing back demonstrators, as well as Delgado and other media, deploying tear gas and patrolling on horseback.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hk9u\">“Things escalated pretty fast,” he said. “I could tell they were not happy we were there, and they were just trying to make it difficult for the press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2mkg0\">At one point, Delgado and a colleague were standing on the sidelines when an officer threw a flash-bang device at them. It exploded between them, he said. As they were pulling back, another officer made eye contact with Delgado and then shot a smoke grenade at his left hand.</p><p data-block-key=\"85pe\">“That was, without a doubt, intentional,” Delgado said.</p><p data-block-key=\"52cb7\">Delgado drove himself to the emergency room, where he was treated for minor burns on three fingers and more serious second-degree burns on two others. Delgado said he’s still working, but the blisters from the burns on his pointer and middle finger make it harder.</p><p data-block-key=\"9lhmf\">In the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-05-26&date_upper=2026-05-28&targeted_journalists=David+%22Dee%22+Delgado\">days leading up to the May 29 protest</a>, Delgado was also pepper-sprayed and shoved by ICE officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"4hrvn\">The state police did not return a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"bdbc7\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X that night</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"344gj\">A state police officer fires a pepper ball during an immigration protest in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026. Photojournalist David “Dee” Delgado was struck with a crowd-control munition while documenting the protest, injuring his hand.</p>",
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{
"title": "Photographer requires stitches after baton strike at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-requires-stitches-after-baton-strike-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-03T16:19:41.425803Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T16:19:41.425803Z",
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"exact_date_unknown": false,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"eovj1\">Photojournalist Ryan Murphy required stitches after a federal officer hit his hand with a baton, slicing open his finger, while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"br3t7\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"ilhh\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"d8csb\">Murphy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was photographing clashes between ICE officers and protesters when he turned away to capture an image of a demonstrator being pepper-sprayed in the face.</p><p data-block-key=\"6oc9a\">“Out of nowhere, I was just hit with a baton in my left hand,” Murphy said. “I can say I was clearly identified as press, and I’m pretty sure that he saw that and knew that.” </p><p data-block-key=\"636et\">Murphy, who was on assignment for Reuters, said the baton struck him on the hand holding his camera flash, sending the equipment roughly 20 feet across the street. Although the flash sustained only cosmetic damage, Murphy realized his hand had taken the brunt of the blow. Blood rushed down his arm, and his middle finger suffered a deep cut. Colleagues provided Murphy with first aid before he drove himself to the hospital, where he received several stitches. </p><p data-block-key=\"ennpf\">Earlier in the day, Murphy said an ICE agent kicked his flash while it was on the ground. He also recalled being struck on the back of his elbow, though he was unsure what caused the impact, and said an officer pointed a stun gun at him. </p><p data-block-key=\"e8m\">The injury has made it difficult for Murphy to continue working. </p><p data-block-key=\"a8234\">“My hand is not very useful at the moment,” he said. The <a href=\"/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-baton-doused-with-irritant-at-new-jersey-protest/\">day before</a>, he was also hit with a baton and pepper-sprayed. </p><p data-block-key=\"a0quf\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"2l3k9\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"olcek\">Federal officers push back protesters at a protest outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Photojournalist Ryan Murphy’s hand was struck with a baton while covering the demonstration. </p>",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with baton, lens destroyed at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-baton-lens-destroyed-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T12:58:09.103544Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T12:58:09.103544Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-04T12:58:08.970890Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mclsd\">Mostafa Bassim, a photojournalist for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was struck with a baton by a federal officer, damaging his camera lens, while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"egp7p\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"8qp6a\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"ash0p\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9jtd\">Bassim told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived at the detention facility shortly before nightfall. He said that even before he was able to start documenting the scene, federal officers noticed his camera and began shining high-powered lights directly at him.</p><p data-block-key=\"fq071\">“The second they see you with a camera they just start doing that to you,” Bassim said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2drp7\">The protests, he said, had a consistent pattern: a period of calm until vehicles tried to exit the facility. Protesters would attempt to block the cars from leaving and to see whether any detainees were being moved; Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would advance to push back the demonstrators and make arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"bqrsk\">“Then it’s calm again for an hour or so and then clashes again,” he told the Tracker. But that night, he added, officers were particularly aggressive.</p><p data-block-key=\"4v4ss\">“From the first time they started clashing with people — and they pepper-sprayed a lot of people — they would specifically pepper-spray the camera or the vent, if you’re wearing a gas mask,” Bassim said.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0cl5\">During the second clash, officers continued to spray chemical irritants at the crowd and strike people with batons. As things calmed, Bassim said, the ICE officers near him began to move back.</p><p data-block-key=\"6d7e6\">“I was looking at the other side to see if there’s still something going on on the other side of the line,” Bassim told the Tracker. “And then one of the agents just took a step toward me. He took one swing and it was at the camera. It hit the lens and it was cut in half.”</p><p data-block-key=\"99h3g\">The photojournalist said he stood in shock for several seconds, having automatically held up his press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"2n4la\">“I have this automatic response when I see them trying to attack us or talk to us: I just hold my press badge to make it clear that I’m press,” Bassim said. “So I did that for a second and then I was like, ‘He can see it, you know? Like, he clearly just took one swing at the camera, he meant to do that.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"2gdh1\">Bassim told the Tracker he asked the officer what he was doing, to which the officer simply responded with an order to move back and a gesture threatening to hit him again.</p><p data-block-key=\"birf\">The damaged lens was a 24mm prime lens, which Bassim estimates will cost $1,500 to replace.</p><p data-block-key=\"7v2os\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"aqkq0\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"gkb0t\">Mostafa Bassim, a photojournalist for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, photographed his destroyed lens after a federal officer struck him with a baton while he was covering protests outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p>",
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"equipment": "camera lens"
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{
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with baton, flash damaged by federal officer",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-baton-flash-damaged-by-federal-officer/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-11T14:40:28.459917Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-11T14:40:28.459917Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-11T14:40:28.353613Z",
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"city": "Newark",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0ziy1\">A freelance photojournalist, who asked not to be identified because of their immigration status, was sprayed with chemical irritants and hit with a baton by federal officers, damaging their camera flash, while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"acr8m\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"acoar\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"6h68r\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkm6h\">The photojournalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were on assignment for a wire agency covering protests outside the facility that day. The photographer noted that they were sprayed with a chemical irritant, but could not say whether they had been deliberately targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"btsao\">While they were standing alongside fellow photographers Mostafa Bassim and Ryan Murphy, they said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers charged them.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnno6\">“All three of us were hit in the same rush,” the photojournalist said. “An agent came and aimed at our cameras. He hit the top of my camera, and smashed and broke my flash transmitter with his baton.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2v820\">The photojournalist told the Tracker he believes the same officer <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-requires-stitches-after-baton-strike-at-new-jersey-protest/\">struck Murphy’s hand</a>, sending his flash flying and causing a deep gash in his middle finger, while a second <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?search=mostafa%20bassim\">sliced Bassim’s lens in half</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4mqei\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"22vaj\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"s1wpk\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers form a line in front of protesters outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. An officer struck a photojournalist’s camera with a baton that day, damaging their flash.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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{
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"equipment": "camera equipment"
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],
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},
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"Department of Homeland Security",
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],
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"categories": [
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],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist rammed by federal officer at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-rammed-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-09T14:58:28.049478Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-09T14:58:28.049478Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-09T14:58:27.917140Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1dmfe\">Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart was shoved to the ground by a federal officer while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"i7t4\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"dquk7\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"82iuq\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dp9qq\">Swart and other journalists told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the protests followed a consistent pattern, with a period of calm until law enforcement vehicles tried to exit the facility, when protesters would attempt to block them from leaving and to see whether any detainees were being moved. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would then advance to push back the demonstrators and make arrests, before calm would resume.</p><p data-block-key=\"9d8tr\">“So it was a lot of waiting and then, all of a sudden, they got the order, so they all whipped out their batons — the dramatic kind where you flick it and it extends long,” she said, referring to expandable batons. “That’s when you know that they’re going to move forward.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7ei0t\">Swart said she was standing to the side, far from the protesters, and had been in roughly the same position for nearly an hour, while clearly identifiable as a member of the press, when an officer singled her out.</p><p data-block-key=\"t9lr\">“There was just one agent who got his baton and then full-force rammed into me, and I fell to the floor,” she said. “I’ve never had that happen before. I’ve never fallen in the field.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f9iec\">She told the Tracker she believes it was deliberate.</p><p data-block-key=\"civap\">“I don’t know if it was because I was using flash or because he knew who I was,” she told the Tracker. “They knew my presence was there, I made it pretty obvious.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4grm9\">She said that she stayed on the ground for a second in shock, nervous that the camera sitting on her hip may have broken.</p><p data-block-key=\"3u8qf\">“Then another agent came over to me, grabbed me and brought me up, and asked if I was OK,” Swart continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kfmg\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"beklo\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"as1u6\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stand off against protesters outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. An officer shoved freelance photojournalist Madison Swart to the ground that day.</p>",
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},
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],
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{
"title": "Photographer jostled by officer at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-jostled-by-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T17:47:13.369495Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T17:47:13.369495Z",
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"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hhi8z\">Photojournalist Ben Ackman was pushed by a federal officer while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"fe02n\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"1r7a5\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4ba7\">Ackman told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that as ICE tried to clear the path for law enforcement vehicles to leave the facility, he was pushed out of the way. He was also pinned up against a car as he photographed protesters. </p><p data-block-key=\"9qpuf\">“It seemed to me that it was just because I was in the way,” said Ackman, who was wearing press credentials at the time. “It didn’t seem like anyone was targeting me because I had a camera.” </p><p data-block-key=\"70dld\">A couple of <a href=\"/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">days earlier</a>, Ackman was shoved by an ICE officer chasing a protester and hit with pepper spray in his eyes. </p><p data-block-key=\"dmkb7\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"d1ehk\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"04qd3\">Federal agents at an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Photojournalist Ben Ackman was shoved by an officer while covering the demonstration. </p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter pushed aside by federal officers at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pushed-aside-by-federal-officers-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-16T20:43:12.420209Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-16T20:43:12.420209Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-16T20:43:12.297136Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mu14d\">Independent reporter Yaakov Strasberg was shoved out of the way by federal officers while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"6os46\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"cl2i4\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ar0bm\">While covering the protest on May 28, Strasberg said his interactions with law enforcement were generally uneventful. However, he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that an officer pushed him while police were moving through a crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"36iac\">Strasberg, who primarily posts videos to YouTube and X, said he was standing among demonstrators at the time, rather than off to the side, and speculated that may have contributed to the encounter. </p><p data-block-key=\"6a73b\">“Still, I had my press badge on, so it’s not hard to identify me,” Strasberg said. </p><p data-block-key=\"f6962\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"8igv8\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ad7mq\">Federal officers during an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Independent reporter Yaakov Strasberg was shoved by an officer while documenting the demonstration. </p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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{
"title": "Journalist pepper-sprayed by federal officer at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:42:27.966564Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:42:27.966564Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-26T17:42:27.849581Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6rgvk\">Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was targeted with pepper spray by a federal officer while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"8592v\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall, a federal detention facility, <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"btmc5\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1lng\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6k21m\">Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer deliberately pepper-sprayed him while he was clearly identifiable as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"2epj4\">In an <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7Yp9XFaHL/?img_index=2\">image he captured</a> during the incident, the ICE officer deploys pepper spray over the heads of other officers as they push back against protesters, remnants of the spray lingering in the air. Khan said the officers often aimed for journalists’ cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqpoa\">“They very obviously target journalists who are in front and taking pictures,” Khan said. “They push us back and beat us. They pepper-spray us. They don’t care.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7Yp9XFaHL/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7Yp9XFaHL\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6rgvk\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"7c6rc\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/May_28__DSC_1349.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xg8i6\">A federal officer deploys pepper spray at demonstrators outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Independent journalist Wali Khan was targeted with the chemical irritant, aimed at his camera, while covering protests that night.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"subpoena_type": null,
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"name": "New Jersey",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Wali Khan (Independent)"
],
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{
"title": "Photographer hit with baton by federal officer at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-baton-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-12T16:29:08.047981Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-12T16:29:08.047981Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-12T16:22:00.471986Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"53kis\">Independent photographer Graham MacIndoe was struck in the chest with a baton by a federal officer while documenting protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4mv3k\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"2dspo\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"98gjt\">MacIndoe told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7sQuuFuQw/?img_index=1\">documenting</a> confrontations between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with the officers pushing people back using batons and pepper spray, and protesters continuing to push forward.</p><p data-block-key=\"bul76\">He was wearing a press ID and shouted “Press” every time an officer approached him, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ff6mh\">At one point, one officer hit the photographer multiple times in the chest with a baton, yelling at him to move back.</p><p data-block-key=\"9iima\">“He banged me in the chest, really hard, two or three times, and I was totally winded, and it was very painful,” he said. “I didn’t really feel it as much until later, and then the next day I was like, ‘Wow, this is brutal.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"6k96u\">He added that an ICE officer also doused him with pepper spray that he fired indiscriminately. “I had goggles on and a mask, but that stuff goes everywhere.”</p><p data-block-key=\"94ble\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"1c0gl\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Graham_MacIndoe_Delaney_Hall_Prot.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j47eo\">A federal officer wields a baton at a group of photojournalists covering a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Photographer Graham MacIndoe was struck in the chest with a baton that night.</p>",
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
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{
"title": "Photographer pushed, hit with pepper spray at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-hit-with-pepper-spray-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-02T17:19:02.355000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T21:12:33.631431Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-03T21:12:33.500842Z",
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"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yq16x\">Photojournalist David “Dee” Delgado was shoved by federal officers and pepper-sprayed while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"54iqq\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"1ddsm\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vmq3\">Delgado told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he believed ICE was targeting journalists outside Delaney Hall on May 28. </p><p data-block-key=\"f95ga\">“They were talking amongst themselves, and they would point out photographers and journalists,” Delgado said. At one point, an officer recognized Delgado and remarked that he followed him on Instagram. “It felt like it was more of a threat than anything, just ‘we know who you are’ type of situation.” </p><p data-block-key=\"g6o6\">Officers swung batons, broke his colleagues’ camera gear, and pushed him and other members of the media. While Delgado was photographing a confrontation between ICE officers and protesters trying to block law enforcement vehicles from leaving the facility, he said an officer pepper-sprayed him.</p><p data-block-key=\"1l4i9\">“He made eye contact with me and sprayed me,” said Delgado, who was on assignment for Reuters and wearing press credentials. </p><p data-block-key=\"69qf0\">Delgado said the spray irritated his exposed skin, but he was more prepared than on May 26, when he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-pepper-sprayed-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">also pepper-sprayed</a>. The next day, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-injured-by-crowd-control-munition-at-new-jersey-protest/\">on May 29</a>, Delgado was injured by a crowd-control munition fired by a state patrol officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"12e9m\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"69mb6\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"48glp\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include a statement from DHS.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-05-29T062513Z_1872764912_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yge5e\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent sprays chemical irritant during an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Photographer David “Dee” Delgado was pepper-sprayed while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"categories": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist knocked to ground at protest; gear damaged",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-knocked-to-ground-at-protest-gear-damaged/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-23T18:04:59.916789Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-23T18:04:59.916789Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-23T18:04:59.795679Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1jgbf\">EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova was repeatedly shoved to the ground and threatened with batons by federal officers while covering protests outside a federal detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. One of her lens filters and her gas mask were damaged in the process.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kbkv\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"1g3gk\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"17h7\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3shu\">Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had been covering the demonstrations outside the detention facility for several days, and that federal officers were utilizing chemical irritants and what she described as “full-body contact.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5dt0c\">“I was just continuously pepper-sprayed all the time,” she said, adding that she was keeping herself apart from protesters. “Every time I tried to get close to the protesters, agents would threaten me with batons, and I was actually told, ‘Get back, or I’ll hit you.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"8o4pe\">Throughout the day and into the night, Fedorova said, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would push protesters back, with some veering off and pushing members of the press as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"fd0pt\">“I weigh 110 pounds, so every time they tackled me like a linebacker, I would be flying back,” she told the Tracker. “I was falling to the ground more times than I can imagine. And one of those times, I guess my camera hit the ground.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-aligned_image block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media right\">\n\t\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Jun_3_2026_1_59_11.width-828.jpg\" width=\"720\" height=\"1280\" alt=\"COURTESY OLGA FEDOROVA\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"wni4p\">EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova documented the shattering of her lens filter after she was repeatedly knocked to the ground while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY OLGA FEDOROVA\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=\"1jgbf\">Fedorova said the lens filter on her camera shattered, but she can’t be certain it wasn’t broken when officers were swinging their batons.</p><p data-block-key=\"clh4p\">“I didn’t realize that my filter had shattered. It was only after I realized that there were all these artifacts in my photos that came from there being broken glass right in front of the lens element,” she continued. “If I didn’t have a filter on that lens, obviously it would have been destroyed.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e4km7\">Fedorova added that because she didn’t realize the filter had broken, she placed her camera into her bag and later opened it to find it covered with broken glass.</p><p data-block-key=\"55mbv\">The photojournalist’s gas mask was also damaged during her coverage that day, and she said that with the filter broken off, it is now operable only as a face shield.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lct9\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"crblt\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-05-28T055746Z_832996611_RC2Z.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"obhev\">Federal officers push back protesters outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova was repeatedly threatened with batons and knocked to the ground, damaging her equipment.</p>",
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{
"quantity": 1,
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},
{
"quantity": 1,
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],
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"protest"
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"categories": [
"Assault",
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist pepper-sprayed at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-24T17:18:59.114391Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T17:18:59.114391Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T17:18:48.277982Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
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"longitude": -74.17237,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kn2eu\">Photojournalist and filmmaker Will Allen-DuPraw was targeted with pepper spray by federal officers while covering protests outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"farum\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qmq7\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g9nk\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gr9o\">Allen-DuPraw and other journalists told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the protest followed a consistent pattern. Periods of calm would last until law enforcement vehicles tried to leave the facility, and protesters would move to block the cars from leaving. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would respond by advancing into the crowd and pushing demonstrators back.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9kaf\">Allen-DuPraw told the Tracker he was standing in front of an ICE officer when the officer deployed a wide swath of pepper spray toward the photojournalist and those around him. Allen-DuPraw said he was clearly identifiable as press.</p><p data-block-key=\"6791q\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTVsyxv9ZT/\">post on social media</a>, a GIF of his photos shows the officer spraying in an arc around the photojournalist and into his camera. In at least one image, the federal officer appears to look directly into Allen-DuPraw’s lens.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTVsyxv9ZT/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTVsyxv9ZT\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kn2eu\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"apojo\">“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,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"rkwwf\">A federal agent deploys pepper spray toward protesters and press outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. Photojournalist Will Allen-DuPraw was also targeted with chemical irritants that night.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Will Allen-DuPraw (Status Coup)"
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}
]
