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{
"title": "Independent journalist clipped by tear gas canisters at Minnesota protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-clipped-by-tear-gas-canisters-at-minnesota-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-30T19:36:59.506701Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-30T19:36:59.506701Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-30T19:14:48.173004Z",
"date": "2026-01-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"40cop\">Independent journalist Nick Valencia was struck in the shins by tear gas canisters launched by federal officers while documenting an immigration protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"7kt04\">Tensions between Minneapolis residents and federal agents have escalated after a sweeping federal immigration enforcement surge. Unrest intensified after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/minnesota-ice-shooting-live-updates-rcna252852\">killed resident Renee Good</a>, an ICE officer shot and wounded a man and Border Patrol agents fatally shot resident <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-protester-alex-pretti-15ade7de6e19cb0291734e85dac763dc\">Alex Pretti.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"6hg3q\">Valencia, <a href=\"https://www.nickvalencianews.com/\">a former CNN correspondent</a>, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived at the scene of an impromptu protest shortly after Pretti’s killing.</p><p data-block-key=\"1i9lt\">“Within 30 seconds of me getting there is when the first tear gas canister was let off,” he said. “The story didn’t wait for me to grab my gas mask, unfortunately.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d8ior\">Gas canisters struck him in the shins. Others landed at his feet. None caused injuries, but the repeated exposure to the chemical irritants <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1383398282939110\">left his eyes watering</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0e27\">“I was basically left blinded for about 90 seconds. I was violently dry heaving,” he said, describing some of the irritants as pepper spray on steroids.</p><p data-block-key=\"8qo9h\">Also that day, Valencia, who was wearing a press badge, was <a href=\"/all-incidents/border-patrol-agent-shoves-journalist-into-protesters-in-minnesota/\">pushed by a Border Patrol agent.</a></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"17e4y\">A protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026, where independent journalist Nick Valencia said he was hit multiple times with tear gas canisters during his coverage.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Nick Valencia (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Anchor shoved, pepper-sprayed by federal agents after Minnesota killing",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/anchor-shoved-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-agents-after-minnesota-killing/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-27T16:49:53.136062Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-27T17:26:14.753944Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-27T17:26:14.640724Z",
"date": "2026-01-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"m7ehk\">KARE television anchor Jana Shortal was shoved multiple times and sprayed in the eye with a chemical irritant by federal agents while covering the aftermath of a fatal shooting by Border Patrol in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"62p0e\">Demonstrators began to <a href=\"https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/ice-in-minnesota/federal-agents-clash-with-protesters-after-another-fatal-shooting-in-minneapolis/89-ebdf637d-b9cc-4e0d-8f74-371abbce8be5\">gather</a> in the city’s Whittier neighborhood shortly after Border Patrol agents <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">shot and killed</a> Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, KARE reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"2d50o\">Shortal, who went to the scene after hearing reports of the shooting, <a href=\"https://www.kare11.com/video/news/local/ice-in-minnesota/kare-11s-jana-shortal-recounts-being-pushed-pepper-sprayed-by-ice-after-fatal-shooting/89-fb6b33f6-6b4c-474c-8e78-ab9cb301ad4b\">told KARE</a> that two agents abruptly began to move the press line back. “An agent probably twice my size pushed me pretty hard. And I said, ‘Don’t push me, I’m press.’ I was wearing my press credential. And he did it again. And I said, ‘Do not push me, I’m press.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"botsd\">Shortal went on to say, “At that time, the irritant went almost directly into my left eye. I didn’t see where it came from.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ce3hn\">The journalist then described how a woman who lived on the block invited her into her apartment to help her recover, giving her towels, a new shirt and water. Shortal said it took about 30 minutes to recuperate, including with attention from medics.</p><p data-block-key=\"1odsk\">Shortal also recounted additional details of the assault in an Instagram <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DT5sGLkjfxG/\">video</a> and in an <a href=\"https://www.kare11.com/video/news/local/ice-in-minnesota/reports-of-shooting-involving-federal-agents-kare-reporter-pepper-sprayed/89-d6d51c50-b077-4b8c-a2a7-295f7d12178b\">interview</a> with KARE reporter Joe McCoy recorded at the scene shortly after the incident, while the demonstration was still taking place.</p><p data-block-key=\"enoj0\">“I played by the rules doing my job. They did not,” Shortal wrote on Instagram.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9a5l\">Toward the end of the interview with McCoy, several loud bangs can be heard, and the two journalists begin to run with others in the crowd. McCoy tells the studio anchor that law enforcement is launching tear gas into the gathering, but that they were unharmed.</p><p data-block-key=\"oj7r\">Shortal and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Shortal.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yww3a\">KARE anchor Jana Shortal, at left, tells reporter Joe McCoy about being pushed and targeted with a chemical irritant while covering the aftermath of a fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jana Shortal (KARE)"
],
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},
{
"title": "NY Times Magazine researcher subpoenaed over article in federal trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-magazine-researcher-subpoenaed-over-article-in-federal-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-29T21:39:38.489777Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-18T21:34:18.424914Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-18T21:34:18.226469Z",
"date": "2026-01-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Greenbelt",
"longitude": -76.87553,
"latitude": 39.00455,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"2ah7l\">Rudy Lee, a research editor for The New York Times Magazine, received a legal order from federal prosecutors on Jan. 23, 2026, compelling him to testify in a criminal trial in Greenbelt, Maryland.</p><p data-block-key=\"7f8gv\">Lee fact-checked <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/magazine/thomas-goldstein-supreme-court-gambling.html\">a December 2025</a> article written by <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-magazine-writer-subpoenaed-over-article-in-federal-trial/\">Jeffrey Toobin</a> that focused on prominent attorney Thomas Goldstein, who is on trial for charges related to violating federal tax laws and making false statements on loan applications. It traced Goldstein’s rise in the legal world, where he argued before the Supreme Court, and the exposure of his secret life as a high-stakes gambler.</p><p data-block-key=\"edrfo\">On Jan. 6, prosecutors asked the court to admit portions of the article into evidence, arguing that statements Goldstein made to Toobin about poker games and mortgage applications were relevant to their case. Goldstein’s attorneys objected, saying the article was hearsay and arguing they should be allowed to cross-examine Toobin if any part of it were admitted, court records show.</p><p data-block-key=\"7c8pt\">District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby denied the request to admit the article as evidence, but said it was fair to consider calling the reporter to testify, which would allow prosecutors to introduce the evidence and give defense attorneys a chance to cross-examine him, court documents state.</p><p data-block-key=\"2geqe\">Prosecutors later notified lawyers for The New York Times that subpoenas had been issued for both Toobin and Lee. In a <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69552592/374/1/united-states-v-goldstein/\">motion to quash them</a>, attorneys for the publication argued that the testimony would intrude on the journalists’ independence, while providing little value to the government’s case.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gncd\">“It comes at the cost of a serious intrusion into the newsgathering process that will chill future journalism,” lawyer Chad Bowman wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"dlmig\">Bowman also argued that the subpoenas were issued late, noting prosecutors waited two weeks after the judge’s ruling and until the trial was underway. If the court declined to set aside the subpoenas, the filing asked that any testimony be strictly limited to the accuracy and authenticity of Goldstein’s statements in the article.</p><p data-block-key=\"87nuq\">In a <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69552592/378/united-states-v-goldstein/\">separate filing</a>, Goldstein’s defense attorney Jonathan Kravis also argued the court should strike down the orders, writing they were issued too late and would lead to a distracting “minitrial.” Kravis added that limiting the testimony would also infringe on his client’s right to cross-examine the witnesses about Goldstein’s interviews with the magazine and its editorial decisions.</p><p data-block-key=\"909fu\">The judge has yet to rule on the matter.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ud5i1\">A portion of a subpoena for testimony issued to The New York Times Magazine researcher Rudy Lee, on Jan. 23, 2026, for a federal trial in Greenbelt, Maryland.</p>",
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"name": "Maryland",
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"updates": [
"(2026-02-03 21:27:00+00:00) Subpoena for testimony by NY Times Magazine researcher dropped"
],
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{
"title": "NY Times Magazine writer subpoenaed over article in federal trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ny-times-magazine-writer-subpoenaed-over-article-in-federal-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-29T21:35:06.535981Z",
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"city": "Greenbelt",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"swdwa\">Jeffrey Toobin, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, received a legal order from federal prosecutors on Jan. 23, 2026, compelling him to testify in a criminal trial in Greenbelt, Maryland.</p><p data-block-key=\"d4pv1\">Toobin wrote <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/magazine/thomas-goldstein-supreme-court-gambling.html\">an article in December 2025</a> that focused on prominent attorney Thomas Goldstein, who is on trial for charges related to violating federal tax laws and making false statements on loan applications. It traced Goldstein’s rise in the legal world, where he argued before the Supreme Court, and the exposure of his secret life as a high-stakes gambler.</p><p data-block-key=\"6aatl\">On Jan. 6, prosecutors asked the court to admit portions of the article into evidence, arguing that statements Goldstein made to Toobin about poker games and mortgage applications were relevant to their case. Goldstein’s attorneys objected, saying the article was hearsay and arguing they should be allowed to cross-examine Toobin if any part of it were admitted, court records show.</p><p data-block-key=\"5jgo1\">District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby denied the request to admit the article as evidence, but said it was fair to consider calling the reporter to testify, which would allow prosecutors to introduce the evidence and give defense attorneys a chance to cross-examine him, court documents state.</p><p data-block-key=\"5n7iu\">Prosecutors later notified lawyers for The New York Times that subpoenas had been issued for both Toobin and <a href=\"/all-incidents/ny-times-magazine-researcher-subpoenaed-over-article-in-federal-trial/\">Rudy Lee</a>, the researcher who fact-checked the article.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sov5\">In <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69552592/374/1/united-states-v-goldstein/\">a motion to quash the orders</a>, attorneys for the publication argued that the testimony would intrude on the journalists’ independence, while providing little value to the government’s case.</p><p data-block-key=\"9i5vu\">“It comes at the cost of a serious intrusion into the newsgathering process that will chill future journalism,” lawyer Chad Bowman wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"1uctr\">Bowman also argued that the subpoenas were issued late, noting prosecutors waited two weeks after the judge’s ruling and until the trial was underway. If the court declined to set aside the subpoenas, the filing asked that any testimony be strictly limited to the accuracy and authenticity of Goldstein’s statements in the article.</p><p data-block-key=\"dek43\">In <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69552592/378/united-states-v-goldstein/\">a separate filing</a>, Goldstein’s defense attorney Jonathan Kravis also argued the court should strike down the orders, writing they were issued too late and would lead to a distracting “minitrial.” Kravis added that limiting the testimony would also infringe on his client’s right to cross-examine the witnesses about Goldstein’s interviews with the magazine and its editorial decisions.</p><p data-block-key=\"2gp18\">The judge has yet to rule on the matter.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"wvafd\">Reporter Jeffrey Toobin testifies during a House subcommittee hearing in 2019. Toobin was subpoenaed to testify about his reporting in a federal criminal trial in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Jan. 23, 2026.</p>",
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"(2026-02-04 05:00:00+00:00) Maryland prosecutors drop demand for journalist’s testimony"
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{
"title": "DOD contractor charged with leaking classified documents to reporter",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/dod-contractor-charged-with-leaking-classified-documents-to-reporter/",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"une5x\">Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator for the Pentagon, was indicted by a Maryland grand jury on Jan. 22, 2026, for allegedly mishandling classified information and sharing it with an unnamed journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"d7mle\">Perez-Lugones was initially <a href=\"https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/09/contractor-classified-documents/\">arrested</a> Jan. 8 and <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299.1.1.pdf\">charged</a> with unlawful retention of national defense information after agents found classified materials in his home and vehicle. He was subsequently indicted on five counts of transmission of national defense information.</p><p data-block-key=\"5s3cu\">According to the <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.598263/gov.uscourts.mdd.598263.25.0.pdf\">indictment</a>, between October 2025 and January 2026 Perez-Lugones “repeatedly accessed classified reports, printed or copied the information in these classified reports, and then removed this classified information from the sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) where he worked.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e8iil\">A search warrant for his phone also revealed that he had allegedly communicated with a reporter via an encrypted messaging app, including sharing copies of the classified materials and voice notes explaining them, the indictment said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bcln8\">In a <a href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-man-indicted-unlawful-transmission-and-retention-classified-national-defense\">statement</a> announcing the indictment, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Darren Cox said, “Today’s indictment sends a clear message to all clearance holders that the FBI and our partners will spare no resource to immediately identify and hold accountable those who violate the law by disclosing classified information without authorization.”</p><p data-block-key=\"au4kn\">While the reporter with whom Perez-Lugones allegedly corresponded is not named in the indictment, details suggest that it is Hannah Natanson, a reporter for The Washington Post who covers President Donald Trump’s reshaping of the government.</p><p data-block-key=\"5oart\">Natanson’s home was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-reporters-home-searched-by-fbi-devices-seized/\">raided by federal agents</a> in the early hours of Jan. 14, and FBI agents seized her phone, Garmin watch, and two laptops — one personal and one issued by the Post. The Washington Post was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-subpoenaed-as-part-of-doj-leak-investigation/\">subpoenaed</a> for any communications between Perez-Lugones and Natanson or other Post employees.</p><p data-block-key=\"5juj2\">Perez-Lugones is believed to be the first individual to be charged for allegedly sharing confidential information with the press under Trump’s second administration. However, National Intelligence Director<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tulsi-gabbard-targets-press-leakers-as-national-intelligence-director/#March%2014\"> Tulsi Gabbard</a>, Defense Secretary<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\"> Pete Hegseth</a>, FBI Director<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kash-patel-targets-press-leakers-as-fbi-director/\"> Kash Patel</a> and Secretary of Homeland Security<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers-as-homeland-security-secretary/#March%207\"> Kristi Noem</a> have each announced aggressive investigations into the source of leaks to the media.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ghmr\">During Trump’s first administration, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_upper=2021-01-20&tags=Department+of+Justice&categories=Leak+Case\">eight people</a> were investigated and charged by the Justice Department for allegedly sharing confidential information with the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"n1xbd\">A portion of the Maryland grand jury indictment from Jan. 22, 2026, charging Pentagon contractor Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones with unlawfully retaining and transmitting classified national defense information to a journalist.</p>",
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{
"title": "Harmeet Dhillon targets journalists as assistant attorney general",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/harmeet-dhillon-targets-journalists-as-assistant-attorney-general/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-28T19:10:51.795970Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-28T19:10:51.795970Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-28T18:41:44.180216Z",
"date": "2026-01-18",
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"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6cahh\">Nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon joined Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in taking steps to punish and intimidate journalists who have covered the administration or its actions unfavorably. We’re documenting Dhillon’s efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"4cetr\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"26g23\"><i>This article was first published on Jan. 28, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6cahh\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"14lje\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 18\">Jan. 18, 2026 | DOJ civil rights official pursues charges against reporter, producer for protest coverage</a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6cahh\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"f0ghd\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Jan 18\" name=\"Jan 18\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"6cahh\">Jan. 18, 2026 | DOJ civil rights official pursues charges against reporter, producer for protest coverage</h4><p data-block-key=\"3100s\">Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon indicated on Jan. 18, 2026, that she planned to pursue charges against independent journalist Don Lemon and his producer following their coverage of an immigration protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.</p><p data-block-key=\"2ctru\">The former CNN anchor and his film crew followed demonstrators as they entered the church earlier that day, disrupting the service to protest the federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities area and the fatal shooting of <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-immigration-crackdown-01-10-26\">Renee Good</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jf2p\">Dhillon condemned the protest in a <a href=\"https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2013044166062936417\">post on social media</a> that evening, telling Lemon he was “on notice” and that the First Amendment doesn’t protect his “pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bb1ns\">The following day, Dhillon said that her office would seek charges against everyone present at the protest, NBC News <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/dhillon-don-lemon-anti-ice-protest-church-doj-charges-renee-good-rcna254815\">reported</a>, and specifically called out Lemon for his coverage.</p><p data-block-key=\"998ss\">“Don Lemon himself has come out and said he knew exactly what was going to happen inside that facility,” Dhillon said in a podcast interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson. “He went into the facility, and then he began — quote, unquote — ‘committing journalism,’ as if that’s sort of a shield from being a part, an embedded part, of a criminal conspiracy. It isn’t.”</p><p data-block-key=\"23ulq\">Lemon told NBC in an email that he stands by his reporting, adding that “it’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist — especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"u7i0\">The National Association of Black Journalists <a href=\"https://nabjonline.org/blog/nabjcondemsthreats/\">condemned</a> Dhillon’s actions and rhetoric targeting Lemon in a Jan. 21 statement.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnvq8\">“NABJ’s support for Don Lemon is grounded not only in solidarity with our colleague, but in our unwavering defense of press freedom and journalistic integrity,” NABJ President Errin Haines said. “Any public suggestion that journalists may face criminal consequences for documenting protests sends a dangerous message that threatens the independence of the press and weakens the democratic principles journalism exists to protect.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d3cfo\">A federal magistrate judge refused to issue charges against Lemon, CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/magistrate-judge-rejects-charges-don-lemon-anti-ice-protest-minnesota-church/\">reported</a> Jan. 22. In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DT0w5OeEShr/\">statement shared by Lemon</a> that day, his attorney Abbe Lowell praised the magistrate’s decision, saying it confirmed that Lemon had been working in a journalistic capacity.</p><p data-block-key=\"19kp7\">“It was no different than what he has done for more than 30 years, reporting and covering newsworthy events on the ground and engaging in constitutionally protected activity as a journalist,” Lowell said. “Should the Department of Justice continue with a stunning and troubling effort to silence and punish a journalist for doing his job, Don will call out their latest attack on the rule of law and fight any charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"973s6\">The Justice Department appealed the magistrate’s decision, but in a Jan. 23 ruling, a federal appellate court declined to order the judge to sign arrest warrants for Lemon and his producer, MS NOW <a href=\"https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/don-lemon-minnesota-church-grand-jury-doj-trump\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"6p5kp\">In an interview on “<a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i5xhWd2o2w\">The Megyn Kelly Show</a>” later that day, Dhillon said that her office was still pursuing charges against Lemon for conspiracy and violating a federal law that prohibits the use of force or intimidation to prevent access to places of worship or reproductive health services.</p><p data-block-key=\"b89vm\">“We did our homework, sent prosecutors there to the ground, took affidavits, took evidence. They buttressed the case that we could witness from Lemon’s own testimony and his statements — and admissions against interest — in his own videos,” Dhillon said. “We have aggressively and very rapidly sought legal process.</p><p data-block-key=\"254i\">“He is not out of legal jeopardy,” Dhillon added. “We’re going to pursue this to the ends of the earth.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-08-07T154016Z_674707356_RC2F.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"owkuv\">Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, right, speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in August 2025.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice",
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Don Lemon (Independent)",
"Unidentified producer 2 (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Minnesota photojournalist shot at with pepper balls during immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minnesota-photojournalist-shot-at-with-pepper-balls-during-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-20T17:07:20.114917Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-20T17:07:20.114917Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-20T17:05:53.858748Z",
"date": "2026-01-16",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Snelling",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tgwqx\">Freelance photojournalist Tim Evans was targeted with crowd-control munitions and threatened with arrest by federal officers while reporting on anti-deportation protests outside a federal building in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 16, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"3afi9\">Evans told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he was on assignment for Reuters at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, covering demonstrations against the ongoing federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities area.</p><p data-block-key=\"cdqhb\">The building has been a focal point of protests for its use as a base for federal agents, and demonstrations escalated after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/minnesota-ice-shooting-live-updates-rcna252852\">fatally shot Renee Good</a> while conducting an operation Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"ah8v2\">Evans said that in the days prior, protests and the federal law enforcement response had followed a similar pattern: Demonstrators would take to the street, advancing toward the fencing erected around the federal building. Federal agents would then call for everyone to move back to the sidewalk, with some individuals refusing to do so.</p><p data-block-key=\"1m24c\">“Then they would send agents out and then deploy munitions and kind of push people back across the street, oftentimes arresting or detaining a couple of people in the process,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci4vg\">Events Jan. 16 unfolded in that manner, at one point with a man standing in the road taunting the officers in the building and flaunting his noncompliance with their orders.</p><p data-block-key=\"95tk6\">“A group of agents, a few dozen, came out in riot gear and chased that man, trying to detain him,” Evans said. “He ended up running down the road and kind of disappeared from sight.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3ef1d\">When the agents returned, they formed a line in the road to prevent demonstrators from returning to the street and threatened everyone with arrest if they did not stay off the main road.</p><p data-block-key=\"c8bt8\">Evans told the Tracker a member of Customs and Border Protection’s Special Response Team took notice of him as he documented the scene. Evans said he was walking back and forth between the sidewalks on either side of a cul-de-sac that led to a parking lot across from the federal building.</p><p data-block-key=\"3t76t\">“At one point, I kind of crossed over, crouched down to get a photograph of the agents across the street,” Evans told the Tracker. Then, one of the agents — the same one who had taken note of him earlier — suddenly shot a few pepper balls at the ground directly in front of him.</p><p data-block-key=\"20d6g\">Evans said that he was clearly identifiable as a journalist, as he wore press credentials around his neck, had large “PRESS” labels in all caps on his helmet and vest, and was carrying a large, professional camera. “It’s hard not for it to feel targeted,” the photojournalist said.</p><p data-block-key=\"hlid\">He added that, in a photo capturing the moment when one of the chemical munition rounds exploded on impact ahead of him, the agent almost appears to be making eye contact with him.</p><p data-block-key=\"9tu77\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"tz8tu\">A federal agent shoots pepper balls at the ground in front of freelance photojournalist Tim Evans while he was covering anti-deportation protests for Reuters outside the Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 16, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tim Evans (Reuters)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer arrested, pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed by federal officers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-arrested-pepper-sprayed-and-tear-gassed-by-federal-officers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-22T21:14:35.610301Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-22T22:06:32.037135Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-22T22:06:31.924993Z",
"date": "2026-01-15",
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"city": "Fort Snelling",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bxpcx\">Photographer John Abernathy was shot with crowd-control munitions, subjected to intense tear gas and deliberately pepper-sprayed as federal officers detained and ultimately arrested him while he documented protests in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 15, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"dacb6\">Abernathy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at around noon to document a veteran-led protest against the ongoing federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities area.</p><p data-block-key=\"eebd1\">The building has been a focal point of protests for its use as a base for the federal officers, and demonstrations escalated after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good while conducting an operation Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"akah8\">The protest was initially relatively quiet, Abernathy said, with protesters occasionally walking into the street and chanting while a few federal agents stood near vehicles blocking the entrance to the building’s parking lot.</p><p data-block-key=\"all3a\">“At some point, a whole bunch of agents came out — I wouldn’t doubt if it was 100 or something — in almost a military formation of several rows,” he told the Tracker, adding that the officers included agents from Border Patrol, ICE and the Bureau of Prisons.</p><p data-block-key=\"7p291\">The agents formed a line and, in several quick bursts, pushed back the crowd with batons and crowd-control munition weapons. While the officers’ show of force agitated the crowd, Abernathy said, it was the arrival of “far-right agitators” that triggered the chaos that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"825lr\">“There were three to five agitators, and they all had pepper spray in their hands,” he told the Tracker. “The agitators were able to stand with their backs near the agents, and the agents didn’t seem to mind it, and they didn’t mind that they had pepper spray either.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ml79\">Abernathy saw that one of the individuals had a loose hold on a canister, so he snatched it, tossing it under a nearby tree so that it wouldn’t be used against anyone.</p><p data-block-key=\"87bp3\">He said that at some point amid the chaos, agents deployed a disorientation device — either a flash bang or a tear gas canister — into the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"2qscs\">“I went over there to see what was happening, to possibly photograph it, and while I was there, I got shot twice with pepper bullets,” he said, noting that he was not moving toward or facing the agents at the time. “I’m clearly only a photographer, I don’t protest at all. I’m not screaming or chanting or anything, I’m just there observing and photographing.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8t7r3\">Abernathy said the shots “hurt like hell,” and he quickly ran back across the street and away from the main point of skirmish. But with his back to the agents, he was unaware that they were targeting him once again.</p><p data-block-key=\"5p9ip\">“All of a sudden I got hit from behind without warning, and I was lying facedown on the ground, and for a second I didn’t know what was going on,” Abernathy said. “There were at least two agents on top of me, and they’re screaming at me that ‘We got you because we saw you bear-spraying the crowd.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"b1vvd\">He said he denied the accusation and attempted to comply with the officers’ orders, but was unable to put his hands behind his back as his arms were pinned beneath his chest by the agents’ knees on his back.</p><p data-block-key=\"3b4en\">“Then they set off a tear gas canister very close to me. The smoke was so thick that I couldn’t breathe, and I was gagging,” Abernathy said. “At one point, I thought, ‘I’m either going to throw up or I’m going to pass out.’ I yelled my name out, and then I yelled, ‘I can’t breathe.’ And when that came out of my mouth, I realized, ‘This shit is getting real.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"9hcq4\">When he looked up, he saw another photographer — <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTqQCtYjmrB/\">Pierre Lavie</a> — and freed his hands enough to quickly toss Lavie his camera so it wouldn’t be seized by the agents. Abernathy told the Tracker that he tried to throw his phone as well, but it didn’t go far.</p><p data-block-key=\"crbi7\">“Right when it hit the ground, I saw a green boot step on it,” he said. “It was the most disappointing feeling, almost, that I’ve ever had. And I just thought ‘Fuck,’ and put my head on the ground.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9a980\">Abernathy later learned that Lavie had managed to reach under the agent’s foot to retrieve the cellphone as he attempted to stomp on it.</p><p data-block-key=\"47ajl\">Agents then reached around and pepper-sprayed Abernathy directly in the face, the photographer told the Tracker, dousing him in the chemical irritant.</p><p data-block-key=\"fsno8\">“As soon as that hit me, I was 100% defenseless. It was extreme pain. My eyes were burning, my face was burning and that was near my last breath,” Abernathy said. “Then they pulled my arms out and handcuffed me and lifted me up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dfmav\">PetaPixel <a href=\"https://petapixel.com/2026/01/20/photographer-tosses-his-leica-away-from-ice-as-hes-tackled-to-the-ground/\">reported</a> that, using the metadata from Lavie’s photos, from the moment Abernathy was tackled to him being fully restrained took only eight seconds.</p><p data-block-key=\"32nap\">Abernathy was taken into the Whipple building and, when he was unable to answer the agents’ questions because of the extreme pain, they took him outside to wipe his face and rinse his eyes.</p><p data-block-key=\"832rb\">When back inside and questioned why he was there, Abernathy repeatedly informed the agents that he was only there as a photographer to document the protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"c33cb\">The agents then informed him that they had video of him using the bear spray — which they refused to show him — but that they would “go easy” on him and only charge him with impeding and obstructing normal access. A hearing on the federal charge has not been set as of publication.</p><p data-block-key=\"2m768\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"acev9\">Abernathy said that, following his release, he was able to track down Lavie that evening and retrieve his camera and cellphone, both of which were remarkably undamaged. He then headed to the hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"671tk\">“They photographed my wounds, and I have two pretty serious — deep and sort of bloody-looking — bruises from the pepper bullets, and then I had chemical burns in my eye and have to put medication in it daily,” he told the Tracker. “I think it’s a pretty clear and horrendous violation of my civil rights, and they had no cause to do that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ces42\">He added that, in the wake of his arrest, he’s received thousands of hate messages online, but also an “absolute, overwhelming outpour of love from people thanking me and thanking Pierre for that epic photo.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9uqte\">“It represents so much more than me. It’s a photo of the struggle against something the whole world is watching.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP26015700522621.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3qbq6\">Federal agents push photographer John Abernathy to the ground, pepper spray running down his face, during a confrontation with protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area on Jan. 15, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "U.S. Customs and Border Protection",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2026-01-15",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": null,
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"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"John Abernathy (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth targets news outlets, leakers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-17T18:03:13.887855Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-17T18:03:13.887855Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-17T18:03:13.730079Z",
"date": "2026-01-15",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\">As the second year of President Donald Trump’s second term began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Hegseth’s efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"thla\">Read about Hegseth’s efforts in 2025 to chill coverage <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">here</a>, and how Trump’s other appointees and allies in Congress are striving to intimidate reporters, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4outl\"><i>This article was first published on Feb. 17, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"8jq7u\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 15\">Jan. 15, 2026 | Defense Department announces overhaul of military newspaper, calling it ‘woke’\r\n</a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"bm868\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Jan 15\" name=\"Jan 15\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"9b0q7\">Jan. 15, 2026 | Defense Department announces overhaul of military newspaper, calling it ‘woke’</h4><p data-block-key=\"5vfqn\">The Department of Defense announced plans on Jan. 15, 2026, to take over editorial decision-making for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, in a move that jeopardizes its long-held editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"idmh\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/seanparnellasw/status/2011802849903009991?s=46\">statement</a> posted to social media, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the move as “returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"140gb\">“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” he continued. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2q9uv\">While the newspaper is partially funded by the Pentagon and its staffers are department employees, the outlet <a href=\"https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-01-15/pentagon-refocus-stars-and-stripes-content-20415816.html\">reported</a> that it is directed to emulate the best practices of commercial news organizations and provide a free flow of “news and information to its readership without news management or censorship.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3d3r\">Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin wrote in a Jan. 15 note to staff that the military deserves independent news.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ih8b\">“The people who risk their lives in defense of the Constitution have earned the right to the press freedoms of the First Amendment,” Slavin wrote. “We will not compromise on serving them with accurate and balanced coverage, holding military officials to account when called for.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1prks\">The Daily Wire <a href=\"https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-refocuses-stars-stripes-on-reporting-for-our-warfighters\">reported</a> that department officials told the outlet that Stars and Stripes’ content will no longer be written by its civilian staff but by active-duty service members. Half the newspaper’s content will be generated by the Pentagon, including materials written by the department and images captured by combat cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8srp\">Stars and Stripes reported that its ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, said the changes would amount to “unnecessary control and the perception of propaganda.” The ombudsman is a congressionally mandated position tasked with ensuring the outlet’s editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"9q4s1\">“That is public relations, not independent journalism,” she said. “The other ‘fifty percent’ of the content would hold no credibility.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5gce4\">The news came the day after The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/14/stars-and-stripes-trump-loyalty-test/\">reported</a> that applicants for positions at the newspaper were being asked, “How would you advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7ttls\">Leadership at Stars and Stripes wasn’t aware of the questions until asked about them, Smith told the Post, later confirming that they had been added by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management without notifying them.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci8hr\">“Asking prospective employees how they would support the administration’s policies is antithetical to Stripes’ journalistic and federally mandated mission,” Smith told the Post. “Journalistically, it’s against ethics, because reporters or any staff member — editors, photographers — should be impartial.”</p><p data-block-key=\"boqov\">Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee told Stars and Stripes that any efforts to infringe on the newspaper’s editorial independence amounted to an attack on the First Amendment, with several voicing support for the newspaper. None of the Republican lawmakers contacted by Stars and Stripes responded to requests for comment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\">\r\n<i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-01-07T171026Z_1872362065_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mi657\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to the media in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 7, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": 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": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Stars and Stripes"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Defense",
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck in the head by projectile at Minnesota protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-in-the-head-by-projectile-at-minnesota-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-23T19:15:06.875888Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-23T19:15:06.875888Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-23T18:59:09.268296Z",
"date": "2026-01-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"am6cn\">Status Coup photojournalist Zach Roberts was hit in the back of the head by debris from a crowd-control munition while covering an immigration protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 14, 2026.<br/></p><p data-block-key=\"c3d03\">Protests in the state have erupted after a federal immigration enforcement surge and the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Both the city of Minneapolis and the state have since <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">sued the Trump administration</a>, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"ciq5b\">After an ICE officer <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/us/ice-shooting-minneapolis-charges.html\">shot and injured a Venezuelan man</a> that evening, nearby residents gathered to protest, and fireworks were being set off near a line of federal law enforcement officers, Roberts told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Minnesota State troopers and Minneapolis police were also present.</p><p data-block-key=\"f8f8r\">Roberts said he had just gone live for Status Coup and was interviewing a woman near the federal officers when the situation abruptly escalated.</p><p data-block-key=\"dt751\">“Flash bangs started going off and tear gas started going off, and all chaos,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9g4ul\">Status Coup <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/statuscoupnews.bsky.social/post/3mcgmkpcbnk2a\">posted a video</a> to the social platform Bluesky showing a bright explosion, which it said was caused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, as people suddenly began running. In the video, Roberts can be heard reacting to being struck, saying, “I got hit in the head really bad.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1npd8\">Roberts, who reported that he wasn’t bleeding, said the blow came while he had his back turned to the line of federal officers. He said he is unsure what struck him and believes it may have been debris from a crowd-control munition that bounced or fragmented after being fired.</p><p data-block-key=\"f2mm4\">In the video, Roberts can be heard coughing from tear gas and reacting to the impact from the projectile as he reported that law enforcement officers were moving forward, firing more crowd-control munitions into the area.</p><p data-block-key=\"6uh29\">“They were shooting them amongst the crowd and everywhere,” he told the Tracker. “There was no direction, no order.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4g7it\">While running in the darkness, Roberts ran into a tree and bloodied his nose. Despite that, he continued reporting, though the injury and his glasses prevented him from properly sealing his protective gear, further exposing him to tear gas and making it difficult to work.</p><p data-block-key=\"duj05\">Roberts said he suffered a headache but did not seek medical treatment because he was not experiencing any further concussion symptoms.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahc5u\">“I still have a welt,” he said of the impact of the projectile on the back of his head. “It still hurts to the touch a little bit.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-01-22_at_4.18.36P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ne9rs\">A video frame grab captures the moment just after photographer Zach Roberts was struck with an impact projectile while filming an immigration protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 14, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"actor": null,
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"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Zach Roberts (Status Coup)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "CNN correspondent covering ICE protest hit with crowd-control munition",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cnn-correspondent-covering-ice-protest-hit-with-crowd-control-munition/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-16T22:14:33.557575Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-16T22:14:33.557575Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-16T22:14:33.469075Z",
"date": "2026-01-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oaaup\">CNN correspondent Whitney Wild was struck by a crowd-control munition fired by federal officers while covering a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 14, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"286l7\">Wild and her crew were covering demonstrations that broke out after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/us/minneapolis-federal-agent-shooting-immigration.html\">shot</a> a man during a traffic stop, the second shooting by ICE in a week in the city.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ue0s\">Wild <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/us/minneapolis-person-shot-federal-agent\">reported</a> that a crowd of demonstrators gathered after the shooting, protesting ICE’s presence in Minneapolis. In response, she said, ICE officers fired multiple tear gas canisters to push back the crowd. “At one point, it became so chaotic that one bounced off my foot and bounced off my side.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8gqma\">Wild also said that she and her crew were hit with flash bangs and tear gas, and that she and her producer got separated from her photographer at one point because it was so foggy from the chemical irritants, as shown in another CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/politics/video/cnn-crew-in-minneapolis-hit-with-flashbangs-and-tear-gas-amid-ice-protests\">video</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hnvd\">CNN and ICE did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Wild_CNN.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bbg0n\">CNN correspondent Whitney Wild reports from a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, just after being hit with a crowd-control munition on Jan. 14, 2026.</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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"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"subpoena_type": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Whitney Wild (CNN)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Washington Post subpoenaed as part of DOJ leak investigation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-subpoenaed-as-part-of-doj-leak-investigation/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-15T17:38:43.111646Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-15T17:38:43.111646Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-15T17:38:40.028290Z",
"date": "2026-01-14",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hogeh\">The Washington Post was issued a subpoena in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2026, in connection with an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"211rs\">FBI agents executed a search warrant on the home of Post reporter <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-reporters-home-searched-by-fbi-devices-seized/\">Hannah Natanson</a> that morning, seizing her phone, watch and two laptops — one of which was issued by the newsroom.</p><p data-block-key=\"fnvkt\">The Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/\">reported</a> that the subpoena demanded that it turn over “any communications between the contractor and other employees.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9so41\">According to the newspaper, investigators have identified the focus of the probe as Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator in Maryland with top-secret security clearance. He was <a href=\"https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/09/contractor-classified-documents/\">arrested</a> Jan. 8 and <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299.1.1.pdf\">charged</a> with unlawful retention of national defense information after agents found classified materials in his vehicle and home. Perez-Lugones has not been charged with disseminating the materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"824au\">In April 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pam-bondi-targets-journalists-leakers-as-us-attorney-general/\">reversed the Biden-era policies</a> that protected journalists from having their records seized or from being forced to testify in connection with leak investigations. She asserted, however, that such measures would only be used as a last resort.</p><p data-block-key=\"2porc\">Yet the first interactions the Post and Natanson had with investigators were the subpoena, search warrant and device seizures, according to the newspaper.</p><p data-block-key=\"fvi4\">In a statement <a href=\"https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2011456849711612019\">posted to social media</a>, Bondi alleged that Natanson was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8cbsu\">“The leaker is currently behind bars,” Bondi continued. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”</p><p data-block-key=\"38p2s\">The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"enst1\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/maxwelltani/status/2011578007052566764\">note</a> to the Post’s staff that evening, Executive Editor Matt Murray called the FBI’s actions “provocative and aggressive” and said the outlet was “continuing to vigorously defend our journalists and our work.”</p><p data-block-key=\"afpm9\">“It is worth reflecting again on the importance and responsibilities of the work we do as journalists, protected by the constitutional speech rights that all Americans enjoy, and the urgency of exercising those rights by continuing to do our work,” he wrote. “That is the best thing the staff of The Washington Post can do, is in fact what we do.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25286629158917.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bekns\">The FBI, its Washington, D.C., headquarters pictured above, subpoenaed The Washington Post on Jan. 14, 2026, as part of a leak investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified materials.</p>",
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"name": "District of Columbia",
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"The Washington Post"
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{
"title": "Washington Post reporter’s home searched by FBI, devices seized",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/washington-post-reporters-home-searched-by-fbi-devices-seized/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-14T16:20:29.756629Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-25T22:50:59.000342Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-25T22:50:58.593526Z",
"date": "2026-01-14",
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"city": "Alexandria",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5262t\">Hannah Natanson, a reporter for The Washington Post, was the target of a federal search warrant on her home in Alexandria, Virginia, the early hours of Jan. 14, 2026, in connection with an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified materials, the Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dpvi3\">Natanson, who covers Trump’s reshaping of the government, was at her home when FBI agents executed the search and seized her phone, Garmin watch and two laptops — one personal and the other issued by the Post. Natanson could not immediately be reached for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"bka6\">According to the Post, investigators told Natanson that the focus of the probe is Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems administrator in Maryland with top-secret security clearance. He was <a href=\"https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/09/contractor-classified-documents/\">arrested</a> Jan. 8 and <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299/gov.uscourts.mdd.597299.1.1.pdf\">charged</a> with unlawful retention of national defense information after agents found classified materials in his vehicle. Perez-Lugones has not been charged with disseminating the materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"adt0f\">In April 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pam-bondi-targets-journalists-leakers-as-us-attorney-general/\">reversed the Biden-era policies</a> that protected journalists from having their records seized or from being forced to testify in connection with leak investigations. She asserted, however, that such measures would only be used as a last resort.</p><p data-block-key=\"12cki\">The Post reported that the search warrant and device seizures marked Natanson’s first interaction with investigators.</p><p data-block-key=\"avjdv\">In a statement <a href=\"https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2011456849711612019\">posted to social media</a>, Bondi alleged that Natanson was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7fjrk\">“The leaker is currently behind bars,” Bondi continued. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aahrv\">The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"59wh0\">Hannah Natanson, reporter for The Washington Post, pictured above, was the target of a federal search warrant on Jan. 14, 2026. As part of an investigation into a government contractor, FBI agents searched her Virginia home and seized several devices.</p>",
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{
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{
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{
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"equipment": "miscellaneous equipment"
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
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{
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"equipment": "storage device"
}
],
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"state": {
"name": "Virginia",
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"updates": [
"(2026-01-21 22:03:00+00:00) Judge rules government can’t search reporter’s devices",
"(2026-02-24 22:14:00+00:00) Court says it will search journalist’s seized devices, not federal government"
],
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"Equipment Search or Seizure",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed to the ground, pepper-sprayed at Minneapolis protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-to-the-ground-pepper-sprayed-at-minneapolis-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-20T16:56:06.661613Z",
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"date": "2026-01-13",
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"city": "Minneapolis",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"mvxhj\">Freelance photojournalist Tim Evans was shoved and pushed to the ground by federal officers while reporting on protests around an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 13, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"bcf1l\">Protests erupted in January in response to a federal immigration crackdown in the state, escalating further after the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ice-shooting-minneapolis-victim-renee-good-d95e86716eec328a288866108acf78eb\">fatal shooting</a> of Renee Good in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4rdb\">Evans told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for Reuters documenting ICE operations that day and had learned of an active house raid in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"ck3sh\">“I showed up on the scene along with other photographers around 9:40 a.m., as federal agents were knocking on the front door of a house. Observers had started to gather outside, whistling and shouting at agents to leave as they attempted to get the occupants to open the door,” he wrote in an account for the Tracker. “When agents brought out two Hispanic youths, the crowd became more upset, and scuffles broke out between agents and onlookers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7um24\">Evans wrote that numerous individuals were tackled and detained, prompting him to put on his helmet, which bore labels that read “PRESS” in all caps.</p><p data-block-key=\"dfch8\">Approximately 20 minutes later, federal agents dragged a woman — who said she was trying to reach her doctor’s office — out of her vehicle at an intersection nearby.</p><p data-block-key=\"7cnrp\">“As she was being carried by her arms and legs to a federal vehicle, I was photographing from down low in order to see her face, alongside numerous media,” Evans wrote. “Agents shouted at people to move back, and one of them shoved me hard in the shoulder, knocking me over onto my back.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2lo02\">A couple of fellow journalists helped him back to his feet, and Evans continued to document the scene. The photojournalist said the situation continued to devolve over the next 20 minutes, with agents indiscriminately deploying tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"1hqe0\">When agents began to leave the area, Evans wrote that he saw a federal vehicle begin to drive past him, so he stepped forward to photograph the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"44cec\">“As the vehicle passed, an agent shot pepper spray from out of his window, indiscriminately spraying numerous people,” he said. “I was sprayed directly in the eyes, which immediately blinded me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5h0or\">Evans said he called out for a colleague, who was able to help him retrieve a decontamination wipe and then led him to a nearby church after a disorientation weapon exploded behind them.</p><p data-block-key=\"8p8f5\">“I was unable to see as we walked. As we crossed the parking lot, tear gas engulfed us. I immediately began coughing and spitting and couldn’t breathe well,” Evans wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"9c3lb\">He was able to rinse most of the chemical irritant from his face and return to his team outside, but said that his face continued to burn throughout the afternoon.</p><p data-block-key=\"3cnoq\">Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE responded to requests for comment or additional information about the protest response that day. In a statement released the previous day, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agency’s presence in Minnesota but did not address the reported use of force against journalists.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"9p8eb\">A woman is pulled from her vehicle and detained by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 13, 2026. Moments after taking the photo, freelance photojournalist Tim Evans was shoved to the ground by federal officers.</p>",
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"name": "Minnesota",
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},
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"immigration",
"protest"
],
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],
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{
"title": "Nevada judge briefly restricts media coverage of high-profile trial",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nevada-judge-briefly-restricts-media-coverage-of-high-profile-trial/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-16T16:18:42.769719Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-04T14:22:41.664175Z",
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"date": "2026-01-13",
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"city": "Las Vegas",
"longitude": -115.13722,
"latitude": 36.17497,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0ht7z\">A Nevada judge imposed restrictions on media coverage in a prominent sexual assault trial in Las Vegas on Jan. 13, 2026, before modifying the order after objections from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.</p><p data-block-key=\"b6tgt\">The initial decision occurred as reporters prepared to cover the high-profile case of Nathan Chasing Horse, an actor who appeared in the 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves.” He is accused of sexually assaulting multiple women in the Native American community under the guise of his role as a self-proclaimed spiritual leader and healer.</p><p data-block-key=\"5bn68\">Clark County District Judge Jessica Peterson issued a decorum order that barred interviews with witnesses or other parties at the courthouse while the trial is underway. It restricted the media from publishing any identifying information about victims without permission and about a police officer who was testifying.</p><p data-block-key=\"9orbk\">Later that day, Review-Journal attorney Benjamin Lipman sent a letter to the court arguing the restrictions violated the First Amendment and amounted to an unconstitutional prior restraint.</p><p data-block-key=\"603h5\">“Attending court proceedings is a constitutional right, not a mere privilege,” the letter said.</p><p data-block-key=\"7thh7\">The next day, Peterson issued a revised decorum order removing the interview prohibition and narrowing the publication restrictions.</p><p data-block-key=\"9eh5n\">In a statement, the judge said her order had been used by the district court previously without issue, but that she decided that provisions challenged by the news organization could be seen as overly broad, <a href=\"https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/judge-tried-to-restrict-media-coverage-in-trial-for-dances-with-wolves-actor-then-changed-course-3607266/\">the Review-Journal reported.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"eb5ts\">The amended order now allows media interviews so long as jurors cannot overhear them and witnesses do not discuss their testimony.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"154eo\">Judge Jessica Peterson, right, briefly imposed restrictions on media coverage of the sexual assault trial of actor Nathan Chasing Horse, left, on Jan. 13, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She reversed course the next day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Nevada",
"abbreviation": "NV"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-01-21 21:09:00+00:00) Nevada judge demands media not name victim, ejects Review-Journal for not complying",
"(2026-01-28 13:52:00+00:00) Appeals court says judge violated Constitution by ejecting Review-Journal"
],
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [],
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"categories": [
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shot at with pepper balls amid immigration operation",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-at-with-pepper-balls-amid-immigration-operation/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-20T16:51:58.030543Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-20T16:51:58.030543Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-20T16:45:09.092969Z",
"date": "2026-01-12",
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"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ignbt\">Freelance photojournalist Tim Evans was shot at with pepper balls and subjected to other chemical irritants by federal agents while reporting on an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 12, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"8p2f8\">Protests erupted in January in response to a federal immigration crackdown in the state, escalating further after the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ice-shooting-minneapolis-victim-renee-good-d95e86716eec328a288866108acf78eb\">fatal shooting</a> of Renee Good in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"b35ub\">Evans told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for Reuters covering ICE operations in the city. He arrived to cover an active scene after agents crashed into a Hispanic man’s car and then questioned the man about his immigration status.</p><p data-block-key=\"822r6\">“A crowd of at least a dozen observers and community members had already formed and were whistling and shouting at the agents when my colleagues and I arrived at the scene,” Evans wrote in an account for the Tracker. “A long standoff ensued as the crowd of onlookers, media, and agents grew, with dozens of agents present at the peak.”</p><p data-block-key=\"29kd8\">Over the following 30 minutes, Evans said the situation continued to deteriorate, with federal agents deploying multiple rounds of tear gas and firing pepper balls at those assembled. Amid the chaos, an agent deliberately targeted the photojournalist with crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"33ej4\">“An agent from the Bureau of Prisons shot numerous pepper balls directly at my feet from about a meter away,” Evans wrote. “As the agent shot toward me, I held my camera and hands up, yelling, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Press, press!’”</p><p data-block-key=\"4jk64\">He told the Tracker it was clear he was targeted, as he was easily identifiable as a journalist, with his press credentials around his neck, large “PRESS” labels in all caps on his helmet and vest, and a large, professional camera in his hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"51a71\">When federal agents prepared to leave the scene, Evans wrote that they deployed additional tear gas, while one agent leaned out of his window and indiscriminately pepper-sprayed everyone standing alongside the road.</p><p data-block-key=\"2580u\">“This included me, at least four other media members, and onlookers,” he told the Tracker. “I was sprayed in the hands, which burned for a couple of hours after. When I incidentally touched my face, it left my eyes and lips burning.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cij7b\">Evans, who <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?targeted_journalists=Tim%20Evans\">has covered protests</a> since at least 2021, said that federal agents in Minneapolis were regularly deploying crowd-control munitions in a way that he felt was completely unnecessary.</p><p data-block-key=\"8a7ra\">“No one there is posing an imminent threat. If people are standing on the sidewalk or even in the street in a situation where a scene is active, and you’re planning to leave, I don’t understand the tactical benefit or logic or justification for casually throwing tear gas canisters out of a car door as you’re driving away,” Evans said. “It feels punitive.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c4sp6\">Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Bureau of Prisons responded to requests for comment or additional information about the protest response that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"3kdei\">In a statement released Jan. 12, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agency’s presence in Minnesota but did not address the reported use of munitions against journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"4l4gk\">In a Jan. 16 <a href=\"https://x.com/BOPDirector/status/2012232527126147275\">post on social media</a>, BOP Director William Marshall III wrote that the agency was “proud of our Special Operations Response Teams, who are standing with our @TheJusticeDept and @DHSgov law enforcement partners in Minnesota.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2p5e0\">“You are keeping communities safe and stand as an example of what real service looks like - showing up, holding the line, and protecting public safety,” Marshall continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"fhnkg\">Both the city of Minneapolis and the state <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">sued the Trump administration</a> that day, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ufb6c\">Federal agents deploy a tear gas canister after an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 12, 2026. Photojournalist Tim Evans was shot at with pepper balls and exposed to chemical irritants while covering the protest.</p>",
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"state": {
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},
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"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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{
"title": "Photographer struck with crowd-control munition by federal officer in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-struck-with-crowd-control-munition-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-15T19:13:32.779280Z",
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"date": "2026-01-11",
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"city": "Fort Snelling",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qn0nb\">Photojournalist Jon Farina was shot with a crowd-control munition by Department of Homeland Security agents while reporting on immigration-related protests outside a federal building in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3hgc\">The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building has been a focal point of protests for its use as a base for the federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities area. Demonstrations escalated after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-immigration-crackdown-01-10-26\">fatally shot Renee Good</a> Jan. 7 while officers were conducting a raid in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahkst\">Farina and reporter JT Cestkowski were reporting for the news outlet Status Coup, <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/statuscoupnews.bsky.social/post/3mc6uwecf322y\">livestreaming</a> as protesters gathered outside the facility following reports that federal officers had deployed tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"e1650\">Cestkowski told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that things were calm when they first arrived.</p><p data-block-key=\"55nf7\">“But agents were sort of in this pattern of, every 30-45 minutes or so, they would come out into the crowd and deploy tear gas, flash bangs, pepper balls, pepper spray,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1f7a\">Several hours into their reporting, the journalists were interviewing a demonstrator who had been detained for seven hours in the Whipple building and had just been released. They were across the street, where agents had directed the crowd to stand.</p><p data-block-key=\"ftpu7\">“We were hearing her story when the agent started firing off flash-bang grenades and tear gas canisters and the like,” Cestkowski said.</p><p data-block-key=\"da668\">Shortly after, in the livestream footage, Farina is heard telling Cestkowski, “I got hit with something, my leg is hurting.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ijcr\">Cestkowski told the Tracker that, at the time, they believed Farina had been struck by a stun grenade. Afterward, Farina said he thought it was more likely to have been a pepper ball, based on the size of the red welt it left.</p><p data-block-key=\"4t34s\">Approximately two minutes later, while Cestkowski was interviewing a 16-year-old demonstrator, federal officers launched a second volley at the crowd and the reporter was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shot-twice-with-pepper-balls-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota\">shot with pepper balls</a> in the buttocks and back of his arm. Cestkowski told the Tracker that he did not suffer any injury or bruising as a result, crediting his thick winter clothing layers.</p><p data-block-key=\"14mts\">Cestkowski said that throughout the day, both he and Farina were also repeatedly caught in the clouds of tear gas and impacted by the deployment of stun grenades.</p><p data-block-key=\"45vm8\">“No distinction was made between press and protesters,” he added. “Those weapons aren’t precise. And certainly in the way they were used that night, there was no precision as to who they were targeting. They were just blanket firing into the whole crowd.”</p><p data-block-key=\"27l7d\">In the livestream footage of the news crew’s coverage, Cestkowski can be seen wearing large press credentials around his neck and carrying a mic bearing the Status Coup logo. Farina was also wearing credentials and was carrying a professional camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"3vub1\">Cestkowski said they left the protest shortly after because they were both “fried.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dut8f\">“When you go running away from that stuff, you don’t need to run very far, but it feels like the longest sprint of your life because you’re not only worried about being in the line of fire or taking the stuff in,” he said. “You have to be aware of your surroundings — I’m trying to look out for Jon, Jon’s trying to look out for me — and just keeping yourself safe. It’s very mentally and physically taxing to go through that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cvu06\">Neither DHS nor ICE responded to requests for comment or additional information about the protest response that day. In a statement released Jan. 12, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agency’s presence in Minnesota but did not address the reported use of munitions against journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"3megl\">Both the city of Minneapolis and the state have since <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">sued the Trump administration</a>, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"74w8a\">Status Coup photojournalist Jon Farina filmed the scene above as federal agents deployed tear gas at protesters outside the Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 11, 2026. Moments later, he was struck with a crowd-control munition.</p>",
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
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"shot / shot at"
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{
"title": "Reporter shot twice with pepper balls by federal officer in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shot-twice-with-pepper-balls-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-15T19:10:49.057933Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-15T19:10:49.057933Z",
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"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"azcz3\">JT Cestkowski, a reporter for the news outlet Status Coup, was shot in the arm and buttocks with pepper balls by Department of Homeland Security agents while reporting on protests outside a federal building in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kmbp\">The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building has been a focal point of protests for its use as a base for the federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities area. Demonstrations escalated after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-immigration-crackdown-01-10-26\">fatally shot Renee Good</a> while officers were conducting an operation Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"8lmg6\">Cestkowski told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was reporting alongside photojournalist Jon Farina, livestreaming as protesters gathered outside the facility following reports that federal officers had deployed tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"9v13s\">“When we first walked up, things were calm,” he said. “But agents were sort of in this pattern of, every 30-45 minutes or so, they would come out into the crowd and deploy tear gas, flash bangs, pepper balls, pepper spray.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dla12\">Several hours into their reporting, the journalists were interviewing a demonstrator who had been detained for seven hours in the Whipple building and had just been released. They were across the street, where agents had directed the crowd to stand.</p><p data-block-key=\"8e1ma\">“We were hearing her story when the agent started firing off flash-bang grenades and tear gas canisters and the like,” Cestkowski said. He added that, at the time, he and Farina believed <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-struck-with-crowd-control-munition-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota\">Farina had been struck</a> by one of those munitions, but later determined, based on the bruising, that it was more likely a pepper ball.</p><p data-block-key=\"7r0cv\">Approximately two minutes later, while Cestkowski was interviewing a 16-year-old demonstrator, federal officers launched a second volley at the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"aier0\">“Again, we were standing on the side of the street where people had been directed to stand, and yet the girl we were interviewing got hit in the foot and I myself got hit in my behind and in the back of my arm,” he told the Tracker. He said that he did not suffer any injury or bruising as a result, crediting his thick winter clothing layers.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt6uq\">Cestkowski said that throughout the day, both he and Farina were also repeatedly caught in the clouds of tear gas and impacted by the deployment of stun grenades.</p><p data-block-key=\"a7l89\">“No distinction was made between press and protesters,” he added. “Those weapons aren’t precise. And certainly in the way they were used that night, there was no precision as to who they were targeting. They were just blanket firing into the whole crowd.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aj8e6\">In the <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/statuscoupnews.bsky.social/post/3mc6uwecf322y\">livestream footage</a> of the news crew’s coverage, Cestkowski can be seen wearing large press credentials around his neck and carrying a mic bearing the Status Coup logo. Farina was also wearing credentials and was carrying a professional camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"58o0d\">Cestkowski said they left the protest shortly after because they were both “fried.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b2301\">“When you go running away from that stuff, you don’t need to run very far, but it feels like the longest sprint of your life because you’re not only worried about being in the line of fire or taking the stuff in,” he said. “You have to be aware of your surroundings — I’m trying to look out for Jon, Jon’s trying to look out for me — and just keeping yourself safe. It’s very mentally and physically taxing to go through that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"84hr\">Neither DHS nor ICE responded to requests for comment or additional information about the protest response that day. In a statement released Jan. 12, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agency’s presence in Minnesota but did not address the reported use of munitions against journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"777c3\">Both the city of Minneapolis and the state have since <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">sued the Trump administration</a>, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Cestkowski_-_MN_assault.5ead1a17.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2ans7\">Status Coup reporter JT Cestkowski, center, livestreamed his coverage of immigration-related protests outside a federal building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 11, 2026. He was shot with two pepper balls by federal officers later that evening.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
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],
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],
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{
"title": "Reporter hospitalized after hit by stun grenade at Minnesota protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-hospitalized-after-hit-by-stun-grenade-at-minnesota-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-15T20:18:38.078630Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-16T19:47:07.937362Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-16T19:45:01.560873Z",
"date": "2026-01-11",
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"city": "Fort Snelling",
"longitude": null,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oyoqn\">MintPress News reporter Jalyssa Dugrot suffered a concussion after she was struck in the face and legs by crowd-control munitions while reporting on an immigration protest in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmdu2\">Protests in the state have erupted after a federal immigration enforcement surge and the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Both the city of Minneapolis and the state have since <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">sued the Trump administration</a>, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"92la6\">Dugrot told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker she was reporting outside the Whipple Federal Building, which houses ICE in a complex in Fort Snelling, bordering Minneapolis, when law enforcement declared the protest unlawful. They began deploying stun grenades, tear gas, pepper balls and rubber pellets into the crowd of journalists and demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"310s0\">“When they deployed these munitions, they were targeting everyone,” Dugrot said. “It didn’t matter if you were press or a demonstrator, because we were kind of mixed in with the crowd.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2noul\">Dugrot said that as law enforcement surged forward, she was struggling to record on her phone with her gloved hand when a flash-bang grenade landed at her feet.</p><p data-block-key=\"8stsv\">“I just looked right at it, and it detonated,” she said. “Having one detonate practically in my face was so surreal. My vision went completely white, and my ears immediately rang.”</p><p data-block-key=\"411tt\">The munition scattered shrapnel into Dugrot’s face near her eyes and made her dizzy and nauseous.</p><p data-block-key=\"6c1vv\">Dugrot said the blast also tore off her lavalier microphone, which was lost in the chaos, shattered her phone’s camera and cracked the phone’s screen.</p><p data-block-key=\"ba4n7\">Immediately after, however, while still in shock, Dugrot reported from the scene one more time.</p><p data-block-key=\"30fjc\">“As you can see, I was flash-banged in my face. I have safety goggles on right now for my safety. And I was shot in the legs,” Dugrot reported in a video <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTZFTj2kbmN/\">posted to Instagram</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"30n6q\">She later lost consciousness and had to be taken to a hospital. Dugrot said she is taking the rest of the month off to recover, after being diagnosed with a concussion and suffering bruised legs, ongoing vision blurriness in her left eye and a painful ringing in her ears.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Last night, Minneapolis Police and Federal officers of Prisons unleashed flash bangs, tear gas, and pellets at protesters and journalists during an anti-ICE demonstration in front of the Whipple Federal Building—the official headquarters of ICE in Minnesota.<br><br>While covering this… <a href=\"https://t.co/kR0zKmO0at\">pic.twitter.com/kR0zKmO0at</a></p>— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/MintPressNews/status/2010744007421571478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 12, 2026</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=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oyoqn\">“This kind of shook me up a bit,” Dugrot said. “With my logical mind, I understand that it’s a job, so I will go back out again. But with my emotional mind, I’m worried that it could get worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"147eh\">In <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTaqZIRCAlu/\">an update</a> the next day, MintPress reported that federal officers and the Minneapolis Police Department were deploying the munitions (a police spokesman denied involvement to the Tracker).</p><p data-block-key=\"906r9\">ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"eec9t\">Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement released Jan. 12, defended the agency’s presence in Minnesota but did not address the reported use of munitions against journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"emj8p\"><i>Correction: A photo used previously in this report was edited in a way that introduced inaccuracies and has been replaced.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Dugrot_-_MN_assault__ED.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"oe7e1\">MintPress News journalist Jalyssa Dugrot reports, at left, and shows an injury to her face, at right, after she was struck with crowd-control munitions while covering an immigration protest in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area on Jan. 11, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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{
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{
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"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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{
"title": "Reporters affected by chemical irritants, coverage impeded at LA protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporters-affected-by-chemical-irritants-coverage-impeded-at-la-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-20T20:28:46.715545Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-20T20:28:46.715545Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-20T20:28:46.543486Z",
"date": "2026-01-10",
"exact_date_unknown": true,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"781qa\"><i>Demonstrations broke out in January 2026 in Los Angeles, California, against escalating federal immigration raids, along with similar protests nationwide, including in</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/press-exposed-to-tear-gas-other-chemical-irritants-at-minnesota-protests/\"><i>Minnesota</i></a><i>, where federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"e6j9\"><i>In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement began</i> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\"><i>in June</i></a><i>, and many demonstrations since then have centered around the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown, where immigrants are being held. Police and federal officers have deployed tear gas, pepper spray and impact projectiles to disperse the crowds.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"c27l7\"><i>Reporters on the ground described being exposed to the various chemical irritants, as well as being impeded from doing their work, much like what occurred</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/at-la-area-protests-in-june-press-denied-access-exposed-to-chemical-irritants-more/\"><i>during June protest coverage</i></a><i>. Although these January incidents do not constitute official press freedom violations under the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s criteria, we’ve provided a roundup of them below, organized by date (our reporting on the formal press freedom violations we cataloged in LA during January is</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-01-01&date_upper=2026-01-31&city=Los+Angeles&tags=protest\"><i>here</i></a><i>, and see our coverage of the lawsuits filed against the</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\"><i>LA Police Department</i></a><i> and</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-pepper-balls-while-covering-la-immigration-protest/\"><i>Department of Homeland Security</i></a><i> over its treatment of journalists).</i></p><p data-block-key=\"coggi\"><i>This roundup will be updated as additional incidents are verified. To date, law enforcement agencies have not responded to multiple requests for comment.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"eu7rk\"><i>To learn more about how the Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit our</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\"><i>FAQ page.</i></a></p><h3 data-block-key=\"7jfj9\">Jan. 10, 2026</h3><ul><li data-block-key=\"bmqvh\">After the LA Police Department issued a dispersal order for protesters near the detention center, officers directed independent journalist <b>Sean Beckner-Carmitchel</b> and other media to move to a designated “safe zone,” instead of letting them continue reporting from their location. In a <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/acatwithnews.bsky.social/post/3mc4j4wlnmk2w\">video</a> Beckner-Carmitchel shared on the social media platform Bluesky, an officer can be heard making the announcement over a megaphone: “Any member of the media, you have been warned, a dispersal order has been given. If you have ‘press’ on your helmet, ‘press’ on your vest, you have been issued a dispersal order. There is a safe zone for you here if you are a member of the press.”</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"ascqc\">Jan. 27, 2026</h3><ul><li data-block-key=\"d5cs3\">California Post reporter <b>Jamie Paige</b> was peppered with insults by individuals who disrupted a police commission meeting, <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2026/01/27/us-news/lefties-hijack-lapd-meeting-try-to-silence-california-post/\">the outlet</a> reported. People attending the meeting at LAPD headquarters tried to physically block her camera from filming, refused to answer questions and yelled at her.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"e576m\">Jan. 30, 2026</h3><ul><li data-block-key=\"6qlip\"><b>Moon Mandel</b>, a freelance photojournalist, was exposed to chemical irritants by federal officers while documenting protests in downtown LA. “When the Department of Homeland Security started utilizing pepper bullets and tear gas, I lost the ability to see and vomited at least four times,” Mandel told the Tracker. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-twice-with-baton-amid-la-immigration-protests/\">Also that day</a>, they were hit twice with a baton by an LA police officer.</li><li data-block-key=\"8g52k\">CNN correspondent <b>Veronica Miracle</b> was affected by pepper spray as she covered downtown protests. “There’s so much of the pepper spray still in the air and so, so many people around us coughing and gagging, including us,” she said in a <a href=\"https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/i-just-got-hit-cnn-reporter-chokes-live-on-camera-as-trump-ice-agents-fire-irritants-at-protesters/\">segment</a> for CNN’s “OutFront.” And while reporting live from protests that day, she was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/cnn-correspondent-shot-with-pepper-ball-amid-live-report-on-la-protest/\">shot in the leg</a> with a pepper ball fired by a federal agent.</li><li data-block-key=\"5kg4u\">Photographer <b>Anna Moltke</b> told the Tracker she was affected when police fired chemical irritants while she was reporting from a downtown protest. The residue seeped into her clothes and caused her to cough, even after she left the area. Also that day, she was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-to-the-ground-by-police-at-la-immigration-protest/\">pushed to the ground</a> by an officer.</li><li data-block-key=\"dtalg\">Student photojournalist<b> Griffin O’Rourke</b> told the Tracker he was engulfed in tear gas fired by federal officers at a protest. The irritant seeped behind his goggles and forced him to wash out his eyes. “I was practically blind from the tear gas,” he said. Also that day, he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-pelted-with-projectiles-at-la-immigration-protest/\">struck in the knees</a> with crowd-control munitions.</li><li data-block-key=\"evfs9\"><b>Dexter Thomas,</b> an independent journalist, said he was affected after federal agents doused a crowd of protesters with pepper spray. “I came home with my skin burning,” Thomas told the Tracker.</li><li data-block-key=\"79jhb\">L.A. Taco reporter <b>Lexis-Olivier Ray</b> was tear-gassed by federal officers while covering a protest. He also felt the effects of chemical irritants in his throat and lungs, and a lingering fiery sensation on his arms. “It was certainly a very chaotic scene,” he told the Tracker. “I got hit with a significant amount of pepper spray, so I do question whether or not they were just aiming at me directly.” Also that day, he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pepper-sprayed-shoved-at-la-immigration-protest/\">shoved by police.</a></li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"bpm4l\">Jan. 31, 2026</h3><ul><li data-block-key=\"dvpfn\">Reporter <b>Alexandra Datig</b> was heckled by people at a protest who called her a “propaganda journalist” and accused her of being a right-wing influencer<b>.</b> “We don’t want you here,” someone can be heard saying <a href=\"https://x.com/anthonycabassa/status/2017834633686396996?s=20\">in a video posted to X</a>, while another yells, “Just leave!” Datig later <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUNPpmfDX5b/?hl=en\">posted on Instagram</a> about the experience, saying, “I’m really, really disgusted and outraged that these people would target me as a journalist. To target anybody who is out there taking video of a protest and target them for being on the ‘left’ or the ‘right’ is ridiculous.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">🛑 STOP TARGETING AND PROFILING JOURNALISTS!! Stopped at LAPD HQ to see what is going around about my encounter with protesters on social media. Here’s what I have to say: Targeting me as a journalist is a violation of my CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS as an American Citizen!! People who… <a href=\"https://t.co/Ep0CmyOWq6\">pic.twitter.com/Ep0CmyOWq6</a></p>— Alexandra Datig | Front Page Index 🇺🇸 (@alexdatig) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/alexdatig/status/2017861857911197886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 1, 2026</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=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"781qa\">Freelance photojournalist<b> Moon Mandel</b> told the Tracker they were exposed to tear gas while documenting a protest. They were also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-with-pepper-balls-detained-amid-la-youth-protest/\">struck with multiple pepper balls</a> fired by federal officers that day and detained by police. “Multiple shots to the body, hand, and then they hit me in the ear, which hurt a lot,” Mandel said.</li><li data-block-key=\"dqtek\"><b>Lexis-Olivier Ray</b>, a reporter with L.A. Taco, told the Tracker he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pelted-with-projectiles-kettled-at-la-protest/\">pelted in the legs</a> with pepper balls fired by police at a protest. Also that day, he was threatened with arrest while detained in a police kettle.</li></ul></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"0w762\">Federal officers respond to a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026.</p>",
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"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"student journalism"
],
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"categories": [
"Other Incident"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist covering Minnesota ICE protest hit with crowd-control projectile",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-covering-minnesota-ice-protest-hit-with-crowd-control-projectile/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-16T16:34:50.837437Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-16T16:34:50.837437Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-16T16:34:50.738803Z",
"date": "2026-01-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Snelling",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"475kd\">Photojournalist KingDemetrius Pendleton was shot in the foot with a crowd-control munition round fired by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while covering a protest outside a federal building near Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 9, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"7dqsr\">Protests erupted after the <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/ice-shooting-minneapolis-victim-renee-good-d95e86716eec328a288866108acf78eb\">fatal shooting</a> Jan. 7 of Renee Good in her car by an ICE officer, amid a federal immigration enforcement surge in the state.</p><p data-block-key=\"blddo\">Pendleton, the founder of <a href=\"https://listenmedia.org/meet-the-team/\">Listen Media</a>, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting a protest taking place in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, bordering Minneapolis, where the area’s ICE operations are based.</p><p data-block-key=\"5oid2\">Pendleton, who posted a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/639717369198447\">video</a> of the incident and its aftermath on Facebook, said he was photographing and taking video of protesters, as well as of several pro-ICE, pro-Trump administration counterprotesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jq\">“I was wearing my press credentials, including my PRESS black vest, and holding my cameras and live streaming on my phone with my tripod,” he <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/demetrius.pendleton.5/posts/pfbid0Zmr3gZZy8gXJGaTj51HyDKK2FCy22mX295XjJJjL77yYxPshfP5QHP38DwSAb1MMl?rdid=e3CgGiIIXgBXNvFp#\">wrote</a> on Facebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"9ah0g\">He went on to write that ICE officers were telling protesters to back up as they were bringing in barricades. “I was following their directives and backing up when an ICE agent targeted me and hit me in my right foot with a canister round.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8odik\">“I was doing exactly what I was told to do. I was visibly identifiable as press. And still, I was shot,” Pendleton wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vmls\">He wrote that he was rushed to the emergency room by another person at the protest because he was in a lot of pain. “Thankfully, nothing is broken,” he said, adding that he was told the injury would take four to six weeks to heal.</p><p data-block-key=\"bo9k6\">Pendleton told the Tracker that his tripod was also broken in the incident. He said he dropped everything when his foot was hit, due to the pain, and that he was saved from further injury by the sturdy work boots he was wearing.</p><p data-block-key=\"2mf0p\">“Journalists shouldn’t have to worry about being shot at while doing their job. This is another reason why protecting local, independent media is so important,” he wrote on Facebook.</p><p data-block-key=\"bk8b5\">ICE did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Pendleton_-_MN_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vqsxd\">Photojournalist KingDemetrius Pendleton, behind the camera at left and following his injury at right, was shot in the foot with a crowd-control munition fired by a federal officer while covering a protest near Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 9, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"KingDemetrius Pendleton (Listen Media)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "TV photojournalist struck by car while covering California protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tv-photojournalist-struck-by-car-while-covering-california-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-23T20:32:19.505128Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-23T20:32:19.505128Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-23T19:24:00.747337Z",
"date": "2026-01-08",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fresno",
"longitude": -119.77237,
"latitude": 36.74773,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"uaey1\">A KGPE/KSEE photographer was hit by a car while covering a protest against immigration raids in Fresno, California, on Jan. 8, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"u67d\">The demonstration followed similar protests in Minnesota after federal officers shot and killed U.S. citizen <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">Renee Good</a> during an immigration operation.</p><p data-block-key=\"be9lj\">As protesters marched through downtown Fresno, chanting and expressing their frustrations, the photographer was struck by a sedan. His camera was still recording when the collision happened.</p><p data-block-key=\"5tmqh\">“We all heard the very distinct sound of a car coming to an abrupt stop,” reporter Katherine Phillips <a href=\"https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/cameraman-hit-by-car-fresno/\">said in a TV segment</a> that night, adding that she heard the impact and saw protesters gathering around the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"5f1g7\">“I started filming to see what was going on,” she said in the program, which did not identify the photographer. “I see the camera in the road, and my heart sunk. I just knew it was him.”</p><p data-block-key=\"248eq\">After the collision, the photographer was attended by paramedics and, after being checked at a hospital, was discharged with only minor injuries and returned to the newsroom that same night, the TV station reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"164b5\">Police told the news outlet that the crash was not intentional and was not believed to be connected to the protest; the driver was not arrested.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"2ge6b\">Video shot by a KGPE/KSEE photographer just before he was hit by a car while covering a protest in Fresno, California, on Jan. 8, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 46 (KGPE/KSEE)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Rep. Anna Paulina Luna targets press while on House Oversight Committee",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/rep-anna-paulina-luna-targets-press-while-on-house-oversight-committee/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-16T19:14:33.078685Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-16T19:14:33.078685Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-16T19:14:29.857474Z",
"date": "2026-01-07",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b23w\">Nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican member of Congress from Florida, joined Trump and others in his administration to punish and intimidate journalists that have covered them critically. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"6l7qu\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, crack down on leaks, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cadau\"><i>This article was first published on Jan. 16, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b23w\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"ah654\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 7\">Jan. 7, 2026 | U.S. representative moves to subpoena journalist, recommends criminal probe</a>\r\n</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b23w\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"7aa4p\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Jan 7\" name=\"Jan 7\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"9b23w\">Jan. 7, 2026 | U.S. representative moves to subpoena journalist, recommends criminal probe</h4><p data-block-key=\"38hqp\">On Jan. 7, 2026, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna <a href=\"https://x.com/RepLuna/status/2008999921257730428\">introduced a motion</a> for the House Oversight Committee to subpoena journalist Seth Harp after he reported on the identity of an Army commander allegedly involved in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.</p><p data-block-key=\"8jan8\">“I have made a motion to subpoena Seth Harp before Congress to face accountability for leaking classified intel about Operation Absolute Resolve, including doxxing a Delta Force commander,” Luna wrote on social media alongside a clip of her making the motion. “The media has gotten away with too much for too long and I’m sick of it. Bring him in.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fl5ub\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/sethharpesq/status/2008305916048011296\">statement</a> about his Jan. 4 post, Harp said he had shared a photo and publicly available biography of an officer he identified as the commander of Delta Force, which was central to the Venezuelan operation the previous day. Administrators for the social platform X locked his account and required him to delete the post and others before permitting him to log back in.</p><p data-block-key=\"1jhje\">He also denied the allegations that he had doxxed the officer, calling them “ludicrous.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cr91b\">“I had posted the publicly available, online bio of a Delta Force commander, a full-bird colonel, whose identity is not classified and which anyone skilled at FOIA can ascertain. In no way did I ‘doxx’ the officer,” he wrote, specifying that his post contained no personally identifying information about the officer or his family. “What I posted is still online on Duke University’s website for all the world to see."</p><p data-block-key=\"bv9bs\">In a Jan. 7 <a href=\"https://x.com/RepLuna/status/2009048734441546173\">post on social media</a>, Luna — who chairs the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets — accused Harp of not only doxxing the commander but also leaking classified information about the Venezuela mission, Operation Absolute Resolve.</p><p data-block-key=\"49lgc\">“Putting a service member and their family in danger is dishonorable and feckless,” she wrote. She also announced that her motion to subpoena Harp passed unanimously.</p><p data-block-key=\"5idid\">“Leaking classified information demands explanation and a criminal investigation. Seth Harp will be held accountable for his actions,” Luna added.</p><p data-block-key=\"fgdgr\">Harp could not be reached as of publication. He <a href=\"https://www.cjr.org/the-interview/seth-harp-didnt-dox-delta-force-colonel-maga-subpoena.php\">told the Columbia Journalism Review</a> in an interview published Jan. 14 that the subpoena has not been issued.</p><p data-block-key=\"d0u5v\">“Subpoenas for journalists are extremely rare and often walked back,” he said. “The committee still has the opportunity to do the right thing and either not serve the subpoena, not enforce it, or vote to rescind it.</p><p data-block-key=\"7d56u\">“If instead they insist on hauling me before Congress, I will use the forum to defend the freedom of the press, condemn the entitled culture of secrecy around extralegal military units like Delta Force, and call attention to the systemic problems in the Special Forces at Fort Bragg.”</p><p data-block-key=\"286o2\">Luna also <a href=\"https://x.com/RepLuna/status/2009374535569887529\">announced</a> Jan. 8 that she had referred Harp to the Justice Department for investigation and potential criminal charges. “I look forward to the results of a very thorough investigation and the potential filing of charges for violations of multiple U.S. codes,” she wrote.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP26014811607397.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jaour\">Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida departs the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., after a vote on Jan. 14, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Seth Harp (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter assaulted at city council meeting in Maine",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-at-city-council-meeting-in-maine/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-20T20:04:28.210090Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-22T17:40:51.869182Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-22T17:35:50.695535Z",
"date": "2026-01-05",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Lewiston",
"longitude": -70.21478,
"latitude": 44.10035,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zf1xn\">Maine reporter Jon Fetherston was assaulted by a member of the public while questioning a Lewiston City Council member at a public meeting on Jan. 5, 2026, the outlet reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"732ln\">Fetherston, a journalist for the Maine Wire, a <a href=\"http://themainewire.com/\">digital media outlet</a> and project of the nonprofit think tank Maine Policy Institute, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he attended the meeting to question Councilor Iman Osman. Osman <a href=\"https://www.themainewire.com/2026/01/sworn-in-under-fire-lewiston-council-moves-to-probe-iman-osmans-qualifications-as-legal-residency-questions-mount/\">faces gun charges and scrutiny</a> over whether he lives in the ward he was elected to represent. He has <a href=\"https://www.themainewire.com/2026/01/after-osman-resigns-lewiston-moves-to-bury-residency-scandal-and-dodge-accountability/\">since stepped down.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"37td2\">Before the meeting, where Osman was to be sworn in, Fetherston said he approached the councilor and asked, “Are you really going to do this?”</p><p data-block-key=\"9s2j9\">A woman, who Fetherston said is a community activist, then came up behind Fetherston, shoving him against the desk and telling him not to speak to the politician.</p><p data-block-key=\"2g9pt\">“I wasn’t physically hurt, but I was kind of shocked and angry that had happened,” Fetherston told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"bih9u\">Police asked Fetherston if he wanted to press charges, but he declined.</p><p data-block-key=\"b32v\">“I was there to do my job. I wasn’t there to become part of the story,” he said. “I just thought it was best to do my job and let it go.”</p><p data-block-key=\"30l05\">Later, the woman again disrupted the City Council meeting, prompting the mayor to ask her to sit down and be quiet, Fetherston said. Police subsequently escorted her out of City Hall, an encounter <a href=\"https://x.com/LocalPoliticsis/status/2008355325116637294?s=20\">partially captured in a video</a> Fetherston posted on the social platform X.</p><p data-block-key=\"64haq\">Fetherston said the woman tried to approach him again in the hallway but was stopped by officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"79bkk\">In a written statement <a href=\"https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/2008365394742886697?s=20\">posted on social media</a>, Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson condemned the assault and called on Maine officials to protect journalists doing their job.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pdgd\">“It wasn’t just Mr. Fetherston, city reporter for the award-winning Maine Wire, who was assaulted tonight,” he wrote. “Journalism itself was assaulted. The First Amendment was assaulted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7jg0r\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include comments by Jon Fetherston.</i></p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"rqtmj\">The city seal for Lewiston, Maine, displayed during a 2023 news conference at City Hall. Reporter Jon Fetherston was assaulted there while questioning a City Council member on Jan. 5, 2026.</p>",
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{
"title": "Press exposed to tear gas, other chemical irritants at Minnesota protests",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/press-exposed-to-tear-gas-other-chemical-irritants-at-minnesota-protests/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-27T15:00:54.968290Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-20T17:13:19.452812Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-20T17:13:19.332102Z",
"date": "2026-01-01",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"foz9k\"><i>Protests erupted across the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area in January 2026, after a sweeping federal immigration enforcement surge heightened tensions between residents and federal agents. Many demonstrations centered around the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in nearby Fort Snelling, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were operating. More unrest followed after Department of Homeland Security agents fatally shot Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and shot and wounded another man.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"ntji\"><i>As demonstrations unfolded, some journalists covering them were threatened with arrest, while others were repeatedly exposed to chemical irritants such as tear gas and pepper spray. At times, the exposure forced reporters to pause their coverage, retreat to other areas or wash out their eyes — echoing the types of disruptions seen at similar immigration protests in</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/at-chicago-area-protests-in-september-journalists-caught-in-tear-gas-more/\"><i>Illinois</i></a> <i>and</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/at-la-area-protests-in-june-press-denied-access-exposed-to-chemical-irritants-more/\"><i>California</i></a><i> last year.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"92fu3\"><i>DHS has not responded to requests for comment about journalists affected by its use of the munitions.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"854gq\"><i>While these January incidents are not formally classified as press freedom violations under the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker’s 11 established categories, we’ve provided a roundup of them below, organized by date and location. This roundup will be updated as additional incidents are verified.</i></p><p data-block-key=\"4hag3\"><i>To learn more about how the Tracker documents and categorizes violations of press freedom, visit our</i> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/frequently-asked-questions/\"><i>FAQ page.</i></a></p><hr/><h3 data-block-key=\"fn577\">Jan. 6, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"9m6f5\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"2d75t\">Freelance photojournalist <b>Tim Evans</b> was on assignment for Reuters covering ICE operations in the city, when he parked and exited his vehicle to photograph agents “socializing” at an intersection. Evans told the Tracker that he was approximately 30 feet away, and that multiple agents shouted at and taunted him as he approached, saying things like “Photograph my good side.” Another agent pointed at Evans while speaking to a colleague. As the agents returned to their vehicles, Evans said he noticed another ICE vehicle parked behind his car. He added that the agents inside “appeared to be documenting my license plate before driving away.”</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"feg62\">Jan. 7, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"7to57\">In Minneapolis</h4><p data-block-key=\"c1t6h\"><i>Protests erupted in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis after an ICE officer shot and killed</i> <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/minnesota-ice-shooting-live-updates-rcna252852\"><i>Minneapolis resident Renee Goo</i></a><i>d. Good and her partner were among a number of residents</i> <a href=\"https://abcnews.com/US/minneapolis-ice-shooting-minute-minute-timeline-renee-nicole/story?id=129021809\"><i>standing watch</i></a><i> as students were dropped off at a nearby elementary school, given heightened ICE activity in the neighborhood.</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"b1the\">Photojournalist <b>Tim Evans</b> and a <b>second photojournalist</b> were documenting ICE agents as they detained a delivery driver, when Evans said multiple federal agents took photos of them using their cellphones. Evans said that not long after, a group of agents a few blocks away were engaged in a separate operation that ultimately resulted in Good’s shooting. When Evans arrived to cover the immediate aftermath, he was tear-gassed alongside other media, community members and protesters. “Tear gas, pepper spray, and other munitions were deployed by federal agents when people would not clear the adjacent street and alleyway to let federal vehicles out, and some people threw snowballs at agents,” Evans wrote to the Tracker. “The gas was deployed indiscriminately, as many people in the vicinity were impacted.” He added that while he was wearing a gas mask at the time, he removed it after the agents departed, and the lingering gas continued to affect him for about an hour, causing him to cough and spit.</li><li data-block-key=\"4n7rp\">Videographer <b>Oliya Scootercaster</b>, founder of <a href=\"http://freedomnews.tv/\">FreedomNews.TV</a>, was exposed to tear gas while <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBCROLil4P4&t=226s\">capturing video</a> of protests following the shooting.</li><li data-block-key=\"cjduh\">KMSP-TV reporter <b>Karen Scullin</b> and other media were affected by chemical irritants after ICE officers pepper-sprayed protesters <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGEOfxB_d-s&t=49s\">blocking the road.</a> “Got hit just being near. That stuff hurts bad,” Scullin <a href=\"https://x.com/kscullinfox9/status/2008954165247266951\">wrote on social media</a>. “Skin, eyes, lungs. Waiting it out.”</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Protesters wouldn't let ICE leave. Throwing things at ICE agents. Chemical spray deployed. Got hit just being near. That stuff hurts bad. Skin, eyes, lungs. Waiting it out. <a href=\"https://t.co/UbRbORI6OO\">pic.twitter.com/UbRbORI6OO</a></p>— Karen Scullin FOX9 (@kscullinfox9) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/kscullinfox9/status/2008954165247266951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 7, 2026</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=\"block-rich_text\"><h3 data-block-key=\"drla2\">Jan. 8, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"rh0l\">In Fort Snelling</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"c2ulh\">Photojournalist <b>Tim Evans</b> was covering protests at the Whipple Building when federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper spray and other crowd-control munitions to disperse those blocking the building’s parking lot. “The gas was deployed indiscriminately, as many people in the vicinity were impacted, not just those blocking the street,” Evans wrote to the Tracker. “I was not wearing my mask when gas was first deployed, as I wasn’t expecting it to be used just then, but quickly moved away from the crowd and put my mask on afterward.” A federal agent, who had previously unholstered his firearm and aimed it at the demonstrators, aimed a pepper ball gun at Evans’ face and others. The photojournalist said he didn’t think he was targeted as a member of the press, as he was amid the crowd and the only things identifying him as such were his camera and press credentials around his neck.</li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n \n\n\n<img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-01-10T174421Z_709278719_RC22XIA2OUC1_RTRM.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"552\" alt=\"REUTERS/TIM EVANS\">\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"j2dnr\">A federal agent aims a pepper ball gun at freelance photojournalist Tim Evans and others while he was documenting anti-deportation protests outside the Whipple Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on Jan. 8, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t\t> — REUTERS/TIM EVANS\n\t\t\t\t</span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t</figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><ul><li data-block-key=\"foz9k\">During a <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/08/us/video/protesters-clash-minnesota-ice-shooting-digvid\">video report</a> outside the Whipple Building, CNN correspondent<b> Ryan Young</b> can be heard coughing as he says, “The pepper ball spray is very strong. They use that to make sure that the crowd stays back.” Later in the video, smoke is seen filling the air. “They have deployed an agent, folks,” Young said.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"8b1e3\">Jan. 9, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"9aduo\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"49p87\">Photojournalist<b> Tim Evans</b> told the Tracker he spotted a group of around five or six Customs and Border Protection agents stop a young man who appeared to be of East African descent in the Ventura Village neighborhood of Minneapolis, which has a large foreign-born population. Evans quickly exited his vehicle and walked toward the scene on the sidewalk, wearing his press credentials, as well as a vest marked with “PRESS” in all caps, and carrying a professional camera. He began photographing as he approached, positioning himself about 15 feet away on a snow mound to the right of the sidewalk, confirming with an agent in front of him that it was all right that he stand there. “As an unmasked agent interacted with the stopped man, he turned his attention to me, asking how I’m doing and if I’m a United States citizen. I initially didn’t respond and continued to photograph,” Evans wrote. “The agent then approached me, stood a couple of feet away, and introduced himself and a CBP agent, at which point I told him I’m a U.S. citizen. The agent then asked if I was born in the U.S. or am naturalized; I told him I was born here.” The agent then turned away and returned to the detained man, ultimately releasing him.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"1jfmq\">Jan. 11, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"9dkk3\">In Fort Snelling</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"3td06\">Status Coup journalists <b>JT Cestkowski</b> and <b>Jon Farina</b> told the Tracker they were repeatedly caught in the clouds of tear gas and impacted by federal agents’ deployment of stun grenades. “No distinction was made between press and protesters,” said Cestkowski, who was also shot in the arm and buttocks <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shot-twice-with-pepper-balls-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota/\">with pepper balls that day.</a> Farina was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-struck-with-crowd-control-munition-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota/\">struck by a crowd-control munition</a> during the coverage.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"ecjj6\">Jan. 12, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"83p0t\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"b4dsp\">Photojournalist <b>Tim Evans</b> told the Tracker he was covering an active scene after ICE agents crashed into a Hispanic man’s car and proceeded to question him about his immigration status. When Evans and a colleague arrived, a crowd of observers and community members had already formed. “A long standoff ensued, as the crowd of onlookers, media, and agents grew, with dozens of agents present at the peak,” Evans wrote. “The situation continued to deteriorate over the next 30 minutes, with agents deploying multiple tear gas canisters and shooting pepper balls at people.” Evans was among those targeted with the pepper ball munitions, with a federal agent <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-at-with-pepper-balls-amid-immigration-operation/\">shooting directly at his feet</a>. Later, as the agents drove away, they deployed more tear gas, and one leaned out of his window and pepper-sprayed everyone standing along the side of the road. Evans said he and at least four other members of the press were affected. “I was sprayed in the hands, which burned for a couple of hours after. When I incidentally touched my face, it left my eyes and lips burning,” he wrote. Of the agents’ tactics, Evans said, “In a situation where a scene is active, and you’re planning to leave, I don’t understand the tactical benefit or logic or justification for casually throwing tear gas canisters out of a car door as you’re driving away. It feels punitive.” </li></ul></div>\n<div class=\"block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media full-width\">\n \n\n\n<img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-01-12T194706Z_569237629_RC2UZIAXK2Y2_RTRM.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"552\" alt=\"REUTERS/TIM EVANS\">\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"j2dnr\">A federal agent pepper-sprays a crowd of demonstrators and members of the press, including photojournalist Tim Evans, as officers depart following an incident where a civilian’s car was hit by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 12, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t\t> — REUTERS/TIM EVANS\n\t\t\t\t</span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t</figcaption>\n \n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h3 data-block-key=\"drla2\">Jan. 13, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"dgbs7\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"epflq\">Photojournalist <b>Tim Evans </b>told the Tracker he arrived to cover an ICE raid at a home in the racially diverse Central neighborhood of Minneapolis at around 9:40 a.m., documenting as two young Hispanic individuals were brought out of the home by federal officers. At approximately 10 a.m., a woman driving through a nearby intersection was detained by officers, who broke her window, cut her seat belt and carried her by her arms and legs to a federal vehicle. As Evans crouched to photograph her face between the agents’ legs, one <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-to-the-ground-pepper-sprayed-at-minneapolis-protest/\">shoved him to the ground</a>. A short while later, he noticed a federal law enforcement vehicle driving past demonstrators and stepped forward to photograph it. “As the vehicle passed, an agent shot pepper spray from out of his window, indiscriminately spraying numerous people,” Evans wrote. “I was sprayed directly in the eyes, which immediately blinded me.” The photojournalist called out to a colleague who began to assist him, as a disorientation device detonated behind them. The pair made their way to a nearby church, where Evans was able to wash the irritants from his face.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"1pgqu\">Jan. 14, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"6fapg\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"pq34\">Reporter <b>Wali Khan</b> said <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DTij8gcidTr/\">in an Instagram post</a> that an ICE officer threatened him with arrest while he was filming the aftermath of protesters flattening the tire of an unmarked ICE vehicle. “Just press,” Khan said in the Instagram video. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re the press,” the officer responded. “We’re giving everybody a fucking warning: If they fuck around, they’re going to get arrested.”</li><li data-block-key=\"cfhbs\">Status Coup journalist <b>Zach Roberts</b> and photographer <b>Jon Farina</b> were exposed to tear gas fired by various law enforcement agencies. <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-in-the-head-by-projectile-at-minnesota-protest/\">Also that day,</a> Roberts was hit in the head with debris from a crowd-control munition.</li><li data-block-key=\"dbtk0\">CNN correspondent <b>Whitney Wild</b> <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/us/minneapolis-person-shot-federal-agent\">said</a> on air that she and her crew were hit with chemical irritants. “It’s a little hard to breathe because they just let off several flash bangs, multiple tear gas canisters.” She added that she and her producer, <b>Meridith Edwards</b>, got separated from photographer <b>Jonathan Schaer</b> at one point because it was so foggy from the tear gas, as shown in another CNN <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/politics/video/cnn-crew-in-minneapolis-hit-with-flashbangs-and-tear-gas-amid-ice-protests\">video</a>.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"86mgs\">Jan. 15, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"6eepa\">In Fort Snelling</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"bn6jf\">Photographer <b>John Abernathy</b> was subjected to intense tear gas and deliberately pepper-sprayed as federal officers <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-arrested-pepper-sprayed-and-tear-gassed-by-federal-officers/\">detained and arrested him</a> outside the Whipple Building. “As soon as that hit me, I was 100% defenseless. It was extreme pain. My eyes were burning, my face was burning and that was near my last breath,” Abernathy told the Tracker of the pepper spray.</li><li data-block-key=\"3cvvl\">Photojournalist<b> Tim Evans</b> told the Tracker that he was also tear-gassed by federal agents, most of whom were from Customs and Border Protection. “They deployed tear gas as they charged forward, tackled a local independent photographer to the ground, maced him heavily at point-blank range, and detained him,” Evans wrote, referring to Abernathy. “I was wearing a mask at the time. I experienced light coughing and spitting after removing my mask.”</li><li data-block-key=\"9p5rm\"><b>Martha Kelner,</b> a reporter for Sky News, <a href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/ice-shooting-minneapolis-protests-sky-journalist-video-b2901832.html\">struggled to report</a> after federal officers fired chemical irritants into the air. “As you can see, the police, with their weapons drawn, they’re firing tear gas, pepper bullets, too,” she said before she was overwhelmed. “Apologies, as you can hear that tear gas is really catching in the throat of everyone here.”</li><li data-block-key=\"3319l\">Reporter <b>Wali Khan</b> can be heard reacting in pain and coughing as he is exposed to tear gas fired by federal agents <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DTuAWNAAcO6/\">in an Instagram video</a> taken outside the Whipple Building.</li></ul><h4 data-block-key=\"a04i5\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"jc3r\">CNN correspondent <b>Julia Vargas Jones</b> told the Tracker that she, her producer <b>Sarah Moon</b> and photojournalist <b>Orlando Ruiz</b> were <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-protests-01-15-26?post-id=cmkfulrqr0005356peu5bh6qi\">affected by pepper ball residue.</a> “We were in the crowd where federal officers were shooting to disperse the crowd,” Jones said. Ruiz’s eyes were especially irritated by the gust of the chemical irritant, and he needed to stop filming to clean them before continuing to report.</li><li data-block-key=\"dkbrr\">In a <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/minneapolis-ice-shooting-protests-01-15-26?post-id=cmkgg67jl000h3b6pwi2ah00y\">CNN video</a>, reporter <b>Shimon Prokupecz</b> retreated, coughing, from the area of a protest as law enforcement deployed tear gas and percussion grenades. “Wow. This is nasty,” Prokupecz said as he continued to choke through his report.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"7mtfq\">Jan. 16, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"dhomo\">In Fort Snelling</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"19hlg\">Photojournalist<b> Tim Evans </b>was reporting on protests outside the Whipple Building when dozens of agents rushed into the street to chase an individual. The agents then formed a line in the roadway, threatening all those present with arrest if they did not move off the main roadway. An agent with CBP’s Special Response Team also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/minnesota-photojournalist-shot-at-with-pepper-balls-during-immigration-protest/\">shot pepper balls at Evans</a> while he was crouched to photograph the line of agents.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"e6l6m\">Jan. 21, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"fg0j8\">In Fort Snelling</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"r1sq\"><b>Daniel Knowles</b>, a Midwest correspondent for The Economist, told the Tracker he had RSVP’d to a DHS news conference but was denied entry for security reasons. “Pretty much all the foreign press there were excluded from what I could tell,” he wrote in an email.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"e2kgt\">Jan. 23, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"b5omk\"><b>In Minneapolis</b></h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"8tdt6\">Independent journalists <b>Margaret Killjoy</b> and <b>James Stout</b> were repeatedly threatened with arrest while trapped between a line of Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies and a wall near the Whipple Building. Stout told the Tracker that they were documenting protests near the building that day, but had gone to their vehicle for additional clothing layers and hand warmers to defrost Stout’s equipment, which had stopped working in the -30˚F weather. After they returned to the scene, they found that sheriff’s deputies had pushed protesters back from the building and were blocking the journalists’ way out of the area. The officers then informed them they had only five minutes to disperse or else face arrest, directing them to head east toward a road, but no one around them knew where that was. “On one side of us is a military installation, so we’re not going that way. On the other side of us is fenced off. Then there’s the pathway that goes around the side of the federal building, kind of behind us. And then where we are standing is directly next to a light rail station.” Stout said he tried to approach the deputies, but they started advancing toward them and gesturing for them to leave. He added that he was clearly identifiable as a journalist — wearing a bright red helmet labeled “PRESS” in all caps and carrying a professional microphone. Killjoy was also wearing a helmet with similar markings. At what Stout said felt like the last possible moment, a light rail train happened to pull into the station, and they were able to board, bypassing the deputies’ skirmish line.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"3rub4\">Jan. 24, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"ac4hj\"><b>In Minneapolis</b></h4><p data-block-key=\"dgakt\"><i>Protests erupted in Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood after local resident</i> <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-protester-alex-pretti-15ade7de6e19cb0291734e85dac763dc\"><i>Alex Pretti was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents</i></a><i>. Pretti had been filming agents in the street when he attempted to help a woman who had been shoved to the ground by federal officers.</i></p><ul><li data-block-key=\"aalga\">Independent journalist <b>Sean Beckner-Carmitchel</b> was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-doused-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officers-in-minnesota/\">deliberately drenched</a> in pepper spray by federal officers while documenting an impromptu protest in the hours after the shooting. He <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/acatwithnews.bsky.social/post/3md6vxcefnc2g\">wrote on social media</a> that protesters were gathered less than a block from where the shooting took place, and federal agents targeted them with large volumes of chemical irritants. “I got absolutely covered in spray,” he added in a <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/acatwithnews.bsky.social/post/3md6vxd6ud22g\">subsequent post</a>. “Really grateful to some protesters who have helped remove the dousing all over one of my jackets, face and camera.”</li><li data-block-key=\"4o1a7\">KSTP-TV photojournalist <b>Joe Caffrey</b> and reporter <b>Eric Rasmussen</b> were <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Efj9_tzC8QA\">tear-gassed on live TV</a> while covering an impromptu protest in the hours after Pretti’s death. “They’re moving us back,” Rasmussen reported while violently coughing and catching his breath. “There was no warning. I got to get to safety, I’m sorry, guys.” Caffrey was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-in-thigh-with-sponge-tipped-round-at-minneapolis-protest/\">struck in the thigh</a> with a crowd-control munition by federal agents as the pair attempted to move back from the growing cloud of chemical irritant.</li><li data-block-key=\"6tmv\">Status Coup journalists <b>JT Cestkowski</b> and <b>Jon Farina</b> were caught in tear gas while documenting the protests. In a video posted to <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DT5sFP0iM06/\">Instagram</a>, both journalists move back from gas and pepper spray, as Cestkowski is heard coughing. Later, he reported that residents offered water to him and those affected by the chemical irritant. “The tear gas that’s being fired there is not being fired by the local law enforcement; it’s being fired by the federal government,” he said of the continuous barrage.</li><li data-block-key=\"alrdo\">Photojournalist<b> Tim Evans</b> told the Tracker that as agents set up a caution tape perimeter around where Pretti had been killed, a federal agent was walking up and down the line photographing those present, including Evans and other members of the press. The photojournalist was also repeatedly tear-gassed by federal agents, Minnesota State Patrol troopers and Minneapolis Police Department officers while covering the impromptu demonstrations that followed. He told the Tracker that when he returned to his vehicle, he found two spent tear gas canisters — one under the engine block and one under the rear passenger-side door. “My car was covered in smoke residue and smelled strongly of gas inside for two days,” he wrote.</li><li data-block-key=\"2a8kr\">KARE reporter <b>Joe McCoy</b> and anchor <b>Jana Shortal</b>, <a href=\"https://www.kare11.com/video/news/local/ice-in-minnesota/reports-of-shooting-involving-federal-agents-kare-reporter-pepper-sprayed/89-d6d51c50-b077-4b8c-a2a7-295f7d12178b\">while on air</a> covering the demonstrations, were driven from the scene with others in the crowd after several loud bangs were heard. McCoy told the studio anchor that law enforcement had launched tear gas into the gathering, but that he and Shortal were unharmed. The incident occurred shortly after Shortal was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/anchor-shoved-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-agents-after-minnesota-killing/\">shoved</a> by federal agents and sprayed in the eye with a chemical irritant.</li><li data-block-key=\"8hfur\">CNN reporter<b> Sara Sidner</b> and photographer<b> Jerry Simonson</b> were also inundated by a cloud of tear gas while reporting from the scene. In a video posted to <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DT7HLTDjoHO/\">Instagram</a>, Sidner chokes violently after federal agents deploy the gas. “I can’t breathe,” she said, as the sound cuts on and off. Later, in another <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT56fgjDgbe/\">Instagram video</a>, she said, “There was no physical reaction from protesters; the only thing they were doing was speaking their minds, and suddenly we were all gassed and munitions fired toward us.”</li><li data-block-key=\"92spk\">KARE television reporter <b>Samie Solina</b> <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/reporter-describes-throwing-up-from-tear-gas-near-the-scene-of-minneapolis-shooting-256525893686\">reported that she was sprayed</a> with tear gas as crowds gathered. “I was kind of coughing up and throwing up a little bit earlier in the day because of that chemical irritant,” Solina said.</li><li data-block-key=\"27tqi\">Wall Street Journal reporter <b>Mariah Timms</b> reported that federal agents deployed tear gas near where she was reporting, causing people around her to start wretching from the exposure. “It was getting cloudier down in that intersection,” she said <a href=\"https://www.wsj.com/video/what-a-wsj-reporter-saw-on-the-ground-following-minneapolis-shooting/331663C8-51AF-4E64-9A69-EB6210F2CB9F\">in a video,</a> adding that she quickly got her mask on, though it was not properly secured in the frenzy. “It was that sort of spicy, back-of-your-throat, difficult-to-catch-your-breath feeling,” she said.</li><li data-block-key=\"3fi2s\">Independent journalist <b>Nick Valencia</b> was repeatedly exposed to chemical irritants launched by federal officers. In <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1383398282939110\">a Facebook video</a>, his eyes begin watering as he visibly reacts to the barrage. “This stuff is like pepper spray on steroids,” he told the Tracker. “I was basically left blinded for about 90 seconds.” Also that day, Valencia was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/border-patrol-agent-shoves-journalist-into-protesters-in-minnesota/\">pushed by a Border Patrol agent</a> and struck with <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-clipped-by-tear-gas-canisters-at-minnesota-protest/\">tear gas canisters</a>.</li></ul><h3 data-block-key=\"b2sq6\">Jan. 25, 2026</h3><h4 data-block-key=\"b2k7v\">In Minneapolis</h4><ul><li data-block-key=\"1onkn\">Status Coup reporter <b>Tina-Desiree Berg</b> and photojournalist <b>Jon Farina</b> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/statuscoupnews.bsky.social/post/3mde26o7bj22t\">reported</a> that they were covering a “noise demonstration” outside a hotel where federal officers were believed to be staying when officers deployed tear gas and disorientation weapons to disperse a gaggle of journalists who were already complying with orders to move back from the hotel. Both journalists were caught in the growing cloud of chemical gas. In footage of the incident, Berg can be heard saying “I can’t breathe” multiple times as explosions continue in the background. Farina tells her to cover her face and reassures her, “I got you.” As Berg struggles to continue moving, Farina says, “We have to keep going. Come here, we’re almost safe.” Both journalists needed to rinse off the irritant before they could continue reporting, according to Status Coup. The incident occurred shortly after a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-grabbed-thrown-to-the-ground-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota/\">federal officer seized Berg</a> from behind and shoved her to the ground.</li><li data-block-key=\"4m6vc\">The day after <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-clipped-by-tear-gas-canisters-at-minnesota-protest/\">previous</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/border-patrol-agent-shoves-journalist-into-protesters-in-minnesota/\">incidents</a>, independent journalist <b>Nick Valencia</b> was exposed to chemical irritants and ordered to leave while documenting federal agents making at least two arrests, he told the Tracker. In a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19WoDp3ys5/\">video Valencia posted to Facebook</a>, he identifies himself as a journalist. An agent responds, “Don’t care,” before shining a light in his face. Valencia later <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DT-gk6VET4a/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\">posted an Instagram</a> photo showing an agent pointing a gun at him, which he told the Tracker was likely loaded with crowd-control munitions. “You show up with a camera, they show up with a gun and point it at you,” he wrote on the post. “I repeatedly identified myself as a journalist and was repeatedly told by the feds they didn’t care who I was. They would shoot me.” Valencia told the Tracker the encounter was brief and did not feel like an imminent threat at the time.</li></ul></div>",
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