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{
"title": "New charges filed against Spanish-language journalist amid ICE detention",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-charges-filed-against-spanish-language-journalist-amid-ice-detention/",
"first_published_at": "2025-06-26T20:40:26.308791Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-04T20:29:52.738240Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-04T20:29:52.487311Z",
"date": "2025-06-17",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Lawrenceville",
"longitude": -83.98796,
"latitude": 33.95621,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5a5sw\">Immigration reporter <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/spanish-language-reporter-arrested-at-atlanta-area-protest-faces-deportation/\">Mario Guevara,</a> currently in federal custody and facing possible deportation, was charged June 17 with three additional misdemeanors for traffic violations that allegedly occurred more than a month before his mid-June arrest at a protest near Atlanta.</p><p data-block-key=\"e31ee\">Guevara, a Salvadoran journalist who has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, was arrested during a “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump in Chamblee, Georgia. The demonstration coincided with a military parade attended by Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.</p><p data-block-key=\"fpl4u\">Guevara was livestreaming the protest to over a million followers when Doraville police arrested him. At the time, he was wearing a press vest and helmet and repeatedly identified himself as a journalist. He was later charged with obstruction, unlawful assembly and walking on a roadway.</p><p data-block-key=\"c255g\">On June 18, Guevara was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after federal immigration officials placed a detainer on him. Guevara, who lacks permanent legal status, has work authorization and a potential path to a green card through his U.S.-citizen son.</p><p data-block-key=\"2dcbe\">The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office then filed three new misdemeanor charges — distracted driving, reckless driving and failure to obey a traffic control device — against Guevara. The new charges appear to stem from an incident 31 days earlier, when he was reportedly livestreaming immigration enforcement activity while driving.</p><p data-block-key=\"29rvc\">The incidents listed in the warrants happened on May 13 and May 20, but the warrants weren’t taken out against Guevara until June 17, his attorney Giovanni Diaz said in a video news update posted to the social platform Facebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"967g8\">“We’ve only been able to see the warrants. We’re trying to get a little more information,” Diaz said in Spanish. “I think the timing, to a lot of people, is a bit concerning. I’ll allow other folks to speculate about that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"55eum\">Diaz did not return U.S. Press Freedom Tracker requests for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ldm\">In a statement provided to the <a href=\"https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/gwinnett-sheriffs-office-claims-ice-detained-jour[%E2%80%A6]ations/article_f66891f7-737e-4780-9cce-d735c9f65858.html\">Gwinnett Daily Post</a>, the sheriff’s office claimed Guevara “compromised operational integrity” and “jeopardized the safety of victims of the case, investigators, and Gwinnett County residents” during an unrelated investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"9f008\">A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office denied a Tracker request for the arrest warrants, stating that they are still active and an investigation is ongoing.</p><p data-block-key=\"ab5md\">In an interview with <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/ice-moves-to-deport-atlanta-based-hispanic-reporter-who-covered-immigration-raids/\">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a> this spring, Guevara reflected on the risks of his reporting: “My lawyers are asking me to tone it down, to not be so aggressive,” he said. “I’m acting as if I were a citizen … but I’m not scared.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7food\">In response to mounting public scrutiny, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on social media June 20 denying that Guevara’s detention was related to his journalism.</p><p data-block-key=\"5bj4f\">“This El Salvador national is in ICE custody because he entered the country illegally in 2004,” the agency said. “He was arrested for willful obstruction after refusing lawful orders.”</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\">FALSE. Accusations that Mario Guevara was arrested by ICE because he is a journalist are completely untrue.<br><br>Mario Guevera was arrested by Dekalb County, Georgia police for willful obstruction after he refused to comply with local police orders to move out of the middle of the… <a href=\"https://t.co/xolCZrys93\">pic.twitter.com/xolCZrys93</a></p>— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1936066664019243248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 20, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5a5sw\">In 2012, an immigration court denied Guevara’s asylum application and issued a deportation order. That case was later administratively closed — a discretionary decision that paused removal proceedings. He built his reputation covering immigration enforcement in Georgia for Mundo Hispanico before founding his own outlet, MGNews.</p><p data-block-key=\"2nf5m\">The Committee to Protect Journalists called for Guevara’s release and for removal proceedings to be dropped in a June 20 letter with a coalition of local and national civil society and media groups (including Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the Tracker is a project). The letter warned that his continued detention raises serious press freedom concerns.</p><p data-block-key=\"91n3c\">“If Guevara’s case proceeds, it would represent a grim erosion of both freedom of the press and the rule of law,” <a href=\"https://cpj.org/2025/06/cpj-partners-express-alarm-over-detention-of-journalist-mario-guevara-by-us-immigration-authorities/\">the letter stated</a>. “Journalists who are not U.S. citizens could be at risk of deportation solely because local law enforcement filed misdemeanor charges against them in retaliation for reporting without those charges ever being tried in court.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2pkc1\">Police with reporter Mario Guevara during an immigration protest in metro Atlanta on June 14, 2025. Guevara was arrested while livestreaming the event, later transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, and now faces additional charges.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office",
"arrest_status": "charged without arrest",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": "2:25-cv-00104",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": "returned in full",
"is_search_warrant_obtained": true,
"actor": "law enforcement",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"legal_order_venue": "State",
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"links": [],
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{
"quantity": 2,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "work product"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-10-27 14:36:00+00:00) Mario Guevara’s cellphones returned weeks after his deportation",
"(2025-07-03 21:58:00+00:00) Guevara remains in custody after being granted bail",
"(2025-07-10 12:49:00+00:00) Traffic misdemeanor charges dropped against Guevara, still detained by ICE",
"(2025-08-20 13:12:00+00:00) Guevara, held by ICE, sues Trump officials, demands release",
"(2025-10-06 13:36:00+00:00) Lawsuit over Mario Guevara’s ICE detention voluntarily dismissed",
"(2025-10-03 18:21:00+00:00) Journalist Mario Guevara deported after months in ICE detention"
],
"case_statuses": [
"withdrawn"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"ICE detention",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure",
"Equipment Damage",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mario Guevara (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photographer pushed by police while covering LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-by-police-while-covering-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-13T19:32:35.195152Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-13T19:32:35.195152Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-13T19:32:13.988171Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"b4qtw\">Independent photographer Anna Moltke was pushed by a police officer while documenting a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"e53mk\">The demonstration was one of many protests held across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump, and was planned to coincide with a military parade on Trump’s birthday, marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the LA area against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"8k9b6\">Moltke told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that while documenting the demonstration downtown, she was refused access to a street corner. After she identified herself as a member of the media, an LA Police Department officer forcibly shoved her in the chest and shoulder area.</p><p data-block-key=\"5nec1\">“I specifically stated to the officer that I’m press; I showed him my badge,” said Moltke, who was also affected by chemical irritants deployed that day. “After I stated that I was press, he pushed me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3l6er\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934313686665216068\">statement posted to social platform X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal munitions” and made arrests related to protest activity when responding to the demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"d5oma\">The statement did not address the use of force against identifiable press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-06-15T015951Z_255550428_RC2P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"k3zxo\">Police officers during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Photographer Anna Moltke was shoved by an officer while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Anna Moltke (Independent)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with pepper ball at ‘No Kings’ protest in LA",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-pepper-ball-at-no-kings-protest-in-la/",
"first_published_at": "2025-12-05T21:36:39.286693Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-04T15:16:21.037665Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-04T15:16:20.890103Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kjxva\">Freelance photojournalist Ethan Noah Roy was struck in the shoulder by a crowd-control munition and disoriented by multiple stun grenades while covering a protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"av141\">The demonstration was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in LA and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"d11b9\">Roy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the protest was one of the most aggressive days of law enforcement response he had witnessed while covering the summer’s demonstrations. He said he was exposed to tear gas several times, having to flush his eyes, in a crowd that included both sheriff’s deputies and police officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"foikl\">At one point, he moved to the front line of a barricade protesters had assembled and was photographing when he was hit in the shoulder by a projectile, which he identified as a pepper ball. It’s unclear which law enforcement agency fired the shot.</p><p data-block-key=\"63qdm\">“It hurt, but luckily it wasn’t bruised,” he said of his shoulder.</p><p data-block-key=\"fo68g\">While covering the protests over the summer, Roy has been <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-at-with-pepper-balls-at-la-protest/\">shot at with pepper balls</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/deputy-targets-photojournalist-with-stun-grenade-at-california-protest/\">targeted with other munitions</a>, as well as <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/police-officer-shoves-freelance-photojournalist-at-la-immigration-protest/\">shoved by police officers.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"9vv8c\">“It’s made me more aware of my personal safety,” he said. “It hasn’t stopped me from doing my job; if anything, it motivates me to work harder.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fo80h\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ud6c\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6s53r\">In a video interview the LAPD posted to <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL1Pt7LuX3b/?igsh=NjZiM2M3MzIxNA%3D%3D\">Instagram</a> on July 7, Police Chief Jim McDonnell told KTLA-TV that the department issues dispersal orders during these protests to regain control over the area and restore order.</p><p data-block-key=\"df7vd\">“The reporters who are in the area have the right by law to stay in that area, but by staying in that area, they’re also subject to what’s going to go on in that area,” he said. “And much like some of the reporters suffered injuries, they were not targeted, nor were police officers who also suffered injuries.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-06-15T012357Z_809148616_RC2J.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1tzdu\">Law enforcement at a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Photojournalist Ethan Noah Roy was struck in the shoulder by a projectile while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ethan Noah Roy (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Student photojournalist hit with flash-bang shrapnel at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-photojournalist-hit-with-flash-bang-shrapnel-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-11-13T22:00:53.055882Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-04T15:16:13.328030Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-04T15:16:13.229238Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9ocnr\">Ethan Cohen, a student photojournalist for California State University’s Long Beach Current, was struck in the arm by a piece of shrapnel from a flash-bang grenade while documenting a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ibfi\">The protest in downtown LA was one of hundreds of similar demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\"> days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ggtf\">Cohen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was photographing the protest when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies began pushing demonstrators back and firing flash bangs.</p><p data-block-key=\"1juk9\">He felt a jolt when a small piece of the crowd-control munition ripped through his flannel shirt and lodged in his right forearm.</p><p data-block-key=\"6bqot\">“It was still hot; it was burning into my arm a little bit,” said Cohen, who pulled the fragment out and kept it.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ikms\">He was wearing a helmet clearly marked “press” and had credentials visible. Cohen said he and other journalists were standing in a location where several press members had their backs toward the deputies.</p><p data-block-key=\"ds\">“They did shoot specifically at journalists around that time,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"47he8\">Cohen said the incident underscored the challenges journalists face when covering protests, as he was caught between two areas blocked off by skirmish lines of law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"20kt4\">He said he was also exposed to tear gas, while other journalists in the area were hit with pepper spray and pepper-ball canisters.</p><p data-block-key=\"7m3ug\">“There were many spots where you couldn’t really escape, especially in that bracket of time where I was hit,” he said. “There weren’t directions where we could go to get out of trouble.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6j4ie\">Cohen said he suffered only a minor nick and burn from the flash-bang shrapnel, which left a faint scar. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-photojournalist-hit-with-ricocheting-projectile-at-la-protest/\">A few days earlier,</a> he had also been struck with a ricocheting projectile while covering another protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ask4\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker in June, the LA Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cior7\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-06-15T012119Z_2016619635_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"s1n6a\">Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies deploy tear gas at a “No Kings” protest on June 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. Student journalist Ethan Cohen was struck with shrapnel from a crowd-control munition while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "California",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Ethan Cohen ([California State University] Long Beach Current)"
],
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},
{
"title": "ABC News correspondent pushed by police on live TV while covering LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/abc-news-correspondent-pushed-by-police-on-live-tv-while-covering-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-10T16:30:05.585766Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-10T16:30:05.585766Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-10T16:30:05.495918Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u13ks\">ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman was pushed and berated by a police officer on live TV while covering a protest against the Trump administration in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs2rr\">The protest was one of <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-military-parade-no-kings-protests-06-14-25\">more than 2,000</a> “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/08/us/la-immigration-protests-photos-map.html\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"4165p\">Gutman was <a href=\"https://x.com/ABCNewsLive/status/1934034296668385584\">reporting</a> <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEFlcu00mTE\">live</a> June 14 as the Los Angeles Police Department and other law enforcement agencies began aggressively clearing the streets of protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"c113e\">An ABC News Live video posted by multiple <a href=\"https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1934208144114336180?s=46&t=b5CYqy68tBdQQ3mCxgkb5Q\">social</a> <a href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@msrebeccaaguilar/video/7515977329882025246\">media</a> users showed an LAPD officer — wearing a gas mask and other riot gear standing in a line of other officers — pushing Gutman and yelling at him for allegedly touching another officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"bje4g\">“Now you’re pushing me on live television,” Gutman said to the officer. “We didn’t touch anybody, you know that’s true.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ftgmj\">“Tensions are extremely high here,” Gutman continued. “Yes, because you touched the officer,” the officer shouted.</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\">Whoa! Hats off to ABC News reporter Matt Gutman for keeping his cool yesterday.<br><br>This LAPD officer needs to be relieved of duty if he can’t handle an alleged “touch” without snapping. <a href=\"https://t.co/cqwVqpaHzD\">pic.twitter.com/cqwVqpaHzD</a></p>— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/cwebbonline/status/1934208144114336180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"u13ks\">“That was a moment that we haven’t experienced very often here,” Gutman added as the officer moved away. “I think that there has been respect between the media and law enforcement here. We have kept our distance.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ai7m7\">Another <a href=\"https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1934307292159344852\">video</a> from the ABC News Live feed posted on social media shows an officer forcefully pushing Gutman out of the way of a police line and the reporter’s hand appearing to grab the officer’s arm in response, seemingly to maintain his balance. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker could not confirm the timing of that incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"4mms3\">The LAPD did not respond to a request for comment about the incident. In a statement on the social platform X, the department <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934063492237271071\">warned</a> members of the media not to position themselves between a crowd and a police skirmish line, saying they could get caught between “rocks, bottles, thrown items, fireworks, and less-lethal munitions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4g4an\">Gutman and ABC News did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Gutman.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ftaa7\">Correspondent Matt Gutman was pushed and berated by a Los Angeles Police Department officer while reporting for ABC News Live during a June 14, 2025, protest in Los Angeles, California.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Matt Gutman (ABC News)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist hit with crowd-control munitions at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-hit-with-crowd-control-munitions-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-13T22:04:19.930524Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-13T22:04:19.930524Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-13T22:00:38.058010Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"s26hm\">A freelance photojournalist was struck with crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement while documenting a “No Kings” protest on June 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"cji0m\">The demonstration was one of many protests held across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump, and was planned to coincide with a military parade on Trump’s birthday, marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\"> days of protests</a> in the LA area against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lhrp\">E.L., who asked that only his initials be used due to concerns related to his dual citizenship, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting a protest downtown near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qfne\">While shooting a confrontation between the LA County Sheriff’s Department and protesters, he was hit a couple of times in the leg with what he described as pepper bullets.</p><p data-block-key=\"88trp\">“I cannot say for sure I was targeted,” he said. “I’m running in the middle of the line of fire; I’m heightening my chances to be shot in any kind of way.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7c1fh\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"di6fm\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-06-15T031743Z_1155961484_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7joaw\">Law enforcement at a “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. A photographer was hit with crowd-control munitions while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"E.L. (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Student journalist hit with projectiles at LA ‘No Kings’ protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-hit-with-projectiles-at-la-no-kings-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-05-14T16:19:02.783274Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-05-14T16:19:02.783274Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-05-14T16:14:46.202842Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"co5wp\">Student journalist Delfino Camacho was struck with crowd-control munitions while documenting a protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"1esea\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"2i9ik\">Camacho was taking pictures and reporting for California State University’s Long Beach Current, as well as the university’s bilingual publication ENYE, near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held. At one point during the protest, Camacho got caught up in tear gas fired by authorities. He said he was also peppered with what he described as smaller, foam bullets, striking his helmet, chest and arms.</p><p data-block-key=\"8m925\">“They shoot those like nothing,” he said of the law enforcement who fired the projectiles, which he said he didn’t believe were targeted at members of the press. He isn’t sure whether it was the LA Police Department or the LA County Sheriff’s Department who fired.</p><p data-block-key=\"8lj3p\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934313686665216068\">statement posted to social platform X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” and made arrests related to protest activity when responding to the demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ttcn\">The statement did not address the use of crowd-control munitions against identifiable press.</p><p data-block-key=\"8sfke\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"12fqj\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-06-15T020916Z_1399132547_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"fwsh1\">Police fire crowd-control munitions during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Journalist Delfino Camacho was hit with the projectiles while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Delfino Camacho ([California State University] Long Beach Current & ENYE)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Spanish-language reporter arrested at Atlanta-area protest; faces deportation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/spanish-language-reporter-arrested-at-atlanta-area-protest-faces-deportation/",
"first_published_at": "2025-06-25T17:04:05.662466Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-04T20:30:09.080173Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-04T20:30:08.935497Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Chamblee",
"longitude": -84.29881,
"latitude": 33.89205,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hmhvl\">Mario Guevara, a Spanish-language reporter who covers immigration issues, was arrested at an anti-Trump protest in Chamblee, Georgia, near Atlanta, on June 14, 2025, according to multiple media accounts.</p><p data-block-key=\"8l8if\">He is now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faces deportation.</p><p data-block-key=\"fh52r\">The protest was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations nationwide that denounced President Donald Trump’s administration and were organized against the backdrop of a Washington, D.C., military parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States Army.</p><p data-block-key=\"589uf\">Guevara, one of eight people arrested at the DeKalb County, Georgia, protest, was taken into custody as he livestreamed the demonstration to his social media audience of more than 1 million followers.</p><p data-block-key=\"4j3v3\">In his <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/video/news/2025/06/influential-hispanic-reporter-who-tracks-ice-agents-arrested-at-protest/\">Facebook Live</a> video, Guevara wore a helmet and a vest that identified him as press.</p><p data-block-key=\"egm02\">“We’re going to move a little bit because the authorities are advancing this way,” he said in Spanish. “The police are moving forward quickly.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5p3jh\">As he walked beside a group of police officers in riot gear, he was taken into custody, his cellphone falling to the ground. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to confirm whether his phone was damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"etpt0\">“Officer, officer. I’m a member of the media,” he said before the video abruptly ended. “Let me finish.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bf0m6\">Guevara, a Salvadoran native who has been in the U.S. for over 20 years, was taken into custody by the Doraville Police Department and charged with obstruction of law enforcement, unlawful assembly, and walking along a roadway, <a href=\"https://portal-gadekalb.tylertech.cloud/app/ViewJailing/#/jailing/1529484\">according to police records.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"2a131\">Guevara built a social media following by reporting on ICE activities in Atlanta. He started his own media company, MGNews, and has been covering ICE since Trump’s first term, <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/additional-criminal-charges-filed-against-immigration-reporter-in-ice-detention/\">according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"1rq4l\">“My lawyers are asking me to tone it down, to not be so aggressive,” Guevara <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/ice-moves-to-deport-atlanta-based-hispanic-reporter-who-covered-immigration-raids/\">told the newspaper</a> in an interview about his work earlier this spring. “I’m acting as if I were a citizen … but I’m not scared.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3ag22\">After Guevara’s arrest, his attorney, Giovanni Diaz, <a href=\"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/ice-moves-to-deport-atlanta-based-hispanic-reporter-who-covered-immigration-raids/\">told the Journal-Constitution</a> that ICE had issued a “detainer” against the journalist — typically an initial move in the deportation process.</p><p data-block-key=\"37q45\">ICE detainers are requests asking local jails to keep individuals in custody for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release, giving federal immigration authorities time to take them into custody.</p><p data-block-key=\"320dr\">On June 18, he was transferred to Georgia’s Folkston ICE Processing Center.</p><p data-block-key=\"63dvv\">In a June 20 <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C7dXE5Uqb/\">Facebook video</a>, Diaz said Guevara should never have been arrested and that his firm is negotiating with the county to drop the charges. He said he is also preparing a bond request to secure Guevara’s release so he can fight his immigration case while free.</p><p data-block-key=\"ckavd\">Diaz told the Journal-Constitution that Guevara lacks permanent legal status, although he has work authorization and a path to a green card through his son, who is a U.S. citizen. Diaz did not immediately return a Tracker request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"35n62\">In a post on social platform X, the Department of Homeland Security said accusations that Guevara was arrested by ICE because he is a journalist were “completely untrue” and that he was arrested for willful obstruction after he refused to comply with local police orders to move out of the street.</p><p data-block-key=\"etrri\">“Following his arrest by local authorities, ICE placed a detainer on him. Following his release, he was turned over to ICE custody and has been placed in removal proceedings,” the statement said. “This El Salvador national is in ICE custody because he entered the country illegally in 2004.”</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\">FALSE. Accusations that Mario Guevara was arrested by ICE because he is a journalist are completely untrue.<br><br>Mario Guevera was arrested by Dekalb County, Georgia police for willful obstruction after he refused to comply with local police orders to move out of the middle of the… <a href=\"https://t.co/xolCZrys93\">pic.twitter.com/xolCZrys93</a></p>— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1936066664019243248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 20, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hmhvl\">Guevara fled El Salvador with his family in 2004 after he was beaten and repeatedly harassed because of his work as a political reporter for the newspaper La Prensa Grafica, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/journalist-detained-immigration-ice-mario-guevarra-atlanta-77158055cda30f6be3707fb40bf661d6\">The Associated Press reported</a>. He later worked as a reporter for Georgia’s largest Spanish-language newspaper, Mundo Hispanico, the AP reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"7chb6\">In 2012, a court rejected Guevara’s request for asylum and issued a deportation order, according to the Constitution-Journal. However, the journalist later received administrative closure, a legal process that permits an immigration judge to pause deportation proceedings.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ln7i\">After Guevara was transferred to ICE custody on June 18, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/new-charges-filed-against-spanish-language-journalist-amid-ice-detention/\">additional misdemeanor charges</a> were filed against him, according to the Journal-Constitution. The new charges appear to stem from an incident 31 days earlier, when he was reportedly livestreaming immigration enforcement activity while driving.</p><p data-block-key=\"f3tlk\">On June 20, the Committee to Protect Journalists <a href=\"https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DHS_Mario-Guevara_CPJ.pdf\">wrote a letter</a> to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem denouncing Guevara’s detention and asking that he be released on bond and removal proceedings be dropped.</p><p data-block-key=\"63o5c\">“It is chilling to think of the press freedom implications of a reporter facing deportation simply because they are leveled with misdemeanor charges that directly contradict the First Amendment,” the letter said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1rvk4\"><i>Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify that Mario Guevara’s phone was knocked to the ground in the course of his arrest, and is no longer listed under the Tracker’s Assault category.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"07iou\">Mario Guevara, left, an Atlanta-area Spanish-language reporter, covers a local protest against immigration enforcement on Feb. 1, 2025. Guevara was arrested while livestreaming a metro Atlanta demonstration on June 14, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Doraville Police Department",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2025-10-03",
"detention_date": "2025-06-14",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": "2:25-cv-00104",
"case_type": "CIVIL",
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Georgia",
"abbreviation": "GA"
},
"updates": [
"(2025-07-03 22:01:00+00:00) Guevara remains in custody after being granted bail",
"(2025-06-25 20:44:00+00:00) Initial charges dropped against Guevara, but deportation threat remains",
"(2025-08-20 13:06:00+00:00) Guevara, held by ICE, sues Trump officials, demands release",
"(2025-10-03 10:11:00+00:00) Journalist Mario Guevara deported after months in ICE detention",
"(2025-10-06 04:00:00+00:00) Guevara lawsuit over reporting retaliation dismissed after deportation"
],
"case_statuses": [
"withdrawn"
],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"ICE detention",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mario Guevara (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit in the arm with projectile shot by LAPD",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-the-arm-with-projectile-shot-by-lapd/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-03T14:06:16.286606Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-08T02:56:19.593451Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-08T02:56:19.439535Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j9ezt\">Independent photojournalist Ron Haviv was shot in the arm by a Los Angeles Police Department officer on June 14, 2025, while documenting a protest for The New Republic.</p><p data-block-key=\"69rsp\">Haviv, the co-founder of documentary producer VII Foundation, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via email that he was in downtown Los Angeles to photograph a “No Kings” rally, one of <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-military-parade-no-kings-protests-06-14-25\">more than 2,000</a> held across the country to protest the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration, and planned to coincide with a military parade held in Washington, D.C., and Trump’s birthday.</p><p data-block-key=\"7fpcf\">The rally also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in LA and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9alh\">After the protest ended, Haviv said, he witnessed confrontations around City Hall and the Metropolitan Detention Center between protesters and law enforcement, which included LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officers, with LAPD officers attempting to push protesters off the streets.</p><p data-block-key=\"fdco0\">Haviv was close to the police line, not near any protesters and “not much was happening on either side,” he said, when he was hit in the arm by a 40 mm crowd-control projectile shot by an LAPD officer — the first time, he said, that he’s been shot or shot at by U.S. law enforcement while working.</p><p data-block-key=\"67pav\">Haviv was wearing press credentials, he said, but didn’t know if he had been targeted as a journalist. None of his equipment was damaged, but he had to seek medical help for the injury, which weeks after the incident was still bruised and in the process of healing.</p><p data-block-key=\"eo6ed\">He said he is considering his legal options.</p><p data-block-key=\"dndjn\">Haviv noted that the protesters were mostly peaceful and that law enforcement’s response therefore seemed disproportionate. “The combination of horses, tear gas and rubber bullets seemed to be a higher amount than necessary for what was happening on the ground,” he said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25165845151047.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ph3rm\">Law enforcement officers at protests in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Photojournalist Ron Haviv was shot in the arm with a crowd-control munition by a Los Angeles Police Department officer while covering one of the demonstrations.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"Assault"
],
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"Ron Haviv (The New Republic)"
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},
{
"title": "Freelance journalist targeted with crowd-control munitions at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-journalist-targeted-with-crowd-control-munitions-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-11T20:32:29.139010Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-11T20:32:29.139010Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-11T20:32:29.045336Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xqkiu\">Freelance journalist Solomon O. Smith was struck multiple times with crowd-control munitions he said were deliberately fired at him by sheriff’s deputies while he covered a protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o3t6\">The protest was part of a wave of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide in opposition to President Donald Trump. It coincided with a military parade in Washington, D.C., where Trump led celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. In LA, tensions were already high following a series of aggressive immigration enforcement raids across Southern California.</p><p data-block-key=\"7r4g7\">During the demonstration, Smith was photographing Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies patrolling on trucks from several yards away when he noticed one aiming a weapon directly at him. Smith was clearly identifiable as press, wearing credentials and holding a large white camera lens.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0cmk\">Smith told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he instinctively turned his back to avoid being hit in the face or chest. Seconds later, a crowd-control munition slammed into his padded backpack, followed by additional rounds that struck his leg and rear. A gas canister then hit him directly in the lower back.</p><p data-block-key=\"70h7n\">He said the impact dented the aluminum body of the laptop inside his backpack. One round left a “hand-sized bruise” on his right buttock.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lt8j\">Smith captured photos of deputies pointing before firing — aiming at specific individuals, including members of the press — often turning from the main part of the crowd to do so.</p><p data-block-key=\"1qedr\">He showed the Tracker photos of what he said were two student journalists who had been struck in the arms by crowd-control projectiles, despite being clearly marked as press and standing apart from demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"crme9\">“They were firing these things waist height, at people, right? That’s not from a bounce. That’s like a direct strike,” Smith said. “For them to turn and shoot at press was intentional; they had to shift to shoot at us most of the time.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dler4\">Smith said he saw other journalists who were injured during the protest, and recalled a piece of an overhead-exploding munition also struck him in the head, leaving a scab on his scalp. He captured a photo of the shrapnel falling into the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rimd\">“It makes you, as a reporter, reevaluate how much danger you want to put yourself in. And you worry about other reporters too,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9h7br\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ern8f\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"sj7cl\">Amid tear gas, members of the press and others are seen during an immigration protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Freelance journalist Solomon O. Smith said deputies deliberately fired crowd-control munitions at him that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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{
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"equipment": "computer"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Solomon O. Smith (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter struck with police projectile, detained at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-police-projectile-detained-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-29T18:25:22.429119Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-12-03T00:50:29.159276Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-12-03T00:50:29.057175Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j8i8k\">MintPress News reporter Jalyssa Dugrot was struck in the leg with a police crowd-control munition, then detained and zip-tied while covering a “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"frjpj\">The demonstration was one of many “No Kings” protests held across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump, and was planned to coincide with a military parade on Trump’s birthday, marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.</p><p data-block-key=\"72j8o\">At the LA rally, the political climate was already tense following a series of aggressive immigration raids and anti-deportation protests across Southern California.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vdn1\">Dugrot told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was documenting interactions between Los Angeles Police Department officers, demonstrators and members of the press when she and other journalists were blocked from entering part of the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"8do55\">When Dugrot told an officer she needed access for reporting purposes, the officer warned her that she could get shot with a crowd-control munition as a result, she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8jff4\">“I said, ‘No sir, that’s not what I want, obviously, but that’s my job,’” she recounted to the Tracker. “And I went in there, and then they shot me with the BB pellet.”</p><p data-block-key=\"25s5n\">Dugrot said she was struck in the back of her thigh with the projectile, but it was unclear if she was deliberately targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"bltmd\">California state law bars law enforcement officers from firing such munitions at clearly identified members of the press or obstructing journalists covering protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"ep81\">At the same protest, Dugrot said she was also kettled — a tactic used to surround and control protesters — and then detained by officers who restrained her with zip ties and ordered her to face a wall.</p><p data-block-key=\"2hmbt\">“They took all of my belongings out of my pocket, and they patted me down, and they took my clips out of my hair. They took everything off of me,” Dugrot said. “They zip-tied me and told me I would be going to jail because I didn’t leave.”</p><p data-block-key=\"acbbc\">When she identified herself as press, an officer demanded additional proof. Dugrot said she showed the officer a video of her work on YouTube, after which she was released.</p><p data-block-key=\"4r9rc\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934313686665216068\">statement posted to social platform X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” and made arrests related to protest activity when responding to the demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"d96sa\">The statement did not address the detainment of media members or use of munitions against identifiable press.</p><p data-block-key=\"96gv2\">At a similar “No Kings” protest in LA <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-by-foam-rounds-at-la-protest/\">in October</a>, Dugrot was also shot in the legs with projectiles fired by LAPD officers.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-06-14T215650Z_1115612350_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"g05bc\">Officers set up tape outside the Los Angeles Police Department during a “No Kings” protest in California on June 14, 2025. Reporter Jalyssa Dugrot was shot with a police projectile and detained while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Los Angeles Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": "2025-06-14",
"detention_date": "2025-06-14",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"name": "California",
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},
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"kettle",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
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"Jalyssa Dugrot (MintPress News)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist hit by chemical irritants, damaging his camera at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-by-chemical-irritants-damaging-his-camera-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-10T16:32:30.248434Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-10T16:32:30.248434Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-04-10T16:32:30.134460Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4x3y7\">Henry Cherry, an independent photojournalist, was shot at with crowd-control munitions, damaging his camera and leaving him bruised, at a protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"bi07k\">The downtown LA protest was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"fting\">Cherry told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that federal officers fired tear gas and pepper balls, which then hit his camera, the pepper ball powder causing the focus ring to malfunction.</p><p data-block-key=\"31fv4\">“I had to switch cameras because it got hit, and the pepper spray was reducing the ability to zoom in or out,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pn47\">At another point in the protest, officers with the LA Police Department tried to detain him and dozens of protesters, as well as other journalists, when they were closing down the area. Cherry, who was clearly identifiable as a member of the press, told the Tracker he kept walking and avoided being detained.</p><p data-block-key=\"4l7fb\">“It was an intensely hectic scenario; there was a lot of frustration,” Cherry said. “They didn’t seem to know that they weren’t allowed to arrest journalists.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bmufp\">That day, he also suffered a bruise on his left arm from what he said came from either a police baton or projectile.</p><p data-block-key=\"938v6\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934313686665216068\">statement posted to social platform X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” and made arrests related to protest activity when responding to the demonstrations.</p><p data-block-key=\"e7ctf\">The statement did not address the detainment of media members or use of munitions against identifiable press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nrz2y\">A mirror shows law enforcement at a protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Photojournalist Henry Cherry was hit with crowd-control munitions at the protest, damaging his camera.</p>",
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{
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}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Australian journalist shot with crowd-control munitions at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/australian-journalist-shot-with-crowd-control-munitions-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-22T20:06:11.685062Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-22T20:06:11.685062Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-12T15:41:09.225813Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"y70hu\">Australian journalist Reid Butler says police shot him twice with crowd-control munitions while he was covering a protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"4oe2n\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"7m33c\">Butler, a U.S. correspondent for Australia’s 9News, and his cameraman had been covering the protests since around 12 p.m. that day. The duo were accompanied by two security guards, and the cameraman’s large camera made it clear that they were journalists, Butler told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"em7og\">Butler said the protests were mostly peaceful that day. Then, around 8:30 or 9 p.m., the news crew was reporting in downtown LA when some protesters started throwing things at the police, and officers began shooting crowd-control munitions at the demonstrators. Butler said he doesn’t recall hearing a dispersal order or warning from the police before they started shooting.</p><p data-block-key=\"ecnk4\">Butler and his team were about one block from the police line, he said, and as the munitions started to reach them, he said they decided to leave the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"gqqm\">“We were then choosing to stay quite a bit back from the line of police, knowing that it was obviously poor visibility, and we just didn’t want to be right in front of it all,” Butler said.</p><p data-block-key=\"eshac\">As they were leaving, Butler says he was shot once in his left arm and once in the sole of his right foot. Butler’s boot mostly protected his foot, he said, but his arm started bleeding.</p><p data-block-key=\"d0vdj\">“It hurt a lot, obviously,” he said. “It had broken the skin quite badly. It was a crescent-shaped, large cut on my upper arm.”</p><p data-block-key=\"30gkj\">Butler added that his arm later bruised and now, one month since the incident, it appears to be leaving a scar. Still, Butler told the Tracker he’s glad the injury wasn’t more serious. “I’m just happy that it was just the arm,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5b6o9\">Butler said he hasn’t thought about filing a legal complaint over the incident, largely because he doesn’t think he was intentionally targeted for being a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"era3q\">“I don’t think there was thought to where they were firing. They didn’t care who they hit,” he told the Tracker. “It was just willy-nilly down the street.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fj4v7\">Butler has reported from protests before, but this time was different, he said. “It was the first time that I’ve been in a protest situation where I realized that being media doesn’t necessarily protect you,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"90pk0\">After being shot, Butler and his team left the area but continued to report from elsewhere in downtown LA. Around 10 p.m., the team was crossing through a parking lot when police in a passing police car shot at them in an apparent effort to disperse them, Butler said. A crowd-control munition struck one of the security guards in the foot, Butler said.</p><p data-block-key=\"e7kpu\">“If they’d asked, we would have told them that we were press. Or if they’d been closer and saw us, they would have seen that we were press,” Butler said. “At that point, we were like, ‘Oh, this is just too much. We’re going to go home.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"7269u\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934663901607809139\">statement posted to X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” when responding to the protests, but did not address the use of munitions against identifiable press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/DSC00678.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"se29i\">Protesters face off with Los Angeles police in downtown LA, demonstrating against the Trump administration and its immigration policy on June 14, 2025. Australian journalist Reid Butler was shot with multiple crowd-control munitions amid the protests.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Reid Butler (9News [Australia])"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer attacked by protesters at LA immigration demonstration",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-attacked-by-protesters-at-la-immigration-demonstration/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-16T16:08:24.234457Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-16T16:08:24.234457Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-16T16:07:57.917929Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ocqni\">Freelance photojournalist Tod Seelie was attacked by a group of people at an immigration protest while he was covering the event in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"4lbir\">The protest was part of the nationwide “No Kings” movement opposing President Donald Trump, timed to coincide with a military parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Tensions in LA were already heightened after a wave of aggressive immigration enforcement raids across Southern California.</p><p data-block-key=\"b1em9\">Seelie, who was clearly identifiable as press with a patch on his helmet and credentials around his neck, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was surrounded by five or six individuals who objected to being photographed.</p><p data-block-key=\"1kh27\">“It escalated very suddenly,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1q7f1\">When the group demanded he stop taking pictures, Seelie reminded them they were in a public space where there is no expectation of privacy, and he had a First Amendment right to document the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"622aa\">The group surrounded him, knocked him to the ground, and one person swung at his head. Another grabbed his phone and smashed it on the pavement. His camera sustained only cosmetic damage. Seelie ran, then kept shooting, but he spent the rest of the day scanning the crowd for people from the group.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mh85\">“This is an unprecedented shift in my understanding of the safety of protest,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ampd\">Earlier that day, Seelie said he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-by-projectile-shoved-by-officers-while-covering-la-protest/\">shoved by deputies</a> as they formed a containment line to trap protesters. During the chaos, he was hit on his right leg by a crowd-control projectile and exposed to tear gas fired into a nearby group of journalists. He sustained only minor injuries — a bruise and irritation from the gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"e6580\">“The protesters did more damage than law enforcement did,” he said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/NoKingsProtest-TodSeelie-3.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"uge89\">A protester holds an American flag during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Freelance photojournalist Tod Seelie said he was attacked by people at the protest while covering the event.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tod Seelie (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist struck, shoved by police at Philadelphia immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-shoved-by-police-at-philadelphia-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-06-23T20:52:13.552276Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-06-23T20:52:13.552276Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-06-23T20:52:13.469687Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Philadelphia",
"longitude": -75.16362,
"latitude": 39.95238,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2h9i2\">Unicorn Riot reporter and editor Chris Schiano was struck and shoved by police while reporting on an anti-deportation march in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"2n2ni\">Schiano told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was covering the immigration enforcement protest, separate from the “No Kings” protest in Philadelphia the same day. The march began around 6 p.m. at the Federal Detention Center in the Center City neighborhood and continued around nearby streets.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3f8n\">Bicycle officers from the Philadelphia Police Department began working to encircle the protesters, who in turn used improvised barriers to slow down the police, Schiano told the Tracker. He said officers finally surrounded the demonstrators at around 7 p.m. outside a Holiday Inn Express hotel.</p><p data-block-key=\"dahio\">Schiano filmed protesters as they fled the scene until two police officers slammed their bikes into the journalist and ordered him to move. “I only heard their orders by the time I was already being struck,” Schiano said.</p><p data-block-key=\"cln98\">Schiano said he was wearing a vest with “PRESS” written across it in large white letters, as well as his Unicorn Riot press pass.</p><p data-block-key=\"51kpj\">“I’m a journalist. I’m a journalist, sir,” Schiano told the police in <a href=\"https://x.com/UR_Ninja/status/1934056638958452822\">a video of the incident</a>. “Move back,” a police officer said as he shoved Schiano. At that moment, the reporter told the Tracker he worried he would be hit again.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3r4i\">Looking back, Schiano says he has the “strong impression” that the police didn’t care that he was a journalist. He added that he did not sustain any injuries.</p><p data-block-key=\"45s9b\">After that incident, Schiano said he was caught in the kettle for about one more minute before he was allowed to leave with the remaining protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"83icd\">The reporter said he then documented protesters being followed by dozens of police officers on motorcycles. While filming, Schiano said police officers sped up and came “within an inch or so of striking me.” The people Schiano was following eventually dispersed, and the police on motorbikes stopped following them.</p><p data-block-key=\"boqqm\">Schiano filed a complaint against the police over the incident June 22.</p><p data-block-key=\"26u4a\">When reached by email for comment, PPD spokesperson Jasmine Colón-Reilly said, “The role of the Philadelphia Police Department is not to interfere with the expression of any First Amendment rights, but to manage public safety during demonstrations to prevent the loss of life, injury, or property damage, and minimize disruption to persons (and communities) who are uninvolved; as well as those who are involved.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Schiano_PA_assault.8ed0869b.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"romx1\">A Philadelphia Police Department officer shouts at Unicorn Riot journalist Chris Schiano moments after hitting him with a police bicycle and pushing the journalist back amid anti-deportation protests on June 14, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Pennsylvania",
"abbreviation": "PA"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Christopher Schiano (Unicorn Riot)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shot with rubber bullet by law enforcement at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-with-rubber-bullet-by-law-enforcement-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-01T20:11:59.275933Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-01T20:11:59.275933Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-01T20:11:59.086784Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9pvcx\">A photojournalist for news agency Agence France-Presse was struck with crowd-control munitions by law enforcement officers while documenting a protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"e8ik8\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"be5r9\">The photojournalist, who asked to remain anonymous, <a href=\"https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250617-afp-photographer-shot-in-face-with-rubber-bullet-at-la-protest\">told France 24</a> that he was wearing two cameras, a helmet with AFP stickers and a patch on his chest that said “Press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4vu5m\">He said he was about 90 feet away from law enforcement officers when they advanced on the protesters and began firing rubber bullets. Two struck him in the face and right arm.</p><p data-block-key=\"8g163\">The photojournalist told the news network that he went to the hospital to be treated for his injuries from the shots.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hk74\">France 24 asked both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department about the shooting; neither agency claimed responsibility.</p><p data-block-key=\"5159c\">The police department told AFP that “less-lethal munitions were used to clear the area of those who refused to comply and leave the area.” The Sheriff’s Department said that it “does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/HQP_2472.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"f9wuu\">Los Angeles Police Department officers advance on protesters on June 14, 2025. An Agence France-Presse photojournalist was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by law enforcement while covering the protest against the Trump administration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 38 (Agence France-Presse [France])"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer hit by projectile, shoved by officers while covering LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-by-projectile-shoved-by-officers-while-covering-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-15T20:16:18.790907Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-16T17:12:23.956236Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-16T17:12:23.820460Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cem9p\">Freelance photojournalist Tod Seelie was shoved by police and struck by a crowd-control projectile while covering an immigration protest in downtown Los Angeles on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"2fn49\">The demonstration was one of many “No Kings” protests held across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump. In Washington, D.C., the protests coincided with a military parade marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. In LA, the political climate was already tense following a series of aggressive immigration raids across Southern California.</p><p data-block-key=\"fm3iq\">Seelie told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was trying to move through a line near downtown’s Grand Park when deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shoved him from behind. They were forming a containment line around demonstrators, and he was caught in the space between deputies and protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"1f32f\">Seelie was wearing a helmet marked with a press patch and had media credentials around his neck, he said. As tensions escalated, a crowd-control projectile struck his right leg, leaving a bruise and a visible residue on his pants. Tear gas filled the area, affecting both protesters and journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"68oh8\">“A lot of it I don’t know, because it was all happening at the same time,” said Seelie, speaking of when he was struck by the projectile. He said he doesn’t believe law enforcement had intentionally targeted him. Later that day, a group of <a href=\"/all-incidents/photographer-attacked-by-protesters-at-la-immigration-demonstration/\">people at the protest</a> attacked him for taking their photo.</p><p data-block-key=\"33jn8\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"25li1\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/NoKingsProtest-TodSeelie-7.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"74nn6\">Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department personnel form a line during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025. Freelance photojournalist Tod Seelie was pushed by deputies and struck with a projectile while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tod Seelie (Freelance)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist’s camera broken by police projectile, grazing his leg at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalists-camera-broken-by-police-projectile-grazing-his-leg-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-03-03T21:52:33.128292Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-03T21:52:33.128292Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-03T21:52:11.152610Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"a097u\">Independent photojournalist Dexter Thomas’s camera was hit with a crowd-control munition, sending a fragment of its shell ricocheting against his leg during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"cq0bg\">The protest was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmb7i\">Thomas told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting the protest downtown, away from the main crowd, when the LA Police Department began blocking the road. He said he was wearing a yellow press badge identifying him as a journalist when officers fired an impact projectile into a group of people holding cellphones and cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"4a0op\">“They actually shot and hit my camera and actually blew a hole in it,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"4vhv2\">A <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DVaIJ4KinSL/\">video he later posted to Instagram</a>, captured on a GoPro camera, shows a piece of plastic flying into the air after the projectile strikes his camera. The fragment hit his leg. The following day, Thomas returned to the scene and found the broken piece in a gutter.</p><p data-block-key=\"sqvh\">“The impact didn’t hurt. All I felt was something tugging sharply on my pants,” he wrote in the Instagram caption.</p><p data-block-key=\"bgaia\">At the time, he was holding the camera by his waist, near his groin.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-aligned_image block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n\t\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-03-03_at_10.38.05AM.width-828.png\" width=\"450\" height=\"298\" alt=\"SCREENSHOT COURTESY DEXTER THOMAS VIA INSTAGRAM\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"pkaus\">The hole in Dexter Thomas’s camera after police fired a projectile at it during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — SCREENSHOT COURTESY DEXTER THOMAS VIA INSTAGRAM\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=\"a097u\">“I’m very fortunate that the camera took the round for me, because that would have hurt a lot,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"oeqb\">The digital camera — a Sony A7S — now has a permanent hole in its body, which Thomas has covered with black duct tape.</p><p data-block-key=\"8tng2\">“If anything gets in there, it will definitely stop functioning,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"cb639\">Asked for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934663901607809139\">statement posted to X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” when responding to the protests, but did not address the use of munitions against identifiable press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-03-03_at_10.43.47.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"o891t\">Journalist Dexter Thomas holds a corner of his camera, which broke off and struck him after it was hit by a police projectile during a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "law enforcement",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
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{
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"abbreviation": "CA"
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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"Dexter Thomas (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Student photojournalist shot in leg with projectile at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-photojournalist-shot-in-leg-with-projectile-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-27T22:01:32.744415Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-27T22:01:32.744415Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-27T22:01:32.577671Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"r0yx7\">Student photojournalist Griffin O’Rourke was struck in the leg by a crowd-control munition while covering an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"e8fo7\">The protest in downtown LA was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\"> days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"efrqs\">After demonstrators clashed with LA law enforcement officers and federal agents, Trump called in the California National Guard and then the U.S. Marines over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. Trump’s deployment of federal troops to LA was <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70496361/176/newsom-v-trump/\">ruled illegal</a> by a federal judge on Sept. 2.</p><p data-block-key=\"5uufg\">O’Rourke, on assignment for California State University Northridge’s multimedia publication the Daily Sundial, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was taking pictures when a tear gas canister fired by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies landed near him.</p><p data-block-key=\"74cea\">“I got totally screwed up by the gas, and that’s when something hit me in the leg,” said O’Rourke, who wasn’t wearing a mask at the time and had to rinse the chemical irritant from his eyes.</p><p data-block-key=\"8kq9l\">O’Rourke isn’t sure what kind of crowd-control projectile hit his leg, but said it left a bruise. Later, he said, law enforcement aimed projectile launchers at him, even though he was wearing a helmet and badge identifying himself as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"40j82\">“A lot of the agents would raise up their less-lethal guns at me to try to let me know that, ‘We see you, and we might shoot you,’” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"93gu0\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eevha\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dqiv4\">Sheriff’s deputies stand guard at City Hall during a “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump’s policies on June 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. Photojournalist Griffin O’Rourke was struck by a projectile while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Griffin O'Rourke ([California State University, Northridge] Daily Sundial)"
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shot with pepper balls at Los Angeles ‘No Kings’ protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-with-pepper-balls-at-los-angeles-no-kings-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-15T13:23:58.621708Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-15T13:23:58.621708Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-15T13:23:58.467550Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6vxgk\">Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart was shot with multiple crowd-control munitions by sheriff’s deputies while covering protests in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"cfeti\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\"> days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"33bc9\">Swart told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was covering the protest alongside other members of the press when Los Angeles Police Department officers deployed tear gas and she became separated from her “press safety buddies.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4hms9\">“I ended up on a terrace and I thought I was safe because on the street below was where the action was happening,” she said. “Then, all of a sudden, I feel, like, shooting at me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dr916\">She said that it was only then that she noticed Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies coming across a bridge nearby and shooting at her. Initially the rounds hit the ground at her feet. Then they hit her chest.</p><p data-block-key=\"aq4go\">“I start to move, but then realize that there’s absolutely nowhere for me to go except forward to where the sheriffs are shooting,” Swart said. “So, I start to go do that. And I’m holding up my press card. I have ‘Press’ labels everywhere, all over me, and I’m holding up my camera in a kind of surrender while moving forward and saying, ‘I’m press! I’m press! I’m press!’”</p><p data-block-key=\"9e3vj\">The photojournalist said none of it made a difference.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sfv0\">“They shoot again, and I kind of just step backward and I’m not sure where to go. And then I try to go again, and then they shoot me again,” Swart told the Tracker. “They eventually let me go forward, and that was where I got the bruise.”</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/Swart_assault_614.width-828.png\" width=\"828\" height=\"1104\" alt=\"COURTESY MADISON SWART\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"07rmr\"><i>Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart photographed bruises to her arm from Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies repeatedly shooting her with crowd-control munitions amid protests in LA on June 14, 2025.</i></p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY MADISON SWART\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=\"6vxgk\">Swart says she believes the initial rounds were pepper balls, but she can’t be sure what other crowd-control munitions hit her.</p><p data-block-key=\"eqopq\">“They were shooting so many things that I can’t tell you which was which,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8723f\">She told the Tracker she was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-munition-at-los-angeles-no-kings-protest\">struck with another crowd-control munition</a> later that day, which she believes was likely a tear gas canister.</p><p data-block-key=\"8uaba\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6lf11\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bm90m\">Swart told the Tracker that her efforts to clearly identify herself as a journalist had proven futile. “Me saying press and being visible press and holding up my press pass in a surrender didn’t do shit. I was hoping that it would, but that was wishful thinking,” she said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/20250614_USA-NO-KINGS-PROTEST-DOW.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bq2wt\">Protesters gather in downtown Los Angeles on June 14, 2025, in opposition to the Trump administration and its immigration policy. Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart was struck with multiple crowd-control munitions while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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"Assault"
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{
"title": "Photographer struck and injured by tear gas canister at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-struck-and-injured-by-tear-gas-canister-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-06-24T17:02:44.424941Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-14T20:35:26.221542Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-14T20:35:26.137820Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ql2i2\">Photojournalist <a href=\"https://www.hectoradolfoquintanarperez.com/\">Héctor Adolfo Quintanar Pérez</a> was struck with a tear gas canister fired by police while documenting an immigration enforcement protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"d3vvl\">It was one of numerous protests in response to federal raids in and around LA of workplaces and areas where immigrant day laborers gathered, amid the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown. After demonstrators clashed with local law enforcement officers and federal agents, President Donald Trump called in the California National Guard and then the U.S. Marines over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3cv4\">Quintanar, a Mexican stringer working for Zuma Press, said that at the start of the protest, a group of Los Angeles Police Department officers — some on horseback — arrived outside the Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles to disperse the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"au2eo\">According to Quintanar, officers pushed media members who were clearly displaying their press badges. About two minutes later, he was hit by a tear gas canister.</p><p data-block-key=\"48pqd\">“I was walking backward, trying to do my job. The officer simply fired from about three meters away,” Quintanar wrote in an email to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</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/495075587_1441142500220072_1885396325058906729.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1241\" alt=\"Courtesy Héctor Adolfo Quintanar Pérez\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"cumzz\">Photographer Héctor Adolfo Quintanar Pérez, on assignment for Zuma Press, was struck in the knees by a tear gas canister while covering a protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — Courtesy Héctor Adolfo Quintanar Pérez\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=\"ql2i2\">The canister ricocheted off both of his knees. Quintanar said he couldn’t tell whether he had been targeted intentionally because the officer was wearing sunglasses.</p><p data-block-key=\"fcl6i\">“The pain prevented me from working properly,” he said. “I couldn’t leave because we were blocked and surrounded, so I was forced to stay at the protests for a couple more hours while my wounds continued to bleed and worsen.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ipqk\">Quintanar said he was returning to Mexico to seek medical treatment for his injuries and was struggling to walk.</p><p data-block-key=\"brlt8\">“The message it conveys is one of profound disappointment over the criminalization of our work as press officers,” he said. “Everything indicates that freedom of the press doesn’t exist, and they’re proud of it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9tab5\">In a statement posted to social platform X, the Los Angeles Police Department said “deployments of less-lethal munitions were necessary to manage the crowds and prevent further harm to people or property.” The department’s professional standards bureau would investigate allegations of excessive force used during the protests, according to the statement.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"pjthv\">Los Angeles Police Department officers with crowd-control munitions during an immigration enforcement protest on June 14, 2025. Photographer Héctor Adolfo Quintanar Pérez was injured by a tear gas canister that day while on assignment for Zuma Press.</p>",
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"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shot with crowd-control munition amid LA ‘No Kings’ protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-with-crowd-control-munition-amid-la-no-kings-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-17T19:10:28.177485Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-17T19:10:28.177485Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-17T18:59:29.854098Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kws2t\">Freelance photojournalist Matthew Reamer was shot by police in the back with a crowd-control munition while he was covering a protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"at100\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"3r0us\">Reamer told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived around 10 a.m. to cover protests outside Los Angeles City Hall for German outlet Die Zeit. When Reamer left a few hours later to file some photos, he described the protest as still peaceful.</p><p data-block-key=\"cvuli\">Reamer returned to the protest around 5 p.m., after he learned that Los Angeles Police Department officers were using force to disperse the crowds.</p><p data-block-key=\"4otuo\">Reamer started taking photos as police fired crowd-control munitions to disperse the demonstrators. “I was quite close to a few of them. I’m pretty sure they saw me,” Reamer said about the police.</p><p data-block-key=\"fs0iu\">Shortly after, stun grenades and a flurry of shots by the police prompted a small stampede of people, Reamer said. In the chaos, one of Reamer’s cameras fell, and a lens broke.</p><p data-block-key=\"a6r8i\">About 20 minutes after returning to cover the protest, Reamer was taking photos of protesters in the crowd of people when he said police shot him squarely in the back, between his shoulder blades.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ium0\">“It welted up and bruised and had some minor breakage of the skin,” Reamer told the Tracker. He added that he had been taking photos near the police line and had not heard any dispersal warnings.</p><p data-block-key=\"bl30a\">Reamer said that he believes he was targeted. It was a “perfect shot,” he said, right in the middle of his back. He also said he was clearly working as a journalist, wearing a press credential from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and carrying two large cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt3mg\">“It was pretty obvious I was a member of the press,” he said. “It did feel like it was intentional.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eg0pa\">After being shot, Reamer said he took a moment to recover and then went back to covering the protest for a few more hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"2om4g\">Around 8 p.m., Reamer was behind the police line with other journalists as the police surrounded a group of protesters in a tactic known as kettling. After he moved closer to the police, Reamer said an officer turned around, grabbed him and pushed him back with the other journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"43lsr\">Reamer told the Tracker that he hasn’t taken any legal action over the incidents.</p><p data-block-key=\"31als\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934663901607809139\">statement posted to X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” when responding to the protests, but did not address the use of munitions against identifiable press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ch4k7\">Los Angeles police respond to protests against the Trump administration and its immigration policies at LA’s City Hall on June 14, 2025. Freelance photojournalist Matthew Reamer was shot with a crowd-control munition and shoved while documenting that day.</p>",
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"protest",
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],
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
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"Matthew Reamer (Die Zeit [Germany])"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with munition at Los Angeles ‘No Kings’ protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-munition-at-los-angeles-no-kings-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-07-15T13:31:36.225057Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-07-15T13:31:36.225057Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-07-15T13:31:32.464932Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kuxre\">Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart was struck with a crowd-control munition fired by law enforcement while covering protests in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"43fat\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\"> days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"8atm6\">Swart told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was separated from the journalists she was reporting alongside for safety, and was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-with-pepper-balls-at-los-angeles-no-kings-protest\">repeatedly shot with crowd-control munitions</a> by Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies while on a terrace above the main protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"92bta\">When she was able to reconnect outside City Hall with the other journalists — freelance journalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?targeted_journalists=Sean+Beckner-Carmitchel\">Sean Beckner-Carmitchel</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?targeted_journalists=Ryanne+Mena\">Ryanne Mena</a> of the Los Angeles Daily News — the group tried to cross a nearby thoroughfare during what appeared to be a lull in the action.</p><p data-block-key=\"1pk5v\">“There was the sheriff’s line and they were very far ahead, we weren’t anywhere near them,” Swart said. “We thought it was a good time to cross, but just as we started to do that they started shooting at us.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5sevb\">In footage Swart shared with the Tracker, she films alongside two other journalists — including Beckner-Carmitchel — as they cross the street approximately 50 feet in front of a crowd of protesters. After a sudden pop, the camera jolts and the trio turns back in the direction they had come.</p><p data-block-key=\"d91mg\">“That hurt,” Swart is heard saying moments later.</p><p data-block-key=\"3vco\">She told the Tracker that she was struck in the leg with what she believes was a tear gas canister.</p><p data-block-key=\"sup2\">“It’s hard to know what the fuck they’re shooting at us, because they’re just shooting so many different things. It felt heavy and hot, and it hit my thigh and it was stuck on my leg for a second because I had a battery pack in my pocket,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ficmq\">“There were too many things going on, so I didn’t actually look at what it was and I didn’t want to touch it,” Swart added. “So I just remember using my shirt to kind of flip it off of me and it didn’t end up leaving a mark, but it was hot and it was heavier than the things that were being shot at me on the terrace.”<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"43mti\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bhbet\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7s327\">Reflecting on both of her experiences that day, Swart said, “It’s scary how many journalists have just been hurt these past few weeks.</p><p data-block-key=\"4fvp\">“So many of us already have PTSD: How much of this is going to sit with us for a while? But the work is important, so stopping isn’t an option,” she continued, adding of law enforcement, "They need to stop, that’s the option.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"hoi87\">Protesters stand off with police in downtown Los Angeles on June 14, 2025. Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart was struck with multiple crowd-control munitions while covering the protests against the Trump administration and its immigration policy.</p>",
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"name": "California",
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{
"title": "Independent journalist assaulted at Seattle protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-assaulted-at-seattle-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2025-08-05T20:23:00.459900Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-20T20:19:38.887075Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-20T20:19:38.702927Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"city": "Seattle",
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"latitude": 47.60621,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7499n\">Reporter Cam Higby was attacked while documenting an anti-deportation protest in Seattle, Washington, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"bhsja\">The protest was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.</p><p data-block-key=\"55svv\">Higby, a journalist and personality for the conservative digital news media and commentary site Today Is America, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he generally does not wear press identification or badges while covering protests to avoid becoming a target.</p><p data-block-key=\"3r7dd\">“It’s dangerous,” said Higby, who is an outspoken critic of antifa, the umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups. “I’ve been attacked a lot in the past, and I found that the best way to avoid violence against me is to blend in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3nufe\">About 100 protesters had gathered that night outside Seattle’s Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, rallying against Trump’s immigration policies. Although Higby didn’t wear any press markings, he was live-posting from the scene, and he believes that his attackers recognized him from social media.</p><p data-block-key=\"atgtl\">At one point in the night, Higby was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall, when he heard someone say, “Cameron, it’s time for you to leave,” according to a Seattle Police Department report.</p><p data-block-key=\"92tga\">Higby said he recognized the voice as someone he knew from a previous protest who had sent him a thinly veiled threat on Instagram about a week earlier. Before he could get to his feet, three men grabbed him by the neck, pinned him down and began punching him in the head. Higby, dazed, pepper-sprayed the man punching him. The incident was captured on video by a bystander and later posted to social media.</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\">🚨ANTIFA just JUMPED ME. <br><br>While SPD was refusing to intervene with the riot tonight, militant Tyler Hahn and his lackeys JUMPED ME. Dealing several blows to my head. <br><br>I was able to deploy pepper spray and repel them, regaining the belongings they knocked out of my pockets. <a href=\"https://t.co/gTsFtlIwDF\">pic.twitter.com/gTsFtlIwDF</a></p>— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/camhigby/status/1934135321882664985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7499n\">One of the blows was strong enough to dent Higby’s helmet. Another dislodged a filter from his gas mask. Based on the sound of the attacker’s fist hitting the helmet and photos of his fists, police said they believe he was wearing sap gloves, weighted knuckle gloves usually filled with metal pieces.</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\">Those are the imprints of my attackers knuckles. <br><br>I, a journalist doing my job was jumped tonight at Seattle’s federal building. I was sitting down. I was not filming. <br><br>3 men approached me, held me down and beat on my head. <a href=\"https://t.co/Re3ekGuMem\">pic.twitter.com/Re3ekGuMem</a></p>— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/camhigby/status/1934146521907556611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7499n\">The next morning, Higby woke up with a severe bloody nose that had soaked through his sheets.</p><p data-block-key=\"2a4lb\">“My arms and my face were covered in blood,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"55s61\">The attack left him with debilitating headaches, flashing light visuals, dizziness, and nausea. Doctors diagnosed him with a mild to moderate concussion.</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\">Woke up with a bloody nose. I never get bloody noses in the night. Unsure if it’s related. Sheets and body are covered in blood. <br><br>Hitting urgent care this morning. <a href=\"https://t.co/xyKFj82rGb\">pic.twitter.com/xyKFj82rGb</a></p>— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/camhigby/status/1934310001570656258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 15, 2025</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"7499n\">Jeremy Lawson, identified through videos posted on social media, has been charged with one count of third-degree assault in connection with the attack. According to the charging document, Lawson texted Higby after the assault, implying he knew where Higby lived. Soon after, Higby’s address and details about his family were posted online.</p><p data-block-key=\"703tr\">Higby obtained a temporary protection order on July 3. Lawson was arrested July 16 and remains in custody on $75,000 bond.</p><p data-block-key=\"1alh1\">Though the experience has shaken him and his sense of safety, Higby said he hasn’t stopped documenting protests. He now takes extra precautions: staying at the edge of crowds, concealing his identity more carefully, and avoiding live coverage or recording.</p><p data-block-key=\"3bvki\">“If I teach them that all you have to do is beat the journalist up and they won’t show their face again, that’s going to become learned behavior,” he said. “I’m not going to let them think that I’m intimidated by them.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7ivu0\">This isn’t the first time Higby has faced risks while reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"6s0k6\"><a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-detained-in-police-kettle-amid-la-protests/\">On June 9,</a> just days before the Seattle attack, Higby was detained in a police kettle while covering an anti-deportation protest in downtown Los Angeles, California. In 2024, he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-sprayed-with-chemical-irritant-while-covering-clashing-la-protests/\">pepper-sprayed</a> while documenting clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-equipment-damaged-at-ucla-student-protest/\">shoved</a> at a UCLA student protest.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7y1sw\">A police compilation of video screenshots captures reporter Cam Higby being assaulted during an anti-deportation protest in Seattle, Washington, on June 14, 2025.</p>",
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"(2025-10-17 20:10:00+00:00) Man sentenced in Washington state for assault on journalist"
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"protest"
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"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with crowd-control munitions amid LA ‘No Kings’ protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-crowd-control-munitions-amid-la-no-kings-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-03-12T18:22:04.247716Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-12T18:22:04.247716Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-12T18:06:12.760415Z",
"date": "2025-06-14",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dynph\">Freelance photojournalist Moon Mandel was shot with multiple crowd-control munitions fired by law enforcement while covering protests in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ova4\">The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2025-06-06&date_upper=2025-06-13&state=California&tags=protest%2Cimmigration\">days of protests</a> in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.</p><p data-block-key=\"f0f6l\">Mandel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the demonstration was relatively peaceful until approximately 6:30 p.m., when Los Angeles Police Department officers and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies began deploying tear gas and disorientation weapons near City Hall.</p><p data-block-key=\"2cobl\">Mandel said they saw a news van seeking to leave the area and decided to try and assist the news crew.</p><p data-block-key=\"22k6r\">“I was like, ‘OK, well, I’ve got a dual-filter N95 respirator. I can definitely assist with helping this news van out, right?’” Mandel said. “I should not have tried to do that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"abbr1\">Mandel said they were wearing a large, reflective yellow jacket with patches that read “PRESS” in all caps on both the front and back, but it didn’t prevent them from being targeted with multiple crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"1totl\">“I go to try to help this van and get hit with flash bangs, tear gas and then shot with a rubber bullet that spins me around like a dreidel. The jacket is an XL, and I’m a small individual, so thankfully they didn’t get a direct hit,” they said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ljv0\">Mandel said the strike did cause them to fall to the ground, leaving them “pretty bruised and scraped up, but not out of commission.” They added that officers did shoot them multiple times with pepper balls.</p><p data-block-key=\"4mr0c\">When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15<a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDPIO/status/1934663901607809139\"> statement posted to X,</a> the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” when responding to the protests, but did not address the use of munitions against identifiable press.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkdn1\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”</p><p data-block-key=\"abhmt\">“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9o410\">Mandel told the Tracker that it is the duty of the press to be present to witness and document moments like the protest that day, but it takes a toll.</p><p data-block-key=\"epmsf\">“A side effect of bearing witness to things is the unquantifiable emotional damage,” they said. “A wise woman once told me: ‘Whether you break your leg or stub your toe, you always have the right to say ouch.’ And I’m not trying to play it like I’ve seen dead bodies in the street. But there is a validity to the emotional stress of being a victim and of being a witness.”</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j2xcg\">Mounted Los Angeles Police Department officers advance on demonstrators and press amid “No Kings” protests on June 14, 2025. Officers shot freelance photojournalist Moon Mandel with multiple crowd-control munitions that day.</p>",
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"shot / shot at"
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"Assault"
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]
