Incident details
- Date of incident
- January 31, 2026
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
- Targets
- Victor Montiel (Independent)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Unknown
Assault
Photographer Victor Montiel’s ankle, swollen after he was hit with a crowd-control munition while covering an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.
Independent photographer Victor Montiel was struck in the ankle with a crowd-control munition fired by police while covering a protest against immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 31, 2026.
The demonstration was held a day after nationwide rallies and also followed similar protests in Minnesota, where federal officers had shot and killed two U.S. citizens. In LA, sweeping immigration enforcement has continued since June.
Montiel told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived late in the evening at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where immigrants were being held. He was wearing his camera and a press badge.
While taking a picture of a protester who was sprawled on the ground, Montiel felt what he later described as a rubber bullet hit his ankle.
“The officer shot it once, and I remember it hitting me, and I was like, ‘What the hell?’” Montiel said. “I was hit on my ankle and it left a welt.”
The blow left him lying in pain on the ground before getting up to continue documenting. He left shortly after.
LAPD did not respond to requests for comment about its use of munitions against members of the press. The incident appeared to violate a state law prohibiting officers from using such protest policing tactics with members of the press, which a federal court reinforced with a preliminary injunction last year.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
