HTTP 200 OK
Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET,OPTIONS,HEAD
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Allow: GET, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Link:
<http://pressfreedomtracker.us/api/edge/incidents/?format=api>; rel="first",
<http://pressfreedomtracker.us/api/edge/incidents/?cursor=cD0yMDI2LTAxLTMxLTQ3MjY5Yjk2LTA2YzYtMTFmMS1iMTEyLThlMjU0NDdmMTRjNg%3D%3D&format=api>; rel="next"
Vary: Accept
[
{
"title": "Documentarian pushed by deputy at Minnesota immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/documentarian-pushed-by-deputy-at-minnesota-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-03-06T19:55:41.938842Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-06T19:55:41.938842Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-06T19:55:41.776945Z",
"date": "2026-03-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Snelling",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"t5glc\">Independent documentarian Adriano Kalin was pushed by a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy while documenting a protest outside a federal building in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on March 1, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"cpl9p\">The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center, has been a focal point of protests. Demonstrations intensified in January after federal immigration agents shot and killed two Minneapolis residents, <a href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/minnesota-ice-shooting-live-updates-rcna252852\">Renee Good</a> and <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-protester-alex-pretti-15ade7de6e19cb0291734e85dac763dc\">Alex Pretti</a>, and wounded a man in separate incidents. Both the city of Minneapolis and the state have <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">sued the Trump administration</a>, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"1ktp4\">Kalin told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting demonstrators who were gathering the morning of March 1 at the federal building. He was wearing a press badge, and a vest and a helmet identifying himself as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"e9p6s\">In the north parking lot, where he started reporting, law enforcement allowed Kalin and other journalists to do their job. However, the atmosphere changed as the protest grew larger in the south parking lot and officers began declaring the gathering unlawful, Kalin said. The law enforcement present included members of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department, the Minnesota State Patrol and the state’s Department of Natural Resources.</p><p data-block-key=\"4bfur\">“The line between protester and press started kind of diffusing, if you will, and they didn’t care if you were press,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"4kd8i\">Kalin said Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies were indiscriminately aggressive, even against members of the press as they tried to document arrests and other police activity.</p><p data-block-key=\"330dq\">“The sheriff’s department were like, ‘No, you need to move,’ and shoving press,” Kalin said. “And we were saying, ‘We have a job to do, we’re strictly documenting.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"f7ocq\">According to Kalin, a large deputy who had been shouting at media members eventually shoved him toward protesters and told him he couldn’t be there. Although officers were shouting at members of the press, Kalin said he didn’t feel specifically targeted when he was pushed.</p><p data-block-key=\"c5q9l\">The photographer said the situation made it harder to safely capture images of events as they unfolded.</p><p data-block-key=\"5s422\">“It definitely made it more difficult for me to do my job,” he said. “I had to walk very fast and take the photo and pray that I got it because I was kind of getting rushed, and I was worried for myself, if I was going to get arrested.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1gqr1\">The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-03-01T203559Z_332832351_RC2R.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"18912\">Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies at an immigration protest outside the Whipple Federal Building on March 1, 2026, in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Documentarian Adriano Kalin was shoved by a deputy while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "no",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Adriano Kalin (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer indicted after Minnesota church protest coverage",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-indicted-after-minnesota-church-protest-coverage/",
"first_published_at": "2026-03-03T20:25:27.065892Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-03-03T20:26:45.113377Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-03-03T20:26:44.988163Z",
"date": "2026-02-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"iymyh\">Shane Ryan Bollman, a documentary photographer known professionally as Junn Bollmann, was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 27, 2026, after a grand jury indicted him the previous day on charges connected to his coverage of a protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service in January.</p><p data-block-key=\"411hu\">Demonstrations in the Twin Cities area had been taking place 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=\"7aba\">Multiple members of the press followed demonstrators as they entered Cities Church in St. Paul 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 was allegedly an interim director for the local ICE field office.</p><p data-block-key=\"9l7s5\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102/gov.uscourts.mnd.231102.144.0.pdf\">indictment</a> alleges Bollmann was present at a pre-demonstration meeting at a nearby shopping center, but the photographer is not included among those accused of engaging in “various chants,” “hostile and aggressive gestures” or any other activities while at the church.</p><p data-block-key=\"dh4bt\">He was, however, charged the same 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=\"6rvff\">Independent journalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-arrested-charged-over-minnesota-protest-coverage/\">Georgia Fort</a> and former CNN anchor <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/don-lemon-arrested-charged-over-covering-minnesota-church-protest/\">Don Lemon</a> were also indicted in January for their coverage and were named in the superseding indictment.</p><p data-block-key=\"aqrm4\">Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations arrested Bollman on Feb. 27 outside his LA apartment, transferring him from the city’s Roybal Federal Building to the U.S. Marshals Service building and back before his arraignment and release, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci14j\">CPJ reported that the photographer’s electronic devices — including his cellphone, camera and laptop — were seized during his arrest and had yet to be returned.</p><p data-block-key=\"cagdr\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, condemned the Lemon and Fort arrests at the time as “naked attacks on freedom of the press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"21e3f\">“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></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP26058572690197.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"a9235\">Photographer Junn Bollmann was arrested in Los Angeles on Feb. 27, 2026, after he was indicted on civil rights charges for his coverage of a protest that disrupted services at Cities Church, above, in St. Paul, Minnesota, in January.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Homeland Security Investigations",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2026-02-27",
"detention_date": "2026-02-27",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": "in custody",
"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": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "cellphone"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "computer"
}
],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"Department of Justice",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Equipment Search or Seizure"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Junn Bollmann (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Filmmaker pushed to the ground during interview attempt in Ohio",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/filmmaker-pushed-to-the-ground-during-interview-attempt-in-ohio/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-26T19:37:02.463965Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-26T19:37:02.463965Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-26T19:37:02.231245Z",
"date": "2026-02-09",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Columbus",
"longitude": -82.99879,
"latitude": 39.96118,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"x1zzd\">Independent documentarian Michael Newman was pushed to the ground, his phone slapped from his hand, on Feb. 9, 2026, while filming inside a campus building at Ohio State University in Columbus.</p><p data-block-key=\"1uhc9\">“I was scared, I was shocked, I was confused,” he told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. “I’ve never felt that violated before in my life. It was very surreal.”</p><p data-block-key=\"883d8\">Newman had been filming inside the Smith Laboratory building for a mini-documentary on D.J. Byrnes, who runs the political blog The Rooster, and wanted to question the former president of the university, E. Gordon Gee, after a speech.</p><p data-block-key=\"4b22o\">At one point, Assistant Professor Luke Perez, who was in the public hallway, made it clear he did not want to be filmed.</p><p data-block-key=\"73fbc\">“I specifically tell him I’m not interested in him; I won’t get him on video,” Newman said. “There was no tension, there was no aggression on our part.”</p><p data-block-key=\"et6cm\">Video published later by <a href=\"https://www.rooster.info/p/ohio-state-university-professor-assault-luke-perez-gordon-gee\">The Rooster</a> captured the confrontation, which unfolded after Newman tried to ask Gee a question about student debt. In the footage, staff members can be heard telling Newman that Gee is finished taking questions.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ml0d\">Newman moves forward, and Perez quickly positions himself in front of him. Newman steps back and, within seconds, Perez knocks the equipment from Newman’s hand and drives him to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"6318f\">“I told you not to put that in my face,” Perez says in the video. “I’m not going to ask you again. … You put your hands on me, sir. You shoved that camera into my face, sir.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ohio State professor Luke Perez assaults a journalist while <a href=\"https://twitter.com/crgreen24601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@crgreen24601</a> watches. Both of them are faculty at the “Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society,” which claims to support free speech and “open inquiry.” <a href=\"https://t.co/E20lRLFARX\">https://t.co/E20lRLFARX</a> <a href=\"https://t.co/IJfeaFhXX4\">pic.twitter.com/IJfeaFhXX4</a></p>— Max (@Juicewag) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Juicewag/status/2021418119382843409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11, 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=\"x1zzd\">Newman said there was no noticeable damage to his camera but that the monopod used to hold his cellphone broke in the attack. His neck and back were also sore, and he has had a hard time sleeping. A doctor told him he had whiplash.</p><p data-block-key=\"1kgir\">“After I say, ‘One more question,’ next thing I know I’m attacked and on the ground,” he said. “I definitely did not shove my camera in his face; he shoved his face in my camera. I didn’t invade his personal space. You can see in the video I tried to step back, but I didn’t have a chance.”</p><p data-block-key=\"16aqr\">Newman said the university police told him and Byrnes they were trespassed from the building and warned they would be arrested if they returned to campus. That order was rescinded a few days later.</p><p data-block-key=\"flda4\">The university has since placed Perez on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qdr\">At a Feb. 23 arraignment, Perez, who pleaded not guilty to an assault charge, was served a temporary protective order by a Franklin County judge, according to court records.</p><p data-block-key=\"22i7b\">A hearing is scheduled for April 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"fmebn\">For Newman, the fallout has prompted him to carry pepper spray while working.</p><p data-block-key=\"1v035\">“I’ll always be on edge now,” he said. “I’m always going to wonder, ‘Is this person going to attack me because I’m asking them questions?’”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-02-24_at_3.28.54P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ohscc\">Independent documentarian Mike Newman is seen being tackled by a professor while filming at Ohio State University in Columbus on Feb. 9, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "Ohio",
"abbreviation": "OH"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Michael Newman (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with police baton at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-police-baton-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-06T17:50:55.215553Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-06T17:50:55.215553Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-06T17:50:55.045113Z",
"date": "2026-02-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1uovq\">Independent photographer Jackson Tammariello was beaten with a baton by police while covering a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 4, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"ffik\">The demonstration began when <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/lausd-students-protest-downtown-la-ice-immigration-operations/\">hundreds of students walked out of school</a> to oppose the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices. It also came after similar demonstrations in Minnesota, where federal officers had killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, aggressive immigration enforcement has been happening <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">since June.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"edf2v\">Tammariello told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that after most of the crowd dispersed, some adults and high school students made their way to the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held.</p><p data-block-key=\"5orjp\">The students lined up outside at a nearby intersection, which the LA Police Department had taped off. Tammariello said that without much warning, officers suddenly charged the line of student protesters, pushing them out of the way. One officer, while chasing a protester, turned toward Tammariello and slammed his baton into his arm.</p><p data-block-key=\"etvpb\">“Just because he saw that I was in his path, he decided he could deploy whatever force necessary,” he told the Tracker. “In this instance, it did feel targeted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bl85u\">Tammariello was wearing a media credential, although he was later told by another officer, “You’re not press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b27dj\">The journalist said the blow left him feeling sore, rattled and exposed, but not deterred.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbshh\">“There’s a large pepperoni-looking bruise on my arm,” he said. “I hope I can just be out there covering what I’ve been covering as soon as possible.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bsdov\">The LAPD officer’s 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=\"2fot5\">LAPD did not respond to a request for comment. In a <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDCentral/status/2019462871093326246\">social media post on X</a>, the department said it had made arrests on charges of battery on a police officer and felony vandalism. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Christian_Duenas_1.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b3k00\">The Los Angeles Police Department officer who is alleged to have struck photographer Jackson Tammariello during an immigration protest there on Feb. 4, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jackson Tammariello (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "FBI questions Oregon photographer about protesters’ identities",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-questions-oregon-photographer-about-protesters-identities/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-18T17:23:33.920311Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-18T17:23:33.920311Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-18T17:23:33.810929Z",
"date": "2026-02-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Eugene",
"longitude": -123.08675,
"latitude": 44.05207,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h6lm3\">Independent photographer Robert Scherle was questioned at his Eugene, Oregon, home by FBI agents on Feb. 4, 2026, about the identities of people who attended protests he covered.</p><p data-block-key=\"33b3l\">Scherle told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he has been documenting recent demonstrations at Eugene’s Federal Building, where Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement operations are based.</p><p data-block-key=\"358i\">The building had been the focal point of escalating anti-deportation protests in the city during late January, Eugene Weekly <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/02/05/escalation/\">reported</a>. On Jan. 30, it was vandalized and windows were damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"1si2j\">Scherle said that two FBI agents, a man and a woman wearing civilian clothing, came to his door, and showed him their badges and identification. The agents were affiliated with the Eugene agency of the FBI’s Portland, Oregon, field office.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ngbl\">“They immediately said, ‘You’re not in any trouble at all. We just want to talk to you, don’t worry.’ And then they started asking me if I had photos to share with them of protesters destroying federal property, and I said no.”</p><p data-block-key=\"apm6q\">Scherle said they then asked if he could help them identify other protesters. He told the agents that he could not identify anyone because the scene was “too chaotic,” and the protesters were wearing masks.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4knp\">While the agents were not threatening or coercive, Scherle added, he was “stressed” by the encounter.</p><p data-block-key=\"ct112\">“It was sort of just an implied threat, just by the fact that they’re there,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"c3sst\">He added that the agents did not ask the journalist to follow up with them, but did provide a business card upon request.</p><p data-block-key=\"347un\">The FBI’s Portland office did not respond to the Tracker’s emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"15fir\">In a statement to <a href=\"https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/02/05/fbi-asking-press-for-info/\">Eugene Weekly</a>, the office said: “During our investigative efforts, we have interviewed members of the public who were taking images and/or video on the ground that evening and asked for footage. Should an interviewee identify themselves as a member of the media and produce identification or credentials, we have processes in place to request information that adheres to the Constitutional right ensuring freedom of the press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6heph\">While covering a Jan. 27 protest at the Federal Building and the response by DHS officers, Scherle was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-projectiles-and-chemical-irritant-shoved-at-oregon-protest/\">shoved</a> and hit with crowd-control munitions and a chemical irritant, and later that evening was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/oregon-photographer-hit-with-impact-projectiles-while-covering-immigration-protest/\">again hit</a> with projectiles.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Scherle_FBI.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"dv1t6\">Federal agents approach protesters at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. A week later, on Feb. 4, the FBI questioned photographer Robert Scherle at his Eugene home about the identities of protesters.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Oregon",
"abbreviation": "OR"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice",
"immigration"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Other Incident"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Robert Scherle (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem targets press, leakers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/homeland-security-secretary-kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-17T16:57:14.825230Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-17T16:57:14.825230Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-17T16:57:14.614324Z",
"date": "2026-02-04",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4mrrp\">As the second year of President Donald Trump’s second term began, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem continued taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting her efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"3d6qn\">Read about Noem’s efforts in 2025 to chill coverage <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers-as-homeland-security-secretary/\">here</a>, and how Trump’s other appointees and allies in Congress are striving to intimidate reporters, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"58rgu\"><i>This article was first published on Feb. 17, 2026.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"4586f\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p>\r\n<div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Feb 4\">Feb. 4, 2026 | DHS secretary name-checks reporter in announcement of leak prosecution</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4mrrp\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"6csno\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Feb 4\" name=\"Feb 4\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"4mrrp\">Feb. 4, 2026 | DHS secretary name-checks reporter in announcement of leak prosecution</h4><p data-block-key=\"dgdp1\">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced via social media on Feb. 4, 2026, that her office had identified another alleged leaker, claiming the employee had been sharing information with Daily Mail senior reporter Shawn Cohen.</p><p data-block-key=\"5gmk0\">“We just caught another prolific leaker putting our @DHSgov law enforcement at risk as they already face 8,000% increase in death threats against them,” Noem <a href=\"https://x.com/Sec_Noem/status/2019146352564072553\">wrote</a>, adding that she plans to refer the individual to the Justice Department for prosecution. “We are agnostic about your standing, tenure, political appointment, or status as a career civil servant—we will track down leakers and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5heiu\">In 2025, Noem oversaw the <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers-as-homeland-security-secretary/#May%2020\">unprecedented polygraphing</a> of department employees as part of her efforts to clamp down on leaks, questioning them about whether they’ve been sharing unapproved information with the media, even if unclassified.</p><p data-block-key=\"1cd47\">The identity of the alleged leaker has not been made public as of publication.</p><p data-block-key=\"771oc\">Cohen declined to comment when reached by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\">\r\n<i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-01-24T231259Z_224432240_RC2Y.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nff1j\">Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference in Washington, D.C., 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,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Shawn Cohen (Daily Mail)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved while reporting on Minneapolis anti-ICE barricade",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-while-reporting-on-minneapolis-anti-ice-barricade/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:04:47.956536Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:04:47.956536Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-10T20:16:19.012216Z",
"date": "2026-02-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"5qi7t\">Daily Caller reporter Jorge Ventura was repeatedly shoved and his phone knocked from his hands by individuals angry with his coverage of an anti-immigration authority barricade in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 2, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"e7a7e\">Demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions 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 ICE 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=\"8g6c9\">Ventura told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had seen photos on social media of what was being referred to as a “filter blockade,” a <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-ice-blockade-barricade-neighborhood-roundabout-federal-agent-tracking-mpd-clearing/601578593\">makeshift barricade</a> in the middle of the road meant to hinder ICE operations in a south Minneapolis neighborhood.</p><p data-block-key=\"fpr0h\">He and independent photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-while-covering-minneapolis-anti-ice-barricade\">Erik Herrera</a> took a car together to where it was reportedly set up. “It was just a bunch of random things in the middle of the intersection, so stuff like wood pallets, dumpsters, mattresses,” Ventura said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rg86\">He added that the checkpoint was being operated by several individuals, some of whom immediately approached to ask who they were.</p><p data-block-key=\"daftn\">“I said, ‘Hey, we’re reporters, I work for the Daily Caller.’ And then they didn’t actually mind it,” Ventura said.</p><p data-block-key=\"23v9r\">As the journalists began documenting the scene, Ventura said he noticed that one of the individuals had approached their ride-share driver.</p><p data-block-key=\"t390\">“A couple of individuals basically said that our Uber driver was an ICE agent, because, I guess, they ran his license plate in their ‘database,’” he told the Tracker. “I head over there, and I’m just like, ‘Hey, he’s not an ICE agent, he’s Somalian, clearly.’ So that kind of started our interaction.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6spmd\">Ventura said he tried to ask the individual about the database they had referenced and the checkpoint, but after a few questions, the man declined to do an interview and walked away. Then Ventura noticed that individuals manning the barricade were forcing two SUVs to turn around.</p><p data-block-key=\"f7iio\">“It’s unconfirmed if they were federal agents, but they did have the markings: they had the all-black, tinted windows, and they were turning them around. So I started to zoom in and shoot video of that,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ingu\">That’s when Ventura said two individuals began shoving him, blocking him from moving forward and telling him to leave. One also attempted to grab the phone Ventura was using to record from his hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"a5k12\">The individuals also shoved Herrera and forced him to move back toward their waiting car.</p><p data-block-key=\"ch4as\">“Then they kind of, in a way, forced me back to the Uber and kind of shoved me in,” Ventura said. “I’m still filming a bit, and one of them actually smacks my phone out of my hand, and I kind of spring out of the car seat.”</p><p data-block-key=\"usnk\">Ventura launched himself headfirst through the window, falling onto his phone atop a snowbank. “I panicked,” he said. “I felt like they were going to run off with it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"71mi7\">He told the Tracker he was able to retrieve his phone, and the pair then left the scene after only five minutes. Over the next few hours, they clipped together their footage and posted it online.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Moments ago I was just assaulted by left-wing activists in South Minneapolis for reporting on a roadblock protesters set up and checking cars for ID’s , the activists grew angry when I shot footage of them turning around some vehicles that appear to be ICE agents , they tried to… <a href=\"https://t.co/Lo45ffZlEX\">pic.twitter.com/Lo45ffZlEX</a></p>— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/2018370751993085973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 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>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Ventura_-_MN_22_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"66r01\">Daily Caller reporter Jorge Ventura, partly visible at left, being pushed and harassed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 2, 2026, while reporting on a makeshift checkpoint intended to thwart immigration operations in the area.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Jorge Ventura (Daily Caller)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shoved while covering Minneapolis anti-ICE barricade",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-while-covering-minneapolis-anti-ice-barricade/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:06:48.940038Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:06:48.940038Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-10T20:16:55.714810Z",
"date": "2026-02-02",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Minneapolis",
"longitude": -93.26384,
"latitude": 44.97997,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"732i8\">Independent photojournalist Erik Herrera was repeatedly shoved by individuals angry with his coverage of an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement barricade in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 2, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"51ouc\">Demonstrations against ICE actions 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 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=\"3etag\">Herrera was working alongside Daily Caller reporter <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-while-reporting-on-minneapolis-anti-ice-barricade\">Jorge Ventura</a>, documenting what was being referred to as a “filter blockade” — a <a href=\"https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-ice-blockade-barricade-neighborhood-roundabout-federal-agent-tracking-mpd-clearing/601578593\">makeshift barricade</a> in the middle of the road meant to hinder ICE operations — in a south Minneapolis neighborhood.</p><p data-block-key=\"b4sic\">The journalists took a car together to where it was reportedly set up. “It was just a bunch of random things in the middle of the intersection, so stuff like wood pallets, dumpsters, mattresses,” Ventura told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekpt9\">He added that the checkpoint was being operated by several individuals, some of whom immediately approached to ask who they were. When they identified themselves as press, the individuals didn’t seem to mind them being there, Ventura said.</p><p data-block-key=\"acs3d\">As the journalists began documenting the scene, Ventura said he noticed that one of the individuals had approached their ride-share driver.</p><p data-block-key=\"b6m9l\">“A couple of individuals basically said that our Uber driver was an ICE agent, because, I guess, they ran his license plate in their ‘database,’” he told the Tracker. “I head over there, and I’m just like, ‘Hey, he’s not an ICE agent, he’s Somalian, clearly.’ So that kind of started our interaction.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2006p\">Ventura said he tried to ask the individual about the database they had referenced and the checkpoint, but after a few questions, the man declined to do an interview and walked away. Then Ventura noticed that individuals manning the barricade were forcing two SUVs to turn around.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebs4v\">“It’s unconfirmed if they were federal agents, but they did have the markings: they had the all-black, tinted windows, and they were turning them around. So I started to zoom in and shoot video of that,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"827jm\">That’s when Ventura said two individuals began shoving both him and Ventura, attempting to block them from recording and forcing them to move back toward their waiting car. One also attempted several times to grab Ventura’s phone, at one point knocking it into the snow.</p><p data-block-key=\"f4r14\">He told the Tracker he was able to retrieve his phone, and the pair then left the scene after only five minutes. Over the next few hours, they clipped together their footage and posted it online.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Moments ago I was just assaulted by left-wing activists in South Minneapolis for reporting on a roadblock protesters set up and checking cars for ID’s , the activists grew angry when I shot footage of them turning around some vehicles that appear to be ICE agents , they tried to… <a href=\"https://t.co/Lo45ffZlEX\">pic.twitter.com/Lo45ffZlEX</a></p>— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/2018370751993085973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 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=\"732i8\">Herrera did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Herrera_-_MN_22_assault.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1rfug\">Independent photojournalist Erik Herrera, left, was repeatedly pushed and harassed by individuals in south Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 2, 2026, while reporting on a makeshift checkpoint intended to thwart immigration operations in the area.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "private individual",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Erik Herrera (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck with projectiles, breaking finger at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-with-projectiles-breaking-finger-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-10T22:13:40.953188Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-17T19:10:29.928899Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-17T19:10:29.721879Z",
"date": "2026-01-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"89u5s\">Photojournalist Mario Guerrero suffered a broken finger after he was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest against immigration raids on Jan. 31, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.</p><p data-block-key=\"34dj2\">The <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-31/demonstrations-against-ice-tactics-continue-in-la\">demonstration</a> was held a day after nationwide protests and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had 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=\"eak82\">Guerrero, a photographer with OC Hawk, a stringer company that provides television stations with news footage, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was filming outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held, as protesters and law enforcement faced off.</p><p data-block-key=\"6r3mf\">The journalist, who was wearing a press vest and media badge, said federal officers knew he was press and directed him to stand to the side.</p><p data-block-key=\"42o45\">Then, people started throwing fireworks, glass bottles and other objects at law enforcement. Federal officers responded with disorientation devices like flash-bang grenades, tear gas and pepper balls.</p><p data-block-key=\"574ab\">Without warning, a federal officer began firing projectiles at Guerrero. One hit him in the ring finger, another struck the side of his arm, and a third pummeled his vest.</p><p data-block-key=\"dv03l\">“It felt like a punch,” he said. “Then I felt the blood dripping.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8304n\">The impact broke his finger, leaving it bruised and bleeding. “The pain was so severe that even my finger was getting so puffy, and it was swelling so fast, and it wouldn’t stop bleeding,” he told the Tracker. “I felt it wasn’t safe for me to stay there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"31cg4\">He later underwent surgery to have a pin inserted to stabilize it and will be <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-marios-recovery-after-injury\">unable to work for four weeks.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"5kh59\">Guerrero captured on video the moment he was directly targeted by the federal agent. “You see the DHS agent pointing the gun towards me, and he shoots,” he said. “There were multiple people around me, and they didn’t get hit. I was the only one.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f368q\">He said he later realized the projectiles were paintball rounds, which he said law enforcement is using to target and mark people for subsequent identification.</p><p data-block-key=\"7cjou\">“There should be more training on how to deal with crowd control; they think everybody is a protester, even independent journalists,” he told the Tracker. “They think we’re part of the protest, when we’re here to just document what’s going on and report it, and they’re getting more aggressive toward the media.”</p><p data-block-key=\"daqr3\">The actions of DHS officers appeared to violate a <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=409.7\">state law</a> prohibiting officers 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=\"382tc\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment. 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><p data-block-key=\"fga7v\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include comments and a new image from Mario Guerrero.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/IMG_8313.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3psgn\">The image news photographer Mario Guerrero captured of a federal agent, crouching in black at right, pointing and shooting crowd-control munitions at him, breaking his finger, during an immigration protest on Jan. 31, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Mario Guerrero (OC Hawk)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Reporter pelted with projectiles, kettled at LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pelted-with-projectiles-kettled-at-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-05T18:45:55.635130Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:45:04.255204Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-10T21:45:04.168698Z",
"date": "2026-01-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wlp1o\">Lexis-Olivier Ray, an investigative reporter with L.A. Taco, was peppered with crowd-control munitions and threatened with arrest at a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"5efhv\">The <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-31/demonstrations-against-ice-tactics-continue-in-la\">demonstration</a> was held a day after nationwide protests and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had 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=\"f8vjj\">Ray — who had already been <a href=\"/all-incidents/reporter-pepper-sprayed-shoved-at-la-immigration-protest/\">shoved by police and tear-gassed</a> by federal officers at a protest the day before — told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker he arrived Jan. 31 at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held, because a pop punk band was supposed to play a set there.</p><p data-block-key=\"aoapr\">Armed officers with Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol were lined up, ordering people to back away from the federal building. At one point, an individual attending the protest threw a firework behind the federal agents, prompting the officers to fire crowd-control munitions and tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rpmn\">“That’s around the time when at least one agent turns to me and fires a bunch of pepper balls at my lower right leg and my hip,” said Ray, who was filming and wearing visible press markings. “That definitely felt targeted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3h0gn\">Later, the LA Police Department, pushing demonstrators away from the federal building, formed a kettle, a tactic used to surround and control a crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ja3f\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18562645990012641/\">series of Instagram video posts</a> from that day, Ray is seen approaching a line of officers in the kettle, telling them that he’s allowed to cross. An officer refuses to let him pass, telling him to “Back up,” and directing him elsewhere to speak with a police supervisor.</p><p data-block-key=\"87p5v\">In another video, an officer on a megaphone is heard announcing they were arresting those in the kettle for failure to disperse.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hibl\">“Sir, press,” said Ray, who is again told to back up.</p><p data-block-key=\"8h53i\">In a following video, Ray approaches an officer and reminds him that the press is exempt from dispersal orders under California law. He is told a supervisor would make that determination.</p><p data-block-key=\"fk8vf\">Later, a different officer tells him that he would be detained, saying in one video, “You’re not exempt, all right?”</p><p data-block-key=\"b5p0b\">Ray said he and journalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-threatened-with-arrest-at-la-immigration-protest/\">Dexter Thomas</a> were stuck in the kettle for more than a half hour before finally being let through, adding, “They should have very quickly been able to identify me as press and get me out of there.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6qokp\">Once outside the kettle, Ray continued documenting the officers making arrests. At one point, a police spokeswoman ordered him not to cross a certain line while reporting.</p><p data-block-key=\"8lsk4\">“It felt like the Metropolitan Division officers, in particular, really wanted to detain me, or journalists, or at the very least scare the shit out of us,” he told the Tracker. “In that regard, it felt targeted and intentional.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fpa7o\">The actions of LAPD and DHS officers on both days appeared to violate a <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=409.7\">state law</a> prohibiting officers 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=\"f7sbf\">Neither agency responded to a request for comment. In <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDCentral/status/2017850950908842037?s=20\">social media posts on X</a> after the protest, the LAPD said it had declared an unlawful assembly and was making arrests of people who did not leave the area. It did not address the detainment of members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"8adso\">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/Screenshot_2026-02-04_at_3.21.41P.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"bq1yz\">The Los Angeles Police Department announcing imminent arrests at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026. Reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray was briefly detained at the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Los Angeles Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2026-01-31",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"kettle",
"protest",
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Lexis-Olivier Ray (L.A. Taco)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Individuals cut KTTV camera’s cord, steal microphone during LA protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/individuals-cut-kttv-cameras-cord-steal-microphone-during-la-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-06T21:20:27.376411Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-06T21:20:27.376411Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-06T21:20:27.251696Z",
"date": "2026-01-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"jfzzq\">A photojournalist for KTTV had the cord of his camera cut and microphone stolen by individuals attending an immigration rights protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"5hol3\">In footage that was <a href=\"https://kick.com/conner/videos/335e3014-5a4d-4b4f-95e5-9d075e3450ed\">captured</a> by a streamer at the scene and reposted on the <a href=\"https://x.com/crewesmedia/status/2017848193468289338\">social</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/TheWarMonitor/status/2018135065155211512\">platform</a> X, reporter <a href=\"https://www.foxla.com/person/a/rachel-aragon\">Rachel Aragon</a> and an unidentified photojournalist are seen on a sidewalk, reporting near a line of Los Angeles Police Department officers, who are facing a small crowd of people.</p><p data-block-key=\"a6i92\">The crew for the Fox-owned station were surrounded and harassed by people calling out anti-Trump administration and anti-Fox News slogans and blocking the camera, according to the videos and a report by the <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2026/02/01/us-news/masked-agitators-mob-female-reporter-during-dtla-anti-ice-protests/\">New York Post</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"crv1g\">The photojournalist is carrying a large TV camera on a tripod connected to what appears to be a power source in a backpack. After one person appears to unsuccessfully try to cut the cord connecting the camera to the backpack, another individual walks up behind him and succeeds in cutting it.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmvku\">A few minutes later, another person takes a Fox 11-branded microphone that is hanging from the photojournalist’s belt and walks away with it, then passes it to others.</p><p data-block-key=\"4o0vp\">The LAPD officers did not intervene.</p><p data-block-key=\"3v0j\">The photojournalist then says he is leaving, and can be seen in the video walking away from the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"51d7s\">KTTV and Aragon did not respond to requests for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Fox11_equip_damage.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6qcnt\">People attending a protest in Los Angeles, California, harass a KTTV reporter and photojournalist on Jan. 31, 2026; the crew later had its camera cord cut and microphone stolen.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "private individual",
"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": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "recording equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest",
"robbery"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Unidentified photojournalist 35 (KTTV)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist threatened with arrest at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-threatened-with-arrest-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:26:06.438634Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-02-10T21:26:06.438634Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-02-10T21:26:06.225627Z",
"date": "2026-01-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"i4q63\">Independent journalist Dexter Thomas was detained and threatened with arrest while covering a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3rac\">The <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-31/demonstrations-against-ice-tactics-continue-in-la\">demonstration</a> was held a day after nationwide protests and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had 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=\"e68tr\"><a href=\"https://whatupdex.com/\">Thomas</a> told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he and another journalist, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pelted-with-projectiles-kettled-at-la-protest/\">Lexis-Olivier Ray</a>, were covering a protest near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held.</p><p data-block-key=\"95p32\">The LA Police Department started pushing demonstrators away from the federal building and formed a kettle, a tactic used to surround and control a crowd. Thomas said he and Ray, who were both wearing press badges and identifiers, were in the kettle when an officer announced everyone would be arrested for failure to disperse.</p><p data-block-key=\"fqqg5\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18562645990012641/\">series of Instagram video posts</a> from that day, the pair repeatedly told officers they were journalists and exempt from the dispersal orders. They remained detained for more than a half hour before they were released.</p><p data-block-key=\"9hotp\">“Had we not repeatedly stated that Penal Code 409.7 requires that we be allowed to continue working, I’m not sure what would have happened,” Thomas said. “We were told we were being detained; we were told we were being arrested.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bm6tp\">Once outside the kettle, Thomas and Ray continued filming. A police spokeswoman approached them, blocked them from recording and told them they were interfering with police operations. Another officer came and also stood by them.</p><p data-block-key=\"e03t9\">“We were being more or less guarded by two police,” Thomas said. “We were just documenting the arrests.”</p><p data-block-key=\"faij4\">The actions of LAPD officers appeared to violate a <a href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=409.7\">state law</a> prohibiting officers from using such <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/california-press-protections-undermined-as-violations-surged-at-la-protests/\">protest policing tactics</a> with members of the press, which a federal court 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=\"17b2c\">The LAPD did not respond to a request for comment. In <a href=\"https://x.com/LAPDCentral/status/2017850950908842037?s=20\">social media posts on X</a> after the protest, it said it had declared an unlawful assembly and was making arrests of people who did not leave the area. It did not address the detainment of members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Screenshot_2026-02-10_at_11.41.48.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.png",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"gp80d\">Police officers who encircled protesters during an immigration protest on Jan. 31, 2026, in Los Angeles, California, also trapped journalist Dexter Thomas, who was detained and threatened with arrest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Los Angeles Police Department",
"arrest_status": "detained and released without being processed",
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": "2026-01-31",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dexter Thomas (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
}
]
