Photojournalist shot at with pepper balls amid immigration operation

Freelance photojournalist Tim Evans was shot at with pepper balls and subjected to other chemical irritants by federal agents while reporting on an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 12, 2026.

Protests erupted in January in response to a federal immigration crackdown in the state, escalating further after the fatal shooting of Renee Good in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

Evans told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was on assignment for Reuters covering ICE operations in the city. He arrived to cover an active scene after agents crashed into a Hispanic man’s car and then questioned the man about his immigration status.

“A crowd of at least a dozen observers and community members had already formed and were whistling and shouting at the agents when my colleagues and I arrived at the scene,” Evans wrote in an account for the Tracker. “A long standoff ensued as the crowd of onlookers, media, and agents grew, with dozens of agents present at the peak.”

Over the following 30 minutes, Evans said the situation continued to deteriorate, with federal agents deploying multiple rounds of tear gas and firing pepper balls at those assembled. Amid the chaos, an agent deliberately targeted the photojournalist with crowd-control munitions.

“An agent from the Bureau of Prisons shot numerous pepper balls directly at my feet from about a meter away,” Evans wrote. “As the agent shot toward me, I held my camera and hands up, yelling, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey, hey! Press, press!’”

He told the Tracker it was clear he was targeted, as he was easily identifiable as a journalist, with his press credentials around his neck, large “PRESS” labels in all caps on his helmet and vest, and a large, professional camera in his hands.

When federal agents prepared to leave the scene, Evans wrote that they deployed additional tear gas, while one agent leaned out of his window and indiscriminately pepper-sprayed everyone standing alongside the road.

“This included me, at least four other media members, and onlookers,” he told the Tracker. “I was sprayed in the hands, which burned for a couple of hours after. When I incidentally touched my face, it left my eyes and lips burning.”

Evans, who has covered protests since at least 2021, said that federal agents in Minneapolis were regularly deploying crowd-control munitions in a way that he felt was completely unnecessary.

“No one there is posing an imminent threat. If people are standing on the sidewalk or even in the street in a situation where a scene is active, and you’re planning to leave, I don’t understand the tactical benefit or logic or justification for casually throwing tear gas canisters out of a car door as you’re driving away,” Evans said. “It feels punitive.”

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Bureau of Prisons responded to requests for comment or additional information about the protest response that day.

In a statement released Jan. 12, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agency’s presence in Minnesota but did not address the reported use of munitions against journalists.

In a Jan. 16 post on social media, BOP Director William Marshall III wrote that the agency was “proud of our Special Operations Response Teams, who are standing with our @TheJusticeDept and @DHSgov law enforcement partners in Minnesota.”

“You are keeping communities safe and stand as an example of what real service looks like - showing up, holding the line, and protecting public safety,” Marshall continued.

Both the city of Minneapolis and the state sued the Trump administration that day, arguing the unprecedented deployment of federal agents violates constitutional rights.