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{
"title": "Journalist pepper-sprayed by federal officer at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:42:27.966564Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:42:27.966564Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-26T17:42:27.849581Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6rgvk\">Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was targeted with pepper spray by a federal officer while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"8592v\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall, a federal detention facility, <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"btmc5\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"c1lng\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6k21m\">Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer deliberately pepper-sprayed him while he was clearly identifiable as a member of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"2epj4\">In an <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7Yp9XFaHL/?img_index=2\">image he captured</a> during the incident, the ICE officer deploys pepper spray over the heads of other officers as they push back against protesters, remnants of the spray lingering in the air. Khan said the officers often aimed for journalists’ cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqpoa\">“They very obviously target journalists who are in front and taking pictures,” Khan said. “They push us back and beat us. They pepper-spray us. They don’t care.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7Yp9XFaHL/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY7Yp9XFaHL\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"6rgvk\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"7c6rc\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xg8i6\">A federal officer deploys pepper spray at demonstrators outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Independent journalist Wali Khan was targeted with the chemical irritant, aimed at his camera, while covering protests that night.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Wali Khan (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photographer hit with baton by federal officer at immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-hit-with-baton-by-federal-officer-at-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-12T16:29:08.047000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-30T19:58:01.068853Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-30T19:22:51.958972Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"53kis\">An independent photographer was struck in the chest with a baton by a federal officer while documenting protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"38d31\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"flc9e\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8pe7o\">The photographer, who asked to remain anonymous due to their immigration status, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were documenting confrontations between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with the officers pushing people back using batons and pepper spray, and protesters continuing to push forward.</p><p data-block-key=\"ahb2m\">The photographer said they wore a press ID and shouted “Press” every time an officer approached.</p><p data-block-key=\"77ui2\">At one point, an officer hit the photographer multiple times in the chest with a baton, yelling at them to move back.</p><p data-block-key=\"cu15e\">“He banged me in the chest, really hard, two or three times, and I was totally winded, and it was very painful,” the photographer said. “I didn’t really feel it as much until later, and then the next day I was like, ‘Wow, this is brutal.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"bscs5\">The photographer added that an ICE officer also doused them with pepper spray that he fired indiscriminately. “I had goggles on and a mask, but that stuff goes everywhere.”</p><p data-block-key=\"94ble\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"1c0gl\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Anon_photoj_May_28.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j47eo\">A federal officer sprays a protester with a chemical irritant outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. An independent photographer was hit with a baton while documenting the protest.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Anonymous photojournalist 11 (Independent)"
],
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{
"title": "Photographer pushed, hit with pepper spray at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-hit-with-pepper-spray-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-02T17:19:02.355000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T21:12:33.631431Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-03T21:12:33.500842Z",
"date": "2026-05-28",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"yq16x\">Photojournalist David “Dee” Delgado was shoved by federal officers and pepper-sprayed while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"54iqq\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"1ddsm\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1vmq3\">Delgado told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he believed ICE was targeting journalists outside Delaney Hall on May 28. </p><p data-block-key=\"f95ga\">“They were talking amongst themselves, and they would point out photographers and journalists,” Delgado said. At one point, an officer recognized Delgado and remarked that he followed him on Instagram. “It felt like it was more of a threat than anything, just ‘we know who you are’ type of situation.” </p><p data-block-key=\"g6o6\">Officers swung batons, broke his colleagues’ camera gear, and pushed him and other members of the media. While Delgado was photographing a confrontation between ICE officers and protesters trying to block law enforcement vehicles from leaving the facility, he said an officer pepper-sprayed him.</p><p data-block-key=\"1l4i9\">“He made eye contact with me and sprayed me,” said Delgado, who was on assignment for Reuters and wearing press credentials. </p><p data-block-key=\"69qf0\">Delgado said the spray irritated his exposed skin, but he was more prepared than on May 26, when he was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-pepper-sprayed-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">also pepper-sprayed</a>. The next day, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-injured-by-crowd-control-munition-at-new-jersey-protest/\">on May 29</a>, Delgado was injured by a crowd-control munition fired by a state patrol officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"12e9m\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"69mb6\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"48glp\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include a statement from DHS.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yge5e\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent sprays chemical irritant during an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. Photographer David “Dee” Delgado was pepper-sprayed while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"categories": [
"Assault"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist knocked to ground at protest; gear damaged",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-knocked-to-ground-at-protest-gear-damaged/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-23T18:04:59.916789Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-23T18:04:59.916789Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-23T18:04:59.795679Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1jgbf\">EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova was repeatedly shoved to the ground and threatened with batons by federal officers while covering protests outside a federal detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. One of her lens filters and her gas mask were damaged in the process.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kbkv\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"1g3gk\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"17h7\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3shu\">Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had been covering the demonstrations outside the detention facility for several days, and that federal officers were utilizing chemical irritants and what she described as “full-body contact.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5dt0c\">“I was just continuously pepper-sprayed all the time,” she said, adding that she was keeping herself apart from protesters. “Every time I tried to get close to the protesters, agents would threaten me with batons, and I was actually told, ‘Get back, or I’ll hit you.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"8o4pe\">Throughout the day and into the night, Fedorova said, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would push protesters back, with some veering off and pushing members of the press as well.</p><p data-block-key=\"fd0pt\">“I weigh 110 pounds, so every time they tackled me like a linebacker, I would be flying back,” she told the Tracker. “I was falling to the ground more times than I can imagine. And one of those times, I guess my camera hit the ground.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-aligned_image block-aligned_image\"><figure class=\"inline-media right\">\n\t\n\n\n\n <img src=\"https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/Jun_3_2026_1_59_11.width-828.jpg\" width=\"720\" height=\"1280\" alt=\"COURTESY OLGA FEDOROVA\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"wni4p\">EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova documented the shattering of her lens filter after she was repeatedly knocked to the ground while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY OLGA FEDOROVA\n\t\t\t</span>\n\t\t\n\t</figcaption>\n\t\n</figure>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1jgbf\">Fedorova said the lens filter on her camera shattered, but she can’t be certain it wasn’t broken when officers were swinging their batons.</p><p data-block-key=\"clh4p\">“I didn’t realize that my filter had shattered. It was only after I realized that there were all these artifacts in my photos that came from there being broken glass right in front of the lens element,” she continued. “If I didn’t have a filter on that lens, obviously it would have been destroyed.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e4km7\">Fedorova added that because she didn’t realize the filter had broken, she placed her camera into her bag and later opened it to find it covered with broken glass.</p><p data-block-key=\"55mbv\">The photojournalist’s gas mask was also damaged during her coverage that day, and she said that with the filter broken off, it is now operable only as a face shield.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lct9\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"crblt\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"obhev\">Federal officers push back protesters outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova was repeatedly threatened with batons and knocked to the ground, damaging her equipment.</p>",
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"protest"
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"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
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"targeted_journalists": [
"Olga Fedorova (EPA Images [Germany])"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist pepper-sprayed at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-24T17:18:59.114391Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T17:18:59.114391Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T17:18:48.277982Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kn2eu\">Photojournalist and filmmaker Will Allen-DuPraw was targeted with pepper spray by federal officers while covering protests outside a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"farum\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"6qmq7\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"3g9nk\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gr9o\">Allen-DuPraw and other journalists told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the protest followed a consistent pattern. Periods of calm would last until law enforcement vehicles tried to leave the facility, and protesters would move to block the cars from leaving. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would respond by advancing into the crowd and pushing demonstrators back.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9kaf\">Allen-DuPraw told the Tracker he was standing in front of an ICE officer when the officer deployed a wide swath of pepper spray toward the photojournalist and those around him. Allen-DuPraw said he was clearly identifiable as press.</p><p data-block-key=\"6791q\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTVsyxv9ZT/\">post on social media</a>, a GIF of his photos shows the officer spraying in an arc around the photojournalist and into his camera. In at least one image, the federal officer appears to look directly into Allen-DuPraw’s lens.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTVsyxv9ZT/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTVsyxv9ZT\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"kn2eu\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"apojo\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"rkwwf\">A federal agent deploys pepper spray toward protesters and press outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. Photojournalist Will Allen-DuPraw was also targeted with chemical irritants that night.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"Assault"
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"Will Allen-DuPraw (Status Coup)"
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{
"title": "Photojournalist trampled, shoulder injured at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-trampled-shoulder-injured-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-24T19:47:56.322000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T19:57:22.975590Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T19:57:22.831832Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
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"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"p9q9b\">Freelance photojournalist Edna Leshowitz fell to the ground and was trampled, injuring her shoulder, while covering a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"ek1ts\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"ank47\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"7gbkm\">Leshowitz and other journalists told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the protest followed a consistent pattern. Periods of calm would last until law enforcement vehicles tried to leave the facility, and protesters would move to block the cars from leaving. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would respond by advancing into the crowd and pushing demonstrators back.</p><p data-block-key=\"7acp6\">“I’ve never seen it that violent,” said Leshowitz, who was wearing press credentials. “They see all of us as the enemy.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b2s7a\">At one point, ICE officers suddenly surged toward the crowd, raising their batons as though they were preparing to strike. Protesters and journalists scrambled backward in panic. As she photographed the scene, Leshowitz lost her footing and fell.</p><p data-block-key=\"63bmu\">As she lay on the ground, she could hear the sound of boots around her. Three people retreating with the crowd stepped on her before someone pulled her to safety.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kuqi\">Leshowitz said she suffered scrapes to her elbow and knee. She also suffered a partially torn rotator cuff when she tried to break her fall with her left arm. Doctors told her she will need physical therapy and may require surgery.</p><p data-block-key=\"skdl\">When working, Leshowitz now relies more heavily on her right arm and feels pain that worsens by the end of the day.</p><p data-block-key=\"1e36b\">“I need to raise both arms above my head a lot for certain shots,” she said. “It’s tough to have to work around it and be left with a long-term injury.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b53l1\">At another protest outside Delaney Hall days later, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-in-head-with-flash-bang-at-new-jersey-protest/\">a flash-bang grenade</a> fired by state police landed on her head.</p><p data-block-key=\"82ehs\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ccaa\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/EdnaLeshowitz_DelaneyHallInjuries.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"h8qdg\">Federal agents at a protest outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. Photojournalist Edna Leshowitz fell backward and trampled while covering the demonstration.</p>",
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"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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{
"title": "Photojournalist hit with baton, doused with irritant at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-baton-doused-with-irritant-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-03T16:15:41.031797Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T16:15:41.031797Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-03T16:15:40.882133Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"wxqgd\">Photojournalist Ryan Murphy was struck in the leg with a baton and pepper-sprayed by federal officers while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"fafbg\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"d1cia\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"514k\">Murphy told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was walking through the protest when an ICE officer hit the back of his leg with a baton. </p><p data-block-key=\"cci3m\">“He full-on targeted me and hit me full on with his baton, and I looked at him and said, ‘I’m press,’” said Murphy, who added that the officer apologized. Murphy, who was on assignment for Reuters, was wearing press credentials and carrying his cameras at the time. “He didn’t seem to care, he was just throwing his baton everywhere, being super aggressive.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1g0vu\">Murphy said he witnessed an officer strike a protester in the face with a baton. He was also pepper-sprayed — in situations that were both targeted at him and other media or during periods when he was caught in the cross fire. </p><p data-block-key=\"2rd12\">“It seemed pretty indiscriminate that they were just kind of blanketing people with pepper spray, just pointing in a general direction and just letting it rip,” said Murphy, who felt the sting of the irritant until the next morning. “My entire shirt was stained orange.” </p><p data-block-key=\"3f3i4\">The next day, his hand was struck with a baton, requiring stitches. </p><p data-block-key=\"ei772\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"e5u3g\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"z5s0c\">Federal officers hold batons outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. Photojournalist Ryan Murphy was struck with a baton and pepper-sprayed while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"protest"
],
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],
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],
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{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed by ICE officer at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-by-ice-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-01T20:20:18.637000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T20:26:41.869648Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-03T20:26:41.728999Z",
"date": "2026-05-27",
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"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"78g3y\">Photojournalist Cristina Panagi was shoved by a federal officer while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"7c6hl\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"c220\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> the allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"b9dsl\">Panagi told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that as the area outside Delaney Hall became increasingly crowded, officers began pushing members of the press. An ICE officer then shoved her, even though she was clearly identifiable as a journalist by her media credentials and markings on her backpack.</p><p data-block-key=\"cffas\">“It was clear he was just trying to block us from being able to move,” she said, referring to her efforts to freely document the protest. “The aggression was really not anything I’ve ever seen before.”</p><p data-block-key=\"28cg6\">Officers also fired pepper spray into the crowd, and Panagi said the chemical irritant seeped beneath her protective goggles, causing her forehead to burn. At a protest <a href=\"/all-incidents/photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-by-ice-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">the day before</a>, Panagi was also pepper-sprayed by a federal officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nsdk\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"coc5f\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6qfth\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include a statement from DHS.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m9hnp\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoves photojournalist Cristina Panagi while she covers an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Cristina Panagi (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist, camera targeted with pepper spray by federal officer",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-camera-targeted-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officer/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-11T14:23:17.856430Z",
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"longitude": -74.17237,
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"rpihc\">A freelance photojournalist, who asked not to be identified because of their immigration status, was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"ns67\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"9oag8\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dbav\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7tbbm\">The photojournalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were on assignment for a wire agency when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer targeted them with pepper spray, aiming directly at their camera’s lens.</p><p data-block-key=\"74h2u\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"fl1p5\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nlo19\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer sprays a chemical irritant toward protesters outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 27, 2026. An ICE officer targeted a freelance photojournalist with the spray as well.</p>",
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"abbreviation": "NJ"
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"Anonymous photojournalist 10 (Freelance)"
],
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{
"title": "Agency photojournalist targeted with pepper spray by federal officers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/agency-photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T13:21:09.933019Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T13:21:09.933019Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T13:21:09.833769Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"q3a2v\">EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"12o0s\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"1d1k6\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"acipv\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"69jmt\">Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was standing near independent photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-for-turkish-news-agency-targeted-with-pepper-sprayed/\">Mostafa Bassim</a> and other members of the press when they were all doused with a chemical irritant.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebpuv\">“That was the most quintessential, undeniable instance of targeting someone,” she said, noting that officers purposefully aimed at the journalists’ cameras and into their ear canals.</p><p data-block-key=\"514mj\">“The agent was waiting to do this,” Fedorova continued. “Pepper spray is supposed to be used as self-defense, not to torture us.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c0aro\">Fedorova said that their experience that day was far from an isolated incident.</p><p data-block-key=\"8clao\">“Every day, I think, every single member of the press was doused in pepper spray, like completely, completely covered in pepper spray,” she added.</p><p data-block-key=\"6hk67\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"3sd0a\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"5gaoc\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer pepper-sprays protesters outside a private immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. EPA Images photojournalist Olga Fedorova was also targeted with chemical irritant spray.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Olga Fedorova (EPA Images [Germany])"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist pepper-sprayed by ICE at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-by-ice-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-01T20:37:35.642000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T20:25:25.162919Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-03T20:25:24.887007Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"4ntai\">Photojournalist Cristina Panagi was sprayed with chemical irritant by a federal officer while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"9j383\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"fllrq\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"h3jf\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"488el\">Panagi told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that ICE agents fired pepper spray indiscriminately into the entire crowd outside Delaney Hall, which included members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"a2b58\">“We all got hit continuously over the course of the night, to the point where it smelled like hot sauce,” Panagi said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bbkvc\">Throughout the night, Panagi recalled, officers pointed pepper spray directly at her and other reporters who were clustered together and a fair distance away from protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"a3ulp\">At one point, law enforcement chased protesters across the street to detain them. As reporters followed to photograph the arrests, officers aimed and fired pepper spray directly at the journalists, including Panagi.</p><p data-block-key=\"csk3v\">“That’s where it became pretty targeted,” she said. “They’re going to detain people, they’re chasing down protesters, and then they’re pointing and pepper-spraying press to prevent us from following and documenting.”</p><p data-block-key=\"48e3s\">Panagi, who was wearing media credentials and a backpack marking her as press, said the orange spray covered her arms, got into her mouth and caused her sinuses to burn.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqi8v\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"6h97f\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"987kg\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include a statement from DHS.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"r44qa\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, in red at center, pepper-sprays photojournalist Cristina Panagi while she covers an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Cristina Panagi (Independent)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist shoved by federal officer at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T17:36:02.780000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T17:48:37.541990Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-04T17:48:37.404044Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"l2g2u\">Photojournalist Ben Ackman was pushed by a federal officer while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9vo3\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"d1b04\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"dd3go\">Ackman, on assignment for the New Jersey Monitor, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that an officer pushed him aside twice while chasing a protester. Ackman said he did not believe he was targeted because he was a journalist, but was simply in the way as ICE pursued an arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"esvf6\">“They shoved me, and then they ran behind me,” said Ackman, who was holding a camera and wearing press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"36r2u\">Ackman said that he was also affected that day by pepper spray, which got in his eyes. He had to step away from documenting the protest for about a half hour while he washed it out. A <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-jostled-by-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">couple of days later</a>, he was pushed again by an officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"9rrj9\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"8bhg6\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mqob1\">Photojournalist Ben Ackman is pushed by an ICE officer while covering an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist struck in leg with baton at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-in-leg-with-baton-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:29:55.171980Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:29:55.171980Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-26T17:29:55.024187Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j6eem\">Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was struck in the leg with a baton by a federal officer while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"am3ms\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall federal detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"fts8c\">Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"2v19r\">Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were wielding their batons at protesters to drive them back.</p><p data-block-key=\"4dle6\">In <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY1ya6PhJih/\">footage Khan captured that night</a>, an ICE officer is seen repeatedly striking at the lower legs of protesters.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY1ya6PhJih/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY1ya6PhJih\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j6eem\">“I got hit in the leg — in the back of my knee — when they were swinging erratically,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"69lq9\">Khan told the Tracker that while he doesn’t believe he was targeted at that moment, federal officers also deliberately <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-threatened-with-taser-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-officers\">pepper-sprayed and threatened him</a> with a Taser.</p><p data-block-key=\"3nvrc\">“They were fucking out of control that day,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"85n9d\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"fr60t\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Wali Khan (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist, other press targeted with chemical irritant at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-other-press-targeted-with-chemical-irritant-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-08T21:29:55.070000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-24T20:49:42.778147Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-24T20:49:42.495128Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"41b8m\">Photojournalist Neil Constantine was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ept7\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"9k7qn\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"a2ju7\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"26m04\">Constantine told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was documenting that day for NurPhoto Agency alongside freelance photojournalist <a href=\"/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officers/\">Madison Swart</a> and other press when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers sprayed the gaggle of journalists with chemical irritants.</p><p data-block-key=\"7dodt\">The officers were using a more potent form of chemical irritant, Swart said, describing it as a stronger, law-enforcement-grade product above pepper spray but not fully tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"20jrd\">“There was a gaggle of press photographers and we all got sprayed in that same moment. It was totally unnecessary,” she told the Tracker. She added that the officers seemed to be deliberately aiming at their cameras.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2zmnQAcd8/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2zmnQAcd8\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"41b8m\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"74fk9\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-05-27T022407Z_1615815164_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"sjurm\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pepper-spray protesters outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. A gaggle of photojournalists, including Neil Constantine for NurPhoto Agency, were also targeted with the irritant.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photographer for Turkish news agency targeted with pepper spray",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-for-turkish-news-agency-targeted-with-pepper-spray/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T16:10:53.357000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T21:04:58.613419Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-04T21:04:58.493662Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"acpq7\">Mostafa Bassim, a photojournalist for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"4nleo\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"61lpi\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"ae53b\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"7fe3r\">Bassim and other journalists told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker the protests followed a consistent pattern, with a period of calm until law enforcement vehicles tried to exit the facility, when protesters would attempt to block them from leaving and to see whether any detainees were being moved. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would then advance to push back the demonstrators and make arrests, before calm would resume.</p><p data-block-key=\"13lc8\">He said that he was wearing personal protective equipment, including goggles and a gas mask, but that with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers’ tactics, it didn’t make a difference.</p><p data-block-key=\"ascpc\">“Based on previous experience, maybe they will pepper-spray you in the face and, when they realize you’re a journalist, they move on. But this time, it’s different. They see you, they realize you’re press, and first they pepper-spray your lens,” he told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"75mpk\">Bassim noted that he was reporting alongside multiple other members of the press who received the same treatment. He added the tactic works: His lens was coated and the photos taken immediately after were almost entirely obscured.</p><p data-block-key=\"1nlse\">One of the officers deliberately targeted him a second time.</p><p data-block-key=\"6ij2b\">“He came back, and he can see me wearing a gas mask, so he pepper-sprayed first into my gas mask,” Bassim said. “I didn’t move, and then he pepper-sprayed into my ear and on the back of my head.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ftm2r\">Bassim added that while the spray itself burns, worse still was that it covered his face entirely, reactivating when he removed his mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"1b7ej\">“I went back home that night after a long night, and I took a shower and was in there for two hours and still the burning of the chemicals was all over me the next day,” he said. “They’re not usually as aggressive to press, but this time it felt like it was very, very directed at us.</p><p data-block-key=\"4fkdj\">“It feels almost like it was some order to attack us,” Bassim continued.</p><p data-block-key=\"5lhh2\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"9v28g\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-05-27T024314Z_1915124359_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ge2u2\">A protester is pepper-sprayed by an ICE agent outside Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. Anadolu Agency photojournalist Mostafa Bassim was targeted multiple times with chemical irritants while covering the protests that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
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"protest"
],
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"categories": [
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],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist engulfed with irritant at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-engulfed-with-irritant-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T19:07:33.194157Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T19:07:33.194157Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-04T19:07:33.081612Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"dxbn8\">Freelance photojournalist Jonathan Fernandes was pepper-sprayed by a federal officer while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"6n6jg\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"4prqt\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"cev7g\">Fernandes told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that on May 26, officers were shoving protesters and journalists to make way for law enforcement vehicles coming through the facility’s driveway. One officer, holding a large can of pepper spray, deployed a stream of the irritant at the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"99cvc\">“He goes in a line from the protesters to the press with the pepper spray. That was targeted,” Fernandes said. “He didn’t really care about press rights; he just sprayed us anyway.”</p><p data-block-key=\"asshk\">The pepper spray seeped beneath Fernandes’ goggles, temporarily blinding him for about five minutes while he rinsed his eyes. The resulting pain and disorientation sidelined him from the job for nearly 40 minutes.</p><p data-block-key=\"fbbnt\">“It was an ‘us versus them’ mentality,” he said. “Like, ‘Anybody who gets in our way, we’re just going to spray them.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"fc092\">The <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-thrown-backward-by-baton-wielding-officer-at-new-jersey-protest/\">day before</a>, Fernandes was thrust backward by an officer with a baton.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8vge\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"6kds\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4vra3\">A federal officer, at right, brandishes a can of pepper spray at an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. Photographer Jonathan Fernandes was doused with the irritant while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist targeted with chemical irritant at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-targeted-with-chemical-irritant-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T19:07:03.894046Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T19:07:03.894046Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T19:07:03.770272Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"smt2w\">A freelance photojournalist, who asked not to be identified because of their immigration status, was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"d35hs\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"ehumv\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"8to7b\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"b1f0e\">The photojournalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were on assignment for a wire agency that day and were standing near other members of the press as they documented confrontations between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and protesters.</p><p data-block-key=\"f0oel\">Multiple journalists standing in that gaggle told the Tracker that federal officers deliberately targeted them with chemical irritants, aiming at their cameras and around their protective equipment in an attempt to affect them as much as possible.</p><p data-block-key=\"ep0hv\">Freelance photojournalist <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officers/\">Madison Swart</a> said the officers were using a more potent form of chemical irritant, describing it as a stronger, law-enforcement-grade product above pepper spray but not fully tear gas.</p><p data-block-key=\"ctsh\">“There was a gaggle of press photographers and we all got sprayed in that same moment. It was totally unnecessary,” she told the Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"7lgm3\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"7qfh\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"waj6h\">A protester and federal officers outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. Multiple photojournalists reported that officers targeted them and their equipment with potent chemical irritant sprays.</p>",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
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},
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"tags": [
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Anonymous photojournalist 10 (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Freelance photojournalist targeted with pepper spray by federal officers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-targeted-with-pepper-spray-by-federal-officers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-08T19:09:13.750480Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-08T19:09:13.750480Z",
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"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1meh2\">Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"cja42\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"e8vun\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/delaney-hall-ice-protests-dhs-restores-family-visitation/\">state</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/newark-sets-curfew-around-ice-jail-after-more-clashes-between-cops-and-protesters\">police</a> in the days that followed.</p><p data-block-key=\"1tcrv\">The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"52id2\">Swart told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the protest and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers’ response were so chaotic that it was hard to recall everything that happened to her.</p><p data-block-key=\"6nj3\">“So much pepper spray was deployed,” she said, noting that the irritant used appeared to be a stronger, law-enforcement-grade product. “It’s above pepper spray, but it isn’t tear gas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c83as\">Swart said that day was her first experience being sprayed with a chemical irritant, as she consistently keeps her distance from skirmish lines and tries to make eye contact with officers, so they are aware that she is press and not a protester.</p><p data-block-key=\"2pdhi\">“And I did that in that moment, to kind of let them know of my presence and to just see that I wasn’t a protester, I’m separate,” she told the Tracker. “But there was a gaggle of press photographers and we all got sprayed in that same moment. It was totally unnecessary.</p><p data-block-key=\"7ep1m\">“I felt like it was targeted because it was aimed at my camera.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0tAcjsThW/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0tAcjsThW\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"1meh2\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"hoob\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/dh_-81.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"9re5q\">An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer targets freelance photojournalist Madison Swart and other press with a chemical irritant spray amid protests outside a private immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"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,
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"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Madison Swart (Freelance)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Journalist threatened with Taser, pepper-sprayed by federal officers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-threatened-with-taser-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-officers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:29:58.412000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:32:59.623201Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-26T17:32:59.349800Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gkkjb\">Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was targeted with pepper-spray and threatened with a Taser by federal officers while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"aqqqn\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall federal detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"4p1c2\">Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"94ds3\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2kg4tCaRz/?img_index=1\">post on social media</a>, Khan reported May 26 that protesters had gathered outside the detention center for the third straight day, and were met by dozens of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"ajlit\">“Barricades were dragged into the street. Demonstrators tried to block vans they believed were being used to move detainees out of the facility,” he wrote. “ICE agents pepper sprayed protesters outside the facility.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bp0dr\">Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he, too, was targeted by the federal officers.</p><p data-block-key=\"60po5\">“I definitely got targeted with pepper spray that day, and not only that,” he said. “I had a Taser pointed at my face, telling me to back up.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f0ese\">Khan added that, though the officer was also aiming at a nearby protester, he himself was clearly identifiable as a member of the press.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2kg4tCaRz/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2kg4tCaRz\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"gkkjb\">“They were fucking out of control that day,” Khan told the Tracker. He was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-struck-in-leg-with-baton-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest\">struck in the leg</a> as officers erratically swung their batons at the crowd to drive them back.</p><p data-block-key=\"85va8\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"66g3d\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/May_26__1779925462000_R0005587.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"4o4tn\">Demonstrators link arms in front of an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. Independent journalist Wali Khan was deliberately pepper-sprayed and threatened with a Taser by federal officers while covering the protest.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"case_number": null,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
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"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
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"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Wali Khan (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photographer shoved, pepper-sprayed at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-shoved-pepper-sprayed-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-02T17:14:08.110000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-03T21:13:10.297715Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-03T21:13:10.138850Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"t8ycr\">Photojournalist David “Dee” Delgado was pushed by federal officers and sprayed with a chemical irritant while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"8vfst\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"f4hfb\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"c615i\">Delgado, who was on assignment for Reuters, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that ICE officers responded to the May 26 protest with force, particularly when law enforcement vehicles were entering or leaving the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"716bu\">Throughout the evening, he said, officers repeatedly shoved protesters and members of the media, including Delgado, as they tried to control the crowd.</p><p data-block-key=\"eojq3\">While Delgado was documenting ICE arresting protesters, an officer suddenly hit him with pepper spray. </p><p data-block-key=\"cqklt\">“He turned around and pointed the mace and sprayed me,” said Delgado, who was wearing press credentials and was clearly marked as press. “It completely stops you from doing the job at the moment.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1o2cg\">Delgado said he was forced to stop working for about 30 minutes while he flushed the pepper spray from his eyes. At least <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pepper-sprayed-by-ice-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">one other journalist</a> was also deliberately pepper-sprayed that night. </p><p data-block-key=\"dnbs7\">Roughly two hours later, he was hit by pepper spray again when an officer deployed the irritant into the crowd, though he said that incident did not appear to target him specifically. </p><p data-block-key=\"a9q2f\">In the following days, Delgado was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-hit-with-pepper-spray-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">pepper-sprayed</a> again by ICE and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-injured-by-crowd-control-munition-at-new-jersey-protest/\">injured by a crowd-control munition</a> fired by a state patrol officer. </p><p data-block-key=\"2fneo\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"fe860\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1gd9\"><i>Update: This article was revised to include a statement from DHS.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-05-27T022858Z_1537304757_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"3f8lf\">A federal officer, at left, sprays a chemical irritant during an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. Photojournalist David “Dee” Delgado was pepper-sprayed while covering the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
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"actor": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
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},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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"David \"Dee\" Delgado (Reuters)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Scott Kupor cracks down on leaks as head of federal personnel agency",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/scott-kupor-cracks-down-on-leaks-as-head-of-federal-personnel-agency/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-07T20:20:04.379712Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-07T20:20:04.379712Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-07T20:20:04.206468Z",
"date": "2026-05-26",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9g5jz\">After Donald Trump began his second term, Director of the Office of Personnel Management Scott Kupor joined the president in taking steps to intimidate leakers and prevent unauthorized disclosures. We’re documenting Kupor’s efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"6upvo\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekpla\"><i>This article was first published on July 7, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9g5jz\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"ufqr\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 26\">May 26, 2026 | Head of government personnel office proposes NDAs for federal employees</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9g5jz\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"ufqr\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"May 26\" name=\"May 26\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"9g5jz\">May 26, 2026 | Head of government personnel office proposes NDAs for federal employees</h4><p data-block-key=\"7bm2l\">Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, released a draft nondisclosure agreement on May 26, 2026, and proposed its use for all federal workers in an attempt to crack down on leaks to the news media.</p><p data-block-key=\"cfv5\">The OPM, which functions as the human resources office for the U.S. government, <a href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/27/2026-10471/confidential-government-information-nondisclosure-agreement\">requested comment on the draft NDA</a>, which it said would ensure that civil servants do not disclose “federal records and other non-public, confidential, or proprietary information” outside of authorized channels.</p><p data-block-key=\"bltn8\">It added that, for the purposes of the NDAs, that information would include “information relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available.”</p><p data-block-key=\"cm4jk\">The proposal specifically <a href=\"https://www.semafor.com/article/01/03/2026/new-york-times-washington-post-held-off-on-reporting-venezuela-raid\">cited</a> <a href=\"https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2026/01/agencies-internally-pan-opms-bid-overhaul-federal-performance-management/411051/\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2025/03/opm-seeks-broader-authority-to-fire-federal-employees-draft-regulations-show/\">news</a> <a href=\"https://www.foxnews.com/us/dhs-says-can-should-will-administer-polygraph-exams-amid-ice-raid-location-leaks\">articles</a> as evidence of such unauthorized disclosures.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8n9d\">Kupor defended the proposal in a <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/05/26/trump-administration-proposes-expansive-ndas-all-federal-workers/\">statement to The Washington Post</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"8elpv\">“In much of the private sector, employees handling sensitive business or customer information are routinely required to sign confidentiality agreements, and the federal government should not be held to a lower standard,” he wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"a43c\">The public comment period for the draft closed June 26.</p><p data-block-key=\"enkjs\">The proposal is the latest in a series of efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to identify and plug leaks. Former National Intelligence Director <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/tulsi-gabbard-targets-press-leakers-as-national-intelligence-director/#March%2014\">Tulsi Gabbard</a>, Defense Secretary <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">Pete Hegseth</a>, former Secretary of Homeland Security <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kristi-noem-targets-press-leakers-as-homeland-security-secretary/#March%207\">Kristi Noem</a> and FBI Director <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/kash-patel-targets-press-leakers-as-fbi-director/\">Kash Patel</a> all announced aggressive investigations into the source of leaks to the media in 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"c4adc\">Freedom of the Press Foundation, of which the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project, <a href=\"https://freedom.press/issues/trumps-government-wide-nda-seeks-to-silence-whistleblowers/\">condemned</a> the OPM proposal as absurd, unnecessary and “dangerously secretive.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bqtm3\">“This policy, from a president who has previously <a href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/03/18/trump-pushed-white-house-staff-sign-non-disclosure-agreements-report/436778002/\">attempted</a> to impose oppressive, corporate-style confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements on federal employees, would kneecap whistleblower protections, undermine the First Amendment, and wrongly inhibit the public’s right to know,” wrote Lauren Harper, the FPF Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy. “It comes at a time when agency watchdogs are sidelined, FOIA officials are being fired, and leaks to the press — which are the sole <a href=\"https://freedom.press/issues/dhs-calls-leaks-a-threat-heres-what-we-wouldnt-know-without-them/\">reason</a> the public knows about so much of this administration’s misconduct — are being demonized and prosecuted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eascb\">Esha Bhandari, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told the Post that efforts to “muzzle” government workers with NDAs would violate the First Amendment.</p><p data-block-key=\"aubl8\">“Such broad gag orders would leave the public in the dark about how the government works, preventing the kind of informed debate that is critical to democratic accountability,” she said. “The government can’t shroud itself in secrecy in a democracy.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html 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/AP25093621320451.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"0qkh9\">Scott Kupor, then-nominee for director of the Office of Personnel Management, listens during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., in April 2025.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
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{
"title": "Photojournalist sprayed in the face with irritant at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-sprayed-in-the-face-with-irritant-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T17:30:01.281641Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T17:30:01.281641Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-04T17:30:01.168821Z",
"date": "2026-05-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h2e1q\">Photojournalist Stephanie Keith was pepper-sprayed by federal officers while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"ess3q\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. </p><p data-block-key=\"ccn9\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"6sois\">On May 25, Keith was on assignment for Getty Images, photographing ICE operations alongside a group of other credentialed journalists with cameras. Federal agents made eye contact with the journalists before dousing them with pepper spray. Keith’s face was coated in the irritant. </p><p data-block-key=\"f2opm\">“There was literally no respect or no accord for the fact that we were nonthreatening and just standing there doing our jobs,” Keith told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. She immediately went home to wash the pepper spray from her body. </p><p data-block-key=\"874ar\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press. </p><p data-block-key=\"8mgfc\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-05-25T185010Z_1234486967_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6o8yi\">Federal officers at a protest outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026. Photojournalist Stephanie Keith was pepper-sprayed by an officer while covering the demonstration. </p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
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"Stephanie Keith (Getty Images)"
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},
{
"title": "Independent journalist shoved by federal officer at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-shoved-by-federal-officer-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:18:00.435213Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-26T17:18:00.435213Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-26T17:18:00.322663Z",
"date": "2026-05-25",
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"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"8of5q\">Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was shoved by a federal officer while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"453fm\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall federal detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"7rctf\">Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1nrs4\">In a <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0exXwidJe/?img_index=1\">post on social media</a>, Khan wrote that crowds had gathered outside the facility May 25 in an attempt to prevent the transfer of a detainee who was reportedly involved in organizing the hunger strike.</p><p data-block-key=\"5pcq8\">“In a public letter, detainees described fleeing violence and instability in their home countries only to end up inside what they called degrading and abusive conditions,” he reported. “They wrote of spoiled food, psychological torment, and feeling ‘kidnapped’ while being held without justification.”</p><p data-block-key=\"etnrc\">Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that a federal officer deliberately shoved him while he was covering the clashes between protesters and law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"7c856\">“I was shoved on my neck and chest while trying to take photos,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6v2fj\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"5f67\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ocod6\">Federal officers ride on an armored vehicle outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026. Journalist Wali Khan was shoved by an officer while covering protests at the facility that day.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Wali Khan (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist thrown backward by baton-wielding officer at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-thrown-backward-by-baton-wielding-officer-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-04T18:57:54.397000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-04T19:08:39.850965Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-04T19:08:39.718071Z",
"date": "2026-05-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Newark",
"longitude": -74.17237,
"latitude": 40.73566,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"ujfg8\">Photojournalist Jonathan Fernandes was thrust backward by a federal officer with a baton while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"1f2j\">Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility <a href=\"https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-newark-ice-detention-center-protest/\">began</a> May 22, when many detainees went on a <a href=\"https://newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/22/delaney-hall-hunger-strike/\">hunger strike</a>. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.</p><p data-block-key=\"5983h\">Federal <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/nj-senator-pepper-sprayed-with-protestors-outside-delaney-hall-immigrant-center-in-newark\">officers</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/nyregion/delaney-hall-newark-ice-protesters-arrest.html\">responded</a> to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests. The Department of Homeland Security has <a href=\"https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2059684595470094847?s=20\">denied</a> allegations of detainee mistreatment.</p><p data-block-key=\"8lhl\">Fernandes told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that officers were pushing back a crowd of protesters and media when he was thrown back by an officer lunging at him with a baton. Fernandes, on assignment for Documented New York, was wearing visible press credentials.</p><p data-block-key=\"bkk8b\">“I was not in anyone’s way at all,” he said. “He could see my badge, that I’m holding a camera and not participating in any way.”</p><p data-block-key=\"15r09\">At a protest outside Delaney Hall <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-engulfed-with-irritant-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">the following day</a>, Fernandes was pepper-sprayed by a federal officer.</p><p data-block-key=\"2q2cj\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"arq9h\">“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/dp_-25.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"0w0j6\">Photojournalist Jonathan Fernandes, who was shoved with a police baton while covering an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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},
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"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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{
"title": "Photographer pepper-sprayed by federal officer at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pepper-sprayed-by-federal-officer-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-07-16T19:29:04.985000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-07-16T19:30:27.814456Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-07-16T19:30:27.565130Z",
"date": "2026-05-25",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qw19d\">Independent photographer Christopher Almaraz was doused with a chemical irritant by a federal officer while documenting a Memorial Day immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on May 25, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l9qn\">A small group of protesters had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being held. Almaraz, who primarily publishes his work on social media and <a href=\"https://substack.com/@almoofum?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4xmi3c&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnVermJeerHHu2i-WNwCYPKPHQexQs-x3yqJHyI_7m00zZTeDQHXe90ydw8-w_aem_ugLwzcfqdFWs3wwO0z8aoA&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3\">Substack</a>, was there to document the demonstration. He carried two cameras and was marked as a member of the press on the front and back of his vest.</p><p data-block-key=\"116tv\">Almaraz told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that when Department of Homeland Security officers detained a demonstrator, Almaraz moved closer to photograph the arrest. As officers pushed another protester to the ground and began advancing, an officer aimed a pepper spray canister directly at Almaraz and drenched him.</p><p data-block-key=\"akhf3\">Almaraz fled the area to wash out his eyes, which was captured in an <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0ZMxGhW9j/\">Instagram video.</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-instagram block-instagram\"><div class=\"instagram-embed\">\n\t<div>\n <blockquote\n\tclass=\"instagram-media\"\n\tdata-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0ZMxGhW9j/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DY0ZMxGhW9j\">View post on Instagram</a>\n</blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://www.instagram.com/embed.js\"></script>\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"qw19d\">“My shirt was soaked in it,” he told the Tracker. “All the protesters and my colleagues were like, ‘He actually held that on you.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"2pc03\">In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS reminded members of the media to exercise caution as they cover protests and that covering these activities in the field comes with risks. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"fjsgi\">“Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights,” the statement said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jeppy\">The immigration detention center in Los Angeles, California, where on May 25, 2026, a federal officer pepper-sprayed photographer Christopher Almaraz while he documented a protest.</p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"categories": [
"Assault"
],
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],
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}
]
