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{
"title": "Reporter shot with impact projectile while covering Oregon immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shot-with-impact-projectile-while-covering-oregon-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-05T19:41:58.858256Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-05T19:54:36.585628Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-05T19:54:36.507467Z",
"date": "2026-01-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ufbuy\">Eugene Weekly reporter Eve Weston was hit in the stomach by a crowd-control munition fired by a federal officer while covering a protest in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"9glcg\">Demonstrators had <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/01/31/ice-out-protest-and-chaos/\">gathered</a> at the site that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities, the alternative paper reported. At one point in the late afternoon, a window of the building was broken, and federal officers inside opened fire with crowd-control munitions, according to the report.</p><p data-block-key=\"52gv1\">The protest was declared a riot by the Eugene Police Department, and Weston told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that afterward, federal officers came out and deployed crowd-control munitions and chemical irritants into the crowd, which she <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME0jvhLRLnE&t=92s\">captured on video</a> for the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"295cd\">Weston said that one officer came through a cloud of gas as she was backing up with others, lifting his tear gas canister launcher and shooting it almost directly at her.</p><p data-block-key=\"6m9nl\">“I was struck in the stomach. I am OK. It didn’t really injure me, but it definitely surprised me,” she said.</p><p data-block-key=\"34fhk\">Weston said the officer fired at her even though she was clearly identified as press.</p><p data-block-key=\"6uidl\">“I was wearing a very reflective red press vest. I was wearing a press pass. I even have this city-issued arm band that they give you, that’s this yellow reflector that you can put your press pass into.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7mvob\">Three days earlier, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-reporter-hit-with-crowd-control-munitions-while-covering-immigration-protest/\">Weston</a> and at least one other journalist, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-oregon-protest/\">Agostinho Da Silva</a>, had been hit by crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest in the same location.</p><p data-block-key=\"9s1e1\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5r7ry\">Local and federal law enforcement face a crowd of protesters and journalists in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 30, 2026. Moments later, reporter Eve Weston was hit by a crowd-control munition fired by a federal officer.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"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": [
"Eve Weston (Eugene Weekly)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent journalist arrested, charged over Minnesota protest coverage",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-arrested-charged-over-minnesota-protest-coverage/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-30T20:50:18.082493Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-30T21:55:24.830713Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-30T21:50:18.284611Z",
"date": "2026-01-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"zboso\">Independent journalist Georgia Fort was arrested by federal agents at her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the early hours of Jan. 30, 2026, after a grand jury indicted her on charges connected to her reporting on a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul almost two weeks prior.</p><p data-block-key=\"b03bu\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">expansion</a> of an immigration enforcement crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge, and federal officers’ fatal shooting of two Minneapolis residents — <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">Renee Good</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"dl3vi\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTqqE2NjiR6/\">video report</a> Fort posted to social media, protest organizers said the church was targeted because one of the pastors is allegedly the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s St. Paul Field Office.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ms5u\">Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/harmeet-dhillon-targets-journalists-as-assistant-attorney-general/\">Harmeet Dhillon</a> announced the following day 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>. While multiple journalists covered the demonstration, Dhillon focused most publicly on independent journalist and former CNN anchor Don Lemon.</p><p data-block-key=\"efd3b\">“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=\"celic\">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=\"ft0bq\">A federal magistrate judge refused to issue charges against Lemon and others, CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/magistrate-judge-rejects-charges-don-lemon-anti-ice-protest-minnesota-church/\">reported</a> Jan. 22. 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, <a href=\"https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/don-lemon-minnesota-church-grand-jury-doj-trump\">according to MS NOW</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"favfj\">A grand jury impaneled Jan. 29 handed down indictments for both Lemon and Fort, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/don-lemon-arrest-minnesota-church-protest.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare\">The New York Times</a> and <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/don-lemon-in-custody-former-cnn-anchor-sources-say/\">CBS News</a> reported. Lemon was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/don-lemon-arrested-charged-over-covering-minnesota-church-protest\">arrested that evening</a> in Los Angeles, where he had been covering the upcoming Grammy Awards, according to a statement from his attorney Abbe Lowell.</p><p data-block-key=\"epo0l\">Fort was arrested the next morning, according to a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ByGeorgiaFort/videos/912031984668455\">livestream</a> she posted while federal agents stood outside her door. “They’re saying that they were able to go before a grand jury sometime, I guess, in the last 24 hours, and that they have a warrant for my arrest,” Fort said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5e2k6\">“This is all stemming from the fact that I filmed a protest as a member of the media,” Fort continued. “I don’t feel like I have my First Amendment right as a member of the press because now federal agents are at my door, arresting me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eofot\">Leita Walker, an attorney representing Fort, told <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/journalists-georgia-fort-don-lemon-arrested-over-protest-during-st-paul-church-service/601573975\">The Minnesota Star Tribune</a> that Fort was arrested by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration “for reasons I don’t understand.” Fort was then taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, the site of much of the judicial and protest activity around the immigration crackdown in Minnesota.</p><p data-block-key=\"2akvv\">U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017238803639845115\">wrote on social media</a> that the journalists’ arrests and those of two others were done at her direction. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017277024235040888\">video posted</a> a couple of hours later, Bondi said: “Make no mistake: Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And, if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9gdjq\">According to the Times, both journalists face the same charges as the church protesters — conspiring to deprive rights and interfering with someone’s religious freedom in a house of worship.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mbsp\">According to the Star Tribune, Fort appeared in federal court in Minneapolis on the afternoon of Jan. 30. She was <a href=\"https://www.threads.com/@phil.lewis/post/DUJmF_wDuIr\">released from custody</a> shortly after 3 p.m.</p><p data-block-key=\"3f6j4\">Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison <a href=\"https://x.com/AGEllison/status/2017263148286316546/photo/1\">said in a statement</a> that the arrests were “deeply troubling.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8tchs\">“In Minnesota, we do not treat journalists like criminals for doing their jobs. No one should be arrested merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions, or telling the public what we have a right to know,” Ellison wrote. “When the federal government arrests reporters for documenting what is happening in our communities, it violates our rights, undermines our trust, and chills the transparency our democracy needs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"rk3i\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, condemned the arrests as “naked attacks on freedom of the press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"48qv5\">“The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them,” said Seth Stern, FPF’s chief of advocacy. “The answer to this outrageous attack is not fear or self-censorship. It’s an even stronger commitment to journalism, the truth, and the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dmqlh\"><i>Update: This article has been revised to include details about Georgia Fort’s release.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-01-30_at_1.20.51P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"13ida\">Independent journalist Georgia Fort reported live as federal agents stood outside her Minneapolis, Minnesota, home with an arrest warrant on Jan. 30, 2026. A grand jury indicted her after coverage of a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Drug Enforcement Administration",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2026-01-30",
"detention_date": "2026-01-30",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Georgia Fort (Independent)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist hit in leg with projectile at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-hit-in-leg-with-projectile-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-04T21:36:07.850259Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-04T21:43:30.034890Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-04T21:43:29.943874Z",
"date": "2026-01-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"aozzh\">Independent journalist Anthony Cabassa was struck in the back of the thigh by an impact projectile fired by a police officer while covering an immigration rights protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"560ot\">The demonstration was part of nationwide protests that <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-30/national-shutdown-brings-protests-to-l-a-across-nation-calling-for-end-of-ice-violence\">began that day</a> and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers have shot and killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement has continued <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">since June</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"a91of\">Cabassa told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was hit with the crowd-control munition while filming LA Police Department officers pushing protesters away from the federal building where immigrants were being detained. He said the shot may have been a ricochet rather than a direct strike.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING 🚨: Chaos, as LAPD are firing less than lethal into the crowd, multiple members of the media have been hit, including me. Police shot my legs as I was walking away from police line, and when I turned around they shot me twice in the stomach with less than lethal. <a href=\"https://t.co/2fqLzKNXom\">pic.twitter.com/2fqLzKNXom</a></p>— Anthony (@anthonycabassa) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/anthonycabassa/status/2017424190044049638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 31, 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=\"aozzh\">Shortly after, however, he said he was <a href=\"/all-incidents/journalist-shot-by-projectiles-injuring-torso-at-la-protest/\">deliberately struck with projectiles on his torso</a>, striking his press badge and leaving a bleeding, open wound on his stomach.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4bkl\">Cabassa said the thigh injury severely limited his mobility and forced him to leave the protest early, even as demonstrations continued for several more hours. He returned the next day but left again due to the pain.</p><p data-block-key=\"20qm6\">LAPD’s actions on Jan. 30 appeared to violate a California law prohibiting officers from firing munitions at members of the press. They also seemed to flout a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">preliminary injunction</a> issued last year.</p><p data-block-key=\"4i5m3\">LAPD did not immediately return a request for comment. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDCentral/status/2017422317299916893?s=20\">social media post on X</a> the evening of the protest, the department said it used crowd munitions in response to violence against officers, but did not address their use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-01-31T021152Z_268211974_RC22.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"y2o49\">Los Angeles Police Department officers at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026. Journalist Anthony Cabassa was hit in the leg with a crowd-control munition while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Anthony Cabassa (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed, pelted with projectiles at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-pelted-with-projectiles-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-04T20:32:57.490525Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-04T20:32:57.490525Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-04T20:32:57.271063Z",
"date": "2026-01-30",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"axjd9\">Student photojournalist Griffin O’Rourke was struck in the knees with crowd-control munitions fired by federal agents while covering a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pncp\">The demonstration was part of nationwide protests that <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-30/national-shutdown-brings-protests-to-l-a-across-nation-calling-for-end-of-ice-violence\">began that day</a> and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers have shot and killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement has continued <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">since June</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmtb3\">O’Rourke, photo editor for the Daily Sundial at California State University Northridge, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was photographing demonstrators outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA, where immigrants were being held.</p><p data-block-key=\"15rqn\">As protesters began pushing a metal dumpster toward the entrance of a parking garage, Department of Homeland Security officers fired a barrage of crowd-control munitions into the area. O’Rourke said he took cover behind the dumpster. When he stepped out to get a better photo, he was struck in the legs with pepper balls, which he identified by the residue they left behind.</p><p data-block-key=\"fre9j\">O’Rourke said he was wearing a helmet labeled “press” and a visible media badge, but could not tell whether he was targeted or not when he was hit.</p><p data-block-key=\"3jpjn\">“The pain was pretty intense,” said O’Rourke, whose legs were bruised from the impact. “It felt like my knees were buckling, so I had to go sit down for a few minutes.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ervgf\">Moments later, O’Rourke was engulfed in tear gas that seeped behind his goggles. The chemical irritant temporarily incapacitated him until somebody helped him wash it from his eyes.</p><p data-block-key=\"akat\">“I was practically blind from the tear gas,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"67rtb\">Later, as Los Angeles Police Department officers pushed demonstrators away from the federal building, police told O’Rourke to move and then shoved him.</p><p data-block-key=\"63vtc\">“They were just more frustrated that I was in the way, then targeting me as the press,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmno0\">The actions of both DHS and the LAPD on Jan. 30 appeared to violate <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=409.7\">California law</a> prohibiting law enforcement from using violent protest policing tactics with members of the press, which courts reinforced with <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-pepper-balls-while-covering-la-immigration-protest/\">preliminary injunctions</a> issued to <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">both agencies</a> last year.</p><p data-block-key=\"2onr7\">Requests for comment by both agencies were not immediately returned. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDCentral/status/2017422317299916893?s=20\">social media post on X</a> the evening of the protest, the LAPD said it used crowd-control munitions in response to violence against officers, but it did not address the use of force against journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"6oa5s\">In a Jan. 31 post on <a href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115991701359412321\">his social media platform</a>, President Donald Trump wrote that federal agents would participate in policing protests only if requested, but that he had instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol “to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/ORourke_antiICEProtest-2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"61llc\">Law enforcement officers hold crowd-control weapons at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026. Photojournalist Griffin O’Rourke was pushed by officers and struck with pepper balls while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
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"Griffin O'Rourke ([California State University Northridge] Daily Sundial)"
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},
{
"title": "Photographer shoved to the ground by police at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-to-the-ground-by-police-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-06T17:45:31.538531Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-06T17:45:31.538531Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-06T17:45:31.374228Z",
"date": "2026-01-30",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6e2vx\">Independent photographer Anna Moltke was pushed to the ground by a police officer at a demonstration against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"2h831\">The protest was part of nationwide protests <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-30/national-shutdown-brings-protests-to-l-a-across-nation-calling-for-end-of-ice-violence\">held that day</a> and followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens earlier in January. In LA, sweeping federal immigration enforcement actions have continued <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">since June</a> 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"f0brb\">Moltke told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was wearing a helmet with press identifiers as well as a media badge when she went to cover the protest near the federal detention facility downtown, where immigrants were being held.</p><p data-block-key=\"5vn9i\">A protester threw a water bottle at Los Angeles Police Department officers. The officers, armed with batons and crowd-control weapons, began pushing the crowd down the street. As Moltke moved in the direction police were directing the crowd, an officer pushed her to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"68vkg\">“In that moment, being pushed to the ground, I just froze and became very frazzled,” Moltke said. “There was no mistake that I am press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4asri\">The impact forced her camera into her chest and left her with scuffs and bruises on her knee, hip and elbow. Moltke said the experience brought back memories of the tension and violence she encountered while covering similar protests in June.</p><p data-block-key=\"db9lr\">“I definitely felt hindered. Like, I just got hurt. Am I going to get more hurt if I continue to try to do this properly and not from a large distance away?” Moltke said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5jmpm\">She continued photographing the protest for another hour. While she was there, law enforcement deployed chemical irritants, which seeped into her clothes and caused her to cough even after she left.</p><p data-block-key=\"1c3fg\">The LAPD officers’ actions appeared to violate <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=409.7\">California law</a> prohibiting law enforcement from using violent protest policing tactics with members of the press, which courts reinforced with a <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">preliminary injunction</a> last year.</p><p data-block-key=\"blkq2\">The LAPD did not respond to a request for comment. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDCentral/status/2017422317299916893?s=20\">post on the social platform X</a> the evening of the protest, the department said it used crowd-control munitions in response to violence against officers, but did not address their use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m9z9z\">Los Angeles Police Department officers line up at an immigration protest on Jan. 30, 2026. Photographer Anna Moltke was pushed to the ground by police while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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{
"title": "Don Lemon arrested, charged over covering Minnesota church protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/don-lemon-arrested-charged-over-covering-minnesota-church-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-30T20:37:14.548610Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-05T21:24:54.523700Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-05T21:24:54.364385Z",
"date": "2026-01-29",
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"city": "Beverly Hills",
"longitude": -118.40036,
"latitude": 34.07362,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"0zrc7\">Independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 29, 2026, after a grand jury indicted him on charges connected to his reporting on a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, almost two weeks prior.</p><p data-block-key=\"93r69\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">expansion</a> of an immigration enforcement crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge, and federal officers’ fatal shooting of two Minneapolis residents — <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">Renee Good</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4p3p0\">The former CNN anchor and his film crew followed demonstrators as they entered Cities Church on Jan. 18 to voice their opposition to ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTqqE2NjiR6/\">Protest organizers said</a> the church was targeted because one of the pastors is allegedly the director of ICE’s St. Paul Field Office.</p><p data-block-key=\"7u4dj\">Later that day, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/harmeet-dhillon-targets-journalists-as-assistant-attorney-general/\">Harmeet Dhillon</a> wrote <a href=\"https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2013044166062936417\">on social media</a> that Lemon was “on notice,” and the following day she announced 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>.</p><p data-block-key=\"c6cb3\">“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=\"d5490\">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=\"bnaeg\">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. 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, <a href=\"https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/don-lemon-minnesota-church-grand-jury-doj-trump\">according to MS NOW</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"73tft\">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 would pursue the case against Lemon “to the ends of the earth.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a79v2\">A grand jury impaneled Jan. 29 handed down indictments for Lemon as well as independent journalist Georgia Fort, <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/don-lemon-arrest-minnesota-church-protest.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare\">The New York Times</a> and <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/don-lemon-in-custody-former-cnn-anchor-sources-say/\">CBS News</a> reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ii72\"><a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/politics/don-lemon-custody\">According to CNN</a>, more than two dozen agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations — which is leading the investigation — arrested Lemon after 11 p.m. Lemon was in the Los Angeles area to cover the upcoming Grammy Awards, according to a statement from his attorney Abbe Lowell.</p><p data-block-key=\"cguvb\">Fort <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-arrested-charged-over-minnesota-protest-coverage\">was arrested</a> in the early hours of Jan. 30.</p><p data-block-key=\"d9sb5\">“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell wrote. “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"93rgc\">U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017238803639845115\">wrote on social media</a> that the arrests of Lemon, Fort and two others were done at her direction. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/2017277024235040888\">video posted</a> a couple of hours later, Bondi said: “Make no mistake: Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely. And, if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"288pm\">According to the Times, both journalists face the same charges as the church protesters — conspiring to deprive rights and interfering with someone’s religious freedom in a house of worship.</p><p data-block-key=\"fjkbv\">According to <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/30/don-lemon-arrest-minneapolis-church-protest/\">The Washington Post</a>, Lemon appeared for an initial hearing in federal court on the afternoon of Jan. 30. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Robbins asked the court to issue a $100,000 bond, asserting that the “defendant knowingly joined a mob to storm the church.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cn9ql\">Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue rejected that request, releasing Lemon under his own recognizance on a no money bond, CNN reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"4taui\">Lemon read a statement following his release, CBS News <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/don-lemon-in-custody-former-cnn-anchor-sources-say/\">reported</a>, thanking his supporters and vowing to fight the charges.</p><p data-block-key=\"frv4a\">“Last night, the DOJ sent a team of federal agents to arrest me in the middle of the night for something that I’ve been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news,” he said, of the Department of Justice. “The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless other journalists who do what I do. I stand with all of them, and I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5incv\">Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison <a href=\"https://x.com/AGEllison/status/2017263148286316546/photo/1\">said in a statement</a> that the arrests were “deeply troubling.”</p><p data-block-key=\"31iu3\">“In Minnesota, we do not treat journalists like criminals for doing their jobs. No one should be arrested merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions, or telling the public what we have a right to know,” Ellison wrote. “When the federal government arrests reporters for documenting what is happening in our communities, it violates our rights, undermines our trust, and chills the transparency our democracy needs.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dc99q\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, condemned the arrests as “naked attacks on freedom of the press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8d5rq\">“The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them,” said Seth Stern, FPF’s chief of advocacy. “The answer to this outrageous attack is not fear or self-censorship. It’s an even stronger commitment to journalism, the truth, and the First Amendment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6gg09\">According to CNN, Lemon is scheduled to next appear in court Feb. 9 in Minneapolis.</p><p data-block-key=\"amiir\"><i>Update: This article has been revised to include details about Don Lemon’s arrest and release from federal custody.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m55jl\">Independent journalist Don Lemon, above at a December 2025 event, was arrested by federal agents in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 29, 2026. A grand jury indicted him after coverage of a protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Homeland Security Investigations",
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"(2026-02-13 22:11:00+00:00) Federal agents seized journalist’s phone during arrest"
],
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},
{
"title": "Video journalist shoved, threatened with arrest by federal agents in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/video-journalist-shoved-threatened-with-arrest-by-federal-agents-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-29T21:51:07.914866Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-29T21:51:07.914866Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-29T21:46:43.133304Z",
"date": "2026-01-28",
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"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nzybt\">Mark Vancleave, a video journalist for The Associated Press, was pushed by a federal officer and threatened with arrest while reporting on an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"fbcf3\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">expansion</a> of an immigration enforcement crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge, and federal officers’ fatal shooting of two Minneapolis residents — <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">Renee Good</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eo2h\">In a <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHzI6MbDNUw\">video account</a> for the AP, Vancleave said that he and a colleague saw reports that federal agents were parked on the north side of the city, so went to document their actions.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ktqm\">“We arrived and saw a vehicle idling with a few observers standing at the ends of the block. Eventually, that vehicle left and was followed by a handful of observer vehicles,” Vancleave reported. The journalists did so as well, trailing behind by a couple of hundred feet.</p><p data-block-key=\"abfh\">After a few blocks, they noticed “a white minivan aggressively driving up behind us with armed agents inside,” he continued. “We pulled over and turned on our hazards to let them pass. They didn’t. We eventually continued driving down the street.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9u6pv\">That’s when they realized that the lead vehicle had stopped ahead and, when the journalists pulled over, Vancleave said the white minivan quickly boxed them in.</p><p data-block-key=\"dnfl4\">“We jumped out with our cameras and walked to the sidewalk,” he continued. “Agents came out of that vehicle — Federal Bureau of Prisons agents — and told us that we would be under arrest if we did not immediately get back in our vehicle. We identified ourselves as Associated Press journalists, said that we would remain on the sidewalk and wanted to film what was happening in front of us.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3nb65\">In the first seconds of Vancleave’s report, the officers can be seen ordering him to get back in his vehicle and leave the area, when one suddenly reaches out and shoves him. Vancleave identifies himself as a journalist for the AP, and an officer responds, “I don’t care who you are, get back in your vehicle.”</p><p data-block-key=\"95tcp\">When reached by email, the Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment because “this matter involves an active law enforcement operation,” and did not respond to inquiries concerning the agency’s training on interacting with the media or its role in the enforcement operation.</p><p data-block-key=\"51q93\">Vancleave declined to comment, directing requests to the AP. Patrick Maks, director of media relations for the wire service, praised the journalists in an emailed statement to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"foekk\">“Our journalists conducted themselves with the utmost professionalism despite being forced back into their vehicle and threatened with arrest while covering an enforcement operation in a Minneapolis neighborhood,” Maks wrote. “This treatment of journalists is unacceptable. They were simply doing their job, which is to bear witness so that the public knows what’s happening on the ground.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"qqhxs\">Associated Press video journalist Mark Vancleave reports that a Federal Bureau of Prisons officer pushed and threatened him with arrest while he was covering immigration enforcement activity in north Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 28, 2026.</p>",
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
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},
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"tags": [
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"immigration"
],
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"categories": [
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],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photographer hit with projectiles and chemical irritant, shoved at Oregon protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-projectiles-and-chemical-irritant-shoved-at-oregon-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-18T16:08:12.240614Z",
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"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-18T16:13:56.299594Z",
"date": "2026-01-27",
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"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"sfvc8\">Independent photographer Robert Scherle was shoved, hit with crowd-control munitions and drenched in a chemical irritant at the hands of federal officers while covering a protest at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4or7u\">Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>, according to reports by <a href=\"https://dailyemerald.com/178775/community-news/live-updates-protestors-pepper-balled-detained-outside-eugene-federal-building/#\">local</a> <a href=\"https://lcctorch.com/pepper-and-ice/\">news</a> <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/01/29/gassed-by-the-feds/\">outlets</a> and <a href=\"https://doublesidedmedia.com/2026/01/28/federal-officers-interrupt-nurse-led-candlelight-vigil-for-alex-pretti-in-eugene-with-chemical-munitions/\">Double Sided Media</a>, which Scherle contributes to. Pretti is the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bl6u\">Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded to protesters by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at them and detaining individuals at various times during the day, those reports said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5kk31\">Scherle told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived at the Federal Building around noon. He was taking photos of people being “grabbed” by DHS agents, and demonstrators’ angry reactions to the detentions, he said. As the confrontation between the federal agents and protesters escalated, more agents emerged.</p><p data-block-key=\"8k9n9\">Scherle, who was wearing a press pass and holding a professional camera, said he was pushed and shoved by federal agents as he photographed the interactions.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sluq\">He told the Tracker he believed the agents knew he was a journalist documenting the events. “I think that could have been avoided, because I had a press pass,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"3u3r2\">The agents then sprayed a chemical irritant that he believed to be Mace at him and other journalists and protesters, and fired pepper balls as they retreated through a passageway.</p><p data-block-key=\"bnb23\">“As we were passing through there, they started shooting the pepper balls up into the ceiling of this open passageway so that the pepper balls would rain down on us,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"aldis\">Scherle said he was hit with pepper balls “all over” his body. “It was dense, it was rapid fire. And it was cold that day, so I had a lot of heavy clothing on. So I could just feel a little bit on the parts of my body that weren’t as heavily covered.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fbh93\">He said he was wearing a full-face respirator, which protected him somewhat, but not entirely, from the effects of the chemical irritant. “I was just saturated in the pepper spray, so that got all over my face, and that really burned,” he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"epovq\">Scherle went home to shower and returned to cover the ongoing protest later in the day, when he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-photographer-hit-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-immigration-protest/\">also hit</a> with crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"e1sa0\">“That’s the first time I’ve ever been tear-gassed in Eugene. And I’ve been covering direct actions for about six years now,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9j99e\"><a href=\"https://doublesidedmedia.com/2026/01/28/federal-officers-interrupt-nurse-led-candlelight-vigil-for-alex-pretti-in-eugene-with-chemical-munitions/\">Several other reporters</a> covering the protest that day were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-01-27&date_upper=2026-01-27&city=Eugene&state=Oregon&tags=protest\">also hit</a> with crowd-control munitions or chemical irritants.</p><p data-block-key=\"fr30k\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Scherle1_Jan_27.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"sf3ni\">A federal agent fires a chemical irritant at journalists and protesters at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. Photographer Robert Scherle was hit with the spray, and also shoved and struck with crowd-control munitions that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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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": [
"Robert Scherle (Independent)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Oregon reporter hit with crowd-control munitions while covering immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-reporter-hit-with-crowd-control-munitions-while-covering-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-05T19:36:51.782579Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-05T19:42:58.684889Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-05T19:42:58.517918Z",
"date": "2026-01-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cenxm\">Eugene Weekly reporter Eve Weston was hit in the leg and foot by crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"3gup6\">Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>, the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier, the alternative newspaper <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/01/29/gassed-by-the-feds/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"188m1\">Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at protesters and detaining individuals at various times during the day.</p><p data-block-key=\"d9ahq\">Weston told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she saw the federal officers come out of the building and start shooting at the crowd of around 200 people in the courtyard, including her and other reporters nearby.</p><p data-block-key=\"5bmac\">“As we are moving back, we’re holding up our badges. We’re screaming, ‘Press, don’t shoot,’ things like that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ebp5k\">It was then that Weston was hit, she said. “I was struck in the leg at least once, and then the foot with the pepper balls as we were backing away from them, pretty briskly, still trying to get a shot, but definitely backing up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8suq0\">She said at least two other reporters at the scene were also hit, including <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-oregon-protest/\">Agostinho Da Silva</a>, a reporter for The Torch, the student newspaper for Eugene’s Lane Community College.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ht59\">Weston said she and the others were clearly identified as press at the time. “We have these red vests that are reflective, and they say press on them. And so I was wearing that, and I was also holding up a press pass,” adding that she was holding her camera.</p><p data-block-key=\"41n0f\">The incident was captured by Weston in a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUFsHe0APg9/?igsh=MWhyYjRycWRobnBjYQ%3D%3D\">video</a> posted on Instagram.</p><p data-block-key=\"7k3t0\">Weston said she wasn’t injured too badly because she was wearing very thick clothing and personal protective equipment.</p><p data-block-key=\"9k0u3\">She was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-shot-with-impact-projectile-while-covering-oregon-immigration-protest/\">also struck</a> with a crowd-control munition on Jan. 30 while covering a subsequent protest at the Federal Building.</p><p data-block-key=\"19ph8\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Weston_Jan._27.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nov0q\">Federal officers advance on journalists and protesters in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. A moment later, reporter Eve Weston was hit by crowd-control munitions fired by officers.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
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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": [
"Eve Weston (Eugene Weekly)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter struck with impact projectiles while covering Oregon protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-oregon-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-03T23:30:27.817371Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-03T23:30:27.817371Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-03T23:28:36.236182Z",
"date": "2026-01-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kkjru\">Agostinho Da Silva, a reporter for Oregon’s Lane Community College student newspaper, The Torch, was repeatedly struck with crowd-control munitions while covering a protest in front of the Federal Building in Eugene on Jan. 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"bho36\">Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>, the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier, The Torch <a href=\"https://lcctorch.com/pepper-and-ice/\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"sho5\">Department of Homeland Security officers responded by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at the crowd and by detaining protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m1c3\">Da Silva told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he went to the Federal Building that day to document the actions of the DHS officers. At around 7 p.m., he said, officers “exited the building with an escalation of force, this time using flash bangs and indiscriminate pepper ball shots.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2bq8h\">“As I was backing away with the rest of the press gaggle, myself and other reporters next to me had our cameras in one hand and were holding out our press passes in the other hand, with myself and a few others yelling ‘Press, we’re press,’” Da Silva told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"fuvud\">“It was then that a few agents raised their pepper ball guns directly at our center mass and started firing directly toward the group of reporters. I was hit three times in my chest, once on my right thigh, and once on each ankle,” he said.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media right\">\n \n\n\n<img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Da_Silva_injury.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1104\" alt=\"Courtesy The Torch/Agostinho Da Silva\">\n\n \n <figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t\t<p data-block-key=\"95mog\">Reporter Agostinho Da Silva shows a bruise on his right thigh from a pepper ball shot at him by federal agents in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 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> — Courtesy The Torch/Agostinho Da Silva\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\"><p data-block-key=\"kkjru\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUCngaokZSi/\">video</a> that he filmed of the incident for The Torch, Da Silva can be heard identifying himself as press as officers advance, before reacting in pain to being hit.</p><p data-block-key=\"66n20\">Da Silva <a href=\"https://lastweekinhell.substack.com/p/theyre-clearly-targeting-us-dhs-attacks?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true\">told</a> independent journalist Kevin Foster that he was in a group with other members of the press, and that other reporters were hit as well. “We’re all standing together, fully marked, and they’re targeting us in particular,” he said, adding that he was wearing a gas mask but that his eyes were stung by the chemical irritants fired by the officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"6i03o\">Da Silva told the Tracker that six days after the incident, it was still a bit difficult to walk on his right leg without pain. “But it has not deterred me from continuing to report at the Federal Building when there are protests occurring.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7gf89\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Da_SIlva_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"uaosg\">Department of Homeland Security officers advance on journalists and protesters in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. A moment later, reporter Agostinho Da Silva was hit by crowd-control munitions fired by officers.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Agostinho Da Silva (The [Lane Community College] Torch)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Student journalist hit with impact projectiles while covering Oregon protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/student-journalist-hit-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-oregon-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-17T17:39:46.500158Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-17T17:39:46.500158Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-17T17:39:46.418339Z",
"date": "2026-01-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4prd3\">Saj Sundaram, a photojournalist for The Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon’s student newspaper, was hit multiple times with crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4sbq0\">Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>, according to reports by <a href=\"https://dailyemerald.com/178775/community-news/live-updates-protestors-pepper-balled-detained-outside-eugene-federal-building/#\">The Emerald</a> and other local <a href=\"https://lcctorch.com/pepper-and-ice/\">news</a> <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/01/29/gassed-by-the-feds/\">outlets</a>. Pretti is the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier.</p><p data-block-key=\"4cd9n\">Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded to protesters by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at them and detaining individuals at various times during the day, those reports said.</p><p data-block-key=\"fufbm\">Sundaram told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that later in the evening, federal agents began firing pepper balls to push back protesters and journalists gathered in front of the building.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vjrq\">“I definitely got hit multiple times, on the right side of my body,” he said, adding that the agents were aiming for people’s feet and legs, and he was hit in the foot, legs and lower torso, leaving several welts.</p><p data-block-key=\"254bl\">The journalist said he was wearing protective gear — including a helmet and gas mask — and a couple layers of clothing due to the cold, and that largely protected him from the impact of the projectiles.</p><p data-block-key=\"f2vis\">He said he was clearly identified as press, wearing credentials from his publication and holding a professional camera. He added that he was standing in a group with other journalists, including Eve Weston from Eugene Weekly, who was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-reporter-hit-with-crowd-control-munitions-while-covering-immigration-protest/\">also hit</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"61s19\">A <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUCtwFTjAKe/\">video</a> by Sundaram posted on The Emerald’s Instagram shows him and other journalists yelling “press” as they are backing up while federal agents fire at them.</p><p data-block-key=\"6nhet\">Along with Sundaram and Weston, <a href=\"https://doublesidedmedia.com/2026/01/28/federal-officers-interrupt-nurse-led-candlelight-vigil-for-alex-pretti-in-eugene-with-chemical-munitions/\">several other reporters</a> at the scene were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-01-27&date_upper=2026-01-27&city=Eugene&state=Oregon&tags=protest\">also hit</a>, including <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-oregon-protest/\">Agostinho Da Silva</a>, a reporter for The Torch, the student newspaper for Eugene’s Lane Community College.</p><p data-block-key=\"dlc0t\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Scherle_Sundaram_1.27.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ezjvd\">Federal officers confront protesters in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. Photojournalist Saj Sundaram was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by officers while covering the protest.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at",
"student journalism"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Saj Sundaram (The [University of Oregon] Daily Emerald)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Oregon photographer hit with impact projectiles while covering immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-photographer-hit-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-18T16:13:03.558734Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-18T16:13:03.558734Z",
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"date": "2026-01-27",
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"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bzrag\">Independent photographer Robert Scherle was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4aoh7\">Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>, according to reports by <a href=\"https://dailyemerald.com/178775/community-news/live-updates-protestors-pepper-balled-detained-outside-eugene-federal-building/#\">local</a> <a href=\"https://lcctorch.com/pepper-and-ice/\">news</a> <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/01/29/gassed-by-the-feds/\">outlets</a> and <a href=\"https://doublesidedmedia.com/2026/01/28/federal-officers-interrupt-nurse-led-candlelight-vigil-for-alex-pretti-in-eugene-with-chemical-munitions/\">Double Sided Media</a>, which Scherle contributes to. Pretti is the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier.</p><p data-block-key=\"2114c\">Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded to protesters by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at them and detaining individuals at various times during the day, those reports said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8iaec\">Scherle, who was wearing a press pass and holding a professional camera, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that after the vigil for Pretti ended in the early evening, protesters and other individuals began crowding around the front door of the building, with a few yelling and banging on the glass.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1lo7\">Federal agents responded by firing flash bangs, tear gas and then pepper balls to push the crowd back, Scherle said. The encounter — with protesters moving toward the building and agents pushing them back with crowd-control munitions — lasted for around an hour.</p><p data-block-key=\"4p04b\">He said that during that time he was hit with pepper balls and tear gas, adding that because it was dark and there were a lot of people there, he did not believe he was targeted as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"et25q\">Earlier that day, federal agents <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-projectiles-and-chemical-irritant-shoved-at-oregon-protest/\">pushed Scherle, shot him with crowd-control munitions and sprayed him with a chemical irritant</a> while he was covering the same protest.</p><p data-block-key=\"146a7\"><a href=\"https://doublesidedmedia.com/2026/01/28/federal-officers-interrupt-nurse-led-candlelight-vigil-for-alex-pretti-in-eugene-with-chemical-munitions/\">Several other reporters</a> covering the protest that day were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-01-27&date_upper=2026-01-27&city=Eugene&state=Oregon&tags=protest\">also hit</a> with crowd-control munitions or chemical irritants.</p><p data-block-key=\"dob29\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Scherle2_1.27.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"po5yn\">A federal agent in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026, stands next to a memorial for Alex Pretti, the Minnesota resident killed by federal agents. Photographer Robert Scherle was hit with crowd-control munitions while covering a protest there that evening.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"name_of_business": null,
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"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": [
"Robert Scherle (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter struck in back by impact projectile while covering Oregon vigil",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-in-back-by-impact-projectile-while-covering-oregon-vigil/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-19T22:01:23.739126Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-19T22:01:23.739126Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-19T22:01:23.607732Z",
"date": "2026-01-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"xis9e\">Eugene Weekly reporter and editor Kat Tabor was struck in the back by crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a vigil at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"begpb\">Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a candlelight vigil for Alex Pretti, according to reports by the <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/01/29/gassed-by-the-feds/\">alternative paper</a> and other local <a href=\"https://dailyemerald.com/178775/community-news/live-updates-protestors-pepper-balled-detained-outside-eugene-federal-building/#\">news</a> <a href=\"https://lcctorch.com/pepper-and-ice/\">outlets</a>. Pretti is the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier.</p><p data-block-key=\"c24jn\">Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded to protesters by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at them and detaining individuals at various times during the day, those reports said.</p><p data-block-key=\"boqtj\">Tabor told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the crowd was chanting at the base of the Federal Building when a flash bang went off, causing her to become disoriented and hear ringing. As she turned to leave — as ordered by federal agents — she was hit in the back by a crowd-control munition.</p><p data-block-key=\"fteh\">“I believe I was hit by a pepper ball; luckily, it hit only my belt and left a massive indent in it. It didn’t mark my skin; I was very fortunate for that. The main thing that left a mark was my hearing; I heard ringing for four days after, and had to get a doctor to check my ears out,” Tabor said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8oq0q\">“I was well marked, wearing an XL press badge and a hoodie that said press on the front and in the back near the bottom in large print. I also clearly identified myself multiple times, saying ‘I’m press! Press!’” she added.</p><p data-block-key=\"7vplp\">Tabor said she believes she was targeted as a journalist. “I mean, who shoots at someone in the back as they are leaving the area?” she asked, noting that there weren’t a lot of people around her and everyone was obeying the agents’ orders.</p><p data-block-key=\"e2j3b\">She said she did not expect this type of law enforcement response at a protest in Eugene.</p><p data-block-key=\"bu9kb\">“I honestly didn’t know if I was getting shot at by real bullets at first, and I remember praying, asking God to spare me. I never thought that those kinds of crowd-control measures would be used in Eugene, Oregon. I see it on TV, but I never thought my hometown would fall victim to such extreme measures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ldl8\"><a href=\"https://doublesidedmedia.com/2026/01/28/federal-officers-interrupt-nurse-led-candlelight-vigil-for-alex-pretti-in-eugene-with-chemical-munitions/\">Several other reporters</a> covering the protest that day were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-01-27&date_upper=2026-01-27&city=Eugene&state=Oregon&tags=protest\">also hit</a> with crowd-control munitions or affected by chemical irritants.</p><p data-block-key=\"92qdn\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/USPFT___Scherle_Tabor_1.27.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"x4gmq\">Federal officers fire chemical irritants at a Jan. 27, 2026, vigil in Eugene, Oregon, for Alex Pretti, the Minnesota resident killed by federal agents. Journalist Kat Tabor was hit with a crowd-control munition while covering the event.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"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": [
"Kat Tabor (Eugene Weekly)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Reporter grabbed, thrown to the ground by federal officer in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-grabbed-thrown-to-the-ground-by-federal-officer-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-29T18:25:52.602481Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-29T18:52:37.060743Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-29T18:52:36.960223Z",
"date": "2026-01-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5vt40\">Status Coup reporter Tina-Desiree Berg was assaulted by a federal officer, who seized her and shoved her to the ground, while covering immigration protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"dif28\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">expansion</a> of an immigration enforcement crackdown, known as Operation Metro Surge, and federal officers’ fatal shooting of two Minneapolis residents — <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010631041/minneapolis-ice-shooting-video.html\">Renee Good</a> and <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"1gegp\">Protesters had gathered that evening at a hotel where federal officers were believed to be staying, holding what Status Coup <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/statuscoupnews.bsky.social/post/3mde26o7bj22t\">described</a> as a “noise demonstration.” Federal forces arrived at approximately 10:30 p.m., the outlet reported, and dispersed the crowd using crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sell\">Eventually, the majority of those who remained in the hotel’s vicinity were members of the press, according to Status Coup.</p><p data-block-key=\"1omn4\">In <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/statuscoupnews.bsky.social/post/3mde26o7bj22t\">footage</a> captured by Berg’s colleague, photojournalist Jon Farina, an agent can be seen directing members of the press to move back from the hotel’s lobby and sporadically pointing his weapon at the journalists standing in a semicircle around the entrance.</p><p data-block-key=\"2np7v\">As more federal forces arrive on the scene, additional agents are heard directing the members of the media to move back, while others throw disorientation devices and tear gas into the loose press gaggle.</p><p data-block-key=\"5r7k4\">One of the officers turns around and, seeing Berg, grabs her by the shoulders from behind, swings her around him and pushes her forward, sending her toppling to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"1nrc9\">“What the fuck is wrong with you, asshole?” Berg is heard shouting at the officer as Farina helps her to her feet.</p><p data-block-key=\"fdb66\">The footage shows the pair then run from the agents and through the growing cloud of chemical gas. After receiving aid from residents and rinsing off the irritant, both journalists returned to the scene, Status Coup reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"1lhbk\">Berg was not immediately available for comment, and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to emailed requests.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Tina-Desiree_Berg_-_MN_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mzr5d\">Status Coup reporter Tina-Desiree Berg, in hat at center right, as she is grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by a federal officer while reporting on a protest outside a hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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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"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Tina-Desiree Berg (Status Coup)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Border Patrol agent shoves journalist into protesters in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/border-patrol-agent-shoves-journalist-into-protesters-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-30T19:13:32.094571Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-30T19:41:01.430097Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-30T19:41:01.350830Z",
"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=\"22vgb\">Independent journalist Nick Valencia was pushed by a federal officer into a line of demonstrators while wearing a press badge and repeatedly announcing himself as press during a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"fkhdq\">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=\"bmif4\">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. He said while some federal agents acknowledged his press credentials, others dismissed him entirely.</p><p data-block-key=\"4qidj\">“They’re in this era now where it’s us versus them,” said Valencia, who added that his new status as an independent journalist made him vulnerable during his coverage. “I don’t have the luxury of a crew like I did with CNN.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c23d2\">Valencia said one Border Patrol agent grabbed him and shoved him about 30 yards, from behind the police line and into a group of demonstrators.</p><p data-block-key=\"ch50b\">In a video of the altercation <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AuQF88up4/\">posted to Facebook</a>, Valencia is seen near the police line when an agent approaches him and tells him, “Back the fuck up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e9d54\">“I’m independent media. Your colleagues have let me be here,” Valencia responded as the agent approached him, saying, “I don’t care who you are.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4vjgq\">Valencia then shows him his badge. The camera then shakes as the agent manhandles him and orders him to leave the area. Valencia repeatedly objects.</p><p data-block-key=\"d6htl\">Valencia later told the Tracker, “I was roughed up on Saturday and pushed across into a line of demonstrators, even though I repeatedly told them I wasn’t and didn’t want to be put in the line of fire.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7m6b0\">Valencia said he approached the agent afterward, making it clear that he was a journalist there to document, and said the man acknowledged him.</p><p data-block-key=\"7052q\">About 30 minutes later, Valencia recounted, another agent became aggressive and attempted to push him, but the first agent intervened.</p><p data-block-key=\"j5ps\">“He came to my defense,” he said. “I was surprised at that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eqhoj\">Throughout the day, Valencia was hit with a <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1383398282939110\">barrage of chemical irritants</a>, causing him to temporarily lose his vision and violently dry heave. He was also <a href=\"/all-incidents/independent-journalist-clipped-by-tear-gas-canisters-at-minnesota-protest/\">hit in the shins</a> with tear gas canisters.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-01-29_at_5.23.57P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4fwr4\">A video frame grab taken by Nick Valencia just before he was pushed by a Border Patrol agent while covering a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"links": [],
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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"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Nick Valencia (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist doused with pepper spray by federal officers in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-doused-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officers-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-02T21:24:18.990406Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-02T21:24:18.990406Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-02T20:27:57.779945Z",
"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=\"fgkwq\">Independent journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was deliberately drenched in pepper spray by Department of Homeland Security officers while reporting on immigration protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"bfer3\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">expansion</a> of an immigration enforcement crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge. Earlier that day, federal officers shot and killed Minneapolis resident <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a> as he filmed their activities and attempted to help a woman they had pushed to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"602u8\">Beckner-Carmitchel <a href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/acatwithnews.bsky.social/post/3md6vxcefnc2g\">wrote on social media</a> that protesters who had gathered less than a block from where Pretti had been killed were targeted with “a large volley of teargas, and sprayed with chemical munitions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f4itc\">“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.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6bp5n\">Beckner-Carmitchel told Freedom of the Press Foundation — of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project — that the incident felt both intentional and extreme. He added that he was wearing his Los Angeles Press Club press credentials on his camera strap and was standing close enough to the officers to be identifiable as a journalist.</p><p data-block-key=\"dp21a\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests concerning the agents’ actions that day.</p><p data-block-key=\"f660q\">The Tracker was unable to ascertain whether his Sony camera sustained any damage and Beckner-Carmitchel did not respond to requests for further comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP26024763388100.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"vez6k\">Federal agents monitor protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026, following the fatal shooting of resident Alex Pretti that morning. Independent journalist Sean Beckner-Carmitchel was pepper-sprayed while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"arrest_status": null,
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"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Sean Beckner-Carmitchel (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shot in thigh with sponge-tipped round at Minneapolis protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shot-in-thigh-with-sponge-tipped-round-at-minneapolis-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-18T20:25:46.092210Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-18T20:25:46.092210Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-18T20:25:38.421914Z",
"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=\"vrwei\">Joe Caffrey, director of photography for KSTP-TV, was shot in the thigh with a crowd-control munition while documenting protests against federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"dmb1n\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area have been mounting since the beginning of January, following the <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">expansion</a> of an immigration enforcement crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge. Earlier that day, federal officers shot and killed Minneapolis resident <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a> as he filmed their activities and attempted to help a woman they had pushed to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"fedoa\">Caffrey told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that when he heard about the shooting, he called the station to help with coverage. He was immediately paired with a longtime colleague, Eric Rasmussen, and they were dispatched to the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"19u2u\">Caffrey said the pair had just started up their live broadcasting gear and walked over to get a shot of a person being transported on an ambulance gurney when they heard agents order everyone to back up.</p><p data-block-key=\"69ab\">“I came over to pan the camera onto Eric as they were going to come to us live, and as soon as they took us live, the ICE agents had deployed some of their tear gas, and Eric really got a mouthful,” he said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"a38ip\">Caffrey said they immediately tried to move back alongside the rest of the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ncvp\">“As we were kind of turning around, I still had the camera on live and Eric was kind of coughing on the air, choking, and I felt a little deflection of something off the side of my hip, but I didn’t really think much of it at the time,” he continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ajq8\">He said it wasn’t until approximately an hour later, during one of their returns to their vehicle — given the wind chill of -30 to -40 degrees — that he realized how much his leg hurt and that it was swollen.</p><p data-block-key=\"8v8on\">The photojournalist had earlier found what he said was a 40-caliber sponge grenade. “I kind of picked it up and said, ‘This must be what hit me.’ Later that night, I just went home, and I had my wife take a picture of this, just in case.”</p><p data-block-key=\"nnok\">He added that he also had to shower to remove the tear gas and other chemical irritant residue covering him.</p><p data-block-key=\"86aer\">Caffrey told the Tracker on Feb. 12 that he could still feel a knot on his leg and was experiencing discomfort when sleeping on that side. “But really, I feel pretty lucky that I think it may have grazed me, that it just deflected off me and didn’t hit me square. It could have been worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"20ruh\">He added that while he and Rasmussen were clearly identifiable as press, he couldn’t say whether they were deliberately targeted.</p><p data-block-key=\"5aumv\">“We did have the big camera on the tripod on my shoulder, although there were maybe two or three people, including Eric, next to me,” Caffrey said. “I think that they just shot in our direction intentionally, and I think that they saw the big camera and it’s like, ‘Hey, there’s a big target we can shoot at.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"2p4cb\">He added, “There was no good reason for them to shoot at us.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e24po\">The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests concerning the agents’ actions that day.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/0a6a7739469eef968f7a87611e6147836.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"9446e\">KSTP-TV photojournalist Joe Caffrey displays a large bruise on his thigh and the sponge-tipped munition he believes struck him while he was documenting protests following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Minnesota",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Joe Caffrey (KSTP-TV)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist hit by crowd-control munition while covering Minnesota protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-hit-by-crowd-control-munition-while-covering-minnesota-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-11T16:52:33.970296Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-11T16:52:33.970296Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-11T16:52:25.591683Z",
"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=\"6g7qa\">Independent journalist Jordyn Gualdani was hit in the shoulder with a crowd-control munition fired by federal agents and suffered a concussion while documenting a Minneapolis, Minnesota, protest on Jan. 24, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"csjgk\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area had been <a href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/2000-federal-agents-sent-to-minneapolis-area-to-carry-out-largest-immigration-operation-ever-ice-says\">mounting</a> since the beginning of January, following the expansion of an immigration enforcement crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge. Earlier that day, federal officers shot and killed Minneapolis resident <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/politics/second-ice-shooting-minneapolis.html\">Alex Pretti</a> as he filmed their activities and attempted to help a woman they had pushed to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"e0er7\">Gualdani told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was reporting on the protest following Pretti’s killing for independent outlet Folhetim Carambola. He said he was taking a photo of a protester from behind who had their arms up, chanting “arms up don’t shoot,” when he was hit by what he believed was a flash-bang grenade in his right shoulder. “My backpack and plate carrier took most of the hit,” Gualdani added.</p><p data-block-key=\"buclj\">He <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUGe1Njjspe/\">captured</a> the moment he was struck in a photo posted on Instagram.</p><p data-block-key=\"5sc4m\">“I was visibly identifiable as press. My credentials were on my plate carrier,” Gualdani said, referring to his body armor. “The carrier itself said ‘press,’ my backpack said ‘press,’ my helmet said ‘press.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"9g4aj\">“My camera was also hit with a pepper ball that left a streak on the back of it. It eventually rubbed off a couple days later,” he added.</p><p data-block-key=\"ef32j\">The journalist said he was unsure which law enforcement agency fired the shot. He added that, initially, he did not think he was targeted, until he heard reports from other journalists that they may have been targeted with crowd-control munitions.</p><p data-block-key=\"bjkrs\">“After continuing to document through tear gas without an adequate mask, I was pulled into an apartment building by the residents there. Since it was a safe place, I used the time to wash off, file images, and charge my batteries,” he said, adding that he then began to feel confused and foggy.</p><p data-block-key=\"3cpe5\">Gualdani said he sought medical treatment when he arrived home, and that he spent the next week recovering from a concussion. He added that the time away from work “cost me a lot.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Gualdani_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"r9674\">Federal agents face protesters after the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026. Journalist Jordyn Gualdani was hit with a crowd-control munition while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jordyn Gualdani (Folhetim Carambola)"
],
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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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"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": [
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
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"tags": [
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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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>",
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"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": "Federal",
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "Maryland",
"abbreviation": "MD"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-02-03 21:27:00+00:00) Subpoena for testimony by NY Times Magazine researcher dropped"
],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Rudy Lee (The New York Times Magazine)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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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",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-18T21:35:05.825880Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-18T21:30:28.055909Z",
"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=\"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": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2019-09-26T204331Z_1088112619_RC1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"state": {
"name": "Maryland",
"abbreviation": "MD"
},
"updates": [
"(2026-02-04 05:00:00+00:00) Maryland prosecutors drop demand for journalist’s testimony"
],
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"Subpoena/Legal Order"
],
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"Jeffrey Toobin (The New York Times Magazine)"
],
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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/",
"first_published_at": "2026-01-26T21:59:43.848819Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-01-26T21:59:43.848819Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-01-26T21:56:42.749415Z",
"date": "2026-01-22",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Baltimore",
"longitude": -76.61219,
"latitude": 39.29038,
"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": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-01-26_at_3.31.27P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"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>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"name": "Maryland",
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},
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"Hannah Natanson (The Washington Post)"
],
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"tags": [
"Department of Justice"
],
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"categories": [
"Leak Case"
],
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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",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"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>",
"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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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
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"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"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>",
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"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-01-17T025255Z_1727977691_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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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>",
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
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"protest",
"shot / shot at"
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"categories": [
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