Livestreamer detained by federal officers at LA immigration protest

Livestreamer Gonzalo Gonzalez was briefly detained by federal officers, with at least one wielding a handgun, while he was documenting a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025.

The protest was one of a series that 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.

Gonzalez, who broadcasts live and publishes videos through his YouTube channel EastLos Audits, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he went to the protest to document it as a journalist.

While at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held, Gonzalez sought a better vantage point for filming. During a livestream, he walked around the building and found a corridor that overlooked the crowd. He filmed there for about 20 minutes before Department of Homeland Security officers arrived.

“Get down!” the officers yelled in the video. “Get down, get on the floor.”

Gonzalez said he turned and saw three officers pointing crowd-control weapons at him. At least one aimed a handgun. He complied, placed his phone on the ground, raised his hands and lay on the floor.

The livestream continued to capture the interactions. As officers handcuffed Gonzalez, they asked how he got there.

“I walked,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said officers then took his phone, turned it off and brought him to a holding area inside the building. He said officers demanded his name, but he refused to provide it unless he was under arrest.

Gonzalez said he repeatedly told officers he was there to document the protest, although he was not wearing any identifying press markers.

“I’m just here to document, and I want to help others understand the First Amendment right to freedom of press, to document our public servants in the course of their duty,” he said.

A supervisor later came to the holding area and asked an officer whether Gonzalez had been given an opportunity to leave. Gonzalez said he shouted that he had not. The supervisor then ordered officers to release him. The officers gave Gonzalez his belongings back and released him without charges.

After his release, he continued filming live.

In a statement emailed to the Tracker, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin urged journalists to be cautious while covering what she characterized as “violent riots.” It did not address federal officers’ treatment of the press.