Freelance photojournalist detained in police kettle in downtown LA

Freelance photojournalist Alex Brittenham was detained in a kettle by police while covering an anti-deportation protest in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 9, 2025.

The protests began June 6 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.

Brittenham told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she had been documenting the protests since June 8, noting that the protests the following day centered around the Metropolitan Detention Center were in her observation nonviolent.

“There was singing and dancing in the street,” she said. “I personally was unaware that an unlawful assembly was declared or that dispersal orders were given.”

Officers began herding the crowd, Brittenham said, and by approximately 8:30 p.m. had surrounded them using a technique called kettling, which she had never experienced before.

“I had asked, ‘I am media, I blatantly have my camera in my hand and all my gear on my back. Can I please leave? I’m just here to capture images, I’m not here to do any harm. I just want to leave,’” she told the Tracker. “I was told ‘no’ by multiple officers and that everyone in the area was under arrest.”

Brittenham and other journalists caught in the kettle told the Tracker that police were removing journalists and demonstrators one by one, and did not make it clear whether members of the press would be charged. So, Brittenham said, she voluntarily approached the officers and identified herself as a member of the press.

“I just wanted to state my case and get out,” she said.

When each of the journalists was removed from the kettle, officers directed them to place their hands behind their back and then held their arms in place while walking them out of the area. Once members of the press provided their names and basic information, officers allowed them to leave with a warning that, if they returned, they would be subject to arrest.

Brittenham told the Tracker that she was particularly nervous as a freelancer without media credentials to present.

“It’s kind of scary because you don’t have a badge to protect you,” she said. “I worried: If I don’t have those credentials, does it mean I’m under arrest even though I am covering this for freelance purposes?”

When reached for comment, the Los Angeles Police Department directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. But in a June 10 news release posted on social platform X about the previous evening’s arrests, the LAPD did not address the detainments and removal of journalists caught in the kettle.