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{
"title": "NYC journalist shoved, pepper-sprayed while covering NBA watch party",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/nyc-journalist-shoved-pepper-sprayed-while-covering-nba-watch-party/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-11T19:24:45.322325Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-11T19:24:45.322325Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-11T18:52:29.425865Z",
"date": "2026-06-08",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "New York",
"longitude": -74.00597,
"latitude": 40.71427,
"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tsk7i\">Dean Moses, amNewYork’s police bureau chief and resident photographer, was pushed by a police officer and doused with pepper spray while covering clashes between police and fans at a basketball watch party in New York, New York, on June 8, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"t37l\">Fans gathered in and around Bryant Park in Manhattan to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, amNewYork <a href=\"https://www.amny.com/news/knicks-watch-party-arrests-bryant-park-06092026/\">reported</a>. There was a <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/knicks-game-3-guidance-arrive-early-and-without-a-bag-at-msg\">heightened law enforcement</a> presence that night, as President Donald Trump attended the game itself around 10 blocks away.</p><p data-block-key=\"7kqcr\">As the night wore on — and the Knicks lost the game — some people in the crowd became disorderly and violent, blocking traffic and climbing on top of police vehicles, according to <a href=\"https://abc7ny.com/post/bryant-park-knicks-watch-party-ends-7-arrests-disorderly-behavior/19261843/\">news</a> <a href=\"https://gothamist.com/news/knicks-fans-swarm-midtown-after-teams-first-loss-of-nba-finals\">reports</a>. The New York City Police Department said 21 people were arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"d0oh\">According to <a href=\"https://www.amny.com/news/knicks-watch-party-arrests-bryant-park-06092026/\">amNewYork</a>, at one point, a crowd of people spilled out onto a street and a group of officers was surrounded. One officer “became enraged with members of the media, pushing an amNewYork photographer and screaming, ‘Get that flash out of my face.’”</p><p data-block-key=\"6tavs\">Moses confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was the photographer who was pushed, saying the officer claimed he was “blinding him” with the flash.</p><p data-block-key=\"5mo38\">The NYPD then used pepper spray to try to push back fans and press.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2rng\">“He also did get myself and a few other press with the pepper spray,” Moses continued, adding that he turned his head as the irritant was fired, so it got in his hair.</p><p data-block-key=\"f382v\">“They certainly knew we were press and still aimed toward us,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"935ff\">The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment about Moses’ assault.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"fhs6o\">A police officer fires pepper spray at journalists and fans at a New York Knicks watch party on June 8, 2026, in New York City. Dean Moses, amNewYork’s police bureau chief and photographer, was pushed and pepper-sprayed while covering the event.</p>",
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"name": "New York",
"abbreviation": "NY"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Dean Moses (amNewYork)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Videographer pushed down by officer at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-pushed-down-by-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T18:55:53.628352Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T18:55:53.628352Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T18:55:53.519817Z",
"date": "2026-06-07",
"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=\"h5k9z\">Independent videographer David Snow was shoved to the ground by a police officer while documenting a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"11gra\">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=\"fjau4\">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> and <a href=\"https://www.newarknj.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/232\">city officers</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=\"b8oiu\">Snow told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that before entering the protest area on June 7, officers with the Newark Police Division initially refused to allow him to bring in his equipment bag. He said officers requested to search its contents, which he refused, and eventually permitted the bag after he agreed not to put his gas mask inside it. </p><p data-block-key=\"5rn4i\">Once inside, Snow documented Newark police making arrests and using force via his YouTube channel, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@theexposurereport/streams\">The Exposure Report</a>. Snow, who was wearing a visible press credential, knelt with his camera to get a better angle. Then, an officer ran toward him, grabbed both his shoulders and shoved him to the ground. </p><p data-block-key=\"20fls\">“That was targeted at me as a member of the press so I wouldn’t capture what was happening there, because they were being extremely aggressive and violent,” Snow said. “I landed on my butt. I didn’t get hurt. I just got back up and continued to do my job.” </p><p data-block-key=\"cd5l1\">A week earlier, Snow was also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-downed-by-police-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">knocked down by police</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2vakf\">The Newark police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On June 8, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka <a href=\"https://www.newarknj.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/232\">released a statement</a> that officers were dispatched to Delaney Hall after receiving reports that people were blocking access to the facility. Baraka also asserted that responsibility for security at the immigration detention facility rests with its private operator, The GEO Group. </p><p data-block-key=\"63c94\">“I am encouraged by the NPD investigation because it appeared that some of our officers were over aggressive and should be held accountable. It is imperative that all of our officers uphold the standards of professionalism and accountability required under the consent decree,” the mayor said. “Any conduct that falls short undermines the significant progress we have made in building trust and advancing community-focused policing in Newark.” </p><p data-block-key=\"5qp4r\">The statement did not address the use of force against members of the press. </p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yw0xz\">Police outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7, 2026. Videographer David Snow was knocked down by an officer while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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},
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"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"David Snow (Independent)"
],
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{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed over barrier, breaks flash, at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-over-barrier-breaks-flash-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-15T19:15:58.153399Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-15T19:15:58.153399Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-15T19:15:58.018979Z",
"date": "2026-06-07",
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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=\"q689w\">Freelance photojournalist Pierre Lavie was shoved by police over a concrete barrier, falling and breaking his camera flash, while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on June 7, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"7mlf5\">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=\"31bgt\">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 police</a> and <a href=\"https://www.newarknj.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/232\">city officers</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=\"e9cmu\">On June 7, Newark police wielding riot shields began pushing protesters and journalists out of the way near Delaney Hall, Lavie told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The journalist, who was wearing a reflective vest marking himself as a member of the press and displaying visible credentials, continued photographing the confrontation.</p><p data-block-key=\"30dii\">“I try to be clearly identifiable as press, and they just don’t care,” Lavie said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6rdu0\">As officers continued clearing the area, they pushed Lavie and two other photojournalists, tipping them backward over a concrete barrier that had been used as part of the protest perimeter.</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/DZRPBJZs7nv/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZRPBJZs7nv\">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=\"q689w\">“We all collapsed on each other,” said Lavie, who was uninjured and kept photographing, though his camera flash was broken during the scuffle.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nifr\">Lavie said he believed officers were indiscriminately pushing people out of the area rather than targeting journalists specifically.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcvlq\">“I feel like they were indiscriminate as to who they were corralling or pushing out of the zone that they didn’t want people in,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"1sn0a\">The Newark police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On June 8, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka <a href=\"https://www.newarknj.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/232\">released a statement</a> that officers were dispatched to Delaney Hall after receiving reports that people were blocking access to the facility. Baraka also asserted that responsibility for security at the immigration detention facility rests with its private operator, The GEO Group.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmka0\">“I am encouraged by the NPD investigation because it appeared that some of our officers were over aggressive and should be held accountable. It is imperative that all of our officers uphold the standards of professionalism and accountability required under the consent decree,” the mayor said. “Any conduct that falls short undermines the significant progress we have made in building trust and advancing community-focused policing in Newark.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dsmdk\">The statement did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-06-07T045609Z_1144778957_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"ursmn\">Police officers outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 6, 2026. At a protest the next day, Pierre Lavie was shoved to the ground by officers in riot gear, breaking his camera flash.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"actor": "law enforcement",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Pierre Lavie (Freelance)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photographer pushed repeatedly by DHS at LA immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photographer-pushed-repeatedly-by-dhs-at-la-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-18T16:50:17.965105Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-18T16:50:17.965105Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-18T16:50:17.813229Z",
"date": "2026-06-06",
"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=\"eoxcz\">Independent photographer Steven Berumen was shoved multiple times by federal officers while documenting an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"e783r\">The protest was held outside the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants are being confined. It marked the one-year anniversary of the large protests against immigration raids that began in and around LA in <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/article/la-protests-national-guard-trump.html\">June 2025</a>. </p><p data-block-key=\"5uanb\">Berumen told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that officers from the Department of Homeland Security, assisted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, were arresting a demonstrator, and Berumen moved closer to photograph the encounter. DHS officers then began shoving him, grabbing his arm and ordering him to stay back. </p><p data-block-key=\"d7kne\">“I was pushed around, so that none of my photos came out good,” Berumen said. </p><p data-block-key=\"7efr3\">Berumen said officers formed a barrier around the arrest and repeatedly obstructed his view. At one point, he said, an officer appeared willing to allow him closer to document the arrest, but another officer blocked his access, and he continued to be pushed around. </p><p data-block-key=\"29q1v\">Berumen said he felt federal officers intentionally interfered with his ability to document the arrest by positioning themselves in front of his camera and physically pushing him away from the scene.</p><p data-block-key=\"ei5hi\">During the protest, officers also deployed pepper spray into the crowd, Berumen said. Although he was wearing a gas mask and did not experience breathing difficulties, he said the spray struck his face and exposed skin.</p><p data-block-key=\"144is\">“My neck and my arms were burning all day,” he said.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xj7es\">Federal agents outside an immigration detention center in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 2026. Photographer Steven Berumen was shoved by law enforcement while documenting the demonstration. </p>",
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
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"links": [],
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"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
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"tags": [
"chemical irritant",
"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Steven Berumen (Independent)"
],
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},
{
"title": "Photojournalist struck by vehicle leaving New Jersey detention facility",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-by-vehicle-leaving-new-jersey-detention-facility/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-17T22:22:15.425609Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T22:22:15.425609Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-17T22:22:15.285557Z",
"date": "2026-06-05",
"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=\"ps424\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco was struck in a hit-and-run by a private security company employee who was driving from a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 5, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"fk74k\">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, which is owned and operated by The Geo Group.</p><p data-block-key=\"fhogc\">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=\"d0nkv\">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=\"66ee2\">Pacheco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were documenting as protesters gathered around an entrance to the facility while Geo employees were exiting in their vehicles. Demonstrators were holding signs in front of the car windows, calling on the employees to quit their jobs and slapping their hands on the vehicles.</p><p data-block-key=\"5f182\">“I think a good four or five cars followed a similar path out at a very constant speed that was slow enough for somebody to move out of the way without harming them,” Pacheco said. “Then this black Mercedes just pumped up the gas and turned their steering wheel directly into me.”</p><p data-block-key=\"52hv6\">In the <a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZQ0svOIwNw/\">footage</a> Pacheco captured in the moments before they were struck, multiple vehicles can be seen exiting the facility and turning down the road without incident, as they threaded between two lines of protesters. Then, a Mercedes can be seen sharply turning to the left, toward the photojournalist.</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/DZQ0svOIwNw/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZQ0svOIwNw\">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=\"ps424\">Pacheco told the Tracker that the vehicle ran over their feet and then the hood or side mirror clipped them, spinning them before they ultimately fell to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"46ipq\">Demonstrators and other members of the press quickly rushed to Pacheco’s side, holding them in place as a medic assessed their injuries.</p><p data-block-key=\"e3e67\">“At the same time, there’s still a bunch of cars zipping past me,” they told the Tracker, “So I start to army crawl away and say, ‘I’m afraid to move my feet, so like drag me out of here!’ Needless to say, they get me up to my feet and eventually take me across the street, and they ice my feet and bandage them.”</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/JP_65_-_assult__ED_2.width-828.jpg\" width=\"756\" height=\"504\" alt=\"COURTESY JOSH PACHECO\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"voyw5\">Josh Pacheco photographs their feet wrapped in ice, a field treatment by street medics after the independent photojournalist was struck by an employee driving out of an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 5, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY JOSH PACHECO\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=\"ps424\">Pacheco said that though the Newark Police Division is supposed to have an EMT on site in case any protesters are injured, they have never seen one. Forty minutes after being hit, Pacheco said they spent an additional 20 minutes waiting for an ambulance that was said to be coming, but ultimately were taken instead by a fellow journalist to a hospital.</p><p data-block-key=\"br881\">“Now it’s about two hours after the incident, and they take about 15 X-rays and a CT scan of my head: no broken bones, no brain bleed, just a lot of soft tissue damage and muscle damage,” they told the Tracker. “I’m in complete shock. My adrenaline is going, I’m cracking jokes, I seem fine. But I’m in pain. They didn’t prescribe me anything.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9oi81\">Pacheco also said that their camera’s lens and lens hood were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-shot-with-crowd-control-munition-camera-damaged/\">further chipped</a>, and that they lost a flash in the chaos, but that it was picked up by a journalist, so they expect to get it back eventually.</p><p data-block-key=\"aqbb1\">When asked about follow-up treatment they may need, Pacheco said it’s uncertain, because they don’t have health insurance.</p><p data-block-key=\"7b9bo\">“I could go see any number of doctors right now, but I’d have to pay out of pocket, which I guess I should do,” they told the Tracker. “I just … It’s all scary. And money and things are tight.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3c7j2\">Geo Group did not respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"m7ocx\">Protesters block a Geo Group employee on June 5, 2026, as they exit from an immigration detention center operated by the company in Newark, New Jersey. Photojournalist Josh Pacheco was struck by an employee’s car as they left the facility that night.</p>",
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},
{
"title": "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth targets news outlets, leakers",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers/",
"first_published_at": "2026-02-17T18:03:13.887000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-18T15:53:09.058216Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-18T15:53:08.904790Z",
"date": "2026-06-03",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\">As the second year of President Donald Trump’s second term began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered Trump and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Hegseth’s efforts in 2026 in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"thla\">Read about Hegseth’s efforts in 2025 to chill coverage <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/pete-hegseth-targets-news-outlets-leakers-as-defense-secretary/\">here</a>, and how Trump’s other appointees and allies in Congress are striving to intimidate reporters, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"4outl\"><i>This article was first published on Feb. 17, 2026.</i></p></div>\n<div class=\"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=\"9b0q7\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"8jq7u\"></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=\"#June 3\">June 3, 2026 | Lawsuit alleges Pentagon is censoring military newspaper</a></p> \r\n<p><a href=\"#March 9\">March 9, 2026 | Pentagon sets increased oversight, content limits for military newspaper <i>(updated)</i></a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Jan 15\">Jan. 15, 2026 | Defense Department announces overhaul of military newspaper, calling it ‘woke’</a>\r\n</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"9b0q7\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"bm868\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-raw_html block-raw_html\"><a id=\"June 3\" name=\"June 3\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"hdzd8\">June 3, 2026 | Lawsuit alleges Pentagon is censoring military newspaper</h4><p data-block-key=\"bbsfp\">Two journalists who serve on the advisory board of the military news outlet Stars and Stripes filed a federal lawsuit against the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and two senior Department of Defense officials on June 3, 2026. The suit alleges that the department’s “modernization” efforts violate the paper’s First Amendment press freedom rights and federal law, and asks a judge to strike down a March 2026 memo that put the changes into effect.</p><p data-block-key=\"3ub0l\">In the March memo, the DOD laid out plans to expand military oversight of the newspaper, while maintaining that Stars and Stripes will continue to “operate with editorial independence.” But <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/14/nx-s1-5748020/pentagon-tightens-controls-over-stars-and-stripes-after-calling-it-woke\">directives included</a> barring the outlet from republishing wire content and shifting the outlet’s ombudsman position from an independent congressional adviser to one operating within the military chain of command.</p><p data-block-key=\"9mi7l\">The lawsuit was filed by Susan “Suki” Dardarian, former editor of The Minnesota Star Tribune, and Bill Church, executive editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican.</p><p data-block-key=\"9kjfp\">“The changes that have been forced upon Stripes are a disservice to a global military audience that has relied on this First Amendment-protected and Congressionally backed institution for generations,” Church said in a <a href=\"https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/in-fight-for-freedom-of-speech-journalists-challenge-trump-vance-administrations-censorship-of-stars-and-stripes/\">statement</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"2koae\">The <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.293084/gov.uscourts.dcd.293084.1.0_2.pdf\">complaint</a> alleges that the DOD’s actions are a violation of the First Amendment, due to its restriction of “rights guaranteed to the press” and denial of readers’ access to a wide range of material, especially by interfering with editorial curation of wire content.</p><p data-block-key=\"31ae7\">The suit also contends that the DOD’s memo violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it was published without notice and comment. Journalists at Stars and Stripes first learned of the memo from the DOD’s website, rather than being informed directly.</p><p data-block-key=\"e29rs\">Of the suit, Dardarian <a href=\"https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/in-fight-for-freedom-of-speech-journalists-challenge-trump-vance-administrations-censorship-of-stars-and-stripes/\">said</a>, “It was clear to us that this action was the only way to protect Stars and Stripes and preserve its mission and values at such a critical time in our nation’s history.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f3akk\">Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell — a defendant in the suit — <a href=\"https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2062279338582552631?s=20\">said</a> on X, “The Department of War is aware of the lawsuit filed today by two civilian members of the Stars and Stripes publisher’s advisory board challenging the Department’s modernization of Stars and Stripes. The lawsuit is without merit, and the Department expects to prevail.”</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>\r\n<a id=\"March 9\" name=\"March 9\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"moywj\">March 9, 2026 | Pentagon sets increased oversight, content limits for military newspaper <i>(updated April 2026)</i></h4><p data-block-key=\"7q35q\">The Department of Defense laid out plans to expand oversight of military newspaper Stars and Stripes in a March 9, 2026, memo, as part of a “modernization” of the outlet that left some press freedom observers alarmed over the potential loss of independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"3bvdp\">The memo, sent by Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg and first <a href=\"https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-03-13/pentagon-modernization-plan-stars-and-stripes-21051529.html\">reported</a> by Stars and Stripes, outlines an “interim policy” governing the outlet that takes effect immediately.</p><p data-block-key=\"8s0f0\">The memo states that Stars and Stripes will continue to “operate with editorial independence.” But it prohibits the outlet’s use of wire service stories, comic strips and editorial cartoons due to the “digital availability of such content globally,” unless an exception is granted by the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs.</p><p data-block-key=\"a88r0\">According to the memo, the “primary justification for Stripes’ continued existence is to deliver content, specifically relevant to Service members and their families, that is not usually covered by commercial media.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1o8nu\">It continued, “Accordingly, there is no operational need to serve as a reprint vehicle for commercial news publications that are otherwise readily accessible.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8o3io\">Jacqueline Smith, Stars and Stripes’ ombudsman who is charged by Congress with defending the outlet’s editorial independence, told the outlet that without access to wire service content, the paper would lose the ability to provide reporting on topics such as national sports and entertainment, which “contribute to the morale of troops.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5ifde\">Among other changes, the memo states that the outlet “should” republish Defense Department public affairs materials — clearly labeled as such — as deemed necessary by the publisher, and requires the outlet’s ombudsman to send information previously sent directly to Congress through the department’s Legislative Affairs Office first.</p><p data-block-key=\"81tc\">It also bans reporters from making Freedom of Information Act requests in an official capacity, though it does allow for them to make submissions “in their individual capacities” when not acting on behalf of the outlet.</p><p data-block-key=\"1a5rr\">The policy changes came in the wake of a <a href=\"https://x.com/seanparnellasw/status/2011802849903009991?s=46\">January social media post</a> by Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell, in which he announced plans to overhaul Stars and Stripes and “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”</p><p data-block-key=\"3grph\">Stars and Stripes reported that its leadership and staff were not informed of the changes directly, but instead learned of them when the memo was found in a search of the Defense Department website.</p><p data-block-key=\"e4g8l\">Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes’ editor-in-chief, said in a statement published by the outlet, “It is unlikely that the Pentagon was aware of the extensive modernization that Stars and Stripes had already begun.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5atj0\">He added, “Over the past year, the changes to our digitally produced news and information have resulted in significant increases in pageviews, engagement and subscribers.”</p><p data-block-key=\"c98k\">The Pentagon memo also states that all content must be consistent with “good order and discipline,” a phrase used in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.</p><p data-block-key=\"6t5m8\">In an <a href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/14/nx-s1-5748020/pentagon-tightens-controls-over-stars-and-stripes-after-calling-it-woke\">interview with NPR</a>, Slavin expressed concern about that aspect of the policy as it applied to staff who are members of the military. “If they were to complete a story that the Defense Department did not like, and did not find ‘consistent with good order and discipline,’ would they be in legal jeopardy?” Slavin said. “We don’t know the answer to that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1ihho\">Smith, the ombudsman, told <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/13/pentagon-memo-stars-stripes/\">The Washington Post</a> in an interview that the memo “threatens Stars and Stripes’ continued editorial independence, and it does so at the detriment of the troops who rely on the newspaper for complete coverage and continued accurate coverage that is not propaganda.”</p><p data-block-key=\"aulgt\">Smith was <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/04/23/stars-stripes-ombudsman-fired-pentagon/\">later terminated without explanation,</a> according to the Post — she told the paper’s staff she believed she was fired for publicly opposing the changes at the paper.</p><p data-block-key=\"6gq1f\">Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America, <a href=\"https://pen.org/press-release/alarm-over-pentagon-move-to-impose-restrictions-on-stars-and-stripes-editorial-independence/\">said</a>, “We are alarmed that a Pentagon memo claims to preserve the independence of Stars and Stripes while simultaneously imposing new restrictions that undermine it.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7dc4r\">He called on Congress to “reaffirm First Amendment protections for Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence and ensure the decades-long firewall between the Pentagon and the newsroom remains firmly intact.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d8fi6\">Parnell, in a March 13 statement reported by Stars and Stripes, said that the Defense Department is returning the outlet to “its original mission: an independent news source for service members stationed overseas that is by the warfighter and for the warfighter.”</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>\r\n<a id=\"Jan 15\" name=\"Jan 15\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"9b0q7\">Jan. 15, 2026 | Defense Department announces overhaul of military newspaper, calling it ‘woke’</h4><p data-block-key=\"5vfqn\">The Department of Defense announced plans on Jan. 15, 2026, to take over editorial decision-making for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, in a move that jeopardizes its long-held editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"idmh\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/seanparnellasw/status/2011802849903009991?s=46\">statement</a> posted to social media, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the move as “returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.”</p><p data-block-key=\"140gb\">“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” he continued. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2q9uv\">While the newspaper is partially funded by the Pentagon and its staffers are department employees, the outlet <a href=\"https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2026-01-15/pentagon-refocus-stars-and-stripes-content-20415816.html\">reported</a> that it is directed to emulate the best practices of commercial news organizations and provide a free flow of “news and information to its readership without news management or censorship.”</p><p data-block-key=\"b3d3r\">Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin wrote in a Jan. 15 note to staff that the military deserves independent news.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ih8b\">“The people who risk their lives in defense of the Constitution have earned the right to the press freedoms of the First Amendment,” Slavin wrote. “We will not compromise on serving them with accurate and balanced coverage, holding military officials to account when called for.”</p><p data-block-key=\"1prks\">The Daily Wire <a href=\"https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-refocuses-stars-stripes-on-reporting-for-our-warfighters\">reported</a> that department officials told the outlet that Stars and Stripes’ content will no longer be written by its civilian staff but by active-duty service members. Half the newspaper’s content will be generated by the Pentagon, including materials written by the department and images captured by combat cameras.</p><p data-block-key=\"a8srp\">Stars and Stripes reported that its ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, said the changes would amount to “unnecessary control and the perception of propaganda.” The ombudsman is a congressionally mandated position tasked with ensuring the outlet’s editorial independence.</p><p data-block-key=\"9q4s1\">“That is public relations, not independent journalism,” she said. “The other ‘fifty percent’ of the content would hold no credibility.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5gce4\">The news came the day after The Washington Post <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/14/stars-and-stripes-trump-loyalty-test/\">reported</a> that applicants for positions at the newspaper were being asked, “How would you advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7ttls\">Leadership at Stars and Stripes wasn’t aware of the questions until asked about them, Smith told the Post, later confirming that they had been added by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management without notifying them.</p><p data-block-key=\"ci8hr\">“Asking prospective employees how they would support the administration’s policies is antithetical to Stripes’ journalistic and federally mandated mission,” Smith told the Post. “Journalistically, it’s against ethics, because reporters or any staff member — editors, photographers — should be impartial.”</p><p data-block-key=\"boqov\">Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee told Stars and Stripes that any efforts to infringe on the newspaper’s editorial independence amounted to an attack on the First Amendment, with several voicing support for the newspaper. None of the Republican lawmakers contacted by Stars and Stripes responded to requests for comment.</p></div>\n<div class=\"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/2026-01-07T171026Z_1872362065_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"mi657\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to the media in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 7, 2026.</p>",
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"name": "Virginia",
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},
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"Stars and Stripes"
],
"tags": [
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"Donald Trump"
],
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"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Chilling Statement"
],
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},
{
"title": "Journalist shoved repeatedly by New Jersey State Police at protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-shoved-repeatedly-by-new-jersey-state-police-at-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T21:14:57.164513Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T21:14:57.164513Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T21:14:57.053129Z",
"date": "2026-05-31",
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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=\"j7vqs\">Independent journalist Marcos Quinones was shoved at least twice by state police while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"8bkb3\">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=\"bttvm\">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=\"ceoqj\">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=\"34q65\">Quinones told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that on May 31, the first night of an enforced <a href=\"https://www.newarknj.gov/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/227\">curfew</a>, he was shoved by state police at least twice, despite wearing his press credentials and following officers’ orders.</p><p data-block-key=\"6b8qc\">“It was definitely targeted. I haven’t seen very many people get within arm’s distance of them and not get shoved or assaulted in some kind of way,” Quinones said in an interview.</p><p data-block-key=\"eadfg\">Quinones felt that police officers treated members of the press the same as protesters. “As soon as you come within arm’s distance of them and you’re not wearing a uniform, people are a target in their eyes,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"d0gal\">Asked whether his experiences at Delaney Hall would change the way he covered protests, Quinones told the Tracker that he would be maintaining a two-meter distance from the nearest police officers when he was reporting in New Jersey.</p><p data-block-key=\"82ib7\">“Jersey is not the place you want to get in trouble,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"a90p\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"an8it\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2060579670639149195?s=20\">statement posted to X early May 30</a>, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"xd6gh\">A protester being arrested by officers outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026. Multiple journalists, including independent reporter Marcos Quinones, reported that officers shoved them that day.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
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"actor": null,
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"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
"updates": [],
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
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],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
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},
{
"title": "Reporter slammed to the ground, arrested at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-slammed-to-the-ground-arrested-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-17T21:07:20.383585Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T21:07:20.383585Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-17T21:07:20.242298Z",
"date": "2026-05-31",
"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=\"b7g7j\">Independent reporter Chuck Modiano was thrown down by police and arrested while documenting a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"ejf4v\">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=\"2dga1\">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=\"cam5p\">Modiano, who is also a co-host on radio station WPFW in Washington, D.C., told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that police — some dressed in riot gear, others mounted on horseback — moved to clear demonstrators outside Delaney Hall before the city’s curfew on May 31.</p><p data-block-key=\"5idu7\">After police kettled demonstrators and journalists, preventing them from leaving, officers announced that credentialed members of the press could exit the kettle. Wearing a press vest, Modiano approached officers and identified himself as a journalist. But because he did not have his credentials with him, he was not allowed to leave.</p><p data-block-key=\"2gu0p\">“It seemed like it was very arbitrary,” Modiano said of the rules officers were using to determine who could leave. Moments later, after filming another person’s arrest, Modiano said officers took him into custody.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I was released around 11pm. I can confirm all 61 protesters falsely arrested & falsely charged have now been released. The amount of illegal behavior by multiple police agencies at every stage was staggering. <a href=\"https://t.co/S5EUC1Yb8p\">https://t.co/S5EUC1Yb8p</a></p>— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) <a href=\"https://x.com/ChuckModi1/status/2061705401129664912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"b7g7j\">“They grabbed me from behind and slammed me,” he said. “It was a pretty violent arrest.”</p><p data-block-key=\"av2cv\">Modiano said officers forced him to the ground and tightened zip-tie restraints around his wrists. The restraints remained on for roughly four hours, cutting off circulation to his hands and causing them to throb, he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6co5j\">“It was an increasing hurt, and it was an increasing concern about permanent damage,” Modiano said. “Each hour felt excruciatingly worse.”</p><p data-block-key=\"8a4no\">More than a week later, he said he was still experiencing pain and reduced mobility in his hands, including difficulty making a fist. He said officers ignored his repeated requests to loosen the restraints.</p><p data-block-key=\"1523a\">“Police were very vengeful and petty, and I’ve never been in a situation where they were so open about it,” he said. “They were as open in their disdain as anyone.”</p><p data-block-key=\"2oc5e\">Modiano and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-05-31&date_upper=2026-05-31&city=newark&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least two other journalists</a> were taken to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, operated by the sheriff’s office, and were released the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"3fa30\">According to Modiano, New Jersey State Police made the arrest, while Newark police are listed as filing the charges. He was initially charged with rioting and resisting arrest. Prosecutors later reduced the rioting charge to failure to disperse and dropped the resisting arrest charge. His next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"58tno\">Modiano also said his vehicle, which he believes was legally parked, was towed while he was in custody, costing him approximately $300 to retrieve.</p><p data-block-key=\"bvafl\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"cmoog\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2061289986092138550?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> on May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police cleared the area outside Delaney Hall because a group of people refused to leave after the curfew order. She did not address the use of force against or arrest of members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"yyl5v\">Law enforcement during an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026. Reporter Chuck Modiano was arrested while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Newark Police Division",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2026-06-01",
"detention_date": "2026-05-31",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
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"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Chuck Modiano (Independent)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Videographer thrown, arrested at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-thrown-arrested-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-17T18:54:37.162771Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T18:55:57.225442Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-17T18:55:57.529025Z",
"date": "2026-05-31",
"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=\"bch1v\">Videographer Theoren Papp was tackled to the ground and arrested while documenting a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"2b30m\">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=\"b9n3n\">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=\"5idrj\">Papp told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that the May 31 protest began to escalate just after the city’s 9 p.m. curfew. New Jersey State Police formed a line and began pushing the crowd back with their riot shields. As officers moved forward, Papp shifted from the front of the protest line to the side of the road and continued filming from an embankment.</p><p data-block-key=\"1bvjc\">He said police eventually directed him into the police kettle that surrounded demonstrators and prevented them from leaving. Once the crowd was contained, an officer announced that journalists with credentials could leave.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3) After closing in the kettle formation (which was filled with police horse manure), officers announced an opportunity for credentialed press to leave one by one, escorting them out.<br><br>(While I won't boost their names, I'm aware of two press who were not allowed to leave.) <a href=\"https://t.co/96OSHfZ3Nt\">pic.twitter.com/96OSHfZ3Nt</a></p>— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) <a href=\"https://x.com/FordFischer/status/2061314575614578747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"bch1v\">Papp showed officers his Level 12 Media badge. One officer initially told him he could leave, but another refused, saying his credentials needed to be verified.</p><p data-block-key=\"pgv9\">“They acted more with indifference and kind of grouped journalists in with the protesters,” Papp said.</p><p data-block-key=\"8fmaf\">Papp continued livestreaming while waiting for officers to process press credentials, but ended the stream shortly before his arrest to secure his equipment. He removed his phone from a tripod, placed his gear on the ground and raised his hands.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad65v\">“Two officers dragged me, threw me on the ground and zip-tied my hands behind my back,” Papp said. Papp immediately told officers the restraints were too tight, but said he received no response from them. The zip ties remained on for about four hours, said Papp, who experienced limited mobility in his right hand for several days and still had bruising on his wrists more than a week later.</p><p data-block-key=\"9c58k\">“They were on there as about as tight as they could pull them,” Papp said.</p><p data-block-key=\"6q3r8\">While Papp was being taken into custody, officers also threw his tripod across the street, removed his gas mask from his bag and confiscated his other equipment. While his confiscated gear was later returned, he has not recovered his lost tripod or gas mask.</p><p data-block-key=\"eo39f\">Papp said his experience with law enforcement on May 31 has changed how he approaches covering protests.</p><p data-block-key=\"avn5b\">“I’m definitely more cautious about getting close to any police action,” he said. “I’m a little more hesitant about getting in there to get quality footage.”</p><p data-block-key=\"dg6f4\">Papp and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-05-31&date_upper=2026-05-31&city=newark&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least two other journalists</a> were taken to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, operated by the sheriff’s office, and released the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"ekalc\">According to Papp, the New Jersey State Police made the arrest, while Newark police are listed as filing the charges. He was initially charged with rioting and resisting arrest. Prosecutors later reduced the rioting charge to failure to disperse and dropped the resisting arrest charge. His next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.</p><p data-block-key=\"agvpi\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"53rnf\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2061289986092138550?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> on May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police cleared the area outside Delaney Hall because a group of people refused to leave after the curfew order. She did not address the use of force against or arrest of members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2026-06-01T044951Z_1789869591_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"b9a0j\">Officers during an immigration protest outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026. Videographer Theoren Papp was forcefully arrested while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
"arresting_authority": "Newark Police Division",
"arrest_status": "arrested and released",
"release_date": "2026-06-01",
"detention_date": "2026-05-31",
"unnecessary_use_of_force": true,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": "unknown",
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
"did_authorities_ask_for_device_access": null,
"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "yes",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
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"legal_order_venue": null,
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"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
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{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "protective equipment"
},
{
"quantity": 1,
"equipment": "camera equipment"
}
],
"state": {
"name": "New Jersey",
"abbreviation": "NJ"
},
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"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"immigration",
"kettle",
"protest"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Arrest/Criminal Charge",
"Assault",
"Equipment Damage"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Theoren Papp (Level 12 Productions)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Independent reporter arrested, punched by police at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-reporter-arrested-punched-by-police-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-16T21:10:00.763000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T18:49:17.926549Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-17T18:49:17.684257Z",
"date": "2026-05-31",
"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=\"j8bot\">Independent reporter Yaakov Strasberg was arrested and hit in the face by police while documenting a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"9hkni\">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=\"5vj8l\">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=\"7suo\">Police — some dressed in riot gear, others mounted on horseback — moved to clear demonstrators outside Delaney Hall before the city’s curfew on May 31, Strasberg told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Strasberg, who primarily posts videos to YouTube and X, then found himself trapped inside a police kettle, a tactic used by law enforcement to contain crowds.</p></div>\n<div class=\"w-block-tweet block-tweet\"><div class=\"tweet-embed\">\n <div>\n <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Current standoff between protesters and police near the Delany Hall Detention Center in NJ. <a href=\"https://t.co/WNyveg2Pxw\">pic.twitter.com/WNyveg2Pxw</a></p>— Yaakov Strasberg (@YaakovStras) <a href=\"https://x.com/YaakovStras/status/2061263453197574645?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https://platform.x.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>\n\n\n</div>\n\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"j8bot\">About 10 minutes later, police announced that credentialed journalists could leave the kettle and reviewed press credentials individually. Although Strasberg was carrying a bag labeled press, he did not have a formal credential and was told to remain inside the kettle.</p><p data-block-key=\"dpv4q\">“They didn’t bother to check anything, they just said, ’You’re not real press, you can’t leave,” Strasberg said. “They did let a bunch of press leave. I have no idea why I was targeted.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4cimv\">Strasberg said he had repeatedly identified himself as a journalist to officers throughout the evening and earlier in the day while covering the protest, and that some officers had previously acknowledged him as press. While kettled, he showed officers his social media accounts, videos he had recorded and examples of past coverage on his phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"4ejkl\">“I continuously tried to get my way out of there, but they couldn’t care less,” Strasberg said.</p><p data-block-key=\"f6i1t\">When it became clear he would be arrested, Strasberg said he complied with the officers’ commands. Instead, officers forced him to the ground.</p><p data-block-key=\"brthh\">“I still had my hands up, and one of them just punched me in the face,” Strasberg recalled.</p><p data-block-key=\"ckp20\">The blow left one side of Strasberg’s face badly swollen, making it difficult to open his eye. During the arrest, Strasberg’s glasses fell off and were stepped on by an officer, though Strasberg said he does not know whether that was intentional. Despite his facial injuries, he said he was denied medical treatment for more than seven hours.</p><p data-block-key=\"13aah\">Strasberg also said officers fastened his zip-tie restraints so tightly that they cut off circulation to his hands, made his wrists sore for days and left “a bit of a scar” on one wrist more than a week later. When the restraints were removed after a couple of hours, even law enforcement appeared surprised by how tight they were, Strasberg said.</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/image000001.width-828.jpg\" width=\"828\" height=\"593\" alt=\"COURTESY YAAKOV STRASBERG\">\n\n\n\t\n\t<figcaption class=\"inline-media__caption\">\n\t\t<p data-block-key=\"iih4n\">The red mark on Yaakov Strasberg’s wrist after he was restrained with zip ties at an immigration protest in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026.</p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"media-attribution\"\n\t\t\t> — COURTESY YAAKOV STRASBERG\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=\"j8bot\">After his arrest, Strasberg and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_lower=2026-05-31&date_upper=2026-05-31&city=newark&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least two other journalists</a> were taken to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, operated by the sheriff’s office, and released the following day.</p><p data-block-key=\"7k2h3\">He said authorities confiscated roughly $2,000 worth of his equipment, including his iPhone, camera bag, gas mask, battery packs and AirPods. Strasberg said officials told him the phone had been lost or misplaced, but a Google tracking service indicated it was still at the jail. He has not recovered his equipment and was forced to purchase a new phone.</p><p data-block-key=\"bj88n\">According to Strasberg, the New Jersey State Police made the arrest, while Newark police are listed as filing the charges. He was initially charged with rioting and resisting arrest. Prosecutors later reduced the rioting charge to failure to disperse and dropped the resisting arrest charge. His next court date is Aug. 6.</p><p data-block-key=\"6aotb\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"f6sr2\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2061289986092138550?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> on May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police cleared the area outside Delaney Hall because a group of people refused to leave after the curfew order. She did not address the use of force against or arrest of members of the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"8nvil\"><i>Update: This story was revised to include additional information about the charges against Yaakov Strasberg.</i></p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"j0wkh\">Independent reporter Yaakov Strasberg with visible facial injuries, two days after he was arrested and punched by police while covering an immigration protest on May 31, 2026, in Newark, New Jersey.</p>",
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{
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"immigration",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist shoved by police, impeded from covering immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-shoved-by-police-impeded-from-covering-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-17T22:11:12.960644Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-17T22:11:12.960644Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-17T22:11:12.823477Z",
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"city": "Newark",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"vlysz\">Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco was shoved multiple times by law enforcement, had their phone damaged, was briefly held in a police kettle and then moved out of coverage range, while attempting to document protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"a9cs4\">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=\"93frr\">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=\"3feiv\">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=\"4le9f\">Pacheco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that after a curfew took effect at 9 p.m. on May 31, the crowd diminished significantly, and the protesters were vastly outnumbered by law enforcement.</p><p data-block-key=\"a4nlk\">“What really doesn’t make sense to me is all of the multiple divisions of law enforcement, more than I could count on my hands,” Pacheco said. “It felt like a training module: It was such a small amount of protesters that this was a time to sort of act out strategy, setting up in preparation for something else down the line.</p><p data-block-key=\"46ij5\">“There was no need for this level of brutality or this police force for less than 50 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/DZBmBJcO-y2/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZBmBJcO-y2\">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=\"vlysz\">At around 9:50 p.m., officers charged at demonstrators and press, ultimately encircling the crowd using a technique called kettling. Pacheco — who has been arrested while covering protests on <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?date_upper=2026-05-30&targeted_journalists=Josh+Pacheco&categories=Arrest%2FCriminal+Charge\">at least four previous occasions</a> — said the circumstances were particularly alarming.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ss7l\">“The second that they encircled us, I was ready to send my last wishes, last love notes to my loved ones,” they told the Tracker. “It felt like I was about to die, because there were so many divisions of law enforcement, and it was so overpowering.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7mo6q\">The photojournalist was shoved multiple times as the crowd was corralled. Then, as an officer reached into the crowd to grab a protester for detainment, Pacheco said they tried to record, but their phone was knocked to the ground, cracking the screen.</p><p data-block-key=\"4t78\">Approximately 10 minutes later, a supervisory officer announced that credentialed members of the press would have one opportunity to leave or face arrest.</p><p data-block-key=\"5378l\">“The protesters were begging us to stay and to not abandon them,” Pacheco said. “And I’m like, ‘I can’t document anything if I get taken.’”</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/DZBx25VuDrJ/?utm_source=ig_embed\"\n\tdata-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\t<a class=\"btn btn-secondary\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZBx25VuDrJ\">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=\"vlysz\">Once released, Pacheco and other members of the press were forced back more than 100 feet from the kettle, out of sight and sound, making it very challenging to adequately cover what was happening inside the kettle and during arrests.</p><p data-block-key=\"170me\">The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"23u5b\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2061539130991948257\">statement posted to X</a> on June 1, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport praised the cooperation between state and local police, as well as other law enforcement across the state, and said the area outside the facility “remains calm.” It did not address the use of force against or arrests of members of the press.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"khl0s\">An officer shouts at a journalist to back away from a police kettle near Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026. Photojournalist Josh Pacheco was repeatedly shoved, briefly held in the kettle and later prevented from documenting arrests.</p>",
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"Department of Homeland Security",
"immigration",
"protest"
],
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{
"title": "Videographer downed by police at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-downed-by-police-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T18:52:32.259000Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T18:56:59.495186Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T18:56:59.373091Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"h7yxc\">Independent videographer David Snow was shoved to the ground by New Jersey state police wielding riot shields while documenting a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark on May 31, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"c9dno\">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=\"5l7nc\">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=\"evr1t\">Snow told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that on May 31, he was documenting a largely peaceful protest after demonstrators had been directed to leave Newark’s curfew zone. Suddenly, ICE officers, and state and Newark police advanced on the crowd from multiple directions.</p><p data-block-key=\"5ijl4\">Snow captured the events live on his YouTube channel, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/live/pPVULZ9BAOs?si=LYhuxCO_62m6gsmn&t=787\">The Exposure Report.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"d81js\">In the video, police shout, “Move! Get out of the way!” Officers then run into the crowd and start pushing people.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2dm8\">“I’m press! I’m going, I’m going,” says Snow, who is holding camera equipment and wearing a visible press credential. Still, state police strike him with their shields, knocking both him and his gear to the ground, temporarily cutting off the view of the livestream before Snow quickly grabs his phone, which was not damaged.</p><p data-block-key=\"c2mj1\">“They basically pummelled me into the floor with their shields,” Snow later says on the live video, out of breath. “They were trying to get me away from my phone. I was able to retrieve it. I’m OK.”</p><p data-block-key=\"ff16\">Snow, who sustained minor scrapes and bruises in the scuffle, said law enforcement then gave conflicting demands as they boxed protesters and journalists into a police kettle, a crowd-control tactic that confines people within a restricted area and prevents them from leaving.</p><p data-block-key=\"8ndhv\">Snow was held inside the kettle for roughly ten minutes, and feared he would be arrested.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nika\">“There were people saying, I’m press,’ and they said, ‘I don’t give a fuck,’” Snow later recalled.</p><p data-block-key=\"816qh\">A supervising officer eventually announced that credentialed journalists were allowed to leave. Later, Snow discovered that his car had been towed from what he maintains was a legal parking space about a mile from the protest site. He is contesting his $85 parking ticket and the $250 cost of retrieving his car.</p><p data-block-key=\"dqto2\">While documenting a protest a week later, Snow was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/videographer-pushed-down-by-officer-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/\">also shoved</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"eqldb\">The state police did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"d419a\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2061289986092138550?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> on May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police cleared the area outside Delaney Hall because a group of people refused to leave after the curfew order. She did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"6clzg\">Police officers with riot shields and crowd-control weapons outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026. Videographer David Snow was struck with shields and pushed to the ground by an officer while documenting the demonstration.</p>",
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"name": "New Jersey",
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"categories": [
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"targeted_journalists": [
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],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "Photojournalist pushed, chased by police at New Jersey immigration protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-pushed-chased-by-police-at-new-jersey-immigration-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-12T18:18:56.463747Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-12T18:18:56.463747Z",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"y78ob\">Freelance photojournalist Ian Peters was shoved by New Jersey state police wielding riot shields while covering a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of detainees in Newark on May 31, 2026. </p><p data-block-key=\"fn6n9\">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=\"cae7r\">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=\"7ks8t\">Peters, on assignment for <a href=\"http://nj.com/\">NJ.com</a>, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that on May 31, officers enforced a curfew that an official with the governor’s office <a href=\"https://jerseyvindicator.org/2026/06/01/journalists-swept-up-in-delaney-hall-crackdown-as-press-freedom-concerns-mount/\">had previously said</a> didn’t apply to press. </p><p data-block-key=\"2mkqt\">After police surrounded demonstrators, Peters remained outside the police perimeter, with only a few protesters near him, and clearly displayed his press credentials. That’s when two officers carrying riot shields shoved him from behind. </p><p data-block-key=\"75nvp\">Officers then screamed, “Move! Move! Move!” </p><p data-block-key=\"dg9oe\">After the encounter, Peters relocated farther from police lines to continue documenting events. About 10 minutes later, officers in riot gear advanced toward Peter and another photojournalist, who was also displaying credentials. The officers continued ordering them to leave and chased them to their cars. </p><p data-block-key=\"4edmr\">“They were still coming after us, and so I felt like it didn’t matter that we were press,” Peters said. “I thought it was targeted in a certain way.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bfki6\">Peters said he didn’t take off his protective flak jacket and barely had time to remove his camera equipment before feeling pressured to drive away. As he was leaving, officers continued yelling and cursing through his window, ordering him to leave the area. </p><p data-block-key=\"7mlom\">“They were slamming the hoods of our cars even though we were exempt from the curfew and not breaking any laws,” he said. </p><p data-block-key=\"95s9s\">The state police did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</p><p data-block-key=\"5dra5\">In a <a href=\"https://x.com/NewJerseyOAG/status/2061289986092138550?s=20\">statement posted to X</a> on May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police cleared the area outside Delaney Hall because a group of people refused to leave after the curfew order. She did not address the use of force against members of the press.</p></div>",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"181v5\">Police officers with riot shields outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 31, 2026. Photojournalist Ian Peters was shoved by officers while covering a demonstration at the facility that day. </p>",
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{
"title": "Photojournalist’s equipment stolen after injury at New Jersey protest",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalists-equipment-stolen-after-injury-at-new-jersey-protest/",
"first_published_at": "2026-06-10T21:33:25.166032Z",
"last_published_at": "2026-06-10T21:33:25.166032Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2026-06-10T21:32:59.989836Z",
"date": "2026-05-30",
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"city": "Newark",
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"body": "<div class=\"w-block-rich_text block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"px2kw\">Photojournalist Angelina Katsanis’ equipment bag was stolen after she was injured covering a protest outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 30, 2026.</p><p data-block-key=\"66bi6\">New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability announced June 4 that Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Sgt. Darryl Brown had been <a href=\"https://www.njoag.gov/essex-county-prosecutors-office-sergeant-allegedly-steals-injured-journalists-camera-bag-and-equipment-during-delaney-hall-protest-charged-with-theft/\">charged</a> in connection with the theft.</p><p data-block-key=\"4jed6\">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=\"fhic7\">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=\"dko83\">According to <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/delaney-hall-new-jersey-immigration-fd0ff7bfbae8585bba35c7b88bfe9eb0\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/nyregion/delaney-hall-protest-officer-charged-stealing.html?searchResultPosition=1\">news</a> <a href=\"https://www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/04/officer-stole-injured-photogs-cameras-after-delaney-hall-protest-state-ag-says/\">reports</a> and an <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-angelina-after-delaney-hall-attack\">online fundraiser</a> posted on her behalf, Katsanis — on assignment for The Associated Press — was covering the protest on the front line when she was <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-hit-with-wooden-board-while-covering-new-jersey-protest\">hit in the knee</a> by a wooden board, suffering an injury that made it difficult to walk.</p><p data-block-key=\"3839s\">She fled the area as a line of New Jersey State Police advanced, and left behind her equipment bag. It held a camera, two lenses, six external storage cards, six external batteries and other gear, as well as a keychain with an Apple AirTag — clearly labeled with her name and contact information.</p><p data-block-key=\"bhngn\">She sought assistance from medics at the scene, who provided her with a wheelchair. With the help of other journalists, she went back to the front line and negotiated with state police in riot gear to let her through to retrieve her bag and seek further medical care, in a scene captured on <a href=\"https://x.com/StatusCoup/status/2061146145938710978\">video</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"161r\">However, the bag was no longer there.</p><p data-block-key=\"7dmdt\">“I checked my AirTag and the bag was already on a highway pretty far away at that point,” Katsanis, who was treated at a nearby hospital, <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/delaney-hall-new-jersey-immigration-fd0ff7bfbae8585bba35c7b88bfe9eb0\">told The Associated Press</a>. “Right away, I had a feeling it was the police because they were the only ones with access to that area.”</p><p data-block-key=\"bv8a\">She continued to track the bag to a house in Sparta, New Jersey, which was later determined to be Brown’s residence.</p><p data-block-key=\"9lnpn\">Katsanis <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/nyregion/delaney-hall-protest-officer-charged-stealing.html\">told The New York Times</a> that her boyfriend and another photographer tracked down the AirTag, eventually locating it — without the other items — on the side of the road, with her name and contact information still clearly legible.</p><p data-block-key=\"7rmm7\">“That was a pretty clear sign to me that this was a theft and not just a law enforcement officer holding onto this bag for safekeeping,” she told the Times.</p><p data-block-key=\"120aj\">After Katsanis contacted police, a search of Brown’s residence found some of the gear she had reported missing, “including several items that still had the victim’s name and phone number printed on labels affixed to them,” according to the attorney general’s statement.</p><p data-block-key=\"ajkmj\">The statement added that Brown had been assigned to the Delaney Hall area in an official capacity on May 30, and his body-worn camera “shows him interacting with a dark colored bag, consistent with the description of the victim’s belongings.”</p><p data-block-key=\"f8ji0\">Brown faces one count of third-degree theft, which carries a sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000, the attorney general’s office said. He is set to appear in court on July 7, according to a complaint reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.</p><p data-block-key=\"chdmc\">A <a href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-angelina-after-delaney-hall-attack\">GoFundMe</a> set up to assist Katsanis had raised nearly $20,000 as of June 10. In addition to the costs of replacing her equipment, it also listed expenses related to replacing her car and house keys, accessing and towing her car, and medical care.</p><p data-block-key=\"utmm\">Katsanis’ attorney, Wylie Stecklow, told the Tracker on June 8 that the authorities still had possession of her equipment as evidence, “but we are hoping to get them back in the next week or so.”</p><p data-block-key=\"5p6sq\">Stecklow praised the response of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to the theft of her bag.</p><p data-block-key=\"3cs0r\">“The NJAG office took this very seriously and within two days of us first contacting them, they had obtained a search warrant, executed it, and arrested the individual,” he said.</p><p data-block-key=\"bdeo5\">Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said Brown had been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. “Conduct that undermines the public’s trust in law enforcement is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"csmvq\">Photojournalist Angelina Katsanis, in wheelchair, negotiates to exit through police lines after being injured at a May 30, 2026, immigration protest in Newark, New Jersey. Her gear bag was stolen that night, and an officer was later charged with theft.</p>",
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{
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"equipment": "camera"
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{
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"equipment": "camera lens"
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{
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},
{
"quantity": 6,
"equipment": "external battery"
},
{
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},
{
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"equipment": "storage device"
}
],
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"name": "New Jersey",
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},
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],
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