Incident details
- Date of incident
- June 7, 2025
- Location
- Los Angeles, California
- Targets
- Henry Cherry (Independent)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Police at an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 6, 2025. At a demonstration the next day, photojournalist Henry Cherry was shoved by police and hit with batons and projectiles.
Henry Cherry, an independent photojournalist, was shoved by police, struck with a police baton and hit with projectiles while covering an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 7, 2025.
Protests 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 LA 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.
Cherry, who was clearly identified as press, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Los Angeles Police Department officers shoved him and struck him with their batons as many as 10 or more times. He also said both federal officers and the LAPD shot him with projectiles in his torso, arms and head, in what Cherry described as targeted attacks. Additionally, he was heavily affected by chemical irritants.
When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a statement posted to X, the department said it was responding to “significant acts of violence, vandalism, and looting” and worked through the night to restore public safety.
“Multiple deployments of less-lethal munitions were necessary to manage the crowds and prevent further harm to people or property,” the statement read, before adding that its professional standards bureau would be investigating allegations of excessive force used during the protests.
In a statement emailed to the Tracker, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin urged journalists to be cautious while covering what she characterized as “violent riots,” and added that President Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem “are committed to restoring law and order.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
