Incident details
- Date of incident
- May 26, 2026
- Location
- Newark, New Jersey
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
A protester and federal officers outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026. Multiple photojournalists reported that officers targeted them and their equipment with potent chemical irritant sprays.
A freelance photojournalist, who asked not to be identified because of their immigration status, was targeted with chemical irritants by federal officers while covering protests outside a private immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.
Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility began May 22, when many detainees went on a hunger strike. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.
Federal officers responded to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did state police in the days that followed.
The Department of Homeland Security has denied allegations of detainee mistreatment.
The photojournalist told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were on assignment for a wire agency that day and were standing near other members of the press as they documented confrontations between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and protesters.
Multiple journalists standing in that gaggle told the Tracker that federal officers deliberately targeted them with chemical irritants, aiming at their cameras and around their protective equipment in an attempt to affect them as much as possible.
Freelance photojournalist Madison Swart said the officers were using a more potent form of chemical irritant, describing it as a stronger, law-enforcement-grade product above pepper spray but not fully tear gas.
“There was a gaggle of press photographers and we all got sprayed in that same moment. It was totally unnecessary,” she told the Tracker.
In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.
“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
