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{
"title": "FBI Director Kash Patel targets press",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/fbi-director-kash-patel-targets-press/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-20T19:46:25.941424Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-23T17:02:36.519012Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-04-23T17:02:36.258246Z",
"date": "2026-04-20",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j0t80\">As President Donald Trump’s second term continued in 2026, his FBI director, Kash Patel, took steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration critically. We’re documenting Patel’s efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"e52s8\">Also read about <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kash-patel-targets-press-leakers-as-fbi-director/\">Patel’s efforts in 2025</a>, and how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving<a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\"> to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage</a> and more.</p><p data-block-key=\"fekh9\"><i>This article was first published on April 20, 2026.</i></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"b94kq\"></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=\"#April 20\">April 20, 2026 | Patel sues The Atlantic for defamation</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Feb 28\">Feb. 28, 2026 | FBI investigates reporter who wrote about Patel’s girlfriend</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j0t80\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"fu1kb\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"April 20\" name=\"April 20\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j0t80\"><b>April 20, 2026 | Patel sues The Atlantic for defamation</b></p><p data-block-key=\"epb33\">Attorneys for FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic and its reporter, Sarah Fitzpatrick, on April 20, 2026, accusing them of defaming him in an article about Patel’s alleged erratic behavior and poor job performance.</p><p data-block-key=\"dm0qg\">Fitzpatrick’s <a href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/\">article</a>, published April 17, reported that Patel’s conduct on the job has included “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences,” and that more than two dozen sources, including current and former FBI officials, “described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability.”</p><p data-block-key=\"75ll2\">Patel’s lack of availability has exacerbated bureaucratic delays at the FBI, Fitzpatrick reported, and his alleged excessive drinking may have led to his sharing inaccurate information about active law enforcement investigations.</p><p data-block-key=\"n8v5\">Fitzpatrick quoted a statement from the FBI, attributed to Patel, responding to her list of questions: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.”</p><p data-block-key=\"30ekd\">The day the article was published, Patel’s attorney Jesse Binnall <a href=\"https://x.com/jbinnall/status/2045287437325254768/photo/1\">posted</a> a letter on social platform X that he said he had sent to The Atlantic and Fitzpatrick, alleging that Fitzpatrick’s questions had contained false claims and threatening legal action if those claims were published.</p><p data-block-key=\"a0j4l\">Three days later, Patel’s attorneys filed their <a href=\"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/1/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/\">complaint</a> in federal court for defamation, claiming that the article’s allegations were “designed to destroy Director Patel’s reputation and drive him from office,” and that the article’s publication was done with “actual malice,” and demanded $250 million in damages.</p><p data-block-key=\"oghf\">“The statements,” the complaint argued, “falsely assert that the Director of the FBI—the nation’s chief federal law-enforcement officer—is a habitual drunk, unable to perform the duties of his office, is a threat to public safety, is vulnerable to foreign coercion, has violated DOJ ethics rules, is unreachable in emergencies, has required the deployment of ‘breaching equipment’ to extract him from locked rooms, allows alcohol to influence his public statements about criminal investigations, and behaves erratically in a manner that compromises national security.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c97un\">The Atlantic <a href=\"https://x.com/TheAtlanticPR/status/2046239419422675189\">responded</a> to the suit on X, writing: “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend <i>The Atlantic</i> and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.”</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>\r\n<a id=\"Feb 28\" name=\"Feb 28\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"pab1u\"><b>Feb. 28, 2026 | FBI investigates reporter who wrote about Patel’s girlfriend</b></p><p data-block-key=\"3lqb1\">The FBI investigated New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson after she published a report on Feb. 28, 2026, that the agency’s director, Kash Patel, had provided unprecedented transportation and security resources for his girlfriend.</p><p data-block-key=\"bt8r5\">FBI agents searched databases for information on Williamson and recommended further investigation to determine whether she had broken federal stalking laws while reporting the story, the Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/us/politics/fbi-times-reporter.html\">reported</a> April 22.</p><p data-block-key=\"12r3o\">Justice Department officials, however, “determined there was no legal basis to proceed with the investigation,” and the FBI dropped the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"20o3s\">Williamson had reported that Patel’s girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, has been assigned an escort of SWAT personnel and that “Mr. Patel’s demand that rotating SWAT teams provide his girlfriend with security for singing appearances, personal engagements and errands is unprecedented in the F.B.I.”</p><p data-block-key=\"64dbu\">The day the article was published, Wilkins received a threatening, anonymous email, which she forwarded to the FBI, the Times wrote. The email’s alleged sender was later criminally prosecuted and said they had sent the email after reading Williamson’s article, according to an affidavit in the case.</p><p data-block-key=\"1lt5b\">The FBI then interviewed Wilkins, who said she felt “harassed” by Williamson’s reporting, which had involved reaching out to numerous people who knew her. Agents then launched the investigation into Williamson, citing laws against stalking and threats as justification.</p><p data-block-key=\"5m6kf\">Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn called the investigation “alarming,” telling the paper, “The F.B.I.’s attempt to criminalize routine reporting is a blatant violation of Elizabeth’s First Amendment rights and another attempt by this administration to prevent journalists from scrutinizing its actions.”</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/FBI_Director_Kash_Patel_testifies.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"y8qlo\">FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026.</p>",
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"The Atlantic"
],
"tags": [
"Department of Justice",
"Donald Trump"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
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"Sarah Fitzpatrick (The Atlantic)",
"Elizabeth Williamson (The New York Times)"
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{
"title": "Reporter assaulted by individuals at Minnesota immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-assaulted-by-individuals-at-minnesota-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-23T20:59:42.406483Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-23T20:59:42.406483Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-04-23T20:59:42.234985Z",
"date": "2026-04-11",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Snelling",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oz0i0\">Savanah Hernandez, a reporter for Frontlines TPUSA, suffered a concussion after she was attacked by a group of people attending an immigration protest in the Minneapolis suburb of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on April 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"9vt8l\">The demonstration was one of many nationwide protests that day against increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, including in Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and shot and wounded another man. Both the city of Minneapolis and the state have <a href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/us/minneapolis-immigration-officers-mobilizing-protests\">since sued</a> the Trump administration, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"9anu1\">Hernandez told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was reporting for Frontlines TPUSA, the online news arm of the conservative activist organization Turning Point USA.</p><p data-block-key=\"7rge1\">While Hernandez filmed the demonstration outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, several people attending the protest surrounded her after learning she was affiliated with TPUSA. Hernandez told the group she was only there to observe and record, but the situation began to escalate.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2hjo\">“The crowd became increasingly more volatile,” Hernandez told the Tracker. “They just heard the name, ‘Turning Point USA,’ and that’s what got them very aggressive with me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1f2o2\">Hernandez filmed as people blew whistles and blowhorns at her. One woman blew a whistle inches from her ear, and someone on a megaphone yelled, “Get the fuck out of here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d6gis\">“Stop. Leave me alone,” Hernandez said <a href=\"https://x.com/FrontlinesTPUSA/status/2043091490961059930\">in the video</a>. “People are being extremely aggressive here.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3q91k\">Moments later, Hernandez was shoved to the ground, her camera jostling.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is now the second time I have been mobbed and assaulted for filming a protest on U.S. streets.<br><br>Today these Minneapolis protesters were chanting that they were “ANTIFA” and proved it, by mobbing and beating me for reporting on a public protest: <a href=\"https://t.co/EOhyg9AFME\">pic.twitter.com/EOhyg9AFME</a></p>— Savanah Hernandez (@Savsays) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Savsays/status/2043088956351189051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 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=\"oz0i0\">Hernandez pushed away another woman who aggressively approached her. “Get off of me,” Hernandez said. “Stop touching me.” Hernandez is then tackled to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"8d05g\">Hernandez is seen being shoved by a man in <a href=\"https://x.com/Savsays/status/2043336993514373245?s=20\">one video</a>. Another <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1D4SJgKM10\">shows</a> a woman pushing her into a fence. Hernandez throws a punch at the woman in <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e45cEdDcCBc\">a third clip</a>.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I'm waking up with a headache and stiff neck this morning due to how violently anti-ICE activist, Chris Ostroushko, shoved me down yesterday.<br><br>A second angle shows that he had to be held back by 5 men as he continued to charge at me.<br><br>I didn't speak a word to him all day yet he… <a href=\"https://t.co/LjDx1GMLnF\">pic.twitter.com/LjDx1GMLnF</a></p>— Savanah Hernandez (@Savsays) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Savsays/status/2043336993514373245?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 12, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"oz0i0\">“I realized these people were not going to let me leave,” Hernandez said. “I was basically like, ‘I feel like I’m just going to have to fight my way out of this.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"cfsrg\">Eventually, police intervened and escorted Hernandez away. Hernandez’s glasses were broken after the encounter. A doctor diagnosed her with a concussion. She also suffered sprains, bruising and a stiff neck. Her legs were scraped, and her neck and back were sore.</p><p data-block-key=\"abtfu\">A Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office report shows that Paige Ostroushko and her father, Christopher, were arrested in connection with the assault. The sheriff submitted charges to the county attorney, which are now under review for potential charging. The report lists a third offender, Deyanna Ostroushko, who has not been arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"6vn7u\">Chris Ostroushko <a href=\"https://nypost.com/2026/04/17/us-news/minnesota-dad-who-assaulted-turning-point-usa-journo-says-family-is-not-violent/\">told the New York Post</a> that he was defending his wife and daughter, who claimed they were acting in self-defense after Hernandez attacked them. “We are absolutely not violent people,” he said. “In fact, we tend to shy away from it.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was scheduled for multiple media interviews today, but I canceled all of them. <br><br>Yesterday, after my interviews I felt drained and realize I need time to recover. <br><br>I’ve been dealing with headaches, dizziness and lightheadedness and was informed by a doctor that I do have a…</p>— Savanah Hernandez (@Savsays) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Savsays/status/2044500613392675269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 15, 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=\"oz0i0\">Hernandez said she felt targeted by the group, who she believes attacked her to make sure she couldn’t do her job.</p><p data-block-key=\"ag8jp\">“I would like to see the First Amendment protected more in the United States of America,” Hernandez told the Tracker. “I would like to see the law applied equally, so that journalists and reporters are protected no matter which city they’re in, because this type of violence against people has been happening for far too long.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5q6aa\">Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon <a href=\"https://x.com/aagdhillon/status/2043394433517838520?s=42\">confirmed</a> that the FBI was also investigating the assault. Vice President JD Vance <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXKMCdOiof_/\">acknowledged</a> the federal investigation as well.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"s62p4\">Frontlines TPUSA reporter Savanah Hernandez, at left, with two individuals arrested in connection with an assault against her, seen in a video screengrab from an immigration protest in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, on April 11, 2026.</p>",
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"protest"
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"Assault"
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{
"title": "Photographer pushed, jabbed by police baton at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-jabbed-by-police-baton-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-15T19:26:02.851677Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-15T19:26:02.851677Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-04-15T19:26:02.672098Z",
"date": "2026-04-11",
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"city": "Los Angeles",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"x420s\">Independent photographer Enrique Dominguez was shoved by officers and poked with a police baton while documenting a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"34lnt\">The protest, which included <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-11/anti-ice-sex-toy-protest-outside-la-detention-center-leads-to-arrests\">a few dozen</a> participants, gathered at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being held and where numerous demonstrations have taken place since the start of intensified immigration enforcement in the city in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">June 2025.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"fss94\">Dominguez, who was not wearing a press badge but has since received one from the National Press Photographers Association, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was taking pictures of the protest and is working on a documentary film.</p><p data-block-key=\"31i1r\">While on the scene, the LA Police Department started forcing members of the press backward, away from the detention center. Dominguez said he tried to take a picture of a woman being arrested at a certain angle, but he was diverted after an officer pushed him, followed by several others.</p><p data-block-key=\"cc4le\">“They pushed us more aggressively when we started taking pictures of them arresting everybody,” Dominguez said. “The police started jabbing me with their batons and started pushing me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6l7lp\">At one point, an officer pointed at him and told him that he would be detained next. Dominguez said he just walked away.</p><p data-block-key=\"7obk8\">California <a href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-pen/part-1/title-11/section-409-5/\">law</a> allows members of the press to cover protests and exempts them from dispersal orders. It also protects them from arrest or interference by police, including use of force. A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">federal preliminary injunction</a> against the city is in place to uphold those protections.</p><p data-block-key=\"dpptk\">In an emailed statement, an LAPD public information officer told the Tracker that an unlawful assembly was declared in response to “vandalism and in the interest of public safety.” The officer added, “Following the lawful dispersal order, officers moved to regain control of the area and successfully dispersed those engaged in unlawful activity.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d4q94\">The officer said the department is “aware of the complaints that have been raised,” adding that “each allegation will be subject to a comprehensive and thorough investigation in accordance with established Department policies and procedures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fc7ij\">LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell <a href=\"https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/chief-of-police-statement-no-kings-3-0-protest-in-downtown-los-angeles-nr26067mb/\">said in a statement</a> after a March 28 “No Kings” rally weeks earlier — which resulted in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-03-28&date_upper=2026-03-28\">at least a dozen</a> press freedom violations — that any use of force or allegations of mistreatment involving media members would be investigated and addressed.</p><p data-block-key=\"dn9fa\">“The LAPD recognizes the media’s right to cover events and makes reasonable efforts to accommodate, with those efforts consistent with our primary duty to maintain public safety and order,” the statement said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7k78o\">Police push press back at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2026. Independent photographer Enrique Dominguez was shoved by officers and poked with a police baton while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
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"Assault"
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{
"title": "Photographer pushed, hit with baton at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-hit-with-baton-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-23T18:43:16.181221Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-04-23T18:43:16.181221Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ytz00\">Independent photographer Jonny Morales was shoved by police and jabbed in the ribs with a police baton while documenting a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"3aoqa\">The protest, which included <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-11/anti-ice-sex-toy-protest-outside-la-detention-center-leads-to-arrests\">a few dozen</a> participants, gathered at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being held and where numerous demonstrations have taken place since the start of intensified immigration enforcement in the city in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">June 2025.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"663om\">Morales told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was photographing the protest outside the detention center when police forced protesters to leave and began making targeted arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"bu0o7\">Officers then gave conflicting directions to members of the press. One directed the reporters to the sidewalk, while another threatened the media with arrest for staying. While standing on the sidewalk with other reporters, Morales was pushed by an officer, who also struck him with his baton.</p><p data-block-key=\"1scm1\">“Because of that interaction, I didn’t feel safe,” Morales told the Tracker. “That was just really scary and intimidating.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e7kmt\">Morales, who was carrying gear and wearing a vest that identified him as press, said one officer told him that he would be considered a protester because he did not have a press credential.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4ll4\">“I’m an independent, I’m considered press, I’m protected under state law,” Morales told police, who he said ignored his assertions.</p><p data-block-key=\"bvfms\">California <a href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-pen/part-1/title-11/section-409-7/\">law</a> allows members of the press to cover protests and exempts them from dispersal orders. It also protects them from arrest or interference by police during demonstrations, and does not require journalists to wear credentials to be considered press. A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">federal preliminary injunction</a> against the city is in place to uphold those protections.</p><p data-block-key=\"314a2\">After leaving the protest, Morales said his ribs were sore and red. Other <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-04-11&date_upper=2026-04-11&city=Los+Angeles&state=California\">journalists</a> were also shoved and hit during the scrum, impeding their ability to report.</p><p data-block-key=\"4cl27\">“I was forced to stop documenting because I was concerned about my well-being and my friends’ well-being,” Morales said.</p><p data-block-key=\"9gefd\">In an emailed statement, an LAPD public information officer told the Tracker that an unlawful assembly was declared in response to “vandalism and in the interest of public safety.” The officer added, “Following the lawful dispersal order, officers moved to regain control of the area and successfully dispersed those engaged in unlawful activity.”</p><p data-block-key=\"920ur\">The officer said the department is “aware of the complaints that have been raised,” adding that “each allegation will be subject to a comprehensive and thorough investigation in accordance with established Department policies and procedures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fq8p9\">LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell <a href=\"https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/chief-of-police-statement-no-kings-3-0-protest-in-downtown-los-angeles-nr26067mb/\">said in a statement</a> after a March 28 “No Kings” rally two weeks earlier — which resulted in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-03-28&date_upper=2026-03-28\">at least 17</a> press freedom violations — that any use of force or allegations of mistreatment involving media members would be investigated and addressed.</p><p data-block-key=\"fko2g\">“The LAPD recognizes the media’s right to cover events and makes reasonable efforts to accommodate, with those efforts consistent with our primary duty to maintain public safety and order,” the statement said.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"7rmvh\">Officers push members of the press back during an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2026. Photographer Jonny Morales was struck with a police baton while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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{
"title": "Photographer shoved by police, federal officers at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-by-police-federal-officers-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-04-24T20:51:53.440663Z",
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"date": "2026-04-11",
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"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"d09ze\">Independent photographer Steven Berumen was pushed by both federal officers and local police while documenting a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ni61\">The protest, which included <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-11/anti-ice-sex-toy-protest-outside-la-detention-center-leads-to-arrests\">a few dozen</a> participants, gathered at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being held and where numerous demonstrations have taken place since the start of intensified immigration enforcement in the city in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">June 2025</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"atj2f\">Berumen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that an LA Police Department officer shoved him with his baton as police pushed members of the media away from documenting arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"dsvc\">“They didn’t want me photographing,” Berumen said. “They always yell at me, ‘Just get your photo and go.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"10ebc\">Berumen, who was wearing a vest marking him as press, said when he documents protests, he tries to maintain a respectful distance between himself and officers, but finds that officers still try to push him or block his shot.</p><p data-block-key=\"560gr\">“They were targeting press; they complain when you’re taking photos, and they push you.”</p><p data-block-key=\"tjrp\">Later that day, Berumen documented federal officers and LAPD making arrests outside the detention center when Department of Homeland Security agents also shoved him.</p><p data-block-key=\"qhlt\">“I was getting photos of them and, from my right side, they came in and pushed me,” he said. “I was pushed, and then I was pushed again, but it didn’t really register with me because I was just focused on taking the photos.”</p><p data-block-key=\"a8mjg\">California <a href=\"https://law.justia.com/codes/california/code-pen/part-1/title-11/section-409-7/\">law</a> allows members of the press to cover protests and exempts them from dispersal orders. It also protects them from arrest or interference by police during demonstrations, and does not require journalists to wear credentials to be considered press. A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-with-baton-finger-injured-amid-protests-in-downtown-la/\">federal preliminary injunction</a> against the city and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-struck-with-pepper-balls-while-covering-la-immigration-protest/\">DHS</a> is in place to uphold those protections.</p><p data-block-key=\"f789u\">In an emailed statement, an LAPD public information officer told the Tracker that an unlawful assembly was declared in response to “vandalism and in the interest of public safety.” The officer added, “Following the lawful dispersal order, officers moved to regain control of the area and successfully dispersed those engaged in unlawful activity.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cjg7o\">The officer said the department is “aware of the complaints that have been raised,” adding that “each allegation will be subject to a comprehensive and thorough investigation in accordance with established Department policies and procedures.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8rttp\">LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell <a href=\"https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/chief-of-police-statement-no-kings-3-0-protest-in-downtown-los-angeles-nr26067mb/\">said in a statement</a> after a March 28 “No Kings” rally two weeks earlier — which resulted in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-03-28&date_upper=2026-03-28&city=Los+angeles\">at least 18</a> press freedom violations — that any use of force or allegations of mistreatment involving media members would be investigated and addressed.</p><p data-block-key=\"7c90e\">“The LAPD recognizes the media’s right to cover events and makes reasonable efforts to accommodate, with those efforts consistent with our primary duty to maintain public safety and order,” the statement said.</p><p data-block-key=\"4soj5\">DHS did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4x4hm\">Law enforcement at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on April 11, 2026. Photographer Steven Berumen was shoved by police and federal officers while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
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