Incident details
- Date of incident
- June 6, 2025
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
- Targets
- Abraham Márquez (Freelance)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
Protesters gather at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles following an immigration enforcement operation on June 6, 2025. Freelance journalist Abraham Márquez was struck in the ankle with a crowd-control munition while covering the demonstration.
Freelance journalist Abraham Márquez was shot in the ankle with crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while documenting anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 2025.
A series of protests began that day in response to federal raids in and around LA of workplaces and areas where immigrant day laborers gathered, amid the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown. After demonstrators clashed with local law enforcement officers and federal agents, President Donald Trump called in the California National Guard and then the U.S. Marines over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass.
Márquez told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that multiple news conferences were taking place at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA. Protesters had gathered outside in opposition to the detainments that day, and federal officers began responding to the crowd with force.
“I think it was the officers that protect that federal building, and they were shooting at protesters,” he said. “They’re supposed to shoot at the ground, and they did, but they hit my ankle.”
Márquez said he also captured the moment another individual wearing press credentials and markings was struck in the upper body with multiple pepper balls.
In the footage, posted on the social platform X that evening, Márquez is heard saying moments after the other journalist is struck, “I just got hit,” as he pulls down the sock on his left foot to show the white powder residue visible on his ankle.
In a statement emailed to the Tracker, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin urged journalists to be cautious while covering what she characterized as “violent riots,” and added that President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem “are committed to restoring law and order.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
