NYC photojournalist shoved to ground by federal officers at immigration court

Freelance photojournalist Olga Fedorova was shoved to the ground by federal officers while on assignment for The Associated Press at the immigration court in New York, New York, on Sept. 30, 2025.

Multiple journalists have reported access issues, intimidation and threats when covering the court at Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been arresting asylum-seekers following their hearings there since May, part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown.

Previously, on Sept. 18, independent journalist Michael Nigro was assaulted by a man he identified as a plainclothes ICE officer while reporting on a lawmaker-led protest at the court.

Footage of the Sept. 30 incident, captured by a fellow journalist, shows masked federal officers grabbing, pushing and pulling amNewYork’s Dean Moses out of a public elevator while shouting at him, “Get out of the fucking elevator!”

Another officer standing outside the elevator doors can be seen shoving Fedorova back, causing her to go crashing to the hallway floor atop Anadolu Agency videographer L. Vural Elibol.

Fedorova told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she was taking photos of the officers shoving Moses while she backed up to get out of their way.

“Then one of them threw me on the ground,” she said. “I got up immediately to keep shooting and only then realized that someone was on the ground.”

She said that she was not injured and that her cameras appeared to be undamaged.

Another journalist at the scene confirmed to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Elibol struck his head quite severely and was taken to a hospital for further monitoring and testing. He was later discharged with pain medication.

Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to requests for comment.

City Comptroller Brad Lander quickly condemned the assault, writing on the social platform X, “Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.

“Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.”

The National Press Photographers Association condemned the assaults as “a blatant attack on press freedom.”

“ICE must be held accountable for violating its own policy and for trampling on the First Amendment rights of these photographers,” said NPPA General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher. “Anything less sends a chilling message to journalists everywhere.”

Editor’s Note: This incident has been updated to include comment from Olga Fedorova and the National Press Photographers Association, and information on L. Vural Elibol.