Incident details
- Date of incident
- January 27, 2026
- Targets
- Eve Weston (Eugene Weekly)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Federal officers advance on journalists and protesters in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026. A moment later, reporter Eve Weston was hit by crowd-control munitions fired by officers.
Eugene Weekly reporter Eve Weston was hit in the leg and foot by crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest in front of the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.
Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier, the alternative newspaper reported.
Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at protesters and detaining individuals at various times during the day.
Weston told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she saw the federal officers come out of the building and start shooting at the crowd of around 200 people in the courtyard, including her and other reporters nearby.
“As we are moving back, we’re holding up our badges. We’re screaming, ‘Press, don’t shoot,’ things like that.”
It was then that Weston was hit, she said. “I was struck in the leg at least once, and then the foot with the pepper balls as we were backing away from them, pretty briskly, still trying to get a shot, but definitely backing up.”
She said at least two other reporters at the scene were also hit, including Agostinho Da Silva, a reporter for The Torch, the student newspaper for Eugene’s Lane Community College.
Weston said she and the others were clearly identified as press at the time. “We have these red vests that are reflective, and they say press on them. And so I was wearing that, and I was also holding up a press pass,” adding that she was holding her camera.
The incident was captured by Weston in a video posted on Instagram.
Weston said she wasn’t injured too badly because she was wearing very thick clothing and personal protective equipment.
She was also struck with a crowd-control munition on Jan. 30 while covering a subsequent protest at the Federal Building.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
